Drifting with Clouds, Living by Poetry

Zhang Hongsheng, Ph.D. (1989), Nanjing University, is Chair Professor of Chinese Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University. He has published extensively on classical Chinese poetry, song lyric, poetry criticism, and literary history, including his latest monograph, Jingdian chuancheng yu tishi liubian 經典傳承與體式流變 (Canon Transmission and Genre Transformation) (Nanjing University Press, 2019).

Introduction



1 The Formation of the Rivers and Lakes Movement

 1Societal Factors

 2Literary Factors

 3The Role of Individuals



2 The Rivers and Lakes Poetry Calamity

 1The Timing

 2The Causes

 3The People Involved

 4 The Consequences and Impact of the Poetry Case



3 Thematic Orientation

 1Concern for the State and the People

 2The Sadness in Seeking Favors while Wandering amidst the Rivers and Lakes

 3The Hardship of Travel

 4Yearning for Friendship



4 Aesthetic Sensibility

 1The Beauty of Delicate Finesse

 2Genuine and Candid Emotions

 3Style and Manners of the Mundane

 4The Flavor and Appeal of Limpidity



5 Time, Space, and Imagery

 1The Representation of Time and Space

 2The Structure of Imagery



6 Sources and Antecedents: Modeling on the Late Tang

 1Demarcating the Timeframe of the “Late Tang”

 2The Scope of the “Late Tang Form”

 3The Significance of Xu Hun

 4 The Rivers and Lakes Poets’ Understanding of the Values of the Late Tang Form

 5 The Rivers and Lakes Poets’ Objectives in Learning from the Late Tang



7 Appreciating Rivers and Lakes Poetry

 1Liu Guo

 2 Jiang Kui

 3 Dai Fugu

 4Liu Kezhuang

 5 Fang Yue



8 The Favor-Seeking Visitors from the Rivers and Lakes

 1The Concept of the “Favor-Seeking Visitors from the Rivers and Lakes”

 2The Form and Content of Favor-Seeking Visits

 3The Formation of the Favor-Seekers Class

 4 The Relationship between the Appearance of the Favor-Seekers and the Regional Secretariats and the Recommendatory System

 5 The Attitudes of the Contemporary Elite and the Favor-Seekers toward Their Practice

 6 The Emergence of a Social Class That Was Neither the Officials Nor the Recluses

 7 The Change in the Status of Poetry

 8 The Value Gap in Favor-Seeking Visitations

 9 The Significance in Understanding the Favor-Seekers of the Rivers and Lakes



Bibliography