Ch'en Tzu-ang: Innovator in T'ang Poetry (review)

Abstract

Reviews 477© 1995 by University ofHawai'i Press convincingly documents how many ofDeng's ideas on culture derive in large part from Mao, particularly the idea ofplaying the "left" offagainst the "right" and vice versa while defining the paramount leader's own position as invariably at the center. The clarity and directness ofHe Yuhai's writing enliven the historical insights he shares with the reader, and his wide-ranging source citations and bibliography make Cycles ofRepression an indispensable reference work for all scholars interested in the cultural life ofthis period. One only hopes that He Yuhai or some other meticulous researcher will go on to write a similar book on the Chinese literary scene during the final decade ofthe twentieth century. Philip F. Williams Arizona State University Richard M. W. Ho. Ch'en Tzu-ang: Innovator in TangPoetry. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1993. 233 pp. Hardcover. Chen Zi'ang (658?-699?) is generally considered by modern scholars to be the most significant poet ofthe early Tang dynasty. In particular, he is credited with rejecting the genre ofcourt poetry that developed during the Six Dynasties and became dominant during the early Tang. Rather than follow the trends ofhis time and write poetry that has been judged by later critics as "effete" and "decadent ," Chen turned to the past for his models, favoring the simpler, more direct styles ofthe Han and Wei dynasties. Since the poets ofthe High Tang followed Chen in rejecting court poetry for earlier styles, Chen is often considered to be an important ancestor in the High Tang family tree. He was, in fact, lavishly praised by many later Tang poets, including Du Fu and Han Yu. While Chen has long been recognized as an important poet by Chinese scholars, however, he has sometimes been overlooked by Sinologists writing in Western languages. Like many other important poets ofthe Tang, Chen's brilliance has been overshadowed by the giants ofHigh Tang poetry like Du Fu and Li Bai. Consequently, there have been comparatively few major studies in English devoted to this poet. Richard Ho's book is intended both to make up for this lack of English-language material and to inspire further interest in Chen Zi'ang in Western countries . Ho's study is the first book-length work in English devoted entirely to Chen, with sections on both the poet's life and his poetry. Prior to Ho, the major study in English on Chen was a chapter in Stephen Owen's The Poetry ofthe Early Tang,1 478 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 which has an excellent analysis ofmany ofChen's poems. However, due to the nature of Owen's study, it did not allow for a lengthy biography, and so many important details of Chen's life have not been available to English readers. Ho's book includes a biography derived from historical sources, and also summarizes the political environment during Chen's years as an official. In his section on Chen's poetry, Ho translates and analyzes the complete set of Ganyu poems, considered to be his most important poetic achievement. In addition, he discusses many of Chen's other poems, including some that were not included in Owen's study. All these elements make Ho's book the most complete study of Chen Zi'ang in the English language. In order to appreciate Ho's approach, it might be helpful to make a few general comments about Chinese literary theory first. From earliest times, Chinese scholars have closely associated literature and politics. There are two important aspects to this association. First, literature, and more specifically poetry (or its counterpart, music), was thought to have a powerful effect on people that could be harmful if uncontrolled. Thus, the Xunzi says that "People cannot be without music, and music must take a form. If the form is improper (wu dao), then it cannot help but cause disorder."2 Consequently, the early rulers of China's idealized past supposedly established poetic standards in order to regulate and harmonize these influences. The second aspect ofpoetry's relation to politics was its potentially beneficial influence once properly regulated. The Daxu, or "Great Preface...