Zuo Si (250–305) as the founder of the tradition of poems about daughters in classical Chinese poetry

Abstract

Zui Si (250–305) is a prominent Chinese poets of the early Middle Ages, however, his poetic heritage and translations of his works are fragmentary within the Russian sinology. His poetry is characterized by pronounced individuality, depicted within the framework of Chinese tradition. Special attention is given to female images in the lyrics of Zuo Si. The remarkable poem “My Beloved Daughters” is the first poem about daughters within the Chinese tradition, which gave rise to the entire subgenre that existed until the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). This article analyzes the poetics of the poem “My Beloved Daughters” by Zuo Si. The conclusion is made that the main feature of this poem, which determined the poetics and all its imitations, is the use of classical techniques characteristic to gongti shi (宫体诗), i.e. palace-style poetry, which creates a comic effect and casts doubt on the traditional gender stereotypes. The novelty of this research consists in examination of the works of the Chinese poet of the early Middle Ages Zuo Si from the perspective of gender poetics. The author’s special contribution lies in the full literal translation of the poem “My beloved Daughters” by Zuo Si, which is conducted in the Russian language for the first time.