This paper examines “qian qizi’s” (the seven poets) literary revival movement in the Hongzhi and Zhengde years (1488-1521) of the Ming dynasty, placing the movement under the literary, ideological and political contexts of the time. From the mid-Chenghua (1447-1487) till the end of the Hongzhi period (1488-1505), the literary arena in Beijing was dominated by the Cha Ling School, a literary group led by Li Dongyang, and mainly composed of scholars from the South. Amongst all poetic styles, the Cha Ling scholars, many of whom were senior government officials, held “shan lin” and “tai ge” most highly. “Shan lin” poetry was conceived as “shijiao’ (poetic teaching) by the neo-Confucianists, an ethical symbol which focuses on moral construction. The Cha Ling scholars shared the simil...[ Read more ]

This paper examines “qian qizi’s” (the seven poets) literary revival movement in the Hongzhi and Zhengde years (1488-1521) of the Ming dynasty, placing the movement under the literary, ideological and political contexts of the time. From the mid-Chenghua (1447-1487) till the end of the Hongzhi period (1488-1505), the literary arena in Beijing was dominated by the Cha Ling School, a literary group led by Li Dongyang, and mainly composed of scholars from the South. Amongst all poetic styles, the Cha Ling scholars, many of whom were senior government officials, held “shan lin” and “tai ge” most highly. “Shan lin” poetry was conceived as “shijiao’ (poetic teaching) by the neo-Confucianists, an ethical symbol which focuses on moral construction. The Cha Ling scholars shared the similar “shijiao” view, and also had a keen interest in such literary matters as “lian ju” (linked verses), “chang he” (verses in chorus), developing its bureaucratic culture at that time. This was not due to the tense relationship between the literati and the imperial authority which was suggested by Yu Yingshi, but the inner-thinking of the Confucian theories.

On the other hand, in Shanxi, government official Yang Yiqing built an education system that turned out to be greatly influential. It created a sense of national consciousness in many people in the Shanxi province, including Kang Hai, leader of the “qian qizi;” and Li Mengyang. After achieving success in the imperial examination, pressurized by the North-South issue and disappointed by the mainstream literati, Kang initiated a literary revival movement with Li. The movement gained the imperial power’s support, and it was joined by many other scholars. In the late Hongzhi period, a number of new “jinshi” scholars showed their identification with the movement’s cause. The movement made new ground, having the support of both northern and southern scholars. The literary concepts and writings of the “qian qizi” showed an active concern in social and political affairs. Kang Hai’s scripts break through the limitations of the “tai ge” style, a symbol of bureaucratic culture. In the Zhengde period (1506-1521), being embroiled in the Liu Jin incident, Kang lost his government post. He spent his time on Northern songs with Wang Jiusi, which shows that he was still concerned about fighting for legitimacy for Northern culture. On the front of poetry, “qian qizi” emphasize “bixing” (metaphor) poetics. They aim to revive Mao Chang and Zheng Xuan’s interpretative tradition, which stresses the importance of “meici” parables in Shijing. Their idea was vastly different to Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shiji zhuan, which was highly popular at that time. The “qian qizi’s” thinking on poetic history has much in common with the revival concept of the Tang poets, yet because of an over-emphasis on the technique of “bixing,” they had to use an enormous amount of imageries in traditional classics to make known to the readers the meaning of their parables and allegories, or they had to imitate the structure of eight line rhymed verses to bring up the theme. The issue of whether techniques of classical poetry should be adopted in the creation of eight line poems brought disagreement within the group. During the Jiajing period (1522-1566), the revival movement gradually subsided. Hu Zuanzong, a native of the Shanxi province, compiled Yong Yin. This book that made a pedigree of poets from Shijing to the Shanxi revivalist formed a literary text that summarizes the literary movement.