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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHINESE LITERATURE NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY NO.36
Publication date： 2021-12
Special Article So Remote, the Road to Cold Mountain: A Review of the “Hanshan Studies” over the Past Decades by Anglophone Cultures, with A Brief Comment
This article begins with a discussion of the “Hanshan Studies” by Anglophone cultures over the past few decades. The author calls attention to the fact that Mr. Yu Jiaxi and E. G. Pulleyblank inspired many Hanshan scholars, leading them to upend the notion that Master Hanshan had been the sole author of the work known as The Collected Poems of Master Cold Mountain. Most recent Hanshan scholars believed that the work was the product of the composite authorship, opining the possibility of two, three, or even multiple authors who formed a “Hanshan group” and their activities had spanned from late Sui to late Tang period. Some scholars worked really hard to study and translate the “Hanshan Poems” into English, introducing them to the Anglophone cultures readers. However, they made a plethora of mistakes in their translations, in part because they viewed Chinese written language as primarily monosyllabic, unaware of the existence of dissyllabic words and “Mediaeval Vernacular Sinitic.” These mistakes aside, they are yet to appreciate the fact that some Chinese literati and Buddhist monks in pre-modern times recognized and valued very much the “Hanshan Poems” and that they expressed their fascination with the “Hanshan Poems” in different ways without any concern for the differences in poetic style. Their poems titled “In Emulation of the Hanshan Poems” remain an uncharted territory in the study of the “Hanshan Poems” and await the Hanshan scholars both in Anglophone and Sinophone cultures to explore. The author cites “Poems Concerning Impermanence” as a theme for consideration if they are interested in undertaking thematic approach to the “Hanshan Poems.”
The expectation of the ‘Sage King’ in the field of Chinese philosophy is in a way waiting for eternal recurrence; such waiting makes people willing to believe in the possibility of a better future. But the waiting may be forever because the ‘Sage King’ has always been there. Consequently, there has always been the expectation of the sage king, which causes people to be eternally lost and anxious. This is the political evolution of the ancient ideology in the field of Chinese philosophy, as well as a psychological structure for constructing order. This psychological structure arises from the political chaos of the Axial Age and Confucius’ narrative thinking, and produces the anchoring effect of the worship of ancient thought and of the sage king in the field of Chinese philosophy. Here, the expectation of social order of the existence rests on the ‘Sage King,’ but the ‘Sage King’ exists eternally in the past and not in the present; as a result, the existence must wait for the sage king forever. Perhaps it is this eternal waiting that makes it possible to look forward to the possibility of a better self and homeland, because eternity means that before finite beings die, they can always hold on to the hope of sanctification and to the expectation of the sage king. The moment of waiting means that the existence offers the reassurance of continuous self-cultivation and the sage king’s governance of the world. For the beings in the field of Chinese philosophy, waiting is no longer just waiting, but waiting for eternal recurrence, making waiting enter the moment of salvation.
As a commentary and a gazetteer, Shuijing zhu (Commentary on the Waterways Classic) is usually seen as a record of changes in geography in medieval China and studied for this purpose and political intentions implied therein. Under this framework, the most important value of Shuijing zhu lies in its field studies and preservation of texts. However, by focusing on strange writings and quotations in the book, we can see how the author manipulates these for his specific purpose. This article discusses the narrative and fictional aspects of Shuijing zhu. When analyzing anecdotes and quotations in the context, I find that Li exaggerates conflicts and emotions among different people in anecdotes. Also, Li selects, abbreviates and reconstructs historical facts for different types of landscape, for he knows the readers already have knowledge and information about the stories. As a result, Li deconstructs the genre established by “Yu Gong” in the Book of Historical Documents. Shuijing zhu is no longer a gazetteer to help emperors rule the country, instead, Li tries to find, to cultivate and to summon a group of readers who share interests in appreciating sceneries. With these target readers who have same knowledge background and interests in mind, Li emphasizes the delight and aesthetic feelings in the sceneries. In so doing, Li manages to narrate strange stories, and reconstruct the quotations. The creative writing style and content of Shuijing zhu therefore allow meaningful interpretations in the history of geographical writings.
There are a lot of hymns related with “becoming a monk” in the Dunhuang manuscripts, which can be used as clues to explore how chanting helped new monks to learn Buddhist etiquette of becoming a monk, practicing together and preaching Buddhism to the secular world, and to spread or strengthen beliefs. The way in which these hymns were written and their locations on the manuscripts, as well as the “original” appearance of their relationship with other hymns or documents, are all key to understanding the clues. Therefore, it is worthwhile and necessary to search, record, analyze, and explore each manuscript. With this understanding, this article explores independently each manuscript of “the hymn of becoming a monk.” It analyzes the manuscripts by categories of themes such as general hymns of becoming a monk (a group of related hymns including “saying goodbye to mother,” “leaving home to practice,” “farewell to the teacher,” “leaving the practice hall,”etc.) “hymns of entering the temple” (a hymn group including “the unfettering,” “the joy of entering the temple,” “the joy of living in the temple”), a group of copied hymns that combine general hymns of becoming a monk and “hymns of entering the temple,” the general hymns of becoming a monk or “hymns of entering the temple” copied together with other hymns, or individual hymns. Such analysis offers insights into the condition in which the hymns exist in different manuscripts and their relationships with other texts. This research focuses on the various causes for copying and specific applications of different manuscripts. It helps us to understand the actual situation when Buddhist hymns were used during rituals, how they conveyed the Buddhist principles and guided the public sentiment. This paper contributes to the understanding of the development of Buddhist hymns and the performance of many rituals.
Among all the 19th century Protestant missionaries to China, Karl F. A. Gützlaff (1803-51) emerged as the most prolific missionary novelist in Chinese. In his monograph China Opened (1838) in English, Gützlaff argued that “When the blessed God shall renovate China by the gospel of his grace, a new literature will be required.” He further elaborated that in an attempt to renovate the Chinese nation, a new religious and scientific literature embodying the traditional oriental merits while incorporating the most salutary and useful elements of the West, must be offered to the Chinese people. Hence, by upholding the belief that the gospel and civilization, as well as proselytizing and enlightenment should go hand in hand, Gützlaff composed a large corpus of “new literature” in Chinese. By scrutinizing Gützlaff's literary notions and enlightenment intention discussed in China Opened, in conjunction with his novels, the most representative genre of his “new literature,” the present paper focuses on the examination of his core concept lieshi shehua (獵實捨華, acquiring the fruits and forsaking the flowers) which constitutes the basis of his literary creation and religious literary thoughts. The paper is concluded by placing Gützlaff’s “new literature” in the wider contexts, to examine its interconnections with the subsequent literary thoughts and enlightenment intention of John Fryer’s (1839-1928) Shixin xiaoshuo (New Age Novels) in 1895 and Liang Qichao’s (1873-1929) Xin xiaoshuo (New Novels) in 1902.
The time period encompassing the late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth Period was a key historical era for the dramatic and continuous changes in the concept of Chinese novel and the realization of its modern transformation. During this time, Liang Qichao introduced the “new novel” theory for the “improvement of the governance of the masses” and “salvation of the country by new citizens.” Wang Guowei rooted his thought on super-utilitarian aesthetics of novel in Schopenhauer’s philosophy. Hu Shi’s “orthodox view of vernacular literature” originated in his ideas about “civilian literature” and “Mandarin literature.” Lu Xun introduced the modern vernacular novel style, which can be regarded as a model for new literature. Their research on Chinese novel and drama laid the theoretical foundation and they produced pioneering works for these fields. The achievements of these intellectuals marked the milestones for the formation of the concept of Chinese modern novel during a time of unprecedented change. Their continuous and joint efforts from the late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth Period essentially completed the “centennial change” from the traditional to the modern in the field of Chinese novel.
Revolving around Wang Jingwei’s Ci poem “Yi Jiu You, Luoye” (“Remembering Old Journeys: Fallen Leaves”) composed soon after he launched the peace movement, this study argues that the work corresponded to his political commentaries “A Telegram on December 29” and “Taking an Example,” in which his frame of mind during his stay in Hanoi found expression. This study analyzes manuscript and different editions of this Ci poem to infer his conception and intention behind, and extrapolates its style and date of publication from related archives and news reports, holding that “Yi Jiu You, Luoye” served as Wang’s lyrical expression of self-admitted defeat. The hesitations accompanying the (fallen) leaves, (drifting) duckweed, and (singing) cicadas metaphorically mirrored the phenomenon that most people, whilst sharing the anti-war sentiment, want to say something but then hesitate, only to be mired in a land of perplexity from which escape is nowhere on the horizon at the peak of war. Such an intention was exactly the strength of the doves’ cognitive metaphors in affecting popular feeling. Apart from uncovering Wang’s original intention behind “Yi Jiu You,” this study also interprets its different versions and the poetic replies in the same rhythm, so as to reveal how the text of this Ci poem gradually took shape through the concerted efforts of the author (incl. the manuscript, final version, and revised versions) and the readers (incl. repliers, interpreters, editors, promotional institutions, and survivors). Wang’s “Yi Jiu You” was not only a clear manifestation of Florence Chiaying Yeh’s idea about “the Beauty of Passive Virtue,” but also the cream of the crop among the doves’ cognitive metaphors. Meanwhile, Wang’s “Yi Jiu You” ignited intense public debates over peace and war.
In September 1996, on the eve of Hong Kong reunification, the British Hong Kong Government started to tear down the buildings located at Tiu Keng Leng (調景嶺, also called Rennie's Mill). Despite the disappearance of landscapes and residents, the role that Tiu Keng Leng played as a spiritual fortress for those who were anti-communist and anti-Soviet Union, was recorded and preserved in writing. The best known literary work is the Halfway Down (《半下流社會》) by Zhao Zi Fan (趙滋蕃). When Halfway Down was published in 1953 by Asia Publishing House of Hong Kong (香港亞洲出版社), it coincided with the inception of the Lingmei Poetry Society(嶺梅詩社, “the Society”) started by Chen Han Shan (陳 漢山). Members of the Society published their poems in collections under the name of Lingmei Poetry (《嶺梅詩輯》). Unlike Halfway Down, little research has been done on the Lingmei Poetry Society. Studies on this society for classical poetry and the works it produced reveal literary activities at Tiu Keng Leng. Furthermore, since the establishment of the Society marked the beginning of post-war classical poetry for both Taiwan and Hong Kong, it deserves more attention. Therefore, this paper focus on the history of the Society, its relationship with post-war Taiwan classical poetry societies, the editing process of Lingmei Poetry, the identities and creativity of society members, and the ambience of the Society. It also discusses diasporas’ imagination of national identity, traumatic writing, and the emotional expression within the refugee community. In the “Little Taiwan” section of Lingmei Poetry, there are many descriptions and representations about Tiu Keng Leng’s refugee space, which help us to rethink the dialectical relations between these and the current politics of memory of Hong Kong.
