''Fu'' (), often translated "rhapsody" or "poetic exposition", is a form of Chinese
rhymed prose that was the dominant literary form during the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
(206AD220). ''Fu'' are intermediary pieces between
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...
and
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
in which a place, object, feeling, or other subject is described and rhapsodized in exhaustive detail and from as many angles as possible. Features characteristic of ''fu'' include alternating
rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
and
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
, varying line length, close
alliteration,
onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
, loose
parallelism, and extensive cataloging of their topics. ''Fu'' composers usually strove to use as wide a vocabulary as possible, and classical ''fu'' often contain many rare and archaic Chinese words. They were not sung like songs, but were recited or chanted.
The ''fu'' genre came into being around the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC and continued to be regularly used into the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
(9601279). ''Fu'' were used as grand praises for the imperial courts, palaces, and cities, but were also used to write "''fu'' on things", in which any place, object, or feeling was rhapsodized in exhaustive detail. The largest collections of historical ''fu'' are the
''Selections of Refined Literature ''(''Wen xuan''), the ''
Book of Han'', ''
New Songs from the Jade Terrace'', and official dynastic histories.
There is no counterpart or similar form to the ''fu'' genre in Western literature. During a large part of the 20th century, ''fu'' poetry was harshly criticized by Chinese scholars as excessively ornate, lacking in real emotion, and ambiguous in its moral messages. Because of these historical associations, scholarship on ''fu'' poetry in China almost ceased entirely between 1949 and the end of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...
in 1976. Since then, study of ''fu'' has gradually returned to its previous level.
History
Origins
The term "''fu''", when applied to Chinese literature, first appears in the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...
( 1046221), where it meant "to present", as in poetic recitations. It was also one of the three literary devices traditionally assigned to the songs of the
''Classic of Poetry'' (''Shijing''). Over the course of the late 1st millennium BC, ''fu'' became the name of poetic expositions in which an author or composer created a comprehensive exposition and performed it as a
rhapsody. Han dynasty historian
Ban Gu in the
"Monograph on Arts and Letters" defined ''fu'' as "to recite without singing" (''bù gē ér sòng'' ).
''Fu'' poetry is often viewed as a descendant of the
''Verses of Chu'' (''Chu ci'') songs combined with the rhetorical expositions of the
''Intrigues of the Warring States'' (''Zhanguo ce''). During the golden age of ''fu'' in the 2nd century BC, many of the greatest ''fu'' composers were from the southwestern area of
Shu (modern
Sichuan Province). A chapter of ''
Xunzi'' containing a series of riddles has been theorized to be the earliest known ''fu''. The earliest preserved and definitely datable ''fu'' is
Jia Yi's "''Fu'' on the Owl" (''Fúniǎo fù'' ), composed about 170. Jia's surviving writings mention an earlier ''fu'' he wrote upon his exile to
Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and th ...
which he modeled upon
Qu Yuan's
"Encountering Sorrow" (''Li Sao''), but it has not survived to the present.
Han dynasty
Western Han
''Fu'' achieved its greatest prominence during the early
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. Jia Yi's "''Fu'' on the Owl", written around 170 BC, was composed following on the third year of his exile to
Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and th ...
, and uses much of the style of the ''
Li Sao
"''Li Sao''" (; translation: "Encountering Sorrow") is an ancient Chinese poem from the anthology '' Chuci'' traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. ''Li Sao'' dates from the late 3rd century BCE, during the Chinese Warring States period.
Backgr ...
'' and other songs of the ''Verses of Chu''. "''Fu'' on the Owl", besides being the earliest known ''fu'', is unusual in the author's extended use of philosophical reflection upon his own situation in life.
Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign ...
ascended the throne in 141 BC, and his 54-year reign is considered the golden age of "grand ''fu''" (). Emperor Wu summoned famous ''fu'' writers to the imperial court in
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
, where many of them composed and presented ''fu'' to the entire court. The earliest grand ''fu'' of Emperor Wu's reign is "Seven Stimuli" (''Qī fā'' ), by Mei Sheng (; d. 140 BC). In "Seven Stimuli", Mei Sheng acts as a
Warring States-style travelling orator who tries to cure a
Chu
Chu or CHU may refer to:
Chinese history
* Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty
* Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu
* Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...
prince of an illness caused by overindulgence in sensual pleasures by pushing his senses to their limits with his ''fu'' descriptions.
Of all the authors from the golden age of "grand ''fu''" composition,
Sima Xiangru
Sima Xiangru ( , ; c. 179117BC) was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician who lived during the Western Han dynasty. Sima is a significant figure in the history of Classical Chinese poetry, and is generally regarded as the greatest of all c ...
is generally considered to be the greatest. A native of
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...
, he was traditionally said to have been summoned to the imperial court after Emperor Wu happened to personally read his "''Fu'' of Sir Vacuous" (''Zǐxū fù'' ), though this is almost certainly a story added later. After arriving in the capital around 136 BC, Sima Xiangru expanded his "''Fu'' of Sir Vacuous" into his ''
magnum opus'', "''Fu'' on the Imperial Park" (''Shànglín fù'' ), generally considered the most famous ''fu'' of all. This work, whose original title was probably "''Fu'' on the Excursion Hunt of the Son of Heaven" (''Tiānzǐ yóuliè fù'' ), is a grand celebration of the Emperor's personal hunting park east of Chang'an, and is famed for its rich number of rare and difficult words and characters. If not for the survival of Chinese scholar
Guo Pu's early 4th century CE annotations to "''Fu'' on the Imperial Park", much of its ancient and esoteric terminology would now be unintelligible. The following portion of the rhymed list of names of minerals, precious stones, and flora and fauna from the first half of the "''Fu'' on the Imperial Park" exemplifies much of the cataloging and rare terminology characteristic of grand ''fu'':
The grand ''fu'' of the Western Han dynasty were read and recited as celebrations of pure poetic delight, and were the first pieces of Chinese literature to fuse both unrestrained entertainment and moral admonitions together in single works. However, after the reign of Emperor Wu, his court culture began to be criticized as having placed undue emphasis on the grandiose language in ''fu'' and therefore having missed opportunities to encourage moral restraint. The most prominent critic of "grand ''fu''" was the other great ''fu'' writer of the Han dynasty:
Yang Xiong. As a youth, Yang was an admirer and imitator of Sima Xiangru's ''fu'', but later came to disapprove of grand ''fu''. Yang believed that the original purpose of ''fu'' was to "indirectly admonish" (''fèng'' ), but that the extended rhetorical arguments and complex vocabulary used in grand ''fu'' caused their hearers and readers to marvel at their aesthetic beauty while missing their moral messages. Yang juxtaposed early Han dynasty ''fu'' with the ''fu''-like expositions in the ''Classic of Poetry'', saying that while those in the ''Poetry'' provided moral standards, the ''fu'' of the Han poets "led to excess". While known as one of the ''fu'' masters of the Han dynasty, Yang's ''fu'' are generally known for their focus on admonishing readers and listeners to uphold moral values.
Eastern Han
Two of the most famous ''fu'' writers of the Eastern Han period were the polymaths
Zhang Heng and
Cai Yong. Among Zhang Heng's large corpus of writings are a significant number of ''fu'' poems, which are the first to have been written in the shorter style that became typical of post-Han ''fu''. Zhang's earliest known ''fu'' is "''Fu'' on the Hot Springs" (''Wēnquán fù'' ), which describes the
hot springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...
at Mount Li (modern
Huaqing Pool) which famously later became a favorite of
Imperial Concubine Yang during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
. "''Fu'' on the Two Metropolises" (''Èr jīng fù'' ) is considered Zhang's masterpiece. Zhang spent ten years gathering material for the ''fu'', a response to an earlier ''fu'' by
Ban Gu that is a poetic comparison between the two capitals of the Han dynasty: Luoyang and Chang'an. Zhang's ''fu'' is highly
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
and cleverly mocks many aspects of the Western Han period, including Emperor Wu himself The piece contains long passages colorfully describing life in the two capitals in great detail, including the entertainment areas.
Cai Yong, like Zhang Heng, was a prolific writer in addition to his mathematical, astronomical, and musical interests. In 159 CE, Cai was summoned to Chang'an to perform on the
guqin
The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...
for the imperial court, but became ill shortly before arriving and returned to his home. Cai composed a poetic record of his journey in "''Fu'' on Recounting a Journey" (''Shù xíng fù'' ), his most well-known ''fu''. In "''Fu'' on Recounting a Journey", Cai cites examples of treacherous and dishonest rulers and officials from Chinese history, then criticizes the
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2n ...
s of the capital for similar crimes.
A number of ''fu'' writers from the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries CE became considered great ''fu'' poets, and were noted for their descriptions of the chaos and destruction following the
collapse of the Han dynasty.
Wang Can, who lived as a refugee in Chu following the assassination of
Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25 ...
in 192 CE, wrote a famous ''fu'' entitled "''Fu'' on Climbing the Tower" (''Dènglóu fù'' ) in which Wang movingly describes climbing a tower near
Jingzhou and gazing longingly in the direction of his home in
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
. Poets often used subjects of descriptive ''fu'' poems to symbolize themselves, as in "''Fu'' on the Parrot" (''Yīngwǔ fù'' ), by
Mi Heng
Mi Heng ( 173198), courtesy name Zhengping, was an ancient Chinese writer and musician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He is best known for his ''fu'' rhapsody "''Fu'' on the Parrot", which is his only work that has survived to mod ...
, in which Mi uses a caged
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittaco ...
as an allegory for a scholar whose talents go unrecognized and whose inability to control his tongue results in his captivity. During the
Three Kingdoms period, the court of the warlord
Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
and his sons
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...
and
Cao Zhi
Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...
became a famous literary salon, and a number of ''fu'' poems from their court have survived to modern times.
Six Dynasties
During the
Six Dynasties period (220589), ''fu'' remained a major part of
contemporary poetry
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
, although
''shi'' poetry was gradually increasing in popularity. Six Dynasties ''fu'' are generally much shorter and less extravagant than Han dynasty ''fu'', likely due to a tradition of composing works entirely in parallel couplets that arose during the period. While lyrical ''fu'' and "''fu'' on things" had been starkly different forms in the Han dynasty, after the 2nd century CE the distinction mostly disappeared. Although the extravagant ''fu'' style of the Han mostly disappeared, "''fu'' on things" continued to be widely written.
Xie Lingyun is one of the best-known poets of the entire Six Dynasties period, second only to
Tao Yuanming. In contrast to his older contemporary Tao, Xie is known for the difficult language, dense allusions, and frequent parallelisms of his poetry. Xie's greatest ''fu'' is "''Fu'' on Dwelling in the Mountains" (''Shān jū fù'' ), a Han-style "grand ''fu''" describing Xie's personal estate that borrows its style from the famous "''Fu'' on the Imperial Park" by Sima Xiangru. Like classical Han ''fu'', the poem uses a large number of obscure and rare characters, but "''Fu'' on Dwelling in the Mountains" is unique in that Xie included his own annotations to the poem, without which the poem would be nearly incomprehensible.
During the
Liang dynasty
The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
(502587), ''fu'' continued to be a popular form of literature, though it began to merge with the popular five- and seven-syllable poetry forms, which completely eclipsed ''fu'' during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
. Some ''fu'' pieces, such as
Shen Yue's "''Fu'' on Dwelling in the Suburbs" (''Jiāo jū fù'' )an homage to Xie Lingyun's "''Fu'' on Dwelling in the Mountains"followed the traditional forms and subjects of classical ''fu'', but an increasing number did not. "''Fu'' on
Lotus
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
-picking" (''Cǎi lián fù'' ), by Xiao Gang (later
Emperor Jianwen of Liang), is a short, lyrical ''fu'' that mixes freely with popular lyric poetry, and portrayed southern China as a romantic land of pleasure and sensuality. Lotus-picking was an activity traditionally associated with peasant women, but in the early 5th century became a popular topic in ''fu'' and poetry.
Yu Xin is generally considered the last great ''fu'' poet of Chinese history. Yu, like Yan Zhitui, was born in the south but forced to relocate to northern China after the south's defeat, and spent the rest of his career writing of the loss of the south as a loss of an entire culture and way of life. Yu's most famous piece is "''Fu'' on Lamenting the South" (''Āi Jiāngnán fù'' ), in which he describes his life's experiences in the context of the larger context of the destruction of the south and its culture.
Tang and Song dynasties
The ''fu'' genre changed rapidly during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
(618907). During the early Tang, a new form of ''fu'' called "regulated ''fu''" (''lǜfù'' ) supplanted the original form. "Regulated ''fu''" had strict rules of form and expression, and required the use of consistent rhymes throughout each piece. Additionally, rules were created to govern the arrangement of tones in each poem, as the introduction of Buddhist texts written in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
and
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist '' Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Bud ...
had stimulated the Chinese to methodical study of their own language and the identification of the
four tones of Middle Chinese. Beginning in the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
, these "regulated ''fu''" were required for the composition sections of the
imperial examinations. Tang writers added new topics to the traditional subjects of ''fu'', such as purely moral topics or scenes from Chinese antiquity. The "parallel ''fu''" (''piānfù'' ) was another variant of the ''fu'' developed in the Tang, and was only used for
rhetorical compositions.
In 826, Tang poet
Du Mu's poem "''Fu'' on E-pang Palace" (''Ēpáng gōng fù'' ) laid the foundation for a new form of ''fu'' called "prose ''fu''" (''wénfù'' ), in which prose is freely rhymed. This form of ''fu'' became the dominant ''fu'' form during the late Tang and the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
(9601279). By the 9th and 10th centuries, traditional ''fu'' had become mainly historical pursuits, and were largely read and copied because of their inclusion on the imperial examinations.
Topics
"''Fu'' on things"
Between 130 and 100 BC, Emperor Wu greatly expanded China's territory into Central Asia,
northern Vietnam, and the
Korean Peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
through a series of military campaigns and invasions. As the expansion progressed, a large number of foreign plants, animals, goods, and rarities were brought to the imperial capital at Chang'an. Throughout the Han dynasty, court officials and poets often composed special ''fu'' called "''fu'' on things" (''yǒngwù fù'' ) on these new and unusual things, in which they described and catalogued extensively. These "''fu'' on things" became a major genre in ''fu'' poetry, and cover a vast number of instruments, objects, and phenomena.
Ban Zhao, one of the most famous female poets of Chinese history, wrote a well-known ''fu'' during the reign of
Emperor He of Han
Emperor He of Han (; 79 – 13 February 106) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty who ruled from 88 to 106. He was the 4th emperor of the Eastern Han.
Emperor He was the son of Emperor Zhang. He ascended the throne at the age of nine an ...
entitled "''Fu'' on the Great Bird" (''Dà què fù'' ), believed to be a description of an
ostrich brought to the Han court from
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Mede ...
around 110 CE. Scholar
Ma Rong wrote two well-known ''fu'' on ancient
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a ...
s: his "''Fu'' on
Chaupar" (''Chūpú fù'' ), which the Chinese believed to actually have been invented by
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...
after he departed west out of China, and his "''Fu'' on Encirclement Chess" (''Wěiqí fù'' ), one of the earliest known descriptions of the game
Go. Han dynasty librarian
Wang Yi, best known as the compiler of the received version of the ''
Verses of Chu'', wrote several object-description ''fu'' in the early 2nd century CE, such as "''Fu'' on the Lychee" (''Lìzhī fù'' ), the earliest known poetic description of the
lychee fruit.
The literary salon of
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...
's court produced a number of notable "''fu'' on things" in which a group of poets known as the
Seven Masters of the Jian'an period each composed their own version of the ''fu''. During this period, Cao Pi was once presented with a large
agate of unusual quality which Cao had made into a
bridle
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit.
Headgear ...
. Each of the men composed their own "''Fu'' on the Agate Bridle" (''Mǎnǎo lè fù'' ) for the occasion. Another object-description ''fu'' from the Cao court is "''Fu'' on the ''Musāragalva'' Bowl" (''Chēqú wǎn fù'' ), which was a bowl made of a coral- or shell-like substance from somewhere near India, which was then known as the "Western Regions".
One of the poet Shu Xi's (; 263–302 CE) ''fu'' has become well known in the history of
Chinese cuisine: his "''Fu'' on Pasta" (''Bǐng fù'' ) is an encyclopedic description of a wide variety of
dough-based foods, including
noodles,
steamed bun
''Mantou'' (), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Liang.
Description
''Mantou'' are ty ...
s, and
dumplings, which had not yet become the traditional Chinese foods they are in modern times.
Western Jin
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that ...
poet Fu Xian's "''Fu'' on Paper" (''Zhǐ fù'' ) is well known as an early description of writing paper, which had only
been invented about 150 years earlier.
Sociopolitical protest
Part of the legacy associated with the ''fu'' is its use as a form of sociopolitical protest, such as the theme of the loyal minister who has been unjustly exiled by the ruler or those in power at the court, rather than receiving the promotion and respect which he truly deserves. In the ''
Verses of Chu'', one of the works attributed to Qu Yuan is the "
Li Sao
"''Li Sao''" (; translation: "Encountering Sorrow") is an ancient Chinese poem from the anthology '' Chuci'' traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. ''Li Sao'' dates from the late 3rd century BCE, during the Chinese Warring States period.
Backgr ...
", which is one of the earliest known works in this tradition, both as ancestral to the ''fu'' as well as its incorporation of political criticism as a theme of poetry. The theme of unjust exile is related to the development of ''
Xiaoxiang poetry'', or the poetry stylistically or thematically based upon lamenting the unjust exile of the poet, either directly, or allegorically through the use of the persona of a friend or historical figure (a safer course in the case of a poet-official who might be punished for any too blatant criticism of the current emperor). During the Han Dynasty, along with the development of the ''fu'' stylistically, the idea that it incorporate political criticism through indirection and allegory also developed. Han Dynasty historian and author
Ban Gu in his ''
Book of Han'' pointedly refers to a ''fu'' by
Qu Yuan as a literary example of the use of the theme of the loyal minister who has been unjustly exiled, rather than receiving the promotion and respect which he truly deserves. As Hellmut Wilhelm puts it: "...the Han ''fu'' can easily be classified into a limited number of types. All types have one feature in common: almost without exception they can be and have been interpreted as voicing criticism—either of the ruler, the ruler's behavior, or certain political acts or plans of the ruler; or of the court officials or the ruler's favorites; or, generally, of the lack of discrimination in the employment of officials. The few examples that are positive in tone recommend the authors or their peers for employment, or even contain specific political suggestions. In short, almost all ''fu'' have a political purport, and, in addition, almost all of them deal with the relationship between the ruler and his officials." Seen in context, Ban Gu's discussion of Qu Yuan and the
Chu ''sao'' style is less to the point of the actual evolutionary path of the ''fu'' and more to the point that the main purpose of the ''fu'' is political and social criticism through poetic indirection: thus, in ''fu'', paradoxically, the "fantastic descriptions and an overflowing rhetoric...can be reduced to...restraint", as the sociopolitical criticism which was key to the ''fu'' was constrained within a very subtle, elaborately indirect, occasional, and allusive mode.
[Wilhelm (1967 ]957
Year 957 ( CMLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* September 6 – Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I, dies of a violent fever nea ...
: 312–314, quoting Sima Qian on Sima Xiangru.
Collections
''Fu'' pieces comprise the first main category in the ''
Wen Xuan (Selections of Refined Literature)'', an early Chinese literary anthology which is still extant. The ''Selections'' collects all known ''fu'' pieces from the early
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
to its compilation in the 6th century CE, during the
Liang dynasty
The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
; it has since been the traditional source for studying classical ''fu''.
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, during the reign of the
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...
, scholar Chen Yuanlong (16521736) compiled a collection of all known ''fu'' extant in his day, publishing his collection in 1706 as ''Collection of Fu Through the Ages'' (''Lìdài fù huì'' ). Chen's ''Collection'' in total contains 4,155 ''fu''.
See also
*
Classical Chinese poetry forms
*
Dong Zhongshu
*
Han poetry
Han poetry as a style of poetry resulted in significant poems which are still preserved today, and whose origins are associated with the Han dynasty era of China, 206 BC – 220 AD, including the Wang Mang interregnum (9–23 AD). The final years ...
Notes
References
Footnotes
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fu (Poetry)
Chinese poetry forms
Han dynasty poetry