''Gengzi Guobian Tanci'' (; "''

Tanci Tanci is a narrative form of song in China that alternates between verse and prose.Wang, Lingzhen, p53 The literal name "plucking rhymes" refers to the singing of verse portions to a ''pipa''.Hu, Siao-chen, p539 A ''tanci'' is usually seven words ...

'', on the Boxer Rebellion of 1900" or "The ''tanci'' of the national calamity of 1900" or "The National Disturbances of the Year ''Gengzi''")PL, p
547
is a ''

tanci Tanci is a narrative form of song in China that alternates between verse and prose.Wang, Lingzhen, p53 The literal name "plucking rhymes" refers to the singing of verse portions to a ''pipa''.Hu, Siao-chen, p539 A ''tanci'' is usually seven words ...

'' written by

Li Baojia Li Baojia (), courtesy name (zi) Li Boyuan (; 1867-1906PL, p547), art name nickname (hao) Nanting tingzhang () was a Qing Dynasty-era Chinese author. He was a writer, essayist, ballad author, poet, calligrapher, and seal carver. He edited a fiction ...

(Li Boyuan), composed in 1902.

Idema Advanced Format (AF) is any disk sector format used to store data on magnetic disks in hard disk drives (HDDs) that exceeds 512, 520, or 528 bytes per sector, such as the 4096, 4112, 4160, and 4224-byte (4 KB) sectors of an Advanced Format ...

, p
387
Written immediately after the Boxer Rebellion, it was Li Baojia's first major literary work, serialized in the ''

Shanghai Shijie Fanhua Bao ''Shanghai Shijie Fanhua Bao'' () was a periodical published in Shanghai, China.Holoch, p. 76. The name is often shortened to ''Fanhua Bao'' or ''Shijie Fanhua Bao'' ("World Vanity Fair" or "The Glittering World").PL, p548 Li Baojia (Li Boyuan) ...

''. He wrote this ''tanci'' in order to remind the public of the event as a historical lesson, to show an accurate picture of the event, and so the memories of the event would remain fresh.PL, p
548
Li Baojia said that he chose the ''tanci'' form because it would be easy for the common people including women and children to understand the song and make them remember the incident it was named after.Wang, Lingzhen, p
54
It is an example of a ''tanci'' for a political and social purpose. The work portrays the Boxers as being foolish and fraudulent, and it portrays the officials who supported the Boxers as being crooked. That viewpoint is considered

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

in China as of 2010.

Wilt L. Idema Wilt L. Idema (born 12 November 1944) is a Dutch scholar and Sinologist who taught at University of Leiden and Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 16 ...

wrote in the article "Prosimetric and verse narrative" within '' The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature: From 1375'', that because of the portrayal of the Boxers and their supporters, ''Gengzi Guobian Tanci'' "is neglected by modern scholars".

References

* Idema, Wilt L. "Prosimetric and verse narrative." p. 343-214. In: Chang, Kang-i Sun and Stephen Owen (editors). '' The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature: From 1375''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2010. , 9780521855594. * PL, "Li Pao-chia." In: Nienhauser, William H. (editor). ''The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, Part 1''.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, 1986. , 9780253329837. * Wang, Lingzhen. ''Personal Matters: Women's Autobiographical Practice in Twentieth-century China''.

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

, 2004. , 9780804750059.

Notes

Chinese songs Boxer Rebellion 1902 songs Works by Li Baojia {{1900s-song-stub

See also

References

Notes