is a Japanese term for
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poetry ...
in general as well as the
Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...
written in Chinese by
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
poets. It literally means "
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 ...
". ''Kanshi'' was the most popular form of poetry during the early
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
in Japan among Japanese aristocrats and proliferated until the modern period.
History
The earliest collection of ''kanshi'' was the ''
Kaifūsō
The is the earliest extant poetry anthology of literary Sinitic ('' kanshi'') written by Japanese poets.
It was compiled in 751. In the brief introduction of the poets, the unknown writer seems sympathetic to Emperor Kōbun and his regents who ...
'', compiled in 751. The ''Kaifūsō'' was also one of the earliest works of Japanese literature, and according to Judith Rabinovitch and Timothy Bradstock, it was a collection of
occasional verse
Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage.
Term
As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the work ...
spanning from 672 to 751. The compiler of the ''Kaifūsō'' may have been Omi no Mifune,
Isonokami no Yakatsugu
was a Japanese noble and scholar of the late Nara period. He was the grandson of the '' sadaijin'' Isonokami no Maro and son of the ''chūnagon'' Isonokami no Otomaro. Yakatsugu himself reached the court rank of and the position of ''dainagon ...
, or Prince Shirakabe and Fujiwara no Satsuo. Three imperial collections of ''kanshi'' were compiled during the 9th century: the ''
Ryōunshū
The was the first imperially commissioned Japanese kanshi collection. It was compiled by Ono no Minemori, Sugawara no Kiyotomo and others under the command of Emperor Saga
was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial ...
'' of 814, the ''
Bunka Shūreishū
is the second imperially commissioned Japanese kanshi collection. The text was compiled by Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu, Sugawara no Kiyotomo, Nakao Ō, Isayama no Fumitugu, Shigeno no Sadanushi, and Kuwahara no Haraaka under the command of Emperor ...
'' of 818, and the ''
Keikokushū
The was the third imperially commissioned anthology of kanshi (poetry written in classical Chinese by Japanese poets). The text was compiled by Yoshimine no Yasuyo, Minabuchi no Hirosada, Sugawara no Kiyotomo, Yasuno no Fumitugu, Shigeno no ...
'' of 827. Indeed, ''kanshi'' was accorded a higher place than the native
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
form until the
Kokin Wakashū
The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the '' waka'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian period. An imperial anthology, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son Emperor Daigo () in abo ...
collection was published in 905. Even before the early
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, the word ''shi'' (詩) meaning "poetry" was automatically understood to refer to ''kanshi'', while the character 歌 (''ka''/''uta'') of ''
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
'' 和歌 referred to Japanese poetry proper.
The ''
Shi Jing
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
'', great Chinese poets of the
Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...
and
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, such as
Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
and others influenced the Japanese ''kanshi'' poets of the time, and when the Japanese met foreign diplomats of the time, they communicated in Chinese writing. Some went to China for study or diplomatic relations, and learned under
Chinese poets such as
Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...
and
Du Fu
Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Tang dynasty poet and politician. Along with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai (Li Po), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.Ebrey, 103. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as ...
. Important ''kanshi'' poets of the Heian period included
Kūkai
Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sec ...
, who learned to speak Chinese fluently during his time studying in China,
Sugawara no Michizane
was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology '' Hyakunin Isshu'', he is know ...
, who did not study in China, but had a good understanding of Chinese, and Shimada no Tadaomi, among many others. Emperor Saga was a notable ''kanshi'' poet, who even ordered the compilation of 3 anthologies of ''kanshi'', the first three imperial anthologies. Also noteworthy are private collections of Chinese poetry. One such collection combined both ''kanshi'' and ''waka'': cf. the ''
Wakan rōeishū''.
''Kanshi'' composition is not limited to Medieval Japan. During the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
and the early
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
many or 'men of letters' schooled in the philosophy of
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...
composed ''kanshi''. Despite the fascination of the Japanese with the European literature in the early 20th century, many of the "new literary giants" of the time, (e.g.
Natsume Sōseki
, born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', '' Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...
[Yiu, Angela. ''Chaos and Order in the Works of Natsume Sōseki.'' University of Hawaii Press, 1998. p182ff.]) composed ''kanshi''. Gen.
Maresuke Nogi
Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi (December 25, 1849September 13, 1912), was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from Chin ...
was a noted poet of ''kanshi'' poems. During World War II, Japanese militarist propaganda encouraged study and composition of ''kanshi'' because it was considered to boost the "martial spirit". After 1945, study of ''kanshi'' steadily declined as the school system was changed by the
American Occupation policies. Nowadays, ''kanshi'' is usually studied in the upper-level
kanbun
A is a form of Classical Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period to the mid-20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for official and intellectual works throughout the period. ...
classes in high schools, albeit only in passing.
Shigin
is a performance of reciting a Japanese poem or a Chinese poem read in Japanese, each poem ( ''shi'') usually chanted ( ''gin'') by an individual or in a group. Reciting can be done loudly before a large audience, softly to a few friends, or ...
hobbyists maintain the chanting tradition, but they are few and far between.
Forms
''Kanshi'' had multiple forms, but most notable were in 5 or
7 syllables in 4 or 8 lines. The Japanese poets of ''kanshi'' were skilled in the strict rhyming rules of ''
lüshi'' 律詩 and ''
jueju
''Jueju'' (), or Chinese quatrain, is a type of '' jintishi'' ("modern form poetry") that grew popular among Chinese poets in the Tang Dynasty (618–907), although traceable to earlier origins. ''Jueju'' poems are always quatrains; or, more s ...
'' 絕句, the two forms of the regulated verse that had gained most popularity during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
in China.
See also
*''
Haku Rakuten
is a Noh play in the first category by Zeami Motokiyo, about the Japanese god of poetry repelling the Chinese poet Bai Juyi (or Po Chü-i) from Japan 500 years earlier, in defiance of the (perceived) challenge from China to the autonomy of J ...
''
References
External links
A general introductionto
Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...
.
{{Authority control
Poetic forms
*
ja:漢詩#日本の漢詩