Imitations of the Self: Jiang Yan and Chinese Poetics

Download or read book Imitations of the Self: Jiang Yan and Chinese Poetics written by Nicholas Morrow Williams and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-11-06 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imitations of the Self reevaluates the poetry of Jiang Yan (444–505), long underappreciated because of its pervasive reliance on allusion, by emphasizing the self-conscious artistry of imitation. In context of “imitation poetry,” the popular genre of the Six Dynasties era, Jiang’s work can be seen as the culmination of central trends in Six Dynasties poetry. His own life experiences are encoded in his poetry through an array of literary impersonations, reframed in traditional literary forms that imbue them with renewed significance. A close reading of Jiang Yan’s poetry demonstrates the need to apply models of interpretation to Chinese poetry that do justice to the multiplicity of authorial self-representation.