THE POETRY OF YANG WAN-LI by JERRY D. SCHMIDT B.A., U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , B e r k e l e y , 1968 M.A., U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1970 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY i n the Department of A s i a n S t u d i e s We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August, 1975 In presenting th i s thes is in p a r t i a l fu l f i lment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the Univers i ty of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the L i b r a r y sha l l make it f ree ly ava i lab le for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of th is thesis for s cho lar ly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representat ives . It is understood that copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of th i s thes is for f i n a n c i a l gain sha l l not be allowed without my writ ten pe rm i ss i on . Department o f A s i a n S t u d i e s The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date September 9, 1975 A b s t r a c t Yang Wan-li (1127-1206) i s regarded by Chinese l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s and c r i t i c s as one of the t h r e e most o u t s t a n d i n g s h l h poets of the t w e l f t h c e n t u r y . The present study attempts to e x p l o r e Yang Wan-li's unique c o n t r i b u t i o n to Chinese l i t e r a -t u r e l a r g e l y by u t i l i z i n g the t o o l s of t r a d i t i o n a l Chinese l i t -e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , r a t h e r than emphasizing European methodology as i s the case w i t h most s t u d i e s on non-European l i t e r a t u r e done by Westerners. I b egin w i t h an e x t e n s i v e account of Yang Wan-li's l i f e , p a ying p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n to the i n f l u e n c e t h a t h i s p o l i t i c a l c a r e e r had upon h i s l i t e r a r y works. However, the biography i s not merely l i m i t e d to a study of Yang's o f f i c i a l l i f e , f o r the very p e r s o n a l nature of h i s poetry a l l o w s us to e x p l o r e the i n n e r workings of h i s mind, and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , the important r o l e played by Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism i n d e t e r m i n i n g h i s o u t l o o k on l i f e and h i s a t t i t u d e s toward l i t e r a t u r e . The next major s e c t i o n f o c u s e s on Yang's theory of l i t -e r a t u r e and how h i s Ch'an background l e d him to view the w r i t i n g of poetry as an i n t u i t i o n a l process which r e s u l t s from sudden enlightenment. Such a theory caused him to r e j e c t t h o u g h t l e s s i m i t a t i o n of e a r l i e r poets and to advance the i d e a of n a t u r a l , unadorned v e r s e . The most concrete e x p r e s s i o n of Yang's theory of poetry i s h i s " l i v e method" ( h u o - f a ) . a p o e t i c method which 11 i n c l u d e s such elements as iconoclasm, i l l u s l o n i s t i c and p a r a -d o x i c a l language, s u r p r i s e and sudden enlightenment, humor, and e x t e n s i v e use of c o l l o q u i a l language. A f t e r t h i s g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n of Yang's l i t e r a r y theory and p r a c t i c e , I proceed to explore some of the major themes of Yang Wan-li's p o e t r y , f i n d i n g t h a t a c o n s i d e r a b l e body of h i s poetry i s concerned w i t h the Buddhist theme of i l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y . However, Yang's c a r e e r as a C o n f u c i a n b u r e a u c r a t a l s o was of the utmost importance f o r h i s p o e t r y , and he f r e q u e n t l y d e s c r i b e s h i s f a m i l y and h i s g e n e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h s o c i e t y . He i s p a r t i c u l a r l y o r i g i n a l i n h i s verse of s o c i a l c r i t i c i s m and the l i f e of the lower c l a s s e s . However, the most common s u b j e c t of Yang's l i t e r a r y c r e a -t i o n s i s nature, a tendency which i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the e s t h e -t i c i n t e r e s t s of both p a i n t e r s and poets of h i s p e r i o d . Yang's nature poetry has g r e a t s i m i l a r i t i e s to the v i s u a l a r t of h i s contemporaries', and the s t r i k i n g i n n o v a t i o n s i n Yang's nature poetry are e a s i l y compared to contemporary changes i n Chinese p a i n t i n g . Yang's landscape p o e t r y , In p a r t i c u l a r , i s found t o be i n t i m a t e l y connected w i t h Ch'an Buddhist m y s t i c i s m . H i s p o e t r y on p l a n t s and animals, l i k e the p a i n t i n g of the p e r i o d , i s i n harmony w i t h the s c i e n t i f i c , a n a l y t i c a l t e n d e n c i e s of the c u l t u r e as a whole. I conclude w i t h a study of Yang Wan-li's p o s i t i o n i n Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . The i n f l u e n c e s of e a r l i e r poets on h i s v e r s e a r e analyzed and the t r a d i t i o n a l o p i n i o n s c o n c e r n i n g the e v o l u t i o n of h i s s t y l e are found to be erroneous. Yang's poetry I i i i s compared and c o n t r a s t e d with the work of the two most prominent s h i h poets of h i s p e r i o d , Pan Ch'eng-ta and Lu Yu. F i n a l l y , I g i v e a b r i e f account of Yang Wan-li's i n f l u e n c e on l a t e r poets and c r i t i c s . i v Table of Contents Introduction 1 Biography 5 Yang Wan-li's Theory of Poetry 134 The Live Method 1 . Background 172 2. Unconventionality . 178 3. I l l u s i o n i s t i c and Paradoxical Language 186 4. Surprise and Sudden Enlightenment 196 5. Humor 205 6. Colloquial Language 212 Major Themes 1. I l l u s i o n and Reality . 217 2. The World of Man a. Family and Children 229 b. The Scholar Poet's Place i n Society . . 243 c. S o c i a l C r i t i c i s m and Peasant L i f e . . . 263 3. The World of Nature a. Nature i n General 282 b. Landscape 294 c. Animals 330 d. Plants 349 v 4. The Transcendance of Sorrow 360 Influence 1 . Yang's Masters 382 2. Yang and His Contemporaries 407 3. Posterity 429 Bibliography 434 Abbreviations 453 v i I n t r o d u c t i o n The poetry of Yang Wan-li belongs to an age which has been almost t o t a l l y n e g l e c t e d by Western h i s t o r i a n s of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . Although a reasonable amount of m a t e r i a l has been p u b l i s h e d concerning Chinese l i t e r a t u r e b efore the t e n t h cen-t u r y , post-T'ang l i t e r a t u r e i n the c l a s s i c a l language i s almost a t o t a l blank. The tremendous body of m a t e r i a l i s no doubt one of the reasons f o r t h i s n e g l e c t , but the g e n e r a l l y a n t i q u a r i a n i n t e r e s t s of many s c h o l a r s of c l a s s i c a l Chinese i s probably the most important f a c t o r . However, as r e s e a r c h on l a t e r l i t e r a t u r e p r o g r e s s e s , Western s c h o l a r s w i l l l i k e l y d i s c o v e r t h a t the l a t e r p e r i o d s of Chinese l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y are j u s t as r i c h as a n c i e n t and e a r l y medieval times. This d i s s e r t a t i o n i s an attempt to f i l l i n one of the many gaps i n our knowledge of the h i s t o r y of Chinese poetry, the southern Sung dynasty d u r i n g the t w e l f t h c e n t u r y . The t w e l f t h century, i n which Yang Wan-li l i v e d , was one of the most p r o d u c t i v e p e r i o d s i n Chinese c u l t u r e . In p h i l o s -ophy Chu H s i was completing h i s s y n t h e s i s of neo-Confucianism, which would exert a s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e on Chinese thought down i n t o modern times. The a r t s of Chinese p a i n t i n g and c a l l i -graphy had entered one of t h e i r most g l o r i o u s ages, and the ceramics of the Chinese were p r i z e d and i m i t a t e d a l l over A s i a . Poetry witnessed the p e r f e c t i o n of a new form, the t z ' u , and 1 2 c o l l o q u i a l drama and s h o r t s t o r i e s were g r a d u a l l y e v o l v i n g . A l l of these i n n o v a t i o n s i n the c u l t u r a l f i e l d were supported by an unprecedented economic growth and a s t a r t l i n g advance i n s c i e n c e and technology. Yang Wan-li's poetry d i d not develop i n i s o l a t i o n from t h i s new c u l t u r e , and throughout the d i s s e r t a t i o n we have a t -tempted to r e l a t e Yang's h i g h l y o r i g i n a l poetry to the i n -n o v a t i v e s p i r i t of the age i n which he was l i v i n g . Although many modern c r i t i c s tend to minimize the c u l t u r a l m i l i e u of an a u t h o r i n f a v o r of a more f o r m a l l s t i c , a n a l y t i c a l approach to p o e t r y , we have f e l t t h a t Yang Wan-li's works are best under-stood by r e f e r e n c e to the i n t e l l e c t u a l and a r t i s t i c background of h i s age. The poet of Yang Wan-li's age was not j u s t a poet, f o r he f r e q u e n t l y combined h i s l i t e r a r y p u r s u i t s w i t h an a c t i v e p o l i t i c a l c a r e e r , s p e c u l a t i o n i n the realms of r e l i g i o n and p h i l o s o p h y , c r e a t i o n of works i n the v i s u a l a r t s , and, i n some cases, o r i g i n a l r e s e a r c h i n the n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s or medicine. To study the poetry of such men i n i s o l a t i o n from other areas of Chinese c u l t u r e seems absurd i n the extreme. Not only have we t r e a t e d Yang Wan-li's poetry i n i t s r e -l a t i o n s h i p to other c u l t u r a l phenomena of h i s age, but our gen-e r a l approach to Yang's works has been deeply i n f l u e n c e d by the methods u t i l i z e d by Chinese l i t e r a r y c r i t i c s . The reader w i l l f i n d l i t t l e use made of the t r a d i t i o n a l t o o l s of the Western l i t e r a r y c r i t i c , because we f e l t that these t o o l s a r e , per-haps, not as h e l p f u l f o r the study of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e as the methodology and terminology employed by c r i t i c s of Yang Wan-li's 3 own l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n . Thus, the reader w i l l d i s c o v e r t h a t we c o n t i n u a l l y employ the terminology of Ch'an Buddhism to ana-l y z e Tang's works, not only because Yang was deeply i n f l u e n c e d by t h a t p h i l o s o p h y but a l s o because most of the c r i t i c s of h i s age u t i l i z e d Ch'an language i n t h e i r own w r i t i n g s . We have found a study of Yang's " l i v e method" more f r u i t f u l than, say, an a n a l y s i s of h i s p o e t i c "imagery." We do not wish to negate the u s e f u l n e s s of Western l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m but only to p o i n t out that the n a t i v e Chinese t r a d i t i o n i s of g r e a t u t i l i t y i n s t u d y i n g Chinese l i t e r a t u r e , and, indeed, might h e l p i n the study of Western l i t e r a t u r e j u s t as Western methodology has proved so v a l u a b l e to r e s e a r c h i n c e r t a i n areas of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . Anyone wis h i n g to understand Yang Wan-li's poetry owes a g r e a t debt to the r e s e a r c h done by Chou Ju-ch'ang In t h i s f i e l d . A l t h o u g h h i s book Yang Wan-li Hsftan C h i ^ ^ ^ i s only meant as a s e l e c t i o n of h i s works f o r readers who are be-g i n n i n g the study of c l a s s i c a l Chinese poetry, i t c o n t a i n s a huge amount of v a l u a b l e m a t e r i a l f o r the s e r i o u s s c h o l a r . Chou's i n t r o d u c t o r y chapter to Yang's poetry i s somewhat l i m i t e d due to the i d e o l o g i c a l problems of modern China, but h i s d i s -c u s s i o n of the " l i v e method" was an i n s p i r a t i o n to f u r t h e r study of t h i s problem. His f o o t n o t e s to the poems s e l e c t e d are a model f o r o t h e r s c h o l a r s to i m i t a t e , and we have u s u a l l y f o l -lowed h i s e l u c i d a t i o n of d i f f i c u l t p o i n t s i n the poems such as l i t e r a r y a l l u s i o n s or unusual language. Not only i s h i s com-mentary on i n d i v i d u a l poems of the g r e a t e s t a i d to the reader but h i s standards of s e l e c t i o n are very h i g h . Although we 4 have t r a n s l a t e d many poems by Yang Wan-li not contained i n Chou's s e l e c t i o n , h i s book c o n t a i n s most of Yang Wan-li's best poetry i n each major category, and, hence, the m a j o r i t y of poems t r a n s l a t e d here a l s o appear i n Chou's work. The major d e f e c t of Chou Ju-ch'ang's book i s t h a t the " M a r x i s t " approach he f r e q u e n t l y uses obscures the s t r o n g i n -f l u e n c e t h a t Ch'an Buddhism had on Yang Wan-li's p o e t r y . How-ever, i t i s most l i k e l y t h a t Chou's s i l e n c e on Yang's i n t e r e s t i n Ch'an was a r e s u l t of the p o l i t i c a l p r e s s u r e s t h a t bear on a l l i n t e l l e c t u a l s i n modern China. Chou had done e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h on Chinese Buddhist philosophy as h i s f o o t n o t e s to i n d i v i d u a l poems a t t e s t , but, perhaps, he f e l t i t more prudent to g l o s s over Yang's Buddhism i n order not to offend the gener-a l l y a n t i - B u d d h i s t sentiments of the present government. E v i -d e n t l y h i s e f f o r t s were not completely s u c c e s s f u l , f o r the most re c e n t r e p r i n t of h i s work omits h i s i n t r o d u c t o r y essay on Yang Wan-li's poetry e n t i r e l y . Biography Yang W a n - l i ^ ^ ^ , whose s t y l e was T ' i n g - h s i u ^ ^ ., was born i n C h i - s h u i ^ ^ of modern K l a n g s l p r o v i n c e i n the y e a r 1127, the f i r s t y e a r of the ; r e i g n of the f i r s t s outhern Sung emperor Kao Tsung,^ % Many of the g r e a t -est poets of the southern Sung were born a t about the same time. Thus, Yang was two years j u n i o r t o Lu Y u ^ ^ ^ a n d one ye a r j u n i o r to Pan Ch*e n g - t a r ^ ^ A * Al t h o u g h Yang's f a m i l y was not of peasant s t o c k , h i s background was q u i t e humble, f o r none of h i s a n c e s t o r s had occupied more than the lowest l o c a l p o s i t i o n s . The years immediately p r e c e d i n g Yang's b i r t h had seen p o l i t i c a l events which had d i s a s t r o u s e f f e c t s on the next two hundred years of Chinese h i s t o r y . From a r e l a t i v e l y s t r o n g be-g i n n i n g under the emperors T ' a i T s u A M (960-976) and T ' a i TsungA ^ (976-998), the Sung dynasty had weathered a s e r i e s of shocks from the L i a o dynasty of the K h i t a n T a r t a r s and a l o n g drawn out co n t e s t of par t y s t r i f e between reformers and c o n s e r v a t i v e s . The l a s t e f f e c t i v e emperor on the n o r t h e r n Sung throne, Hui Isung.f|^ ^ (1101-1126), was a f i n e p a i n t e r noted f o r h i s patronage of the a r t s , but i n the p o l i t i c a l sphere he was t o t a l l y i n e p t . K u i Tsung spent huge sums of money con-s t r u c t i n g gardens around the c a p i t a l c i t y l o c a t e d i n modern K'ai-feng i^] 5^ • The high taxation which the court luxury necessitated was p a r t i a l l y responsible f o r a series of popular uprisings, the most serious of which was the revolt of Pang La ^ , a Manlchaean who vowed to k i l l the corrupt o f f i c i a l i n charge of Hui Tsung's gardening p r o j e c t s . 2 Luckily f o r the Sung empire, the Liao r u l i n g house had also reached i t s nadir at t h i s time. The l a s t emperor of the house, T'ien Tso T i ^ ^ ^ (1101-1125), was as addicted to falconry as Hui Tsung was to gardening and sent embassies to foreig n countries each year to buy prized falcons.^ Although falconry was possibly a more masculine sport than gardening, the Khitan had long ago l o s t the martial vigour which had en-abled them to attack the Sung with impunity i n e a r l i e r years. Into the power vacuum which resulted, stepped a new Tartar race, the Ju-chen-^- , who were not yet corrupted by the arts of c i v i l i z a t i o n . In the year 1114 the leader of the Wan-yen ^ clan, A-ku-ta jp*j v j | ^ , attacked the Liao em-p i r e , and when the Liao attempted to punish him, they were badly beaten.^ The following year A-ku-ta declared himself emperor of the new Chin ^ dynasty, and Chinese historians have given him the t i t l e T'ai T s u ^ . In 1120 T'ai Tsu proved his claim to imperial t i t l e by defeating the Liao again and occupying t h e i r northernmost c a p i t a l c i t y Shang-ching Upon hearing of the Chin v i c t o r i e s over the Liao dynasty, Hui Tsung was overjoyed. Numerous attempts by the Sung army to recapture t e r r i t o r y l o s t to the Liao had f a i l e d , but now 7 the Sung government had a new means of increasing i t s land with l i t t l e expense and e f f o r t . The two most powerful i n d i v i d u a l s i n the Sung government at the time were the eunuch T'ung Kuan and the man he had recommended to the emperor, the prime peror to form an a l l i a n c e with the Chin against the Liao, and so already i n 1118 ambassadors had been dispatched by the sea route to the north.°" In 1120 more ambassadors were sent, and they succeeded i n concluding a treaty with the Chin. Accord-ing to the terms of the treaty, the Chin were supposed to attack the Liao middle c a p i t a l of Chung-chlng , while the Sung would assault Yen-ching jji*. "J^ . If the armies suc-ceeded i n overthrowing the Liao, the Sung government would be s a t i s f i e d with the return of certain Chinese t e r r i t o r i e s l o s t to the Khitan during the Five Dynasties and would pay the yearly t r i b u t e , which they had given the Liao, to the Chin.7 The Chin Tartars were i n t e l l i g e n t enough to scent a good deal, and i n the following year they began t h e i r attack on the Liao. In 1122 they were able to take the middle c a p i t a l Chung-ching, f o r c i n g the emperor T'len Tso T i to take f l i g h t . ^ Mean-while , Hui Tsung had sent the eunuch T'ung Kuan to attack Yen-ching, but the Sung army was so feebly led that the campaign ended i n t o t a l f a i l u r e , 9 and a second campaign l a t e r that year was even more disastrous, r e s u l t i n g i n thousands of casualties and a disorderly r e t r e a t . 1 0 The Chin armies did not give the Chinese another chance to blunder, f o r they soon occupied Yen-ching with l i t t l e t r o u b l e . 1 1 minister Ts'ai Ching ^ vj Both of these men urged the em-8 By t h i s time the Chin Tartars were f u l l y aware of the com-plete impotence of the Sung m i l i t a r y . Nevertheless, they ob-served the treaty with the Sung government at le a s t on the sur-face and promptly turned over the land promised e a r l i e r . Peace was maintained f o r a couple of years, but the Chin found a casus b e l l i when a former Liao general surrendered to the Sung and used his border post as a base f o r attacks against the C h i n . , c Although the Sung government executed him when the Chin complained, the Chin launched t h e i r attack i n 112 5 . They found many Chinese m i l i t a r y men w i l l i n g to cooperate with them, and as t h e i r armies neared K'ai-feng, Hui Tsung abdicated the throne to h i s crown prince, who was given the t i t l e Ch'ln Tsung $X ^ , 1 3 In 1126 the Chin armies surrounded the c a p i t a l K'ai-feng, and when i t became apparent that no assistance was coming from other Sung armies, the Sung government was forced to conclude a very shameful peace with the Chin. In order to buy off the Chin army, the Sung had to make an immediate present of two hundred thousand taels of gold and four m i l l i o n taels of s i l v e r . 1 ^ Nevertheless, once the Chin army had l i f t e d i t s siege, another Chin army appeared and demanded more ransom. The Chinese government was furious and declared the peace treaty i n e f f e c t i v e . In the eighth month of 1126, the Chin sent one more army, and in the eleventh month, the army cap-tured K'ai-feng c i t y . 1 5 The emperor Ch'ln Tsung personally went to the Chin camp to beg f o r mercy, but the Chin kept him prisoner, and i n the second month of 1127 the people of K'ai-9 f e n g p a i d an a d d i t i o n a l ransom of over seventy thousand t a e l s of gold and a m i l l i o n t a e l s of s i l v e r . 1 ^ However, the Chin were s t i l l d i s s a t i s f i e d , and i n the f o u r t h month they f o r c e d the returned emperor Hui Tsung, Ch'in Tsung, the empress, and about three thousand other i m p e r i a l r e l a t i v e s and h i g h o f f i -c i a l s to r e t u r n w i t h t h e i r army back n o r t h . The n o r t h e r n Sung empire had ceased to e x i s t . 1 7 The Chin q u i c k l y overran n o r t h China and set up a Chinese o f f i c i a l as puppet emperor. However, i n the same year the n i n t h son of Hui Tsung ascended the i m p e r i a l throne i n Nanking, thereby i n a u g u r a t i n g the southern Sung dynasty. I t was i n t h i s t r o u b l e d year t h a t Yang Wan-li was born. Although we know very l i t t l e about Yang's youth, we can be q u i t e c e r -t a i n t h a t the f a m i l y was l i t t l e t r o u b l e d by the d i s o r d e r s of the p e r i o d except i n d i r e c t l y due to tax i n c r e a s e s and f i s c a l d i s o r d e r . K i a n g s i l a y f a r from the main t h e a t e r of b a t t l e , and Yang d i d not experience the b i t t e r n e s s of e x i l e from h i s n a t i v e v i l l a g e as H s i n C h ' i - c h i ^ ^ ^ d i d , 1 8 nor d i d he s u f f e r the l i f e of a refugee as Lu Yu d i d . Lu Yu was born on the banks of the Huai R i v e r i n Kiangsu p r o v i n c e , which was one of the main b a t t l e f i e l d s , and he summed up h i s ch i l d h o o d ex-p e r i e n c e s years l a t e r when he wrote, "When a c h i l d , I d i e d ten thousand times, escaping from the b a r b a r i a n s o l d i e r s . " 1 9 A l -though Yang Wan-li was reared i n poverty, he d i d not s u f f e r the trauma of warfare, a f a c t which p a r t i a l l y e x p l a i n s h i s h a p p i e r outlook on l i f e when compared to many of h i s contem-p o r a r i e s . 10 Although Yang's f a m i l y was f a i r l y poor, he claimed t h a t t h e r e had been o f f i c i a l s i n the Yang c l a n p r e v i o u s l y . There-f o r e , he pursued a c l a s s i c a l e ducation from an e a r l y age, and i n the year 1154 he had h i s f i r s t success i n o f f i c i a l l i f e , o b t a i n i n g h i s c h l n - s h i h degree a t the r e l a t i v e l y young age of twenty-eight. The famed poet Pan Ch'eng-ta passed the c h l n -s h i h i n the same year, and i t i s q u i t e l i k e l y that they be-came f r i e n d s a t t h i s t i m e . 2 0 Although they were never a b l e to spend an extended i n t e r v a l of time together, they were q u i t e c l o s e and exchanged a l a r g e number of poems i n l a t e r y e a r s . As was the custom, Yang was g i v e n a p o s i t i o n i n l o c a l govern-ment soon a f t e r he passed, and h i s three year term as Finance I n s p e c t o r t] / a t K a n - c h o u ^ V ^ j was h i s f i r s t lengthy stay away from h i s f a m i l y . 2 1 Even so, Kan-chou was not more than a hundred m i l e s south of C h i - s h u i , so he could have f r e q u e n t l y gone home to see h i s p a r e n t s . A f t e r the customary three years of s e r v i c e a t Kan-chou, Yang was t r a n s f e r r e d to the post of A s s i s t a n t Sub-prefect of L i n g - l i n g ^ ? 4 <^ , which was under the j u r i s d i c t i o n of Yung-chou ^ ->fl-J . T h i s was a s l i g h t l y h i g h e r post than the former one, but i t was no sudden r i s e to fame and f o r t u n e , and now Yang was s t a t i o n e d f a r away from h i s f a m i l y , i n south-western Hunan p r o v i n c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , the three years that Yang spent a t L i n g - l i n g were among the most s i g n i f i c a n t i n h i s p o l i t i c a l and l i t e r a r y c a r e e r , so they deserve our f u l l a t t e n -t i o n . The most important event i n Yang's l i f e d u r i n g the year 1161 was h i s meeting w i t h the famous Sung g e n e r a l Chang Chun 11 ^ - j ^ , but before we can f u l l y understand the impact t h i s meeting had on Yang, we must review the early history of the southern Sung and explain how Chang Chun had ended up i n re-pp mote Hunan by 1161. Although Kao Tsung had come to the throne i n 1127, the Chin Tartars had not l e t him rest e a s i l y . While s t i l l at Nanking, Kao Tsung appointed L i Kangy^ his prime minis-te r , and L i soon was making every e f f o r t f o r a recovery with a f a i r degree of success due to the a c t i v i t i e s of the Sung gen-e r a l Tsung Tse , who was based near the former c a p i t a l K'ai-feng. Unfortunately Kao Tsung f e l l under the influence of a group of o f f i c i a l s who counselled appeasement, and a f t e r L i Kang resigned, the emperor moved his residence to Yang-chou ^"j This was the signal f o r renewed assaults by the Chin armies. The p a c i f i s t s hampered Tsung Tse's e f f o r t s at defence, and i n early 1129, his position became so precarious that Kao Tsung was forced to retreat from Yang-chou across the Yangtze River to Hang-choujj^J-y4j , where he prepared to set P A up h i s c a p i t a l . But h i s actions were premature, f o r the Chin continued t h e i r assault, and i n the twelfth month they took Hang-chou and l a i d i t waste. 25 Kao Tsung escaped to Ming-chou -Jl-J * n Ghekiang but was pressed so hard he had to es-cape by sea to Wen-cho u -y§g_,il'J i n southern Chekiang province. The Sung dynasty seemed to be drawing to a close. Kao Tsung was saved with a series of b r i l l i a n t m i l i t a r y maneuvers by a group of new generals who appeared just i n time. In 1130 Han Shih-chung Jj^ j^, met the Chin army and navy 12 i n a b a t t l e on the Yangtze i n which he attempted to stop the Chin from crossing back north. Although Han was defeated, he greatly increased Chin fears of being cut off from t h e i r supply l i n e s i f they should venture too f a r south of the Yangtze. 2? Meanwhile, the renowned Chinese general Ytteh F e l ^ ^ had r i s e n to prominence, and when the enemy's armies came south i n 1:133 and 1134, the Chinese successfully held them back. In 1135 the now confident Chinese generals petitioned Kao Tsung to renew the attack against the north, but Kao Tsung hesitated.2® Perhaps, the reason Kao Tsung was not very interested i n recapturing north China was that such a success would almost inevitably r e s u l t i n the return of his father Hui Tsung and the previous emperor Ch'in Tsung, who were now captives i n the north. There obviously could not be three emperors of China at the same time, and so Kao Tsung was w i l l i n g to forget the Chin's i n s u l t to h i s f i l i a l piety as long as they kept Hui Tsung and Ch'in Tsung f a r away from the Chinese c a p i t a l . Such considerations may explain why Kao Tsung easily f e l l under the s p e l l of the p a c i f i s t prime minister Ch'in K u e i ^ - , who advised a peace treaty with the Chin. Nonetheless, Kao Tsung had need of his new generals a while longer, because widespread banditry plagued the govern-ment south of the Yangtze. Ylieh Pel, Han Shih-chung, and Chang Chttn a l l played an important role i n suppressing these bandits i n the hope that peace i n the south would lay the foundation f o r the recovery of the north. But the most s t a r t l i n g develop-ment was Ytteh Pel's counter-attack against the Chin which 13 followed upon the anti-bandit campaign. In 1140 Ytteh Pel pushed north defeating enemy army a f t e r army and eventually camped within range of the northern Sung c a p i t a l K'ai-feng. 2^ Yet i n the same year Ch'in Kuei commanded Yffeh to give up the campaign and return south.^° In 1141 both Ytteh Pel and Han Shih-chung were ordered to the c a p i t a l , where Ytteh Pel was murdered at the i n s t i g a t i o n of the prime minister Ch'in Kuei.^ 1 In the same year Ch'in Kuei encouraged Kao Tsung to submit to one of the most humiliating t r e a t i e s i n Chinese h i s t o r y . Be-sides requiring the Sung government to pay a huge indemnity i n s i l k cloth to the Chin every year, the treaty recognized the Chin occupation of north China and put the Sung i n the position of a vassal state with regard to the Chin.^ 2 During the f i f t e e n odd years of Ch'in Kuei's control of the Sung government, most of the famous generals were elimin-ated one by one, and the war party among the o f f i c i a l s was rapidly l i q u i d a t e d . In f a c t , the only general of prominence who remained a f t e r these purges was Chang Chtin, and he was a l -ready an old man when Yang met him i n 1161 . Chang had probably been spared because he was not among the most prominent and aggressive of the Sung generals, but even so he had met with d i f f i c u l t times under the reign of Kao Tsung. When he was about to return to his native Szechwan to go into mourning f o r his mother, there was an inauspicious a s t r o l o g i c a l configura-t i o n , and the government asked f o r opinions from o f f i c i a l s . Chang Chtin said that although there had been peace with the Chin f o r a few years, the enemy would soon seek an excuse to 1 4 a t t a c k the Sung, and the government should prepare immediately. When Chang's o p i n i o n s became known to the appeasement p a r t y , they a t t a c k e d him v i o l e n t l y , c l a i m i n g he was insane to t h i n k such preposterous thoughts. In a d d i t i o n , they maintained that i t would be dangerous to all o w Chang to r e t u r n to Szechwan, which was so f a r away from the c e n t r a l government t h a t he might cause d i s o r d e r by e x p r e s s i n g h i s d i s a p p r o v a l of c u r r e n t p o l i c y . T herefore, i t was decided that he should be sent to Yung-chou i n Hunan p r o v i n c e , where he could mourn h i s mother f o r the r e q u i r e d three years and be kept away from h i s sup-p o r t e r s i n Szechwan. When Yang Wan-li heard t h a t such a famous man was l i v i n g so near to him, he was eager* to meet Chang, f o r alth o u g h the o l d g e n e r a l was te m p o r a r i l y out of f a v o r , he was s t i l l i n -f l u e n t i a l and could be of use to a young o f f i c i a l such as Yang. However, Chang was not an easy man to v i s i t , because s i n c e h i s v i r t u a l e x i l e , he had cl o s e d h i s door and refused a l l i n t e r -course w i t h the o u t s i d e world. In f a c t , Yang f a i l e d to see Chang a f t e r three p e r s o n a l v i s i t s to the ge n e r a l ' s house, and only a f t e r Yang wrote him a number of l e t t e r s d i d Chang consent to see t h i s young l o c a l o f f i c i a l . Yang was extremely impressed by the man whom he saw, and he probably h e l d Chang Chttn i n h i g h e r r e s p e c t than any of the other statesmen of h i s day. During t h e i r meeting, Chang encouraged Yang to "study w i t h a s i n c e r e i n t e n t i o n and u p r i g h t mind."54 ^ s a r e s u l t , Yang im-or S i n c e r e S t u d i o , and i n l a t e r times he used the study's mediately changed the name of h i s study to Ch' eng-chai l\ 15 name as h i s hao. In a d d i t i o n to u r g i n g on Yang's s t u d i e s , Chang Chun impressed on Yang the urgency of the present p o l i t i -c a l s i t u a t i o n i n China, and although we do not know an y t h i n g of Yang's pr e v i o u s p o l i t i c a l c o n v i c t i o n s , he was h e n c e f o r t h f i r m l y i n the camp of those who supported strenuous r e s i s t a n c e a g a i n s t the Chin T a r t a r s . Chang Chun exerted the g r e a t e s t i n f l u e n c e on Yang's p o l i -t i c a l views a t t h i s time, hut h i s l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t i e s came under the i n f l u e n c e of another f r i e n d he made wh i l e a t L i n g -l i n g , namely, the southern Sung poet Hsiao Te-tsao JJ?, ^rT'Z Both Yang and Hsiao were s e r v i n g i n minor l o c a l p o s t s , and al t h o u g h Hsiao had to leav e L i n g - l i n g i n 1162, Yang spoke of t h e i r f r i e n d s h i p w i t h great tenderness i n l a t e r y e a r s . In a poem which Yang wrote to Hsiao s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e i r p a r t i n g , Yang expresses h i s new commitment to o f f i c i a l l i f e : Sent i n Reply to the J u d i c i a l O f f i c e r Hsiao Te-tsao's Rhymes Vulgar t h i n g s near my eyes only i n c r e a s e my s l e e p ; a A f t e r our p a r t i n g , how emaciated my f r i e n d has become. I s t i l l spur my crawl i n p u r s u i t of your g a l l o p ; 1 3 I'm not y e t s a t i s f i e d being j u s t another duck i n the w a t e r ' 0 D e s p i t e Yang's e x p r e s s i o n of h i s ambitions f o r o f f i c e , the p r i n c i p a l i n f l u e n c e of Hsiao on Yang was not p o l i t i c a l , f o r the year 1162 was one of i n n o v a t i o n f o r Yang the poet, too. I t i s not c e r t a i n how l o n g Yang had been w r i t i n g poetry a t t h i s time, and, a l a s , we s h a l l never know, because Yang burned over 16 a thousand of h i s e a r l i e r works in 1162, and a l l of his sur-v i v i n g poetry comes from a f t e r t h i s date.36 Previous to 1162 Yang had expended h i s poetic talents i n imitating the verse of the Kiangsi school, which had formed around Huang T'ing-chien ^ (1045-1105) i n northern Sung times and remained popular i n Yang's youth. Yang himself came from Eiangsi as many of the major poets of the period did, and the style un-doubtedly had an i r r e s i s t a b l e a t t r a c t i o n to him while he was s t i l l young. Although we have no way of reconstructing the conversations between the young poets Yang and Hsiao, we can be certain this friendship was one of the major fact o r s which led to Yang's r e j e c t i o n of the e a r l i e r Kiangsi s t y l e . Accord-ing to Yang, t h e i r very f i r s t meeting involved the writing of poetry: I f i r s t got to know him at L i n g - l i n g . As soon as we talked, our minds were i n accord, so I carried my bedding to his lodging, where we slept on opposite beds. At the time, the weather was hot and Tung-fu [Hsiao Te-tsao] wanted to set off early i n the morn-ing. At the f i f t h watch he got up before me, and blowing on the lamp so i t f l i c k e r e d , he scratched h i s head as i f he were occupied with something. I got up to watch him and saw he was composing a poem as a parting g i f t . I also wrote a poem i n answer to him. Tung-fu was so delighted he said: "Making fri e n d s i s l i k e getting engaged. Each of us has put aside a piece of paper! " ^ 17 Hsiao Te-Tsao's poetry was s i m i l a r to the f r e e r s t y l e which emerged a f t e r Yang's burning of h i s e a r l i e r works, and the southern Sung poet and c r i t i c L i u K ' o - c h u a n g ^ J (1187-1269) considered the s t y l e of the two poets to be q u i t e s i m i l a r : "Hsiao Te-tsao's 'mechanism' was s i m i l a r to Yang Wan-li, y e t h i s t a l e n t was more s p a r i n g than Yang while h i s thought was more forced. " 3 ® Nothing could be more f o r c e d than Yang's e a r l i e s t s u r v i v i n g p oetry, so here i t i s l i k e l y t h a t L i u i s comparing Hsiao's v e r s e w i t h the l a t e Yang Wan-li. Yang t e l l s us t h a t he somewhat r e g r e t t e d b u r n i n g h i s y o u t h f u l works, but the a c t was symbolic of the dramatic changes i n h i s l i f e d u r i n g h i s stay a t L i n g - l i n g . D e s p i t e Yang's new p o l i t i c a l commitment, he c o n s t a n t l y thought of h i s f a m i l y back a t C h l - s h u i , and as the yea r 1162 drew to a c l o s e he wrote: I Receive a L e t t e r from my Old Parents ( F i r s t poem of two) Durin g h o l i d a y s , i t ' s hard to be a t r a v e l e r , Though I f r e q u e n t l y get l e t t e r s from home. My mother asks when I ' l l come back; What are both our thoughts l i k e ? I f o r c e myself to d r i n k wine, y e t how can I f i n i s h i t ? I t i n c r e a s e s my sorrow and cannot e l i m i n a t e i t . Formerly, when I was poor, before becoming an o f f i c i a l , 39 How could f a t h e r and son be separated then? T h i s f e e l i n g of i s o l a t i o n and l o n e l i n e s s reached a h i g h p o i n t 1 when Yang s e t out from L i n g - l i n g to r e t u r n home f o r the New Year h o l i d a y s : On the day bef o r e New Year's Eve, going home by boat, I stop f o r the n i g h t a t Crooked W h i r l p o o l C i t y and sle e p at the Govern Peace Monastery The r i v e r ' s broad, the wind b i t i n g , so c o l d i t goes through c o t t o n ; Sandbanks are many, beaches few; our boat goes upstream. When was the c i t y ever f a r away, but our boat can't approach i t ; Yet i n my mind I've alre a d y a r r i v e d by the s i d e of the lamp's l i g h t . At n i g h t I put up i n an a n c i e n t temple, s l o s h i n g through mud to enter; When the damp k i n d l i n g catches f i r e , i t sounds l i k e i n s e c t s c h i r p i n g . A c o l d window, f r e e z i n g w a l l s , how can I get to sleep? But a t l e a s t t h i s i s b e t t e r than gazing at the sky under sparse boat matting. The c i t y people s i n g and shout, c e l e b r a t i n g the New Year While t h i s poet's knees are bent as h i g h as h i s c h i n . When I r e t u r n home, i f my c h i l d r e n ask me what t h i s was l i k e , Could I bear to t e l l them about my f e e l i n g s tomorrow?^ 0 A f t e r the h o l i d a y s , Yang d i d not have to p a r t from h i s 19 f a m i l y immediately, because he moved them to L i n g - l i n g some-time a f t e r New Year. H i s term of o f f i c e was up i n the s p r i n g and he probably thought t h a t he would have l e i s u r e time to en-joy w i t h them before h i s replacement came. U n f o r t u n a t e l y the replacement was delayed by a number of months, and h i s parents and c h i l d r e n had to r e t u r n home before he d i d . To add to h i s misery, no sooner had they l e f t than he came down w i t h a very s e r i o u s case of typhoid f e v e r . As Yang t e l l s us i n the i n t r o -d u c t i o n to a poem w r i t t e n a t t h i s time: " A f t e r I q u i t as mag-i s t r a t e of L i n g - l i n g , I suddenly came down wit h t y p h o i d . A l -though I c o n s u l t e d a d o c t o r f o r twenty days, I was l i k e a man c a r r y i n g a l o a d ; the f a r t h e r I went the h e a v i e r i t got. Then I changed d o c t o r s , c o n s u l t i n g Doctor T'ang Kung-liang, and a f t e r nine days I was w e l l . I thanked him wit h the f o l l o w i n g l o n g poem:" You s i z e up d i s e a s e s as you would s i z e up an enemy; You use medicines as i f h i t t i n g a b u l l ' s - e y e . L i k e Hual-yln you have a hundred v i c t o r i e s i n a hundred b a t t l e s ; a L i k e Y u - c h i you f i r e a hundred times without a miss. 1 5 Old T'ang, your method of p u l s e - t a k i n g i s b r i l l i a n t , e x a l t e d ; I f you examine a man, how could the d i s e a s e u r c h i n s e s c a p e ? 0 ^ 1 I t was f o r t u n a t e t h a t Yang had recovered from t y p h o i d so 20 quickly, f o r great p o l i t i c a l changes were i n the a i r , and an undreamed of opportunity f o r public o f f i c e had come to him. To understand these changes, we must go back a few years i n h i s t o r y . Largely due to the appeasement p o l i c i e s of Kao Tsung, there were nearly twenty years of peace between the Chin and Sung governments. However, i n the year 1149, a wild and i r -responsible r u l e r by the name Wan-yen Liang %J Jfcj , who i s also known as F e i Tiy|j\ , came to the throne of the Chin dynasty. In 1161 he attacked the Sung without provocation and camped h i s huge army at T s ' a i - s h l h ^ ^ , north of the Yangtze River i n Anhwei. The f i r s t Sung army sent to meet him ran i n retr e a t before even giving b a t t l e , but the reorganized army managed to stop the Chin from crossing the r i v e r . The r e s u l t of t h i s defeat f o r the Chin was that certain o f f i c i a l s set up another emperor and Wan-yen Liang was assassinated by his under-l i n g s . 4 2 Despite t h i s minor vi c t o r y , Kao Tsung was t i r e d of the changes of fortune of an Imperial l i f e , and i n 1163 he abdi-cated the throne i n favor of his son;, who was the next emperor Hsiao Tsung^ (1163-1190). Yang obviously heard the news with high hopes, f o r the new emperor had a very d i f f e r e n t per-sonality from his father. The recent victory had encouraged Hsiao Tsung into thinking that there was hope a f t e r a l l of gain-ing back the northern hal f of the empire. Yet the greatest reason f o r Yang's joy was that Hsiao/ Tsung had recalled Yang's mentor Chang Chlin and made him commander over the whole stra t e -g i c Yangtze and Huai River a r e a s . ^ Most important of a l l , Chang had strongly recommended Yang to the central government, 21 and as soon as he had recovered f u l l y from t y p h o i d , Yang s e t out f o r the c a p i t a l c i t y . He intended to v i s i t h i s home f i r s t and then proceed on a l e i s u r e l y t r i p to Hang-chou. When he set out from L i n g - l i n g he wrote: I thought of r e t u r n i n g home day a f t e r day, j u s t empty t a l k ; Yet now the oars r e a l l y are d i p p i n g i n the water's At midnight I s t i l l can hear the drums of the p r e f e c t tower; By tomorrow morning I ought to have l o s t Yung-chou's mountains Meanwhile, the plans to a t t a c k the Chin were d e v e l o p i n g apace. Chang Chlin appointed the two generals L i Hsien-chung a r m i e s , advancing northward through Anhwel p r o v i n c e . Although t h e r e was i n i t i a l success, the two g e n e r a l s argued continuously, and i n the f i f t h month, the Chin T a r t a r s took advantage of the c o n f u s i o n to d e l i v e r the Sung armies a c r u s h i n g d e f e a t a t P u - l i and the c o u n t e r - a t t a c k ground to a h a l t . The emperor sent down a p r o c l a m a t i o n blaming h i m s e l f f o r t a k i n g p a r t i n the warfare and suggesting t h a t the de f e a t was a punishment f o r h i s own s i n s . Sometime s h o r t l y a f t e r h i s departure from L i n g - l i n g , Yang heard of the most re c e n t developments and wrote: , to l e a d the Sung, i n modern Kiangsu."^ Chang Chun was Immediately demoted 22 A f t e r Reading the Pr o c l a m a t i o n of Se l f - C e n s u r e (Two poems of Three) Don't read the Pro c l a m a t i o n of Wheel Tower, a F o r i t makes a man's t e a r s d r i p down. Heaven, you make room f o r these b a r b a r i a n s , So emperors t h i r s t a f t e r t a l e n t e d h e l p e r s . b What crime do our boys of good f a m i l y have? They know who t h e i r g r e a t g e n e r a l i s l c I wish to make Dangerous Pord our example;^ We w i l l s t i l l r e c o v e r from Goose Gate's t r o u b l e s . e T h i s d i s o r d e r commenced on the day of my n a t i v i t y , Yet I am about to reach the age of str o n g s e r v i c e . ^ The C e n t r a l P l a i n s t i l l e x i s t s only i n our dreams; J u s t the Southern F r o n t i e r i s a source f o r sorrow.8 His Highness i s an e x t r a o r d i n a r y r u l e r ; A l l you o f f i c i a l s , don't be so s e l f - r i g h t e o u s . We s t i l l haven't b u i l t a Metal Tower, n Yet we are a l r e a d y a s p i r i n g to r e s t r e n g t h e n Yen.^- ^ As he continued on h i s route to the c a p i t a l c i t y , Yang encountered the g e n e r a l L i Hsien-chung, who had been sent, i n -F u - l i . L i Hsien-chung's s t o r y was p a r t i c u l a r l y t r a g i c , be-cause he had been i n the m i l i t a r y s i n c e f o l l o w i n g h i s f a t h e r to war a t the age of seventeen. When the f a m i l y was captured by the Chin over two hundred of h i s r e l a t i v e s were s l a u g h t e r e d , and L i b a r e l y managed to escape w i t h a few f r i e n d s to the immediately a f t e r the debacle of H s i - h s i a fa J | kingdom. The H s i - h s i a attempted to prevent L i from r e t u r n i n g to the Sung, but L i managed to r a i s e an army and d e l i v e r a stunning d e f e a t to the H s i - h s i a . 4 ? When Yang met him, the d e j e c t e d g e n e r a l was on h i s way to h i s e x i l e : On the road I met the o l d g e n e r a l L i Hsien-chung, who had kept h i s t r e a s u r i e s and storehouses to h i m s e l f a t the b a t t l e of F u - l i . As a r e s u l t he caused r e s e n t -ment among the o f f i c e r s , who s c a t t e r e d , and he was e x i l e d to Ch'ang-sha. I f a covetous g e n e r a l i s worthy of employ, a The m i l i t a r y books do not misunderstand the p r e s e n t . I only mourn surrendered armor h i g h as Bear Ear Mountain; D Who begrudges gold f o r war steeds' h o o v e s ? 0 Why i s he e x i l e d to the same p r e f e c t u r e as Chia Y i ; d He admires Chu Yfln a l o n e , e Where can a s c h o l a r l i k e me speak? My poem f i n i s h e d , I chant i t slowly to myself. 4® Yang o b v i o u s l y r e a l i z e d t h a t h i s hopes f o r h i g h o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n were now completely dashed and the c e n t r a l government was impotent to r e s i s t the Chin c h a l l e n g e a t l e a s t f o r the near f u t u r e . Perhaps, he even began to have doubts about h i s new found p o e t i c i n n o v a t i o n s , f o r s e v e r a l days l a t e r he wrote: 24 Spending the Night a t T u - h s i Thin clouds b l i n d the b e a u t i f u l moon, But the wind becomes her metal e y e - s c r a p e r , a I'm t r a v e l i n g because I'm engaged w i t h my work, But what business do the clouds have t r a v e l i n g ? Why does the c o l d of such a n i g h t Meet only w i t h a t r a v e l e r l i k e me? How could people l i k e us f o r g e t our emotions; 0 Can we stop the autumn from making us sad? My s h o r t lamp doesn't understand a n y t h i n g , 0 F o r he c a l l s me to r e c i t e a new poem.^^ Sometime i n the t w e l f t h month of the year, Yang f i n a l l y reached the c a p i t a l c i t y of Hang-chou. Although Chang Chun had been demoted, he s t i l l h e l d an o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n i n the c e n t r a l government, and he managed to recommend Yang to the a u t h o r i t i e s . At the time Yang v i s i t e d Hang-chou i t probably was the l a r g e s t c i t y i n the world w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n i n excess of one m i l l i o n . 5 ° Yang d i d not l i k e b i g c i t i e s , and he d i d not w r i t e any poems about the d a z z l i n g New Year f e s t i v i t i e s which he c e r t a i n l y w itnessed. However, he d i d J o i n h i s new f r i e n d s i n a number of e x c u r s i o n s to c e r t a i n s i g h t s such as the West Lake, which were p r a c t i c a l l y o b l i g a t o r y f o r a young poet to v i s i t . About West Lake he wrote: M i s t y boats, h o r i z o n t a l and sideways, l i e i n w i l l o w p o r t bays; 2 5 Cloudy mountains appear and d i s a p p e a r midst w i l l o w rows. How could c l i m b i n g a mountain equal wandering by t h i s l a k e? F o r i n the h e a r t of the l a k e , I can see a l l the mountains I wantt^ 1 Due to the good o f f i c e s of Chang Chun, Yang was o f f e r e d the post of I n s t r u c t o r of L i n - a n Fu /jfx some-time i n the f i r s t month of 1164. N e v e r t h e l e s s , he d i d not seem f a t e d f o r h i g h e r o f f i c i a l c a r e e r , f o r s h o r t l y before the f i r s t f u l l moon of the New Year, Yang r e c e i v e d news t h a t h i s f a t h e r was very i l l , so he q u i c k l y set out on the path home: I have come a thousand m i l e s p l o t t i n g f o r f i v e pecks of r i c e ; a My o l d f a t h e r waits and w a i t s , so I should go home. No matter how good the s p r i n g scenery i s , what does i t mean to me? F i n e r a i n and plum f l o w e r s only make me s a d . ^ 2 When Yang returned home h i s f a t h e r was a l r e a d y dead, and Yang commenced the l o n g three year mourning p e r i o d p r e s c r i b e d by s o c i e t y and the government. A f t e r a few months of mourning a t home, he was f u r t h e r g r i e v e d to hear t h a t h i s teacher Chang Chun had a l s o passed away soon a f t e r Yang had l e f t the c a p i t a l . Yang wrote three f u n e r a r y odes to h i s o l d teacher, but he ob-v i o u s l y r e a l i z e d t h a t h i s f u t u r e hopes f o r a c a r e e r were dimmed c o n s i d e r a b l y i n any case, he could take no new post u n t i l 26 the three year p e r i o d was f i n i s h e d . Throughout the r e s t of the yea r Yang wrote very few poems except f o r a few f u n e r a r y odes and p a r t i n g poems to c e r t a i n of h i s neighbors who l e f t the v i l l a g e to o f f i c i a l p o s t s . By the beginn i n g of 1 1 6 5 , h i s sorrow had l i g h t e n e d c o n s i d e r a b l y , and he began to take a number of short t r i p s to v a r i o u s beauty spots i n K i a n g s i p r o v i n c e . One day while e n j o y i n g such an ex-c u r s i o n he wrote: While I Am R i d i n g a Palanquin the Wind Turns the Pages of My Book Ho l d i n g books, I get on the c a r t , f o r c i n g myself to go out to the mountains; I spread the books out but don't read them, f o r my eyes t u r n hazy f i r s t . F o r no reason a t a l l , the s p r i n g wind i s j e a l o u s of me; She blows open the pages and f l i p s them one by o n e " 5 ^ T h i s poem and others of the p e r i o d suggest t h a t Yang was put-t i n g i n t o p r a c t i c e h i s new i d e a of w r i t i n g simple poetry, which he had probably d i s c o v e r e d while s t i l l a t L i n g - l i n g w i t h Hsiao. Te-tsao. In the l a s t two l i n e s of a poem he wrote to a f r i e n d a t about the same time Yang s t a t e s : I stand up and search f o r a verse a w h i l e , But the verse i s i n the mountains before my eyes. 5 5 27 D e s p i t e t h i s g r e a t e r f e e l i n g of n a t u r a l n e s s i n h i s poetry, Yang had not t o t a l l y r e s i g n e d h i m s e l f to h i s f a t h e r ' s death, and on one of h i s s h o r t e x c u r s i o n s he wrote: On the Road to Hao-ytian A l o n g p a v i l i o n , a s h o r t p a v i l i o n , three or f i v e ; T h i s i s s t i l l the road I t r a v e l e d as a boy. I s t i l l remember the sky was c o l d , the sun s m a l l and yellow; My f a t h e r walked i n f r o n t , w h ile I looked on i n back. Today I am not sad because I have reached the end of the road; L i k e a s i c k goose, I f l y alone having l o s t my o l d gander. Fo r three years I've c l o s e d my doors midst the pine t r e e wind; From t h i s time on, my t r a v e l s w i l l begin again.56 Yang was not merely t a l k i n g about h i s l o c a l t r a v e l s i n K i a n g s i , f o r he knew that he must soon make another attempt to win p u b l i c o f f i c e i n the c e n t r a l government. In f a c t , he l e f t C h i -s h u i a t the end of the y e a r and a r r i v e d i n Hang-chou sometime c l o s e to the New Year of 1167. The p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n the c a p i t a l had changed completely from the heyday of Chang Chun. S h o r t l y a f t e r the r out of Fu-11, the Sung emperor had signed a new peace t r e a t y with the Chin government. The f e e b l e counter-a t t a c k of the Chinese had aroused a c e r t a i n degree of r e s p e c t 28 among the Chin, f o r the Sung government no l o n g e r had to use the language of a v a s s a l s t a t e when r e f e r r i n g to the Chin r u l e r s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , the y e a r l y indemnity which the Sung had to pay was q u i t e huge. Chang Chun's f a l l from f a v o r had not p r e c i p i t a t e d a v i o l e n t purge of the pro-war f a c t i o n , but t h e i r warnings concerning the Chin were unheeded by Hsiao Tsung, and th e r e was v i r t u a l peace between the two governments f o r the next f o r t y some y e a r s . A l l the same, ardent p a t r i o t s sent up c o u n t l e s s memorials to the emperor urgi n g a t t a c k , but Yang l e a r n e d the r e s u l t of these l a b o r s a f t e r t a l k i n g to a minor o f f i c i a l he b e f r i e n d e d i n the c a p i t a l : A Colophon on the Memorial of Ten Thousand Words by the Fu-kan Wei Chih-yao from Szechwan H i s s h o r t lamp midst the r a i n , h i s h a i r i s l i k e snow; a A t r a v e l e r w i t h l o n g sword, he has no f i s h to eat.* 5 Why take the t r o u b l e of sending up memorials wi t h mournful c r i e s ? T r u l y the men of t h i s age r e s p e c t only Master F i c t i o n ! 0 Yang q u i c k l y r e a l i z e d t h a t he could not o b t a i n a c e n t r a l government post under the c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n g i n the c a p i t a l , y e t he remained there u n t i l autumn of the year, d i s c u s s i n g the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n with f r i e n d s . I t a l s o seems that h i s e a r l y i n t e r e s t i n Ch'an Buddhism was renewed a t t h i s time, f o r we f i n d i n c r e a s i n g l y f r e q u e n t r e f e r e n c e s to Buddhism i n the poems of the p e r i o d . In one poem to a f r i e n d Yang a l l u d e s to 29 "Questions and answers i n the monk's room, the l i o n r o a r s . " 5 8 T h i s i s a s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e to the method of t e a c h i n g used by the L i n - c h i d ^ . ^ Sect of Ch'an Buddhists known as kung-an ^ jjf or, l i t e r a l l y , ' p u b l i c case.' When the student asks a q u e s t i o n the monk answers him w i t h a b e w i l d e r i n g statement designed to d e s t r o y the concept of d u a l i t y i n h e r e n t i n d i s -c u r s i v e thought. L i n - c h i masters a l s o f r e q u e n t l y shouted, i . e . , " r oared," a t t h e i r students and a t times pummeled them w i t h a s t i c k . By the time Yang returned home he had reached the depth of h i s d e p r e s s i o n , and he may have even considered the d r a s t i c step of becoming a monk. However, when sending o f f a f r i e n d from C h i - s h u i he seemed to f e e l t h a t both the o f f i c i a l and monastic l i f e were beyond h i s r e a c h : To s e l e c t o f f i c i a l d o m or Buddhism, both remote, remote; They never concerned me from the beginning, so I became r e c k l e s s l y sad.^9 Yang remained i n C h i - s h u i f o r the next two years of h i s l i f e , meeting f r i e n d s , w r i t i n g poetry, and w a i t i n g f o r an op-p o r t u n i t y . He had already reached the age of f o r t y without any o u t s t a n d i n g accomplishments i n e i t h e r l i t e r a t u r e or p o l i t i c s to h i s name, so when h i s eyes began to f a i l he became d i s -t r a u g h t : Because of My Aging Eyes I Gave up Books and Sighed I'm o l d , and books no l o n g e r have any p l a c e ; A f t e r a l l , my eyes a l r e a d y see f l o w e r s . Ink s o l d i e r s are not f r i e n d s to ones death; C a s s i a wine seems to be my l i v e l i h o o d . A f t e r snow, the f r o s t i n c r e a s e s i n s t r e n g t h ; While ch a n t i n g poetry, my hat l i e s crooked. My s m a l l son knows I'm j u s t l a z y ; R e c i t i n g l e s s o n s a t n i g h t , he r a i s e s a r a c k e t on p urpose!^ 0 By the time New Year of 1166 came a l o n g Yang had a l r e a d y r e -signed h i m s e l f to the p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t he might never be any-t h i n g more than a minor poet l o o k i n g up to such g r e a t men as Tu Fu. A l l hope of h i g h p o s i t i o n seemed e q u a l l y f u t i l e : On the n i g h t of the f i r s t f u l l moon, our v i l l a g e has a custom of g r i n d i n g r i c e i n t o the shape of cocoon f i b e r s and w r i t i n g a u s p i c i o u s e x p r e s s i o n s , which we then p l a c e i n s i d e them i n order to d i v i n e our l u c k f o r the coming y e a r . We c a l l t h i s "cocoon d i v i n a t i o n . " I wrote a l o n g poem about t h i s i n j e s t . a L a s t year a t f i r s t f u l l moon I r e s i d e d a t Three Thoroughfares;^ B r a v i n g the r a i n , I looked a t the lamps, f o r c i n g myself to make merry. T h i s year a t f u l l moon time, I'm l i v i n g a t home ag a i n , 31 And our v i l l a g e doesn't even have lamps, j u s t r a i n , A c ross the creek i n the bush s h r i n e , a few f l u t e s and drums, 0 Yet I wonder i f there s t i l l are any r e v e l e r s out. The c h i l d r e n cook jade r i c e i n t o cocoon threads And i n the middle, they h i d e lucky words, p r a y i n g i n s e c r e t . My l i t t l e son Implores that he w i l l get an o f f i c i a l post e a r l y , While the l i t t l e g i r l s j u s t ask f o r the s i l k h a r v e s t to be good. A l l h i s l i f e t h i s master has laughed a t the c h i l d r e n ' s f o o l i s h n e s s , But on t h i s o c c a s i o n even I play l i k e a c h i l d . I don't d e s i r e to p l a n t my l e g s i n the Golden Flower P a l a c e , d Nor do I wish to set up a nest i n the I m p e r i a l Grove Gardens. e I only want to r e c i t e Tu Fu's seven-character poems, And be a b l e to eat my f i l l a l l the year l o n g . In my h e a r t I know the cocoon d i v i n a t i o n doesn't always come t r u e , But, when i n my drunkeness, I get a good f o r t u n e , I'm w i l d w i t h j o y ! 6 1 Yet the l a s t l i n e of the poem, i n a d d i t i o n to d i s p l a y -i n g a warm sense of humor, betray s Yang's c o n t i n u i n g a s p i r a -t i o n to o f f i c i a l d o m , and d e s p i t e h i s f r e q u e n t p r o t e s t a t i o n s to 32 the contrary, i n 1169 he wrote: G a z i n g A f a r on an Autumn E v e n i n g During the r i c h harvest of our v i l l a g e , I hear the sound of people laughing and t a l k i n g . The creek's mist i s redder, damper at evening; The pine's sun yellower and l i g h t e r as i t sets. Since we are not deep into autumn, Why i s the a i r so pure already? I shouldn't he i d l e much longer; Soon I ' l l go hunting f o r honor and fame.62 Yang did not have to go to the c a p i t a l to seek "honor and fame," f o r i n the beginning of 1170, he was appointed over a hundred miles to the north of Chi-shui. According to Tang's biographers, he was a model governor and adopted a policy of l a i s s e z - f a i r e toward the people i n his d i s t r i c t . When people owed tax money to the government, Yang did not send c o l l e c t o r s into the countryside to force c o l l e c t i o n but merely displayed the names of offenders i n the market place and f i l l e d his tax quota without causing any undue trouble. However, Yang did not entire l y enjoy his new work, f o r he found i t so time-consuming that i t interfered with his writing. In the middle of h i s travels about the d i s t r i c t on o f f i c i a l business he wrote: which was not much P a s s i n g West Mountain a In one year I've trodden the road past West Mountain twice; West Mountain laughs a t me, so he should know enough to say: "In your b r e a s t you have a hundred g a l l o n s of red and bl a c k i n k dust, 1 3 But you don't even have h a l f a l i n e equal to "wind the p e a r l c u r t a i n i n the r a i n . ' " 0 Out of p o l i t e n e s s I buy wine and thank West Mountain: "I'm g r a t e f u l f o r your mountain scenery, f o r you've g i v e n me a l i f t . Yet my temple h a i r s are t u r n i n g white from c o l l e c t i n g taxes, And even i f dust f i l l e d up my whole b r e a s t , when would I have time to worry about i t ? 6 ^ " Yang had no d e s i r e to continue i n one l o c a l post a f t e r another, and h i s ambitions were c l e a r l y s et on Hang-chou. In order to g a i n a t t e n t i o n , he busied h i m s e l f w i t h p r e p a r i n g a l a r g e t r e a t i s e on government i n t h i r t y chapters which he en-t i t l e d "A P o l i c y of a Thousand P r e c a u t i o n s . " 6 4 I t i s i n t e r e s t -i n g to note the v a r i o u s s u b j e c t s Yang d i s c u s s e d i n h i s work. Three chapters were devoted to each of the twelve t o p i c s : ( 1 ) "The Way of the R u l e r , " ( 2 ) "The C o n d i t i o n s of the State," ( 3 ) "The Source of Government," ( 4 ) " T a l e n t , " ( 5 ) "A D i s -c u s s i o n of M i n i s t e r s , " ( 6 ) "A D i s c u s s i o n of Generals," (?) "A D i s c u s s i o n of S o l d i e r s , " (8) " C o n t r o l l i n g O f f i c i a l s , " (9) " S e l e c t i n g Laws," (10) "Penal Laws," (11) "Excess O f f i -c i a l s , " (12) "Government of the People." Yang's e f f o r t s were not b u r i e d i n the mass of paperwork a t the c a p i t a l , and the prime m i n i s t e r Ch'en C h u n - o h ' i n g ' ^ y f ^ was extremely im-p r e s s e d . T h e r e f o r e , i n the t e n t h month, Yang was g i v e n the post of P r o f e s s o r of the D i r e c t o r a t e of E d u c a t i o n )£] ^ t ^ j ~t • A l t h o u g h he had looked forward to a post a t the c a p i t a l f o r a l o n g time, he l e f t Peng-hsin w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e t r e p i d a t i o n : A P r o c l a m a t i o n Compels me to P i l l my Post a t the Academy and so I Set o f f from Ming-shan Post S t a t i o n i n the Morning S e v e r a l shops, as i f s c a t t e r e d y e t c l o s e t o g e t h e r ; A thousand peaks, ordered y e t i n d i s a r r a y . Marks on the i c e s t i l l bear waves; The f r o s t y grass i t s e l f t u r ns i n t o f l o w e r s . O r d i n a r y , mediocre, I f i t my p o s i t i o n a t c o u r t ; Spot a f t e r spot, my temples are a l r e a d y white. E v e r y t h i n g i n the c a p i t a l c i t y i s wonderful, But not as good as r e t u r n i n g home e a r l y Before we proceed to f o l l o w the course of Yang's l i f e i n the c a p i t a l , i t would be best to l o o k a t h i s " P o l i c y of a Thousand P r e c a u t i o n s " i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l , f o r he d i d not d r a s t i -c a l l y a l t e r h i s p o l i t i c a l views f o r the r e s t of h i s l i f e , and the i d e a s expressed i n t h i s document h e l p us to understand 35 Yang's subsequent c a r e e r . Although the p o l i c i e s which Yang supported do not have any s t r i k i n g n o v e l t y , t h i s set of docu-ments d i s p l a y s a g r e a t understanding of the p o l i t i c a l and m i l i -t a r y problems of the southern Sung dynasty. One of the most s t a r t l i n g f e a t u r e s of Yang's d i s c u s s i o n of penal law i s the r a t h e r l e g a l i s t stand which he takes. In t h i s regard he shows a remarkable s i m i l a r i t y to the famous no r t h e r n Sung reformer Wang An-shih ^ (1021-1086), a f i g u r e who was h e l d i n low esteem by more orthodox Confucians such as Chu H s i but whom Yang admired i n t e n s e l y . With regard to punishments Yang wrote: I have heard t h a t the humanity of a Sage must have i t s l i m i t s . I f h i s humanity does not have l i m i t s , though w i s h i n g to be humane to a l l the world, he w i l l a c t u -a l l y harm a l l the world. I f h i s humanity causes harm, i t i s not a f a u l t of the humanity, but a f a u l t of the humanity not being l i m i t e d . C e r t a i n l y , when something reaches an extremity, i t w i l l r e v e r t . I f one i s humane without l i m i t , then upon r e a c h i n g an extremity, he w i l l have to r e v e r t and end up doing harm. This harm does not come from o u t s i d e of h i s humanity but a r i s e s w i t h i n i t . Y et, i s n ' t s e t t i n g l i m i t s i n order to p e r f e c t ones humanity b e t t e r than not s e t t i n g l i m i t s and harming ones humanity? Therefore, the mind of the sage l o v e s the world without l i m i t , y e t i n g i v i n g h i s humanity to the world there i s a l i m i t . He extends i t w i t h h i s mind which has no l i m i t but r e s t r a i n s i t w i t h humanity t h a t s e t s l i m i t s . T h e r e f o r e , h i s humanity has l i m i t s but th a t w i t h which he p r a c t i c e s humanity has no l i m i t s . In a n c i e n t times when the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s was about to complete a case, he would r e p o r t to the k i n g , and the k i n g would command the three m i n i s t e r s to a t t e n d the h e a r i n g . When they were about to c a r r y out the punishment, the k i n g would say, "Pardon him!" and the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s would say, " I t i s i m p o s s i b l e ! " The k i n g would a g a i n say, "Pardon him!" and the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s would a g a i n say, " I t i s i m p o s s i b l e ! " I f he had pardoned the man three times but the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s d i d not f i n a l l y agree, then they would execute the man. The k i n g would then c a n c e l h i s banquets and not make merry on t h i s account. Now, d e s p i t e the honor of the Son of Heaven, i f he were opposed by the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s three times, a l t h o u g h the Son of Heaven wished to save the man, he would watch him d i e i n the end without i n t e r v e n i n g . When they d i d not agree a f t e r three pardons, why d i d not he pardon the man a f o u r t h time? I f they d i d not agree a f t e r f o u r par-dons, why d i d he not pardon the man numerous times? Or r a t h e r , when they d i d not agree a f t e r one pardon, why d i d he not pardon the man h i m s e l f , and why d i d he have to l i s t e n to the I n v e s t i g a t o r of C r i m i n a l s ? . . . This was simply because pardoning i s the human-i t y of a sage. The pardoning i s l i m i t e d to three times, because humanity must have l i m i t s . 6 6 37 I f Yang Wan-li's a t t i t u d e toward punishments corresponds to Wang An-shlh's a t t i t u d e toward law, there i s even a c l o s e r resemblance i n the m i l i t a r y p o l i c i e s which the two men advo-c a t e d . In g e n e r a l , the m i l i t a r y p o l i c y of the Sung from the f i r s t emperor T ' a i Tsu onward d i s p l a y e d a marked d i s l i k e f o r p r o f e s s i o n a l m i l i t a r y men and l a r g e s t a n d i n g armies. Such views were no doubt due to f e a r of m i l i t a r y r e v o l t s such as those which brought the T'ang empire to r u i n and which T ' a i Tsu h i m s e l f had witnessed and u t i l i z e d to b r i n g h i m s e l f to power d u r i n g the F i v e D y n a s t i e s . By the time of Wang An-shih, the r e s u l t of such m i l i t a r y t h i n k i n g was c l e a r to anyone who contemplated the continuous d e f e a t s of Sung armies a t the hands of the L i a o and H s i - h s i a , w h i l e by the time of Yang Wan-l i a d r a s t i c change of m i l i t a r y p o l i c y was imperative f o r n a t i o n a l s u r v i v a l . To counter the m i l i t a r y t h r e a t Wang An-shih pose of the pao-chia was to c r e a t e a c l a s s of s o l d i e r farmers of m i l i t a r y conquest of the T'ang dynasty. In h i s " D i s c u s s i o n of S o l d i e r s " Yang w r i t e s ; I have heard t h a t one who plans f o r the world cannot be greedy f o r p r o f i t , but a l s o cannot be o v e r c a u t i o u s about harm. I f one i n s i s t s on doing something be-cause he i s greedy f o r p r o f i t , when harm comes, he w i l l not t h i n k about i t . I f one i n s i s t s on doing something because he i s ov e r c a u t i o u s about harm, he w i l l c e r t a i n l y s i m i l a r to the f u - p l n g ^+ so e f f e c t i v e i n the e a r l y years l o s e some p r o f i t . Men who d i s c u s s t h i s a l l say: "The law of r u r a l s o l d i e r s cannot be put i n t o p r a c t i c e . The people take p l e a s u r e i n farming but they do not take p l e a s u r e i n becoming s o l d i e r s . I f you take what they d e s i r e from them and f o r c e them to do what they do not d e s i r e , then you w i l l have the harm of d i s t u r b i n g the people. To make farmers i n t o s o l d i e r s i s not a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r h a b i t . When defending, they w i l l d i s p e r s e , when a t t a c k i n g they w i l l run, and then you have the harm of f a i l u r e . " These men see how Shih Ching-t'ang's /iz ^ 2 C*1111 dynasty r e g i s t e r e d the r u r a l s o l d i e r s of the v a r i o u s d i s t r i c t s and c a l l e d them the " M i l i t a r y P a c i f i c a t i o n Army." a And y e t , the people could not make a l i v e l i h o o d , so t h i s i s what they mean by " d i s t u r b i n g the people." They a l s o see how the Chin dynasty set up s o l d i e r s whom they c a l l e d the "Army of the Heavenly Majesty." In the end i t was u s e l e s s and was disbanded, so t h i s i s what they mean by " f a i l u r e . " * 3 They only know of t h i s and noth-i n g more. They do not know that one can p a c i f y the people without d i s t u r b i n g them, and one can succeed without f a i l u r e . . . . . . I f a hundred men h o l d i n g weapons a t t a c k a t i g e r , the t i g e r w i l l win, but i f a s i n g l e man c a r r y i n g a hoe meets with a t i g e r , the man w i l l win. This i s not because the hundred men are weak or the s i n g l e man i s s t r o n g . . . The s i n g l e man occupies a p o s i t i o n i n which he w i l l s u r e l y d i e , and t h i s i s the reason he w i l l s u r e l y l i v e . These hundred men occupy a p o s i -t i o n of l i f e , so how could they o b t a i n v i c t o r y ? T h e r e f o r e , those who were good a t us i n g s o l d i e r s i n a n c i e n t times employed death to seek l i f e and d i d not seek l i f e w i t h l i f e . Don't the people of the f r o n t i e r -seek l i f e because of death? N e v e r t h e l e s s , when p u t t i n g the law of r u r a l s o l d i e r s i n t o p r a c t i c e on the f r o n t i e r , i t a b s o l u t e l y must not be done by the o f f i c i a l s . I f the o f f i c i a l s do i t , then there w i l l be t r o u b l e , but i f i t i s p r i v a t e l y done, then there w i l l be happiness. I f the o f f i c i a l s do i t , then the enemy w i l l suspect something, but i f i t i s done p r i v a t e l y , the enemy w i l l not know where to l o o k . We should order the commander-i e s and c o u n t i e s a l o n g the Hual not to prevent the l o c a l r u f f i a n s from g a t h e r i n g f o r c e s and c a r r y i n g arms. A l s o , we should s e c r e t l y search f o r those who are t a l e n t e d and s t r o n g , honoring and rewarding them. At times we should remit t h e i r taxes and l e v i e s s l i g h t l y , or on the grounds of us i n g them to e l i m i n a t e b a n d i t s , present .them wi t h a post to reward t h e i r m e r i t . H o p e f u l l y , the f r o n t i e r people w i l l take p l e a s u r e i n war, and i f one day there i s an emergency, the enemy w i l l not e a s i l y (TO come south. The p r a c t i c a l i t y of Yang's program was somewhat p r o b l e m a t i c a l , but i n any event, such a p o l i c y would probably never g a i n much f a v o r w i t h the i m p e r i a l house, because the Sung emperors had 40 l a b o r e d hard to e l i m i n a t e any m i l i t a r y r i v a l s , and they had a c l e a r memory of the numerous peasant r e b e l l i o n s t h a t had broken out d u r i n g Kao Tsung's r e i g n . Yang was f u l l y aware of the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s e x i s t i n g be-tween the people and the government, and he wrote of t h i s sub-j e c t i n r a t h e r unconventional language i n h i s "Government of the People:" I have heard t h a t the people are the l i f e of the s t a t e but the enemy of the o f f i c i a l s . The o f f i c i a l s are the d e l i g h t of the p r i n c e but the d i s t r e s s of the s t a t e . The r i s e and f a l l of the empire and the l e n g t h of the d y n a s t i c f o r t u n e s a l l a r i s e from t h i s a l o n e . Yet, what e v i l do the o f f i c i a l s do toward the people that the people hate them? I t i s not that they are enemies of the people. Yet i f they do not t r e a t the people as enemies the great ones w i l l be without m e r i t , and t h e i r s u bordinates w i l l have f a u l t . F a u l t d r i v e s them from behind while merit e n t i c e s them from ahead. Although they do not wish to be enemies of the people, they have no way out. F o r t h i s reason, when a new p o l i c y i s forming and the emperor has an id e a but has not y e t de c i d e d , the o f f i c i a l s a l l agree with him. When the emperor has a command but has not put i t i n t o p r a c t i c e y e t , the o f f i c i a l s a l l precede him. The reason the o f f i c i a l s a l l agree w i t h the emperor's d e c i s i o n and precede the emperor's p r a c t i c e s i s not because they are 41 p r a i s i n g what i s of b e n e f i t to the people; they p r a i s e what i s u n b e n e f i c l a l to the people. Why i s i t they do not p r a i s e what i s b e n e f i c i a l to the people but p r a i s e what i s u n b e n e f i c l a l to the people? Men who p r a i s e what i s b e n e f i c i a l to the people are without m e r i t , w h i l e men who p r a i s e what i s u n b e n e f i c l a l to the people have m e r i t . F o r t h i s reason, p o l i c i e s which are un-b e n e f i c l a l to the people are not n e c e s s a r i l y a l l the f a u l t of the emperor. When the court i n t e n d s to take some money beyond the quota and asks the government o f f i c e r s i n a c e r t a i n l o c a l i t y , they w i l l c e r t a i n l y answer t h a t i t i s good. The people say t h a t i t i s not good, but the o f f i c i a l s do not r e p o r t i t . Not only do they not r e p o r t i t , but the o f f i c i a l s subsequently cheat the emperor s a y i n g : "The people have a l l paid w i t h p l e a s u r e ! " 6 9 A f t e r t h i s g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n Yang proceeds to apply h i s ideas to r e c e n t events i n the Sung empire: On the s t r e e t s I have heard t h a t the r i s i n g of the L i n B a n d i t s l a s t year was brought on by l o c a l o f f i c e r s who administered the "equal g r a i n purchase" p o o r l y , but d i d anyone t e l l H i s Majesty t h i s ? a A l l the empire knew t h a t the court was i n t e n d i n g to e l i m i n a t e such taxes as t h i s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , I have a l s o heard t h a t i n c e r t a i n commanderles of K i a n g s l , a commandery A, which does not produce s i l k , has s a i d to the court t h a t i t d e s i r e s to buy s i l k from commandery B. But what does t h i s mean? There i s n o t h i n g the people d e s p i s e more than doing business w i t h the o f f i c i a l s . I t s t a r t s out as "bus i n e s s " but ends up being con-f i s c a t i o n . T h i s i s why a Sage i s c a r e f u l about be-g i n n i n g s . Now the v a r i o u s c i t i e s of commandery B are being l e v i e d [ f o r s i l k ] a c c o r d i n g to the same amount as t h e i r [normal] taxes, y e t the people are not being compensated wi t h money. People who do not acquiesce are punished by the o f f i c i a l s . Sup-posedly they are being reproved f o r not paying t h e i r normal taxes, but i n r e a l i t y these c r u e l ex-a c t i o n s are being made f o r the n e i g h b o r i n g commandery. Moreover, the s o - c a l l e d "equal buying" i s alr e a d y i n -cluded i n standard t a x e s . 1 3 In a d d i t i o n , the s o - c a l l e d "Huai uniforms tax" i s a l s o i n c l u d e d i n the standard t a x e s . 0 Now we a l s o demand s i l k of the n e i g h b o r i n g commandery. These three types of s i l k l e v y a l o n g w i t h the s i l k of the standard taxes are a f o u r - f o l d exac-t i o n . d How can the people stand f o r t h i s ? Yet the o f f i c i a l s do not l e t you know.7° Yang's p o l i c i e s were not c a l c u l a t e d to win him f r i e n d s i n the c o u r t o r among the more corrupt l o c a l o f f i c i a l s , so when he a r r i v e d i n Hang-chou s h o r t l y a f t e r New Year's of 1171 , he q u i c k l y became i n v o l v e d i n the s w i r l of the c a p i t a l ' s p o l i t i c s . In t h a t year Hsiao Tsung attempted to appoint h i s son-in-law 43 Chang YttehJ^ L ^° a n i n f l u e n t i a l p o s i t i o n i n the m i l i t a r y . Many o f f i c i a l s thought Chang was incompetent and a public up-roar ensued. The opposition centered around Chang S h i h J ^ ^ j who was the son of Yang's mentor Chang ChUn. Although Chang Shih was not a great m i l i t a r y leader l i k e h is father, he sup-ported the same forward policy against the Chin, which had led his father to disgrace. In the capacity of Lecturer i n Waiting H^" w n e r e k e w a s supposed to discuss new p o l i c i e s i n the presence of the emperor, Chang v i o l e n t l y attacked the appoint-ment of Chang Ylieh, which he f e l t would only add to the m i l i -tary confusion of the dynasty. Since Chang Shlh's war p o l i c i e s were already unpopular with the emperor, Chang was appointed Governor of Ylian-chou 3 ^ %Hj to remove him from the central g o v e r n m e n t Y a n g Immediately came to Chang Shlh's defence, and i n a memorial Yang sent to the emperor he dared to imply that Hsiao Tsung wished to demote Chang Shih to avenge Chang Yiieh. Yang was no doubt paying back a debt of gratitude he owed to Chang ChUn, but his actions were also motivated by the p o l i t i c a l p o l i c i e s which we have already seen expressed i n his t r e a t i s e . Chang Ylieh was f i n a l l y confirmed i n h i s new post and Chang Shih l e f t f o r Ylian-chou. It i s somewhat puzzling that Yang was not demoted along with him, but Yang's biography t e l l s us that h i s s p i r i t e d defence of Chang Shih won the poet much admiration among other o f f i c i a l s , and Hsiao Tsung probably did not think i t worth h i s trouble to disturb someone i n such a low position as Yang and thereby excite more public disapproval. 44 A f t e r t h i s i n i t i a l storm i n Yang's c a r e e r i n Hang-chou, h i s l i f e was r e l a t i v e l y u n e v e n t f u l f o r the next two y e a r s . In the n i n t h month of 1172 he was promoted to the post of E x e c u t i v e A s s i s t a n t of the Court of I m p e r i a l S a c r i f i c e s ^ ij£ ^ In which he oversaw c e r t a i n court r i t u a l s , and he h e l d t h i s post s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h that of R i g h t E x e c u t i v e of the M i n i s t r y of P e r s o n n e l -J-^ 4^ ^ • In the f o u r t h month of 1173 he was a g a i n promoted to V i c e - d i r e c t o r of C o n s t r u c t i o n 'J-^- -/^ "ij . None of these posts were even remotely powerful, and Yang was mostly busied with the p r e p a r a t i o n of government docu-ments. Immersed i n t h i s paperwork, Yang had a b s o l u t e l y no time to devote to poetry and the three years he spent i n the c a p i t a l produced no poems worthy of n o t i c e . L u c k i l y f o r the h i s t o r y of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e , Yang was v appointed Governor of Chang-chou Vtj i n Puklen p r o v i n c e i n the f i r s t month of 1174. When Yang set out f o r h i s post i n Chang-chou, he was a l r e a d y very t i r e d of o f f i c i a l l i f e : In the y e a r chla-wu I s e t out as Governor of Chang-chou. In the morning I l e f t by boat a t Dragon Mountain and i n the evening I s l e p t at T'ung-lu. (Second of two poems) Racing about on the roads, I have never got any peace; I even envy the mountain people who l i v e so l e i s u r e l y . T h i n k r o f the day when I r e t u r n to mountains and l i v e i n peace; Then I can f o r g e t r a c i n g and running about on roads f o r e v e r l 7 2 45 In f a c t , Yang never d i d go to Chang-chou, because he suddenly gave up h i s post and ret u r n e d to C h i - s h u i i n s t e a d . Although Yang may have been p a r t i a l l y motivated i n h i s r e f u s a l of the governorship of Chang-chou by a d e s i r e to r e t i r e from o f f i c i a l s e r v i c e , other motives seem to have been e q u a l l y s t r o n g . A c c o r d i n g to a poem he wrote s h o r t l y a f t e r h i s r e t u r n to C h i - s h u i , v a r i o u s f r i e n d s had recommended t h a t h i s governor-s h i p be t r a n s f e r r e d from Chang-chou to Ch'ang-chou^ -^-j , a much more d e s i r a b l e post, because Ch'ang-chou was l o c a t e d i n the more economically advanced p r o v i n c e of K i a n g s i and a l s o much more convenient i n m a i n t a i n i n g c o n t a c t s w i t h the c a p i t a l c i t y . W h e n Yang was not immediately granted t h i s t r a n s f e r , he put i n h i s r e s i g n a t i o n . At t h i s time he was only f o r t y -n i ne y e a r s o l d , and he most l i k e l y r e s i g n e d i n order to en-courage the government to g i v e him the p o s i t i o n he d e s i r e d . However, the government d i d not agree to t h i s change im-me d i a t e l y , and Yang spent the next two years a t C h i - s h u i waiting f u r t h e r i n s t r u c t i o n s . He had earned a f a i r l y s i z e a b l e amount of money d u r i n g h i s years i n the c a p i t a l , and he could now a f -f o r d to engage i n some of the d e l i g h t s proper to a s c h o l a r o f -f i c i a l . During the two years of r e t i r e m e n t , there are f r e q u e n t r e f e r e n c e s to gardening p r o j e c t s , and Yang was p a r t i c u l a r l y de-l i g h t e d by a s m a l l l i b r a r y p a v i l i o n c a l l e d the Snow A n g l i n g Boat, which he had c o n s t r u c t e d the f i r s t y ear back i n C h i - s h u i : 46 I Sleep Exhausted at Snow Angling Boat 3 , I made a small study, which was shaped l i k e a boat, so I named i t Snow Angling Boat. While I was reading there, I f e l l asleep from exhaustion. Sudden-ly a breeze entered the door and s t i r r e d up the over-whelming fragrance of some plum flowers i n a vase. I was st a r t l e d awake and wrote t h i s short poem. A small p a v i l i o n , bright window, I close the door half way; Reading books, I f a l l asleep, zzzzzzz, zzzzzzz. For no reason at a l l , I'm disturbed by these plum flowers, Who blow t h e i r perfume at me on purpose and ruin my sweet dreams.15 ?4 This period of l e i s u r e also allowed Yang to continue his studies of Ch'an Buddhism, which had occupied second place only to h is poetic writing. When he mailed a poem to an old frie n d who was serving i n Kuang-tung, Yang wrote: "Since my fr i e n d l e f t me i t ' s been exactly three years. With whom can I d i s -cuss poetry and expound on Ch'an?"^ Most s i g n i f i c a n t of a l l , Yang Wan-li had started to completely reject the bookishness of the scholar t r a d i t i o n , an attitude which harmonized with Ch'an tenets: Reading Books While r e a d i n g books, I don't t i r e of t o i l , But working too hard makes me t i r e d and d i z z y . I'd best s i t m e d i t a t i n g w i t h my books; And the books and I w i l l both f o r g e t words. a When I f e e l l i k e i t , I open the pages, And suddenly I a r r i v e a t the S p r i n g of the Hundred Sages. I say I'm e n l i g h t e n e d , but there never was any e n l i g h t e n -ment ; I speak of mystery, but from the beginning t h e r e ' s been no mystery. D When I f i n d something t h a t harmonizes w i t h my mind, A l l I f e e l i s t o t a l d e l i g h t . Who i s i t t h a t makes t h i s pleasure? I t i s n e i t h e r I nor i s i t Heaven. I laugh a t myself, I've never been r i g h t ; I throw the book down a t the f o o t of my p i l l o w ! ^ D e s p i t e Yang Wan-li's new found enlightenment, he was r a p i d l y becoming depressed by the government's delay i n con-f i r m i n g him i n h i s new post, and as the year 1176 came to an end he wrote: A Rainy Night I t ' s l a t e i n the year, so how can I l a c k emotions? My poem complete, I j u s t chant i t a l o n e . The f i r e f l y s ' l i g h t s are c o l d and t u r n i n g p a l e ; 48 The autumn r a i n becomes heavier toward evening. Accompanying my old age, my poverty's s t i l l i n good health, So why would my wine want to keep back my sadness. The chirping bugs accompany the f a l l i n g l e a v e s ; a They beat out a rhythm and sing a song f o r me.77 Yang's friends i n the court must have prevailed over his enemies, f o r i n the fourth month of 1178, Yang set out from Chi-shui to become the governor of Ch'ang-chou. Just a f t e r his departure Yang encountered d i f f i c u l t i e s which were symbolic of the problems he anticipated i n his new p o s i t i o n : On the tenth day of the fourth month of ting-yu I went to my post at P i - l i n g , and when tra v e l i n g by boat was hampered by the wind, so I spent the night at the mouth of the Chou-po fiiver. (Second poem of two) Ten miles of r i v e r t r a v e l i s one day's voyage; . Since leaving the mountains, i t seems the north wind's mad at us. On the east window, the water's r e f l e c t i o n , on the west window, the moon; Together they shine on th i s sleepless man i n the boat.7 8 Yang's premonitions were quite correct, because he was so busy with paperwork and t r i f l i n g duties that he had p r a c t i c a l l y no time f o r writing poetry. Yang had frequently worried about 49 these o c c a s i o n a l f a l l o w p e r i o d s i n h i s w r i t i n g and the gener-a l l y s m a l l q u a n t i t y of h i s poems. H i s new p o s i t i o n i n Ch'ang-chou g r e a t l y exaggerated t h i s problem, f o r he t e l l s us: " i n the summer I went to my p o s i t i o n i n C h i n g - c h ' i , and as soon as I reached my post, I read l a w s u i t s and arranged the l o c a l r e -venue, a s s o c i a t i n g only w i t h red and black i n k . " ? 9 Yang Wan-li was s u r e l y a man caught i n a s p i r i t u a l and l i t e r a r y c r i s i s when he a r r i v e d i n Ch'ang-chou. He probably a l r e a d y r e a l i z e d that h i g h p o s i t i o n was never to be h i s , and so the only c l a i m to fame which he had was h i s p o e t r y . Yang had a l r e a d y reached the age of f i f t y by now, and although he had w r i t t e n much f i n e poetry, he s t i l l o b v i o u s l y d i d not q u a l i f y as a great poet. Tu Pu had d i e d when he was f i f t y - e i g h t . Never-t h e l e s s , s p i r i t u a l c r i s e s f r e q u e n t l y lead to sudden "conver-s i o n s , " and Yang was no exce p t i o n , f o r a t the beginning of 1178, he had an experience, which i n i t s depth and suddenness, was c l o s e l y s i m i l a r to the profound sudden enlightenment of a Ch'an monk: On New Years Day of wu-hsUt (1178) I was on v a c a t i o n , and l a c k i n g o f f i c i a l b u s i n e s s , I wrote poetry on t h i s day. Suddenly I was as i f enl i g h t e n e d . . . I was then very j o y f u l . I t r i e d having my son hold the w r i t i n g brush while I o r a l l y composed s e v e r a l poems, and they came gushing f o r t h without any of the pre-, v i o u s grinding.® 0 50 Yang Wan-li had experienced a profound awakening of h i s p o e t i c c r e a t i v i t y , f o r In the s i n g l e year 1178, he wrote more poems than he had i n the l a s t e i g h t years of h i s l i f e , and t h i s great b u r s t of w r i t i n g came while he was b u s i l y engaged w i t h l o c a l government. In a poem w r i t t e n soon a f t e r h i s en-lightenment, Yang d e s c r i b e s the new ease which he f e l t i n w r i t i n g v e r s e : D r i n k i n g Late One by one I r e c i t e the poems, one by one I copy them; I have a cup of w i l d v egetables and some mountain d a i n t i e s , too. The s p r i n g almost doesn't brace t h i s man's drunkeness fti When the moon a r r i v e s a t the t i p top branch of the plums. Yang Wan-li's p o e t i c enlightenment had been preceded by a much g r e a t e r awareness of Oh'an, as we have already seen. A l -though i t would be hazardous to make an estimate of Yang's s p i r i t u a l l e v e l i n 1178, i t seems that h i s p o e t i c enlightenment was only p a r t of a deeper s p i r i t u a l enlightenment. Though he does not inform us d e f i n i t e l y of a sudden awakening i n the Buddhist sense, a poem he wrote i n the same year d e s c r i b e s a m y s t i c a l experience of the Buddhist v a r i e t y : While on V a c a t i o n , I Read Books i n Abundant P l a n t i n g P a v i l i o n on a C l e a r Morning Since I brought my f a m i l y to govern C h l n g - c h ' l , A year has a l r e a d y suddenly passed. My o f f i c i a l r e s i d e n c e i s n ' t r e a l l y bad, But my f e e l i n g s are always devoid of joy. I f my servants don't get s i c k , Then my c h i l d r e n are s u r e l y c r y i n g . Formerly I was poor, s i g h i n g I was never f u l l ; But t h i s autumn i t ' s not hunger that bothers me. In mc.rning I get up w i t h a book i n my s l e e v e , And climb to the p a v i l i o n q u i c k l y to enjoy myself. Traces of dew, s t a r s and moon s t i l l remain; Winds and a i r , no windows or s h u t t e r s . Suddenly I f e e l my o l d s i c k body Can't stand these robes of l i n e n . How could I get through y e s t e r d a y ' s heat? The morning coolness i s what I t r e a s u r e ! White b i r d s f a r o f f l o o k l i k e b u t t e r f l i e s ; B l a c k l o c u s t s hum l i k e poets c h a n t i n g . The c o l o r of pine t r e e s turns my s p i r i t to snow; Fragrance of l o t u s e s i c e s my g a l l . Suddenly, where have happiness and sorrow gone? My body, too,'disappears completely. My c h i l d r e n don't understand anything, Op F o r they c a l l me to come home and eat b r e a k f a s t . 52 The " o l d , s i c k body" of which Yang speaks i s the body which the Buddhists say s u f f e r s from o l d age, s i c k n e s s , and death. In a f l a s h of i n t u i t i o n Yang l e a v e s t h i s body behind and t r a n -scends the d u a l i t y between happiness and sorrow. Yang's c h i l d r e n c a l l i n g him from h i s s t a t e of e n l i g h t e n -ment to attend to more p r a c t i c a l matters such as e a t i n g break-f a s t , suggests that h i s s p i r i t u a l quests were l i m i t e d by more p r a c t i c a l matters such as c a r i n g f o r h i s f a m i l y by working f o r the government, and a poem he wrote s h o r t l y a fterward h i n t s t h a t h i s w o r l d l y problems were s t i l l f a r from an i d e a l s o l u t i o n : My Son C r i e s i n Want of Pood How could I Ignore our emperor's kindness g i v i n g us food and warmth? a But my young son, used to poverty, i s always s t a r v i n g . 1 3 Morning a f t e r morning I hear him c r y i n g J u s t when the cooking g r a i n i s almost done! 0 8 ^ N e v e r t h e l e s s , as the f o o t n o t e shows, the l a s t l i n e of the poem suggests the dream-like nature of the o f f i c i a l c a r e e r Yang was p u r s u i n g . In f a c t f o r the Ch'an Buddhist t r u e e n l i g h t e n -ment c o n s i s t s i n the r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t i l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y are i d e n t i c a l and that the l i f e of the o r d i n a r y world i s the same as the l i f e of the e n l i g h t e n e d . The i d e a l of the Ch'an s c h o o l and, indeed, of most other Chinese schools of Buddhist thought was the legendary f i g u r e of V i m a l a k i r t i , a r i c h merchant who 53 l i v e d f u l l y i n the world of a c t i o n and y e t possessed a r i c h e r understanding of the Buddhist d o c t r i n e than the monk d i s c i p l e s of Buddha, who engaged i n constant m e d i t a t i o n and f a s t i n g . 8 ^ I t was a t about t h i s p e r i o d i n Yang's l i f e when he r e a l i z e d the t r u t h of t h i s V i m a l a k i r t l i d e a l : Approaching H o l i d a y s In the h o l i d a y s I'm not without work, Yet i n my business, I n a t u r a l l y have l e i s u r e . U sing the wind I bother the white b i r d To send a l e t t e r c a l l i n g the green mountain. A c o l l e c t i o n of poetry, one or two volumes; My l i b r a r y , three or f o u r rooms. When I f e e l l i k e i t , I can w r i t e poetry, Yet I s t i l l say I'm i n the world of d u s t ! 8 5 In Yang's c o n d i t i o n h i s l e i s u r e i s h i s busi n e s s and h i s business, h i s l e i s u r e , and he i s both w i t h i n and o u t s i d e of the world of d u s t . In the f i r s t month of 1179 Yang Wan-li was appointed Intendant f o r Ever Normal G r a n a r i e s , Tea, and S a l t of Kuang-tung p r o v i n c e / ^ sf- V j » J .Jk- . He l e f t Ch'ang-chou very s a t i s f i e d w i t h both h i s accomplishments as a poet and an ad-m i n i s t r a t o r : "At t h i s time, not only d i d I not f e e l the d i f -f i c u l t y of w r i t i n g poetry but a l s o I d i d not f e e l the d i f f i -c u l t y of being a g o v e r n o r . " 8 6 However, Yang d i d not set out Immediately f o r Kuang-tung, f o r he wished to r e t u r n home f i r s t , 54 and so i n the t h i r d month he began a l e i s u r e l y journey back to C h i - s h u i . On the way he stopped to v i s i t h i s f r i e n d , the poet Fan Ch'eng-ta, who was l i v i n g i n the c i t y of Suchow i n Kiang-su p r o v i n c e at t h i s time. The t r i p west was an extremely f e r t i l e p e r i o d f o r Yang and w i t h i n l e s s than a y e a r he wrote over two hundred poems, which he l a t e r sent to Fan f o r the poet's a p p r o v a l . Sometime i n the e a r l y summer Yang a r r i v e d home where he remained f o r the r e s t of the y e a r e n j o y i n g h i m s e l f and w r i t i n g c o n t i n u o u s l y . However, he was not a b l e to stay i d l e f o r l o n g , f o r a f t e r the New Years's c e l e b r a t i o n s of 1 1 8 0 , Yang s e t f o r t h on the l o n g and p e r i l o u s journey south to Canton. B e s i d e s a number of stages by l a n d , Yang had to pass through a s e r i e s of h i g h l y dangerous r i v e r gorges on h i s way south; Having passed a l l the dangerous r a p i d s , I can't stand any more; Yet suddenly I am s t a r t l e d by sheer c l i f f s , a z u r e , p r e c i p i t o u s . Undying thousand year o l d t r e e s hang upside down, Brushing a g a i n s t the r a c i n g c u r r e n t s of thousand y a r d l a k e s . 8 7 Although Kuang-tung was not so t e r r i f y i n g a p l a c e as i t had been i n T'ang times, Yang f e l t t h a t he had entered a new and somewhat a l i e n w o r l d : 5 5 P a s s i n g Chen-yang Gorge ( F i f t h poem of s i x ) In the shadow of a banyan t r e e , our s i n g l e reed boat l i e s h o r i z o n t a l . Midst the c r i e s of p a r t r i d g e s , the mountain peaks t u r n g r e e n e r , a When southerners come here, even t h e i r h e a r t s are broken; But I'm not a southerner, so what can I d o ? 8 8 In c o n t r a s t to most T'ang poets who served i n the deep south, Yang d i d not bemoan h i s f a t e upon a r r i v a l i n Canton, and i n a manner t y p i c a l of Sung i n t e l l e c t u a l s , he immediately set out to explore the unusual n a t u r a l phenomena of the t r o p i c a l c l i m a t e and u t i l i z e t h i s new m a t e r i a l f o r h i s p o e t r y . One of the most d e l i g h t f u l products of Kuang-tung Is the l i c h e e , and judging by the number of poems Yang wrote about t h i s f r u i t , he c o n s i d e r e d e a t i n g i t to be one of the h i g h p o i n t s of h i s v i s i t : On the E i g h t h of the F o u r t h Month I Eat New L i c h e e s A l i t t l e spot of rouge dyes i t s stems' edges, Then suddenly red covers i t s green robe c o m p l e t e l y . a I t s p u rple jade bones are as s l e n d e r as a c l o v e , While i t s snow white f l e s h i s c o o l i n the noon heat. How could I bear t o u c h i n g t h i s i c y p e l l e t oh my palm?** S t i l l i t s f l a v o r along w i t h wine i s hard to f o r g e t ! T h i s o l d g l u t t o n wants to eat three hundred l i c h e e s , But I f e a r t h e i r sweet c h i l l w i l l f r e e z e my i n t e s t i n e s to p i e c e s ! ! 8 9 56 Yang's p e a c e f u l c a r e e r as a p r o v i n c i a l o f f i c i a l was soon d i s t u r b e d , f o r i n 1181 h i s area was invaded by r e b e l f o r c e s Shen's u p r i s i n g had begun i n Ch'ao-chou, but a f t e r c l a s h i n g w i t h government f o r c e s t h e r e , he marched south. D u r i n g these years there were numerous p o p u l a r u p r i s i n g s i n the south, l a r g e l y due to the e x c e s s i v e t a x a t i o n of the c e n t r a l government which was n e c e s s i t a t e d by the huge m i l i t a r y expenses f o r n a t i o n -a l defence and the t r i b u t e to the Chin T a r t a r s . Yang h i m s e l f was very much aware of the e x p l o s i v e s i t u a t i o n which e x i s t e d i n the c o u n t r y s i d e , as we have a l r e a d y seen, and a l t h o u g h he was t o t a l l y f a i t h f u l to the c e n t r a l government, he must have a c -cepted h i s new post as J u d i c i a l Intendant of Kuang-tung ^ ji i n charge of su p p r e s s i n g the r e v o l t . I t i s worth n o t i n g t h a t two of the other most famous poets of the p e r i o d , H s i n C h ' i - c h i and Pan Ch'eng-ta had to engage i n s i m i l a r d i s t a s t e f u l m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t l o c a l b a n d i t s . When we take i n t o mind the g e n e r a l d i s l i k e of warfare c u r r e n t among most Sung l i t e r a t i , we can e a s i l y understand Yang's sentiments expressed i n a poem w r i t t e n w hile engaging i n the hazardous journeys d u r i n g the campaign: A Bamboo Branch Song of Gorge Mountain M o n a s t e r y a When t o r t o i s e s and f i s h reach here, they always t u r n under the command of a b a n d i t 90 w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e t r e p i d a t i o n , f o r he was now .back; Not only t o r t o i s e s and f i s h , even the crabs are w o r r i e d I 57 Then why does t h i s poet make l i g h t of h i s o l d l i f e ? He goes to Shao-chou to c l a s h w i t h sandbanks and smash a g a i n s t rocks The ha r d s h i p s of the m i l i t a r y campaign reminded Yang of h i s former h a r d s h i p s as a youth: • • • When young I was poor and lo w l y ; I d i d n ' t have land b i g enough to set up an awl. With my w r i t i n g brush plow I t i l l e d paper f i e l d s , And I drew b l a c k water from my po o l of i n k . • • • I f my c r i e s of hunger couldn't be heard, I was so used to hunger, I j u s t d i d n ' t c r y . I have been r a c i n g s w i f t l y f o r t h i r t y y e a r s ; What has a l l t h i s t o i l and l a b o r got me a f t e r a l l ? My h a i r has turned white by f o l l o w i n g roads, And my f a c e has blackened from wind and snow. As n i g h t approaches I'm a t White Sand Rapids; My l i f e i s as f r a g i l e as a strand of s i l k . Vast waves w h i r l our s i n g l e l e a f of a boat; I cry to heaven and c a l l upon gods and s p i r i t s . I f my l i f e i s preserved, i t w i l l be by a c c i d e n t ; What can the power of man a c c o m p l i s h ? ^ 2 • • • I f we were not f a m i l i a r w i t h Yang's usual o p t i m i s t i c outlook on l i f e , we might suspect t h a t he i s only engaging i n s e l f - p i t y . Yet a good d e a l of h i s f r u s t r a t i o n was no doubt due to a f e e l -58 i n g t h a t he was now i n the same category as those o f f i c i a l s he had d e c l a r e d an enemy of the people i n h i s e a r l i e r w r i t i n g s . H i s Confucian background r e q u i r e d him to serve the govern-ment that had appointed him to h i s post, and Yang's c o n t r a d i c -t o r y emotions can be seen i n a poem he wrote only a few months a f t e r the one above: The Old Road In my l i f e I've grown t i r e d of t r a v e l i n g by road, But on t h i s journey I'm so happy I couldn't r e f u s e . How am I d i f f e r e n t from other men, Do I t i r e of i d l e n e s s , take joy i n d r i v i n g myself on? When I am engaged i n t r a v e l i n g on the king's b u s i n e s s , F o r g e t t i n g my body, how can I be s e l f - c o n s c i o u s ? Bandits from F u k i e n have entered my department; I t i s important that these c r e e p i n g v i n e s not be allowed to grow. O f f i c i a l s a re so angered t h e i r caps shoot up; And people c h e r i s h f e e l i n g s f o r r e q u i t i n g the state.93 The campaign l a s t e d only a few months, and Yang was t o t a l l y s u c c e s s f u l i n r o u t i n g the r e b e l armies. S h o r t l y before the f i g h t drew to a c l o s e Yang wrote: 59 I Send Out a Command to Summon the S o l d i e r s of A l l the Commanderies The Fuki e n b a n d i t s l e e r e d a t Kuang-tung i n the e v e n i n g , a Yet by morning the southern s o l d i e r s had a l l gone e a s t . Our armies' cry shakes the c l i f f s and v a l l e y s ; Our banners' shadows d e l i g h t i n the f r o s t y wind. Those l e o p a r d s and t i g e r s f l o c k e d t o g e t h e r from a l l q u a r t e r s , But the Spear Comet was c l e a r e d away w i t h one laugh. 1 5 As f o r i n s i g n i f i c a n t r a t s l i k e them, Our s u p e r f i c i a l merit i s h a r d l y worth r e p o r t i n g . 9 A In s p i t e of whatever m i s g i v i n g s Yang might have f e l t w h i l e on the m i l i t a r y campaigns, h i s v i c t o r y was of immediate advantage to h i s p o l i t i c a l c a r e e r . When the emperor heard of h i s e x p l o i t s , Yang was q u i c k l y r e c a l l e d f o r s e r v i c e i n the cen-t r a l government, and a t the end of 1181, he headed back to Hang-chou, i n t e n d i n g to stop a t h i s home i n K i a n g s i on the way. He never reached the c a p i t a l , because i n the seventh month of 1182, h i s mother d i e d , and he now began the expected three y e a r s ' mourning p e r i o d . Yang's o b s e r v a t i o n of h i s mother's mourning p e r i o d was much s t r i c t e r than a f t e r h i s f a t h e r ' s death. Not only d i d Yang r e f u s e the o f f i c i a l post o f f e r e d him as would be customary, but he a l s o stopped a l l l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y f o r the next t h r e e y e a r s . A f t e r h i s f a t h e r ' s death Yang had w r i t t e n q u i t e a number of poems and even taken short t r i p s away from C h i - s h u i . Now he remained i s o l a t e d a t home and d i d not even 60 engage In correspondence w i t h h i s f r i e n d s . I t seems somewhat d i f f i c u l t to account f o r Yang's g r e a t e r s t r i c t n e s s of behavior a f t e r h i s mother's death, f o r he spoke of h i s f a t h e r much more f r e q u e n t l y i n h i s verse than h i s mother. P o s s i b l y , Yang was now a r e l a t i v e l y famous man, and s o c i e t y expected him to d i s -p l a y a g r e a t e r degree of f i l i a l p i e t y than d u r i n g h i s more ob-scure youth. In 1184 Yang's mourning came to an end, and i n the e l e v e n t h month he was appointed A s s i s t a n t O f f i c e r of the Min-a c t i n the new post was to send up a memorial i n the f i f t h month of 1185 by request of the emperor due to an earthquake which had r e c e n t l y shaken the c a p i t a l . Although most e n l i g h t -ened s c h o l a r s i n Sung times d i d not b e l i e v e i n omens and pro-d i g i e s , the c e n t r a l government was extremely s e n s i t i v e to n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s and was a f r a i d t h a t the people would take such events as a s i g n that the i m p e r i a l house had l o s t the man-date of heaven. Hence, the emperor u s u a l l y requested o f f i c i a l s to c r i t i c i z e h i s f a u l t s when some d i s a s t e r occurred i n order to show h i s concern f o r the people's w e l f a r e and w i l l i n g n e s s to c o r r e c t any p e r s o n a l shortcomings r e s p o n s i b l e f o r heaven's anger. In h i s memorial Yang warned the emperor t h a t the Sung government should renew i t s h o s t i l i t i e s w i t h the Chin before i t was too l a t e : Hi s f i r s t important North and South have been a t peace f o r more than t h i r t y y e a r s . But i f one day they out o f f r e l a t i o n s , the f e e l -61 ing s of the b a r b a r i a n s w i l l be hard to judge, and some w i l l say: "They are s u f f e r i n g from the calamity of f i v e c h i e f s f i g h t i n g f o r the throne or from the same calamity as the Hsiung-nu when t r o u b l e d by the E a s t e r n Han or the Northern Wei when d i s t r e s s e d by the Jou-j a n . " a I f , however, none of these t h i n g s come t r u e , some w i l l say, "They w i l l f e a r us," and others w i l l say, "They w i l l not dare to p l o t a g a i n s t us." Do they r e a l l y f e a r us and dare not p l o t a g a i n s t us? I t i s rumored i n the s t r e e t s t h a t they are r e p a i r i n g the w a l l s and moats of P i e n - c h i n g and opening c a n a l s i n H a i - c h o u . b Moreover, to the n o r t h and south of the Yellow R i v e r they are c o n s c r i p t i n g s o l d i e r s from the people and i n c r e a s i n g d i s p a t c h c a v a l r y and b u i l d -i n g horse s t a b l e s . They are a l s o r e g i s t e r i n g w e l l s and s p r i n g s . They a p p r o p r i a t e sea-going v e s s e l s and move them i n l a n d where they are r e p a i r e d and made new. T h e i r i n t e n t i o n s are extremely s e c r e t i v e and t h e i r r e s t r i c t i o n s very t i g h t , so that our s p i e s are not ab l e to enter.95 Yang's c a l l f o r g r e a t e r m i l i t a r y preparedness was t o t a l l y i g -nored by Hsiao Tsung and h i s p a c i f i s t c o u r t . D e s p i t e Yang's f u t i l e c a l l to arms the proper a u t h o r i t i e s were duly impressed by the poet's p a t r i o t i s m and; soon a f t e r -ward he was promoted to O f f i c e Chief of the M i n i s t r y of Person-s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r i n f l u e n c e on p o l i c y . A c c o r d i n g to Yang's n e l £ In t h i s p o s i t i o n he managed to exert a 62 biography, shortly a f t e r Yang had been promoted, the prime minister Wang Huai j£. 3^ asked Yang: "What i s the most im-portant thing with which a prime minister ought to concern him-s e l f ? " In true Confucian fashion Yang i s supposed to have an-swered: "Talented men!"96 When Wang pressed Yang further about which individuals were most talented, Yang submitted a l i s t of sixty names, which i s s t i l l preserved i n h i s complete works. In addition to naming old friends such as Hsiao Te-tsao, i t i s quite i n t e r e s t i n g to note that the f i r s t name on the l i s t was Chu H s l J ^ -Jj^ , the famous neo-Confucian philosopher .97 Although Yang and Chu were not extremely close friends, they did exchange a few poems, and Chu himself was a very good f r i e n d of Chang Chtin's son Chang Shih. Yang had been interested i n neo-Confucian thought f o r some years,98 but the main reason he recommended Chu Hsi f o r high position was the Sung philosopher's Impeccable standard of conduct and possibly more important, Chu's opposition to southern Sung pacifism. In 1186 Yang Wan-li was promoted four times, and when he obtained the p o s i t i o n of Reader i n Waiting to the Crown Prince $~ * h e w a s n o n o r e d by the emperor presenting him the purple f i s h sash. He was now on reasonably intimate terms with the imperial family and high o f f i c i a l s , and we are assured that the crown prince was delighted when Yang read to him from the memorials of the famous T'ang prose s t y l i s t Lu Chlh |^ ^ . A c t u a l l y , Yang's association with the upper crust of Sung so-r clety had an extremely detrimental e f f e c t on h i s poetry. He was now away from the natural surroundings which were the usual material of his verse, and while Yang was i n the c a p i t a l , he wrote a host of extremely i n s i p i d poems c e l e b r a t i n g v a r i o u s c o u r t events or mourning the demise of c e r t a i n h i g h f u n c t i o n -a r i e s . We could almost accuse Yang of sycophancy i n some of these poems, although, of course, such hack work was expected of o f f i c i a l s c l o s e to the i m p e r i a l f a m i l y . That such poems do not express Yang's true f e e l i n g s can be seen from the f o l l o w -i n g work composed a t t h i s time: W r i t t e n on P o r t r a i t of the Duke of Ch'lap Welcoming the Grand Empress, Shown to me by Ts'ao Chung-pen; I Recorded the E n t i r e P a i n t i n g from "Ordering the I m p e r i a l I n s i g n i a " Onwards. a S p r i n g days are l o n g i n f r o n t of Palace of V i r t u e and Longevity;** When f l o w e r s bloom i n s i d e the p a l a c e , the o u t s i d e i s f r a g r a n t , too. The Grand Sovereign n o u r i s h e s h i s s p i r i t up i n the Jade Empyrean, 0 So men of the c a p i t a l have not gazed on h i s pure l i g h t a l o n g time. T h i s morning we suddenly see them p u t t i n g the i m p e r i a l i n s i g n i a i n order, K i n g f i s h e r f l o w e r banners and y e l l o w t e n t c h a r i o t s descend from heaven. One shout of "Make way!" and a myriad men l o o k on; Ice melts i n the Heavenly S t r e e t , but snow remains on upper s t o r i e s . Prom the n o r t h comes ye t another red p a r a s o l , E i g h t phoenix b e l l s , three c o u r s e r s , and golden hub caps. I t seems the Mother of J a s p e r P o o l i s i n t h i s carriage** With her phoenix s l i p p e r s , rosy robes cut from cloud and m i s t . The Grand Sovereign gazes a t her, h i s heavenly countenance beaming; In the s p r i n g wind of myriad s t a t e s , the hundred f l o w e r s dance. T h i s i s a p o r t r a i t of Grand Empress Tz'u-ning's r e t u r n i n g c h a r i o t ; Mother and son as they were b e f o r e , no equal i n a thousand ages. A r b o r e a l clouds and f r o n t i e r snows, the banners' f e e t damp; e I m p e r i a l w i l l o w s and p a l a c e plums, t h e i r c o l d shadows sparse. A l l a long, the T z ' u - n i n g Empress has been cut o f f by sandy wastes; She begged geese to send a l e t t e r , but geese are hard to t r u s t . f What man i s t h i s who welcomes back her b l a c k steed c h a r i o t ? . A descendant of the M a r t i a l Emperor of Wei, General Ts'ao Hsfln.S O r i g i n a l l y the g e n e r a l was only a broad-robed s c h o l a r , But suddenly heaving h i s shoulders, he drew a f i v e stone bow. 65 With only a s a l u t e to the Khan, who seemed a s m a l l boy, He brought back, her compassionate c a r r i a g e , as e a s i l y as breaking a branch. H i s merit covers a l l the world, but i t was only s p o r t f o r him, And w i t h a laugh he f o l l o w s the Red Pine Immortal, n waxing h i s p a i r of b o o t s . i He f l o a t s to the south of South Mountain and the n o r t h of North Mountain, too. Don't you see t h a t when Ylieh P e l ' s work was done, he d i d n ' t get out of the way?3 But I t e l l you the Prime M i n i s t e r of the Ch'in f a m i l y k QQ i s g l a r i n g ! y j Although the events i n the poem had taken p l a c e f o r t y - t h r e e y e a r s e a r l i e r , l a n g would have been very f o o l i s h to p u b l i s h h i s poem under the c u r r e n t circumstances. The poem seems to be a simple c e l e b r a t i o n of Kao Tsung's f i l i a l p i e t y , but i t i s a c t u a l l y a b i t t e r s a t i r e on Kao Tsung's h y p o c r i t i c a l concern f o r h i s f a t h e r Hui Tsung and even suggests that Kao Tsung was d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r Yfleh P e l ' s death. Kao Tsung was merely i n r e t i r e m e n t at the time, and Hsiao Tsung would have been deeply offended by such a c c u s a t i o n s a g a i n s t h i s own f a t h e r . The appeasement party a t the court was c e r t a i n l y not about to admit the s i n i s t e r deeds of Ch'in Kuei, the very a r c h i t e c t of t h e i r p a c i f i s t p o l i c i e s . In 1187 there was a s e r i o u s drought, and the emperor r e -66 quested a d v i c e from h i s o f f i c i a l s , so Yang Wan-li sent up the second important memorial s i n c e h i s appointment to the c a p i t a l . In t h i s work, he d i d not d i s c u s s m i l i t a r y a f f a i r s but concen-t r a t e d more on i n t e r n a l p o l i c y . Yang s t a t e d t h a t the drought was caused by a "perverse vapor" which blocked up the passage of the y l n and yang between heaven and e a r t h : But what i s t h i s perverse vapor then? The sound of the people's s i g h s i s extremely minute but i t i s s u f f i c i e n t to be heard by august Heaven. The people's thoughts of hatred are extremely hidden but they are s u f f i c i e n t to reach the e x a l t e d God. This i s the reason why such a perverse vapor has been formed and why the vapors between heaven and e a r t h have been cut o f f . When someone l o v e s the people l i k e Your Highness and cares f o r the people l i k e Your Highness, how can there be such t h i n g s as hatred and sighs? I t i s prob-a b l y because the grace from above does not f l o w down-wards and the f e e l i n g s from below do not penetrate up-wards . . . Above there i s a p r i n c e who l i g h t e n s taxa-t i o n , y e t the people do not r e c e i v e h i s t r u e kindness. Above there i s a p r i n c e who examines punishments, but the people do not o b t a i n h i s deep l o v e . 1 0 0 Yang continues to say t h a t although the emperor remits taxes and makes laws to b e n e f i t the people, a l l i s to no a v a i l be-cause of c o r r u p t o f f i c i a l s . Yang d i d not dare d i r e c t l y a t t a c k the emperor h i m s e l f i n such documents, but as we have seen i n 67 the poem above, he was f u l l y aware of the hypocrisy of the im-p e r i a l family i t s e l f . In the tenth month of 1187 Yang was promoted to Vice-d i r e c t o r of the Imperial L i b r a r y ^ ' -|| J£ , a post In which he was i n charge of documents f o r that branch of the government. In the same month the r e t i r e d emperor Kao Tsung, whom Yang despised so much, passed away, and since Hsiao Tsung wished to observe the three year mourning period, he sent down a decree which i n effect handed over power to the Crown Prince f o r the duration. According to the decree a H a l l f o r Discus-sing A f f a i r s ^ >^ ^ was set up, i n which the Crown Prince was to decide a l l p o l i t i c a l matters i n the presence of the o f f i c i a l s already serving i n the court. Yang probably recog-nized the ineptitude of the future emperor Kuang Tsung ^ and protested strongly that the urgency of national a f f a i r s required the presence of Hsiao Tsung i n state decisions. When Yang's protests were ignored, he attempted to resign from his post but to no a v a i l . As the year 1188 wore on Yang became further embroiled i n court s t r i f e . In the thi r d month of the year a Han-lin Academy scholar Hung M a i ^ suggested that a number of dead m i l i -tary and p o l i t i c a l figures who had l i v e d during the reign of Kao Tsung should be allowed to enjoy s a c r i f i c i a l offerings in the temple of the deceased emperor. When Yang saw that h is master Chang ChQh was not Included i n the l i s t of names, he be-came outraged and immediately sent up a memorial attacking Hung Mai f o r h i s arbitrary and d i c t a t o r i a l conduct. Even worse, Yang Wan-li bluntly said that Hung Mai's actions were no d i f -68 f e r e n t from " c a l l i n g a s t a g a h o r s e . " 1 0 1 T h i s a c c u a s a t i o n was p a r t i c u l a r l y s e r i o u s f o r not only d i d i t defame Hung Mai's c h a r a c t e r but I t a l s o i n d i r e c t l y slandered both the Crown P r i n c e and Hsiao Tsung. When Chao. Kao ^ J j \]q , the MachlaT v e l l i a n prime m i n i s t e r of the Ch'in dynasty p l o t t e d to put the second son of Ch'in S h i h Huang Jj> jt- o n throne i n p l a c e of the r i g h t f u l h e i r , he decided to u t i l i z e a ruse to a s c e r t a i n the l o y a l t y of the c o u r t i e r s around him. Chao pre-sented the p r i n c e w i t h a s t a g and s a i d t h at i t was a horse, whereupon the p r i n c e asked a l l the c o u r t i e r s what the animal was. Those who s a i d the animal was a s t a g and not a horse were judged undependable, and Chao q u i c k l y proceeded to a s s a s s i nate them. In a d d i t i o n to comparing Hung Mai to the n o t o r i o u s Chao Kao, Yang had suggested that the Crown P r i n c e was not the r i g h t f u l s u c c e s s o r and t h a t Hsiao Tsung was as e v i l as Chinese h i s t o r i a n s have judged Ch'in S h i h Huang to be. The emperor Hsiao Tsung flew i n t o a rage .and i s supposed to have s a i d : "What kind of r u l e r does Wan-li take me f o r ? " 1 0 2 In a l e s s humane age of Chinese h i s t o r y Yang could have ex-pected the e x e c u t i o n e r ' s axe or at l e a s t banishment to such an unhealthy p l a c e as Hai-nan, where he would h o p e f u l l y d i e of m a l a r i a . N e v e r t h e l e s s , the Sung dynasty was more c i v i l i z e d , and Hsiao Tsung i s s a i d to have had a grudging a p p r e c i a t i o n of Yang's a u d a c i t y . A c t u a l l y , the main s t r u g g l e was not over whether Chang Chtin would enjoy the I m p e r i a l s a c r i f i c e s , and the r e a l cause of d i s s e n s i o n was the c o n t i n u i n g f i g h t between the pro- and a n t i - w a r p a r t i e s i n the c o u r t . R e f u s i n g the s a c r i f i c e s to 69 Chang Chlin was a blow to the prestige of the advocates of m i l i t a r y action against the Chin. We must remember that Hsiao Tsung himself had i n i t i a t e d Chang Chlin1 s unsuccessful counter-attack, and although i t s f a i l u r e forced the emperor into the p a c i f i s t camp, he very l i k e l y held a secret admiration f o r men l i k e Yang Wan-li. Thus, i n the fourth month of 1188, Yang was appointed governor of Yun-chou £| NHJ near modern Kao-an yhj i n southern Kiangsi province. Before we trace the subsequent events i n Yang's p o l i t i c a l career, we should say something about his personal l i f e in the c a p i t a l from 1184-88. Although Yang spent much of his time associating with high o f f i c i a l s and the Imperial family, he also renewed contacts with a number of old acquaintances and (1127-1194) dates from 1178, but the two poets do not seem to have been on very close terms u n t i l Yang's residence i n the c a p i t a l . They exchanged a large number of poems at th i s time, so one suspects that Yang was influenced by Yu Mou's views on l i t e r a t u r e . Unfortunately very few of Yu Mou's poems have been handed down to posterity, despite l a t e r c r i t i c s r a t ing him as one of the four best poets of the southern Sung, so that we have p r a c t i c a l l y no way to determine exactly what Yu's i n -fluence was.103 Yang met another l i t e r a r y great during t h i s period, and Yang's long association with the f i e r y p a t r i o t poet Lu Yu l e f t an Indelible impression on his verse. The f i r s t poem Yang wrote to Lu Yu dates from 1186, although the two poets had cer-t a i n l y known one another much e a r l i e r . Yang's friendship with made new friendships. Lu was much more dramatic than his r e l a t i o n with Yu, as we can see i n a poem written shortly a f t e r Yang and Lu renewed t h e i r f r i e n d s h i p : A Cloud and Dragon Song i n Pun of Lu Yu a Master-cloud Yang was from Inky P o o l , b And Scholar-dragon Lu from In the Clouds. 0 Heaven was jealous of t h e i r clever words, So she kept them apart, never l e t t i n g them meet. We meet again suddenly i n Ch'ang-an Market; d It must have been three thousand years since we parted. How many times have the Queen Mother's peach blossoms f a l l e n ? 6 5 The handle of the Big Dipper i s rotten, the Milky Way dry. The h a i r on our temples has turned to s i l k as white as snow; Two old men stare at each other, faces red as cinnabar. I beg to ask: "Since our parting, where have you gone?" "The Wei r i v e r flows east, but I have gone up west." f Your golden seal big as a dipper, how much cash i s i t worth? 8 Your brocade sack l i k e a mountain, how many poems in i t now?h A poet i s never a f r a i d of ending h i s chanting; He only fears no wind or moon i n the world. Don't you see that the Han Marquis of Level Ford* Had scholar caps and chariot awnings f l o a t i n g l i k e clouds i n his eastern pavilion?^ 71 And haven't you seen a t the same time the g r e a t g e n e r a l s Had nobles and m i n i s t e r s surround i n worship l i k e s t a r s r a c i n g about? But now these clouds have d i s p e r s e d and the s t a r s s c a t t e r e d , too, And there a r e n ' t even deer c l i m b i n g t h e i r t e r r a c e s and p a v i l i o n s or sheep c l i m b i n g t h e i r mounds. k When can I climb Mount Lu w i t h you^ And t u r n our ink-stone water i n t o water f a l l s ? G r i n d i n g s i c k l e s , w e ' l l chop up the S u n - r i s e T r e e ; m We'll beat i t s bark i n t o paper and t a i l o r smoke and m i s t . With the heavenly loom we can weave cloud brocade i n t o l i n e s of v e r s e ! n The sea plums of Lone Peak have a l l opened now; 0 Though i t ' s a l r e a d y the Shang-ssu F e s t i v a l , no t r a v e l e r s have gone y e t . p I'm d y i n g to go there w i t h you a t once: "One cup, one cup, and one cup more!"^ Who cares i f Jade Mountain f a l l s over or n o t ? r And what matters the fame of my poetry to me?10"^ From the poem we can see that Yang was not a b l e to see Lu d a l l y i n the c a p i t a l , f o r Lu only v i s i t e d Hang-chou on h i s way to v a r i o u s l o c a l posts he was h o l d i n g a t the time. Although Yang a l r e a d y belonged to the pro-war f a c t i o n , h i s contact w i t h Lu Yu f o r t i f i e d h i s former views and p o l i t i c a l themes became i n -c r e a s i n g l y common i n h i s verse f o r the next few y e a r s . 72 One of the greatest results of the many friendships Yang made or renewed during these years was a great Increase i n the fame of h i s poetry. His renown as a poet was also helped along by the recognition he achieved i n the Kuang-tung m i l i t a r y cam-paigns, and i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that the f i r s t c o l l e c -t i o n of works he had printed was the Nan-hal Ohi pjr] ify ^ or C o l l e c t i o n of the South Seas, which Yang wrote while at Canton. Yang's works had circulated among hi s friends i n man-uscript form f o r a number of years, but he waited u n t i l 1186 u n t i l he had th i s f i r s t c o l l e c t i o n printed. Obviously the re-ception was good, f o r i n 1187 Yang published the Chlng-ch'1 Chi ^ ' j ^ j[| written while he was governor of Ch'ang-chou and the Hsl Kuei Chi i | , which recorded h i s t r i p from the c a p i t a l to Chi-shui i n 1179. In 1188 Yang f e l t s u f f i c i e n t -l y brave to publish his more youthful poems written between 1162 and 1177, which he e n t i t l e d Chiang Hu Chi £X ^ ^ or Co l l e c t i o n of Rivers and Lakes. Yang Wan-li divided h i s v a r i -ous c o l l e c t i o n s according to d i s t i n c t periods i n his p o l i t i c a l l i f e , and he was very careful to arrange the works i n s t r i c t chronological order, a practice which he never abandoned. The great caution which he and h i s descendants used i n editing his complete works i s largely responsible f o r the generally good condition of the text which survives. After these f i r s t printed editions came out, the demand f o r Yang Wan-li's poetry was strong enough to enable him to publish a l l subsequent c o l -l e c t i o n s as soon as the poems were completed. When Yang Wan-li set out f o r Yun-chou i n 1188, he does not seem to have f e l t any p a r t i c u l a r disgrace, and i n f a c t , he 73 was deeply r e l i e v e d . He intended to r e t u r n home to C h i - s h u i f i r s t , and h i s ex p e c t a t i o n s of r e s t and r e l a x a t i o n a f t e r the h e c t i c l i f e of the c a p i t a l i n s p i r e d him to w r i t e : S l e e p i n g on the Boat a t Noon A s i n g l e l e a f boat shakes u n s t e a d i l y ; Dazed, my wonderful thoughts are p e n e t r a t i n g . I change i n t o a Lacquer Garden b u t t e r f l y 3 -And f l y i n t o the Great Locust P a l a c e . 1 3 There i s wine to tempt and le a d me on, But no tea to rob or a t t a c k me. A l l my l i f e I haven't s l e p t enough, So now I can s e t t l e the account midst the s p l a s h of o a r s ! 1 0 5 As one can imagine, Yang's r e t u r n t r i p was extremely r e -l a x e d , and he d i d not even reach h i s new post u n t i l w i n t e r time. A f t e r a r r i v i n g i n Yttn-chou, Yang spent much of h i s time e n j o y i n g the l o c a l s i g h t s . He renewed h i s i n t e r e s t s i n Ch'an Buddhism and f r e q u e n t l y compares h i m s e l f to a Buddhist monk d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d . When sending o f f a f r i e n d to the c a p i t a l , Yang wrote: Sending Off Tseng Wu-yi to Become a H i s t o r i a n Jade rainbows race i n the water of Lucky P a t t e r n R l v e r ; a My home was to the west of the water, yours to the e a s t . At times we thought of each other, and immediately ordered c a r r i a g e s ; 74 On a d j o i n i n g couches we l i s t e n e d to pine wind i n the n i g h t ' s r a i n . Meanwhile, as poor o f f i c i a l s , we s c a t t e r e d our separate way s; I was a south f l y i n g honker, you a n o r t h f l y i n g goose. T h i s morning the post r i d e r knocks on the watch tower gate: "There's a guest, a guest, who's come to see you!" I hear that you are t a k i n g your f a m i l y to the emperor's c a p i t a l ; B e a t i n g drums, you set o f f on boat, t r a v e l l i n g up to heaven. S t i l l you were ab l e to go out of your way by s e v e r a l m i l e s To come and v i s i t t h i s monk i n h i s hermitage of K i a n g s l . Two poet immortals r e s i d e i n the Imp e r i a l S e c r e t a r i a t 1 3 Midst red peonies, green moss, and the shadows of pur p l e m y r t l e s . I f they ask you what t h i s mountain monk i s doi n g : As the day gets l a t e and o r i o l e s s i n g , he s l e e p s and never wakes up! The peace of mind which Yang achieved a t Yttn-chou i s best sum-med up i n a poem he wrote s h o r t l y a f t e r sending h i s f r i e n d o f f : 75 I Rest a t Noon i n Ylin Monastery I don't come to Ylin Monastery so o f t e n , But whenever I come, i t ' s always n i c e . The wind f a l l s from the f o r e s t ' s t r a n c h e s , And blows the bamboo r o o t s ' grass In d i s a r r a y . Both -my cap and sandals, above and below, are c o o l , While o r i o l e s and magpies, l e f t and r i g h t , c h a t t e r . The sound of the c i t y i s r e a l l y not very c l o s e , But i f you l i s t e n q u i e t l y , even d i s t a n t sounds can be heard. As I s i t on the stone bench, i t becomes warm, And the moss path i s as pure as i f swept. I t r y to w r i t e the word "sad" i n the a i r , But I've al r e a d y f o r g o t t e n i t s r a d i c a l ! a What's more, I've even f o r g o t t e n sadness i t s e l f , So how could I s t i l l remember o l d age? When st r a n g e r s come to t a l k of w o r l d l y a f f a i r s , I want to laugh, yet I'm j u s t too l a z y to laugh! Yang Wan-li hoped that the world would l e a v e him alone f o r the r e s t of h i s l i f e , but p o l i t i c a l events a l t e r e d h i s p l a n s f o r r e t i r e m e n t . In the second month of 1189, Hsiao Tsung a b d i c a t e d the throne i n f a v o r of the Crown P r i n c e , who now be-came the new emperor Kuang Tsung (1190-95)* S i x months l a t e r Yang Wan-li was c a l l e d back to the c a p i t a l as D i r e c t o r of the I m p e r i a l L i b r a r y -Ja H » and he a r r i v e d a t Hang-chou i n the n i n t h month. The f i r s t important a c t which Yang performed 76 upon r e a c h i n g the c a p i t a l was to have the poems he had w r i t t e n i n K i a n g s l p r i n t e d , and he wrote a p r e f a c e to h i s new Chlang-K i a n g s i Hermitage i n the t e n t h month. Although Yang was now e n j o y i n g c o n s i d e r a b l e fame as a poet, the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n to which he returned was much t e n s e r than when he had l e f t the c a p i t a l i n 1188. The new emperor was t o t a l l y incompetent, and the Empress L i v ^ p a c t u a l l y made a l l p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n s . Un-f o r t u n a t e l y , her d i s c r e t i o n was h a r d l y b e t t e r than t h a t of her husband, and i n an attempt to c o n s o l i d a t e her power, she t r i e d t o sow d i s s e n s i o n between Kuang Tsung and h i s r e t i r e d f a t h e r , c l a i m i n g t h a t Hsiao Tsung wished to r e p l a c e h i s so„n w i t h an-o t h e r h e i r . L u c k i l y f o r Yang Wan-li, he d i d not need to be caught up i n the i n t e r n a l d i s s e n s i o n of the c o u r t , because i n the t w e l f t h month, he was appointed Welcoming and Accompanying the c a p i t a l on a lengthy voyage. To understand Yang's d u t i e s we must e x p l a i n the d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s between the southern Sung court and the Chin. A c c o r d i n g to the terms of the new peace t r e a t y a f t e r Chang Chun's campaigns a g a i n s t the Chin, the Chinese and T a r t a r s were on equal terms as f a r as d i p l o -matic p r o t o c o l was concerned. N e v e r t h e l e s s , i t was s t i p u l a t e d t h a t the Chin and Sung should exchange ambassadors on New Year's Day and i m p e r i a l b i r t h d a y s . Yang's f u n c t i o n was to welcome and e n t e r t a i n the ambassador from the Chin, P'ei-man Y u - c h ' i n g ^ 5lJ>} , who was to a r r i v e i n Hang-chou i n the t w e l f t h month to c o n g r a t u l a t e Kuang Tsung on the New Year. h s l Tap Yuan Chi 51 ya }%J d£ or C o l l e c t i o n of the Chin, and so he was a b l e to l e a v e 77 Yang's m i s s i o n was extremely s e n s i t i v e , because even the s m a l l e s t mistake or unintended s l i g h t could be viewed as an ex-cuse f o r Chin m i l i t a r y a c t i o n s or a t l e a s t a s t i f f reprimand f o r the Sung c o u r t . Yang's c l o s e f r i e n d , the poet Fan Ch'eng-t a , had a harrowing experience when he went on a m i s s i o n to K' a i - f e n g i n 1170. When Fan attempted to present a p r i v a t e p e t i t i o n f o r a change of p r o t o c o l , the Chin emperor was so i n -f u r i a t e d by Fan's d i s r e g a r d of normal procedures, t h a t he came c l o s e to o r d e r i n g Fan executed on the spot. Fan bra v e l y stood h i s ground, and the Chin emperor f i n a l l y gave i n and r e c e i v e d the poet's p e t i t i o n , but the Chin r u l e r made a very t h r e a t e n -i n g r e p o r t to the Sung g o v e r n m e n t . 1 0 8 Yang d i d not have to t r a v e l i n enemy t e r r i t o r y but was only expected to meet the Chin ambassador a f t e r he had crossed the Huai R i v e r boundary between the two s t a t e s . Yang's t r i p northward from Hang-chou s t a r t e d out a u s p i c i o u s l y , and as he crossed the Yangtze R i v e r he wrote: C r o s s i n g the Yangtze R i v e r a (Second Poem of Two) Heaven made t h i s n a t u r a l moat to p r o t e c t the s k i e s of Wu;b I t ' s equal to Yao-han, a pass where two can hold o f f a hundred. c T h i s t en thousand mile s i l v e r r i v e r d r a i n s i n t o the ja s p e r sea, And a p a i r of jade pagodas o u t l i n e Metal Mountain. d Banners and f l a g s on the other shore, Huai-nan i s c l o s e ; e 78 Drums and trumpets b l a r e midst f r o s t ; a l l calm n o r t h of the f r o n t i e r . Many thanks to the R i v e r God, f o r the wind i s j u s t r i g h t ; I c r o s s a thousand a c r e s of vast waves i n an i n s t a n t . ^ 1 0 C " On the s u r f a c e , the poem seems to be a c e l e b r a t i o n of a p l e a s a n t journey a c r o s s the r i v e r , but Yang was o b v i o u s l y aware that the southern d y n a s t i e s of the North-south P e r i o d had a l s o r e l i e d upon the Yangtze R i v e r as a " n a t u r a l moat" to p r o t e c t themselves from n o r t h e r n b a r b a r i a n i n v a s i o n s , j u s t as the southern Sung was d o i n g now. A r i v e r t h a t the poet could cross so e a s i l y could a l s o be navigated by Chin warships, and we have a l r e a d y seen how Yang had warned the Sung government about Chin n a v a l p r e p a r a -t i o n s . When he passed Kua-chou or Melon I s l a n d Yang wrote: P a s s i n g Melon I s l a n d M a r k e t a Sad a t n i g h t from wind and waves, I can't get to s l e e p ; A dawn c r o s s i n g , pure and p e a c e f u l , e v e r y t h i n g ' s a t ease. With a few s t r o k e s on the metal gong, we're at the r i v e r p o r t ; A s i n g l e s a i l f u l l of f r o s t y s u n l i g h t , our boat goes up the Huai. P i - l i ' s horses are dead, not even t h e i r bones are l e f t ; 1 3 A - l i a n g ' s tower has c o l l a p s e d , now only w i l d f i e l d s . 0 North and South have r e s t e d t h e i r arms f o r t h i r t y years now, " 79 So mulberry patches and wheat mounds grow a l l the way ;t o h e a v e n . 1 1 0 Once a g a i n there i s a d e c e p t i v e aura of peace about Yang's poem. He r e f e r s to the u n s u c c e s s f u l attempts of the Chin to cr o s s the Yangtze and conquer the Sung and reminds h i s reader t h a t there has been peace f o r t h i r t y years w i t h the enemy. Yet Yang had s e v e r e l y c r i t i c i z e d Sung complacency d u r i n g t h i s mock peace, and from the complete a b s o r p t i o n of the peasants i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p u r s u i t s , i t was c l e a r t h a t h i s plans f o r t r a i n i n g a peasant m i l i t i a had been completely i g n o r e d . As the poet passed the s t r a t e g i c bridge over the Yangtze he wrote: Gazing A f a r as my Boat Passes Yangtze B r i d g e 8 , Today the Huai's bank i s c a l l e d our n o r t h e r n f r o n t i e r , But i n olden times, the Huai bank was set down as southern domain. 0 Nowhere i n t h i s l e v e l waste i s there any rampart a t a l l ; Beyond the t i p s of branches on the d i s t a n t t r e e s i s simply sky. Whoever won or l o s t on the b a t t l e f i e l d s of past or present? Are the s t r a t e g i c p o i n t s of Chinese and b a r b a r i a n s only mountains and r i v e r s ? The S i x Dyn a s t i e s cannot be l i g h t l y r i d i c u l e d or slandered, F o r the heroes Wang Tao and Hsleh Hsuan were not j u s t an a c c i d e n t ! c 1 1 1 80 He ca r e f u l l y noted the peaceful atmosphere and even more im-portant the t o t a l lack of m i l i t a r y f o r t i f i c a t i o n s i n such an important area. The high point of the poem i s his suggestion that the Sung dynasty had done even worse than the southern dynasties i n t r a i n i n g and using good generals. Historians a f t e r the North-south Period certainly " r i d i c u l e d " the southern dynasties f o r the ineptness of t h e i r rulers and m i l i t a r y weak-ness, yet when Yang suggested that the Sung dynasty was even weaker, he was i n s u l t i n g the Sung emperors almost as auda^ ciously as when he suggested that Kao Tsung was another Ch;',in Shih Huang. Yang f i n a l l y reached the boundary on the Huai River, and now his mood was much tenser than before: On F i r s t Entering the Huai River As soon as our boat leaves the sandbanks of Flood Lake, 3 We ar r i v e at the Huai River, and my mood i s no longer good . b Why i s i t that only the Sang-kan River i s f a r away? 0 Everything north of midstream i s as f a r as the ends of heaven. 1 1 2 Although Yang was not a northerner, he f e l t the same f r u s t r a -t i o n as such northern poets as Lu Yu and Hsin Ch'i-Chi, when he rea l i z e d that he did not have the freedom to v i s i t the homeland of Chinese culture i n the north: > 81 Boats from the two shores race away from each other, But when t h e i r waves c l a s h together, t r o u b l e ' s i n the making. Only the g u l l s and e g r e t s a r e n ' t under any c o n s t r a i n t ; They go back and f o r t h from n o r t h to south, f l y i n g about a t e a s e . 1 1 ^ T h i s f r u s t r a t i o n changed to i n d i g n a t i o n and anger when he thought about the p o l i t i c a l background of the Sung f i a s c o : L i u C h ' i , Yiieh P e l , Chang Chiin, and Han Shih-chung proclaimed our country's might; 8 . While the two prime m i n i s t e r s Chao Tung, and Chang ChUn b u i l t the I m p e r i a l f o u n d a t i o n . 1 3 W i t h i n a f o o t the long Huai d i v i d e s us i n t o North and South; My t e a r s moisten the autumn wind—who should I blame f o r t h i s ? 1 1 4 Yang Wan-li was not an e f f u s i v e poet, and i t i s very r a r e t h a t we f i n d the word " t e a r s " even mentioned i n h i s verse, i n con-t r a s t to T'ang and e a r l i e r poets who were f o r e v e r r e a c h i n g f o r t h e i r h a n d k e r c h i e f s to dry t h e i r eyes. Yang's " t e a r s " were t e a r s of rage over what he considered the u n f o r g i v a b l e p o l i t i -c a l blunders of the southern Sung. Three of the g e n e r a l s he mentioned, L i u C h ' i , Ytteh P e l , and Han Shih-chung, were a l l e l i m i n a t e d by the emperor Kao Tsung and the prime m i n i s t e r Ch'in Kuei a f t e r they had served out t h e i r u s e f u l n e s s i n con-82 s o l i d a t i n g the emperor's p o s i t i o n i n the south. Chang ChUn, Yang's te a c h e r , had been d i s g r a c e d a f t e r the i n e p t support g i v e n him by Hsiao Tsung. Yang c l e a r l y knew whom he c o u l d blame f o r the d i s a s t e r which had l o s t h a l f of China to the C h i n . Yang spares us from any account of the demeaning r i t u a l s which he had to f o l l o w while welcoming the Chin ambassador. However, the shame which he f e l t had s t i r r e d h i s e n t i r e b e i n g , and v?hen on the r e t u r n journey he stopped a t Chin S h a n ^ ^ or Metal Mountain, a famous s c e n i c wonder w i t h many s p l e n d i d Buddhist monasteries, Yang wrote: A f t e r the Snow Stops I Climb Metal Mountain a t Dawn East of Scorched Mountain, west of Metal M o u n t a i n , a Metal.Mountain opens the empyrean as h i g h as the southern d i p p e r . Heaven took the waters of t h r e e r i v e r s and f i v e l a k e s , b J o i n i n g them i n t o t h i s one r i v e r we name the Yangtze. I t comes from above the nine heavens And d r a i n s beneath the nine l e v e l s of the e a r t h . 0 When i t meets a peak, t h a t peak immediately snaps; Meeting a rock, t h a t rock immediately crumbles. The f o r c e of heaven and e a r t h c o l l e c t s i n t h i s r i v e r ; I f one of i t s waves beats a t you, who dares r e s i s t ? How s t r o n g i s t h i s Metal Mountain? I t stands mid-stream alone In the upper r e a c h e s . Not One speck of dust f o l l o w s the sea wind d a n c i n g ; Not one pebble f o l l o w s the sea t i d e away. 83 On i t s f o u r s i d e s i t has no stem, beneath no r o o t ; F l o a t i n g i n the v o i d , i t l e a p s f o r t h to r e s t i n the r i v e r ' s h e a r t . Golden p a l a c e s and s i l v e r l o o k - o u t s r i s e on i t s peak; B e a t i n g drums and c l a n g i n g b e l l s are heard a l l over The poet treads on snow to come f o r t h i s pure e x c u r s i o n ; And heaven's wind blows him r i g h t up the c o r a l tower. Not f o r t h i s F l o a t i n g Jade Peak do I d r i n k from my jade-boat cup; e S u r e l y the Great R i v e r i s ashamed of us! S u r e l y Metal Mountain mourns f o r u s ! 1 1 5 Yang's poem s t a r t s i n n o c e n t l y enough as a powerful d e s c r i p t i o n of the o u t s t a n d i n g scenery found around the i s l a n d , but when one reads the l a s t two l i n e s , one r e a l i z e s t h a t even the moun-t a i n s f e e l a r e v u l s i o n f o r the d i s g u s t i n g d e f e a t of the Sung armies l e d by t h e i r incompetent emperors. Metal Mountain could not be swept away by the Yangtze R i v e r , but the Sung dynasty was c l e a r l y doomed. Yang returned to the c a p i t a l about New Year of 1190 and was g i v e n an assignment as R e v i s e r of the V e r i t a b l e Records the S e c r e t a r i a t . Since Hsiao Tsung had a b d i c a t e d the throne, i t was necessary to f i n i s h p r e p a r a t i o n s of the h i s t o r i c a l r e -cords or " v e r i t a b l e r e c o r d s " of h i s l o n g twenty-seven year r e i g n . In the e i g h t h month Hsiao Tsung's Calendar was Com-p l e t e d , and Yang was requested to w r i t e a p r e f a c e , which was China. i n a d d i t i o n to the post he a l r e a d y had i n 84 one of h i s d u t i e s as a h i s t o r i a n . However, Yang's enemies a t c o u r t found out, and Yang's s u p e r i o r s changed the commission to an o f f i c i a l i n the Board of R i t e s , who had no r i g h t to take p a r t i n the p r e p a r a t i o n of the Calendar. T h i s a c t i o n was an intended i n s u l t to Yang, and he immediately requested r e t i r e -ment from the government, because the c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s ob-v i o u s l y had no confidence i n h i s competence to f u l f i l l h i s d u t i e s . Kuang Tsung saved Yang's f a c e by p e r s o n a l l y r e q u e s t -i n g him to stay i n the government, but i n the end Yang d i d not w r i t e the p r e f a c e . In the e l e v e n t h month The Sagely Government of Hsiao and Yang Wan-li was appointed to be one of the s c h o l a r s who would present the book to the r e t i r e d emperor. When Hsiao Tsung saw Yang Wan-li's name on the l i s t of s c h o l a r s , he was extremely vexed and i s r e p o r t e d to have asked h i s son Kuang Tsung, "What i s Yang Wan-li s t i l l d oing here?" When Kuang Tsung acted as i f he d i d not understand, Hsiao Tsung continued: "He compared me to Chin Yuan T i % 7\J ^ i n h i s o f f i c i a l w r i t i n g s . What d i d he mean by t h a t ? " 1 1 6 Yuan T i , who reigned from 317 to 323, was the f i r s t emperor of the eastern Chin dynasty and a c c o r d i n g to Chinese h i s t o r i a n s was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the f a i l u r e of the Chinese dynasty to reconquer n o r t h China much as Hsiao Tsung had f a i l e d to c o u n t e r - a t t a c k the T a r t a r s . Hsiao Tsung's d i s p l e a s u r e was so g r e a t that not only was Yang prevented from t a k i n g part i n the p r e s e n t a t i o n ceremonies but but he was a l s o demoted to A s s i s t a n t F i s c a l Intendant f o r Chiang-tung i f ^ i t §j ^ Unperturbed by a l l these was completed by the court h i s t o r i a n s , 85 blows Yang published his s i x t h volume of poetry and headed to h i s new post. Yang had already reached the age of sixty-three, and he had t o t a l l y given up any ambitions f o r high o f f i c e he might have held e a r l i e r . Yang's new work was certainly preferable to the career that he had pursued i n the c a p i t a l , because although he was based i n Nanking, he had to t r a v e l continuously around the b e a u t i f u l countryside near Nanking, and he was inspired to write much poetry about the natural wonders to be seen there. In f a c t , when Yang set out f o r Nanking one of h i s friends joked with hi© that the only reason he wanted to go to the new post was be-cause he "lacked a C o l l e c t i o n of East of the Y angtze." 1 1 7 Yang was not to stay i n Nanking f o r long, f o r subsequent p o l i t i c a l events got him i n trouble with the authorities again. In 1192 the court decided to begin c i r c u l a t i n g a paper currency backed by iron coinage in the Chiang-nan region. The Sung per-iod i s extremely well-known f o r i t s revolutionary innovations i n the monetary f i e l d , and i n 1024 the Sung issued the f i r s t paper currency known to mankind. At f i r s t Sung monetary innovations were care f u l l y regulated, but a f t e r the f a l l of the northern Sung, Chinese finances were thrown into a f a i r l y chaotic state f o r a while, although business continued to thrive i n the big merchant c i t i e s along the Yangtze. One of the most serious problems of Sung f i s c a l policy was the great demand i n foreign countries such as Japan f o r Chinese copper cash. In addition to using paper money as a replacement f o r copper cash, the Sung government attempted to solve t h i s problem by minting coins i n other metals and encouraging the 86 use of gold dust and s i l v e r i n g o t s . In n o r t h e r n Sung times the government i s s u e d l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of i r o n money i n border a r e a s i n the hope of c r e a t i n g an " i r o n b a r r i e r " between the i n n e r copper cash economy and f o r e i g n s t a t e s which wished to import Chinese copper, and by southern Sung times the govern-ment went a step f u r t h e r and i s s u e d a paper currency backed up w i t h i r o n money i n the Huai R i v e r r e g i o n to prevent the flow of copper cash to the C h i n . 1 1 ® Such a s t r a t e g y was p o s s i b l y u s e f u l i n the Huai area, but the Chiang-nan r e g i o n was the h e a r t l a n d of the southern Sung economy, and the i n t r o d u c t i o n of paper currency backed by i r o n was a more s e r i o u s problem than i n border p l a c e s . When Yang heard of t h i s p o l i c y , he was g r e a t l y d i s t r e s s e d , because h i s work was c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to commercial a c t i v i t i e s i n the Chiang-nan r e g i o n , and he immediately sent up a memorial i n p r o t e s t . Yang d i d not a t t a c k the new paper currency i t s e l f but r a t h e r the extremely q u e s t i o n a b l e means by which the government i n -tended to b r i n g the money i n t o c i r c u l a t i o n . A c c o r d i n g to the new law, the new currency would be used f o r paying the s a l a r i e s of a l l m i l i t a r y p ersonnel and government o f f i c i a l s i n Chiang-nan. The payment was supposed to be equal to the former s a l a r -i e s i n copper cash, s i n c e the government was to e s t a b l i s h a f i x e d r a t e of exchange between i r o n and copper money. The only problem w i t h the system was that i r o n coinage was not i n g e n e r a l use i n the Chiang-nan area, and, i n f a c t , the government pro-posed to f o r b i d i t s c i r c u l a t i o n other than i n the Huai r e g i o n . In e f f e c t , the government o f f i c i a l s would be r e c e i v i n g t h e i r pay i n paper currency which was supposed to be backed by i r o n , 87 but which they could only change i n t o the copper cash c u r r e n t i n Chiang-nan. Yang Wan-li c l e a r l y recognized the danger of such a p o l i c y : The Huai area i s using i r o n coinage, and so i f they use the new paper currency, having paper currency w i l l be the same as having i r o n cash f o r which i t can be exchanged. T h i s i s the same as a mother [the i r o n money] and I t s c h i l d \ [ t h e paper curr e n c y ] not being separated from each other. Yet, i n Chiang-nan i r o n money i s p r o h i b i t e d , and when the new paper currency i s put i n t o c i r c u l a t i o n , I do not know what the m i l i t a r y people w i l l do i f they take the paper currency and exchange i t at the market. I f they want to exchange i t f o r copper money, c e r t a i n l y no one w i l l g i v e them any, s i n c e i t i s not " c a p i t a l paper currency" [a form of paper currency backed by copper c a s h ] . I f they want to exchange i t f o r i r o n money, there w i l l not be one p i e c e of i r o n money f o r which i t can be exchanged. I f there i s paper money without coinage f o r which i t can be exchanged, i t i s the same as a c h i l d without a m o t h e r . 1 1 9 In essence, the new p o l i c y c a l l e d f o r paying government servants w i t h a form of money which was without value to them, and the r e s u l t would be complete economic d i s o r d e r . When the measure be-came law, Yang Wan-li r e f u s e d to ca r r y out the government orders, and as a r e s u l t , he offended the prime m i n i s t e r . 88 In the e i g h t h month of 1192 he was immediately t r a n s f e r r e d to Kan-chou, but he ref u s e d to take h i s new post and sent i n a req u e s t f o r r e t i r e m e n t , which was granted. Before he l e f t Nanking he p u b l i s h e d the poems which he had w r i t t e n t h e r e and e n t i t l e d them C o l l e c t i o n from East of the Yangtze Jjj^ ^ . Yang a r r i v e d i n C h i - s h u i before the beginning of autumn, and s i n c e he alre a d y was s i x t y - f i v e , he had no f u r t h e r i n t e n t i o n of s e r v i n g the government. S h o r t l y a f t e r he a r r i v e d back home, Yang wrote: Watering a Pot of Calamus and N a r c i s s u s Flowers When I re-read o l d poems, they become new again, But a f t e r f i n i s h i n g them, I'm so drowsy I s t r e t c h and yawn. Innumerable f l o w e r s i n the pot complain of t h e i r t h i r s t , But t h i s o l d f e l l o w only wants to be a l a z y man. 1 2 0 Although Yang was now i n r e t i r m e n t , he continued to watch the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n the c a p i t a l c a r e f u l l y , and what he saw d i d not please him. Two years a f t e r he l e f t s e r v i c e , the r e t i r e d emperor Hsiao Tsung d i e d , and h i s son Kuang Tsung, who had developed an u n c o n t r o l l a b l e h a t r e d f o r h i s f a t h e r , r e f u s e d to take p a r t i n any of the f u n e r a l ceremonies f o r the departed e m p e r o r . 1 2 1 The prime m i n i s t e r a t the time Chao Ju-ytt r$j^ and a powerful o f f i c i a l Han T'o-choujj?Jj. ^i^U ^ conspired t o g e t h e r w i t h Kao Tsung's Empress Wu ^ , and they s e t up 89 Kuang Tsung's son as the emperor King T s u n g ( 1 1 9 5 - 1 2 2 5 ) f o r c i n g Kuang Tsung i n t o an e a r l y r e t i r e m e n t . 1 2 2 Han T'o-chou was a d i r e c t descendant of the famed no r t h e r n Sung o f f i c i a l Han Ch'iJ-j^ 3 ^ f a n d h i s l a m l l y was a l l i e d to the Sung imper-i a l l i n e through marriage, so he was a b l e to have c l o s e access to the new emperor. Han T'o-chou was an extremely ambitious man, and before long he f o r c e d Chao Ju-yli out of o f f i c e and gained complete c o n t r o l over the c e n t r a l government. 1 2^ Meanwhile, the s c h o l a r o f f i c i a l s In the c a p i t a l had formed i n t o two p a r t i e s which were engaged i n a b i t t e r power s t r u g g l e . The f i r s t was l e d by Ohu H s i , who had f i n a l l y been g i v e n h i g h o f f i c e by Chao Ju - y l i , and they were proponents of the thoughts of the northern Sung p h i l o s o p h e r Ch'eng Y i ^ f . , who had become one of the patron s a i n t s i n Chu H s l ' s g r e a t s y n t h e s i s of neo-Confuclanism. The second group, which was f a v o r e d by Han T'o-chou, adapted a more l e g a l i s t i c approach pat t e r n e d a f t e r the reforms of Wang An-shlh. As could be ex-pected, Chu H s l soon cl a s h e d w i t h Han, and when Chu attempted to persuade Ning Tsung to e l i m i n a t e Han T'o-chou from power, 1 Ph. the p h i l o s o p h e r was q u i c k l y d r i v e n from o f f i c e . ^ A f t e r Chao Ju-yli's e x p u l s i o n i n 1 i 9 5 , Han T'o-chou s t a r t e d a g e n e r a l cam-paign to e l i m i n a t e a l l o p p o s i t i o n . The excuse he used was an a t t a c k on ."False L e a r n i n g " or Wei H s u e h ^ ^ , which obvious-l y i n c l u d e d a l l n e o - C o n f u c i a n i s t s f o l l o w i n g Chu H s i . However, the charge of " F a l s e L e a r n i n g " was soon expanded to i n c l u d e any i n d i v i d u a l who d i s a g r e e d w i t h Han T'o-chou's p o l i c i e s . 1 2 5 In 1195 Han T'o-chou attempted to r e c a l l Yang Wan-li to the c o u r t . Yang was a l r e a d y an o l d man, so he could be t r u s t e d 90 not to cause any undue t r o u b l e , and Han badly needed famous i n -t e l l e c t u a l s s e r v i n g under him to g i v e h i s r u l e g r e a t e r r e s p e c -t a b i l i t y i n the eyes of other s c h o l a r o f f i c i a l s who had w i t -nessed the wide s c a l e purges of h i g h l y respected t h i n k e r s and p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e s . We have already noted Yang's r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h Chu H s i , and by t h i s time Yang had developed an Intense h a t r e d f o r Han T'o-chou's p o l i c i e s . Thus, when he r e c e i v e d the summons, Yang pleaded o l d age and remained i n C h i - s h u i . Han T'o-chou probably f e l t s l i g h t e d by Yang's r e f u s a l of the post, but another event made the break between the two men permanent. A f t e r he gained power, Han began spending govern-ment funds l a v i s h l y on a number of p r o j e c t s , the most impor-t a n t of which was the c o n s t r u c t i o n of h i s Southern Garden |3p |f] . Han wished to gain acceptance f o r t h i s burden on govern-ment f i n a n c e s , so he o f f e r e d Yang Wan-li a h i g h government post i f the o l d poet would w r i t e a r e c o r d "*£J to commemorate the opening of the garden. When informed of Han's request, Yang i s r e p o r t e d to have s a i d : "The o f f i c e can be abandoned, but t h i s r e c o r d cannot be w r i t t e n ! " 1 2 6 Yang had w r i t t e n many rec o r d s f o r v a r i o u s c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o j e c t s ; o f h i s f r i e n d s and acquain-tances, and s i n c e such documents were h i g h l y p r i z e d i f w r i t t e n by a famous l i t e r a r y f i g u r e , Yang must have r e c e i v e d payment f o r some of them. There was n o t h i n g e t h i c a l l y wrong about r e -c e i v i n g p u b l i c o f f i c e i n exchange f o r such a s e r v i c e i n the view of Sung s c h o l a r s , and the p r i n c i p a l reason Yang ref u s e d was h i s extreme d i s t a s t e f o r Han T'o-chou's a c t i o n s . Han never forgave Yang's i n s u l t . Meanwhile, Yang l i v e d a t C h i - s h u i i n v i r t u a l i s o l a t i o n 91 t a k i n g o c c a s i o n a l excursions around the nearby c o u n t r y s i d e and s t i l l b u s i l y w r i t i n g p o e t r y . The poetry of these l a s t f o u r t e e n years of r e t i r e m e n t was gathered t o g e t h e r posthumously by Yang's son, but a l l of Yang's e a r l i e r works had a l r e a d y been p r i n t e d by t h i s time. Yang was f u l l y aware t h a t he was one of the major l i t e r a r y f i g u r e s of h i s p e r i o d , and although he s u f f e r e d from i n c r e a s i n g l y bad h e a l t h i n h i s s e v e n t i e s , h i s p o e t i c out-put h a r d l y d i m i n i s h e d a t a l l . When he was s e v e n t y - e i g h t y e a r s of age he wrote: A f t e r a r e l a p s e of bl a d d e r d i s e a s e the d o c t o r says I should a v o i d w r i t i n g because i t s t r a i n s my hea r t y so when I get up i n the morning I warn myself. (Second Poem of Two) R e c k l e s s l y a d d i c t e d t o poe t r y , I weary my h e a r t i n v a i n ; So I beg f o r g i v e n e s s from o r i o l e s and f l o w e r s to stop my b i t t e r chant. I don't owe any debts to T'ao Yuan-ming or H s i e h Ling-yun, So why do they come l o o k i n g f o r me a t n i g h t i n my d r e a m s ? 1 2 ? By t h i s time i t seems t h a t the o l d poet had t o t a l l y transcended the normal concerns of the world, and although Han T'o-chou's a t t a c k s a g a i n s t him were growing i n s e v e r i t y , Yang l i v e d i n a s t a t e of near p e r f e c t detachment. The reason f o r Yang Wan-li's peace of mind i s th a t he had r e a f f i r m e d the V i m a l a k l r t l i d e a l which he had d i s c o v e r e d i n middle age. References to V i m a l a k i r t i become more common i n 92 h i s l a t e r poetry and the philosophy of the Buddhist layman i s g i v e n e x p r e s s i o n i n a number of poems: The Realm of I d l e n e s s I f you want to hold to the Realm of I d l e n e s s , I t ' s not o u t s i d e the Mundane Realm. B r i g h t moon and pure wind, What day don't we f a c e one a n o t h e r ? 1 2 8 Such an approach to l i f e allowed Yang to bear the most excru-c i a t i n g p a i n w i t h good humor: While i l l , my f e e t s t a r t h u r t i n g a g a i n . A f t e r I s i t exhausted the whole day, I w r i t e the f o l l o w i n g to b a n i s h my d e p r e s s i o n . Flowers f i l l my eyes, and snow covers my head; I have passed three or f o u r more years i n u n c e r t a i n t y . Who would know my a i l i n g l e g s keep me from walking; I f people saw me crouching, they'd say I was s i t t i n g i n m e d i t a t i o n ! When I drop my f a n by the t a b l e s i d e I'm too l a z y to p i c k i t up, So how can I p o s s i b l y search f o r my book beneath the window? Men of the world are always envious of f l y i n g immortals, But I'm envious of walking men, who seem immortals to me! 93 Yang's i l l n e s s o b v i o u s l y reminded him of the famous malady of V i m a l a k l r t i , and when some r e l a t i v e s and f r i e n d s came to v i s i t him he wrote: V i m a l a k l r t i ' s grave i l l n e s s was not easy to cure, But as soon as M a n j u s r l asked the qu e s t i o n , he l o s t the b a l e f u l m a l a d y . 1 5 0 The V l m a l a k i r t i - n i r d e s a - s u t r a s t a r t s with the Buddha attempting to send one of h i s d i s c i p l e s to v i s i t V i m a l a k l r t i , who has r e -c e n t l y f a l l e n i l l . However, when a l l of Buddha's d i s c i p l e s , r e f u s e to go out of f e a r t h a t the sage w i l l expose t h e i r i n -f e r i o r knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, the b o d h l s a t t v a of knowledge, M a n j u s r i , agrees to le a d them. The assembly of the Buddha, M a n j u s r i , and the numerous d i s c i p l e s a t V i m a l a k l r t i ' s mansion g i v e s r i s e to a profound d i s c u s s i o n of Buddhism, which culminates i n M a n j u s r i a s k i n g each of the b o d h i s a t t v a s to gi v e h i s e x p l a n a t i o n of the meaning of non-dualism. Each pro v i d e s a complex answer, but when i t i s V i m a l a k l r t i ' s t u r n to speak, he remains s i l e n t . 1 5 1 T h i s i s the "thunderous silence*' of V i m a l a k l r t i so o f t e n r e f e r r e d to by Ch'an and other Chinese B u d d h i s t s , and i t i s t h i s r e a l i z a t i o n of n o n - d u a l i t y which en-ab l e d Yang to transcend the w o r r i e s and i l l n e s s e s of h i s l a t e r y e a r s . Han T'o-chou had f i n a l l y e l i m i n a t e d a l l of h i s enemies i n the c e n t r a l government, but s i n c e he was not a b l e to ga i n ac-ceptance from the i n t e l l e c t u a l s , he p o s s i b l y f e l t t h a t the only way to c o n s o l i d a t e h i s p o s i t i o n was to engage i n m i l i t a r y ad-9 4 ventures. There had been peace now between the Chin and Sung f o r over t h i r t y years, and there were no overt actions by the Chin government that would suggest a resumption of h o s t i l i t i e s . When a Chinese ambassador returned from the Chin court, he re-ported that the Chin government was i n a state of disarray and the country was ripe f o r invasion, because the Chin armies were busy i n the north f i g h t i n g off the r i s i n g power of the Mongols.1 By 1204 Han T'o-chou had started massive preparations f o r an invasion and had posthumously enfeoffed Ylieh Pel to encourage martial bravery. The general Wu Hsi ^ flf*^ was sent to Szechwan i n preparation f o r the Chinese o n s l a u g h t . 1 ^ Yang's family hid a l l news of these war preparations and other actions of Han T'o-chou from Yang, because they were a f r a i d that such news might harm the old poet, whose health had become increasingly f r a i l . In 1205 Han summoned Yang back to the c a p i t a l once again, but instead of merely p o l i t e l y refusing on grounds of health, Yang sent a reply accusing Han T'o-chou of undermining the security of the state and engaging i n t r a i -torous conduct. Yang's memorial was suppressed by Han's f r i e n d s . In 1206 the big moment came, and Han T'3o-chou gave the orders to begin the attack against the Chin. At f i r s t the Chinese armies were successful, but the Chin had gotten wind of Sung intentions as early as 1205, and they were extremely well prepared, so that the Sung armies met several serious defeats. Han T'o-chou's trusted general Wu Hsi surrendered to the Chin armies and requested to be enfeoffed as king of Szechwan.1 A l l of these disastrous setbacks had been hidden from Yang 9 5 "Wan-li by h i s f a m i l y , but one day in''-the f i f t h month, a d i s t a n t r e l a t i v e , who had r e c e n t l y returned from the c a p i t a l , informed Yang of a l l t h a t had happened be f o r e the f a m i l y could stop him. Yang's biography says t h a t Yang " c r i e d so mournfully he l o s t h i s v o i c e . He r e p e a t e d l y c a l l e d f o r paper and wrote: 'Han T'o-chou i s a t r a i t o r o u s m i n i s t e r , . He has monopolized power w i t h no s u p e r i o r , m o b i l i z e d the army to harm the people, and plans to endanger the n a t i o n ' s a l t a r s . Although I s t i l l have a head, there i s no path f o r me to avenge the s t a t e . I can only engage i n lone i n d i g n a t i o n . ' Then a f t e r he had w r i t t e n f o u r t e e n words to p a r t w i t h h i s wife and c h i l d r e n , h i s w r i t i n g b r u s h f e l l , and he passed away." 1 5^ Although t h i s account was probably manufactured by Yang's biographers f o r the sake of dramatic e f f e c t , anger a t Han T'o-chou's campaign could e a s i l y have hastened Yang's demise. Yang had always been i n f a v o r of a m i l i t a r y reconquest of n o r t h China, but he was c e r t a i n l y a-ware of the poor s t a t e of Sung m i l i t a r y p r e p a r a t i o n and the s e l f - s e e k i n g nature of Han's plans f o r a t t a c k i n g the Chin. S h o r t l y b e f o r e Yang d i e d on the e i g h t h of the f i f t h month, 1206, a t the age of e i g h t y , he wrote the f o l l o w i n g short poem: P a l l i n g Flowers The red and p u r p l e blossoms t u r n to mud, the mud to dust, And the w i l d wind doesn't care about people who p i t y f l o w e r s . Though the f a l l i n g f l o w e r s don't say a word when they l e a v e the t r e e , They ask the y e l l o w o r i o l e s to t e l l the s p r i n g . 1 5 6 9 6 T h i s work could p r o p e r l y be regarded as Yang's swan song, f o r l i k e the f l o w e r s of l a t e s p r i n g he was swept away by the i r -r e s i s t i b l e f o r c e s of nature, y e t h i s poetry has l i v e d on as an e x p r e s s i o n of h i s e n t i r e l i f e . Yang was b u r i e d i n h i s n a t i v e v i l l a g e of C h i - s h u i , where h i s tomb s u r v i v e s to t h i s day. In keeping w i t h h i s nature i t i s a very modest s t r u c t u r e . 1 Pour years a f t e r Yang's death he was g i v e n the posthumous t i t l e Wen-chieh jC. £| or L i t e r a r y and F r u g a l . In the year 1208 Yang's e l d e s t son gathered t o -g e t h e r the poetry Yang Wan-li had w r i t t e n a f t e r 1192 and pub-l i s h e d i t under the t i t l e T ' u i H s l u ChjL ig_ ^ ^ or C o l l e c -t i o n of Retirement. Somewhat l a t e r the v a r i o u s c o l l e c t i o n s of Yang's poetry were put t o g e t h e r w i t h a l l of h i s prose works and p u b l i s h e d under the t i t l e Ch' eng-chal C h l ^ ^J- j | or C o l l e c -t i o n Works of the S i n c e r e S t u d i o , the name d e r i v i n g from Yang's hao Ch'eng-chal. A l t o g e t h e r there are about three thousand two hundred poems i n t h i s c o l l e c t i o n , and Yang's complete prose w r i t i n g s comprise about e i g h t hundred twenty pages i n the mod-ern SPTK e d i t i o n . Yang's d i s l i k e f o r Han T'o-chou was f u l l y confirmed by subsequent events. A f t e r the m i l i t a r y d i s a s t e r of 1206, the Sung government was badly shaken and Han T'o-chou asked f o r peace terms from the Chin. The Chin government demanded Han's head before peace could be d i s c u s s e d , and Han was n a t u r a l l y q u i t e angry a t t h i s suggestion, so he planned f u r t h e r m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t the enemy. In the mean time Ning Tsung's empress had taken an extreme d i s l i k i n g to Han, and w i t h the co-o p e r a t i o n of a number o'f h i g h o f f i c i a l s a t c o u r t , she encouraged 97 Ning Tsung to do away w i t h him. Ning Tsung was happy to o b l i g e h i s empress, and one morning i n 1207 when Han T'o-chou was on h i s way to court, he met w i t h a party of s o l d i e r s who were seat by the emperor to k i l l h i m . 1 5 8 In 1208 a h u m i l i a t i n g peace was concluded w i t h the Chin, and Han T'o-chou's head was sent i n a s p e c i a l case to the Chin I m p e r i a l c o u r t . 1 39 The southern Sung c o u r t managed to s u r v i v e another seventy-two years u n t i l i t was s n u f f e d out by K u b l a i Khan's hordes. Although Yang Wan-li's c h a r a c t e r should be reasonably c l e a r to the reader by now, i t i s customary In Chinese b i o -g r a phies to assess the moral q u a l i t i e s of the s u b j e c t . Such judgements are f r e q u e n t l y q u i t e u n r e l i a b l e , but i t does not seem out of the p l a c e to venture a few o p i n i o n s about Yang's conduct i n h i s p u b l i c l i f e . Though Yang pursued a p u b l i c c a r -eer, which was expected of any educated man i n Sung times, he seems to have c o n t r o l l e d any ambitions he had f o r h i g h o f f i c e w i t h an extremely s t r o n g sense of moral p r o p r i e t y . When he r e t i r e d from h i s p o s i t i o n a t Nanking, he was e n t i t l e d to ten thousand s t r i n g s of cash, but he l e f t the money i n the p u b l i c t r e a s u r y i n s t e a d . H i s home i n C h i - s h u i was extremely simple, and the Yang f a m i l y d i d not enlarge or decorate i t d u r i n g three g e n e r a t i o n s . 1 4 0 We have f r e q u e n t l y mentioned Yang Wan-li's f e a r l e s s c r i t i c i s m of government p o l i c i e s which he considered wrong. Although d e s c r i b i n g a man as an outspoken c r i t i c of c o r r u p t government i s a f a v o r i t e Confucian c l i c h e , Yang's f r a n k n e s s f r e q u e n t l y harmed h i s advancement i n o f f i c e and par-t i a l l y accounts f o r h i s f a i l u r e to r i s e to any h i g h p o s i t i o n . In s h o r t , Yang Wan-li came c l o s e to l i v i n g up to the Confucian 98 i d e a l i n h i s p u b l i c l i f e . But as we have seen, Confucianism was by no means the only philosophy t h a t guided Yang's l i f e , and he seems to have reached near p e r f e c t i o n In the r e a l i z a t i o n of the Ch'an i d e a l , too. A few years before he d i e d , Yang wrote: I t doesn't matter whether one stays home or goes out, F o r you transcend the world w h i l e i n i t s midst. J u s t as V i m a l a k i r t l , the r i c h Indian merchant, possessed a know-ledge of Buddhism s u p e r i o r to Buddha's monk d i s c i p l e s , so Yang Wan-li, the Confucian s c h o l a r bureaucrat, managed to transcend the cares of t h i s world, l i v i n g both w i t h i n and o u t s i d e of i t . We have s a i d l i t t l e about Yang's wif e and c h i l d r e n . A l -though Yang r e f e r s to h i s sons f r e q u e n t l y i n h i s poetry, he r a r e l y mentions h i s w i f e , which was q u i t e u s u a l f o r Chinese p o e t s . However, she was an important i n f l u e n c e on h i s l i f e and a very i n t e r e s t i n g f i g u r e i n her own r i g h t . Even when she was seventy years of age, she would get up very e a r l y i n the morn-i n g and f i r s t cook a bowl of r i c e g r u e l f o r her servant before she took any food h e r s e l f . When she was over eighty years o l d , she continued to p l a n t hemp by hand and weave her own c l o t h e s . A l t o g e t h e r she bore Yang f o u r sons and three daughters, but she r e f u s e d to a l l o w anyone e l s e to nurse her c h i l d r e n . When asked why she d i d not have a wet nurse, she r e p l i e d : "How would I f e e l u s i n g the c h i l d of s t a r v i n g people to nurse my own c h i l d -r e n?" 1*^ 2 Yang's e l d e s t son C h a n g - Q U - ^ w a s a l s o a good poet and devoted h i m s e l f to a l i f e of p u b l i c s e r v i c e . He was 9%, j u s t as f r u g a l as h i s f a t h e r , and when Chang-ju d i e d , he was s t i l l a very poor man i n s p i t e of many o p p o r t u n i t i e s to l i n e h i s pockets w i t h b r i b e s as many contemporary o f f i c i a l s d i d . 1 4 5 Yang Wan-li's h i g h sense of moral i n t e g r i t y was shared by a l l members of h i s f a m i l y . 1 0 0 References to the page numbers of Yang Wan-li's poems are as follows. The f i r s t number refers to the chtian and page numbers in the Ssu Pu Ts' ung K'an (abbreviated SPTK) 12? ^ f ' J e d i t i o n of the Oh' eng Chai Chi (abbreviated CGG)fj^ ji. . The second number i s that of the chttan and page i n the Ssu Pu Pel Yao (abbreviated SPPY) W ^ f j | - J - e d i t i o n . If a t h i r d number appears, i t i s the page number of the poem i n Chou Ju-ch'ang's Yang Wan-li Hsuan Chi (abbreviated YWLHC) y^j % iL. j | • The texts of SPTK and SPPY have been compared and a l l s i g n i f i c a n t variants noted. Generally speak-ing, the readings of SPTK have been accepted i n preference to SPPY, since SPTK i s a copy of a Sung edition, and SPPY invar-iab l y introduces errors due to mlsreadings of characters and reliance on l a t e r editions of Yang Wan-li's works. 1 Other than the poetic and prose works, the main source f o r Yang Wan-li's l i f e i s his biography contained i n Sung Shih jj? ^ , chuan 4 3 3 - Also useful i s a nlen-p' u ^ ^ i n Hsia Ching-kuan ^ ^ * | j , Yang Ch'eng-chal Shih Hsflan Chu M M H ^ ^ , Wan Yu Wen K^u Hui Yao ^ ^ JL ^ $• ' n 0 , 0 9 0 8 » r e P r - Taipei, 1 9 6 5 . Hsia Ching-kuan corrects a number of minor errors In Yang's biography by re-ference to i n t e r n a l evidence in the poems. Another nlen-p'u i n Hu Ming-t'ing #j flfj "Yang Wan-li Shih P'ing Shu ^ % % l \ i ," Ta Lu Tsa Chih ^ fa 2fe , chtian 9 , no. 7 - 8 , p. 51-60, contains some valuable information 101 but i s mainly based on Hsia's work. Weng T'ung-wen's Repetolre des date des hommes celebres des Sung, a Sung pro-ject publication, refers to another nlen-p u by Ts'ui Chi ^2. | J [ i n Chiang Hsi Chlao Ytt Yfleh K'an rj_ \h ^ ~^ ^ no. 19, but t h i s work has not been available to me. Chou Ju-ch'ang's footnootes to Yang's autobiographical poems also con-t a i n a wealth of information, and I have made use of them where necessary. OCitations are not given f o r minor biographical d e t a i l s from Yang's chronologically ordered poems and t h e i r prefaces. 2P1 Yflan-^ , Hsln Chlao Hsu Tzu Chih T'ung Chien (abbreviated HTCTC)|lj4l i f ^ z&l$L$!e. , Shih Chieh Shu Ohli-S. ^ Taipei, 1961 , p. 2424. I have r e l i e d on the HTCTC throughout f o r the p o l i t i c a l history of the period. 5 I b l d . , 2358. 4 I b i d . , 2360. 5 I b l d . , 2419. 6 I b i d . , 2396. 7 I b l d . , 2421-2422. 8 I b i d . , 2438. 9 I b i d . , 2444. 1 0 I b l d . , 2451 . 1 1 I b i d . , 2454. 1 2 I b i d . , 2488. 1 3 I b i d . , 2496. 1 4 I b i d . , 2507. 1 5 I b i d . , 2555-102 l 6 I b i d . , 2565. 1 7 I b i d . , 2568. 1®A good biography of Hsin Ch'i-chi i s contained i n I. Y. Lo, Hsin Ch'l-chl. Twayne Publishers, Inc., New York, 1971, Hsin's youth i s dealt with i n pp. 22-25. 1 9SPPY, Lu Yu,||- , Lu Fang Weng Ch'flan Chi (abbrev-iated LFWCC)^!: & ifi y± ^ , 65-6a. 20 Fan Ch'eng-ta's biography i s found i n chuan 386 of the Sung Shih (abbreviated SS). There i s a good biography i n Chou Ju-ch'ang )£] irjr il> , Fan Ch'eng-ta Shih Hsflan H\ A t^*L~, Jen Min Wen Hsfleh Ch'u Pan She A / \ / JL i t H k 4^ , Peking, 1959, pp. 251-61. 2 1 For a l l o f f i c i a l t i t l e s I have depended on E. A. Kracke, Translation of Sung C i v i l Service T i t l e s . Paris, 1957. Chang Chita's biography appears i n chuan 361 of SS. Yang Wan-li himself wrote an extensive account of Chang's l i f e , which i s recorded i n CCC, 115-1001-13. 2 3HTCTC, 2635-2 4 I b l d . , 2777. 2 5 I b l d . , 2809. 2 6 I b i d . , 2817. 2 7 I b i d . , 2828-2831. 103 2 8 I b i d . , 3161-3162. 2 9 I b i d . , 3261. 3 0 I b i d . , 3261-3262. 5 1 Ibid., 3300. Helmut Wilhelm doubts the purity of Ylieh F e l ' s motives f o r reconquering north China, and suggests that Kao Tsung and Ch'ln Kuel k i l l e d Yiieh to prevent the ascendance of m i l i t a r y power. Wilhelm's argument would, of course, cause one to question the entire pro-war f a c t i o n . However, the pro-war f a c t i o n consisted largely of Confucian scholar o f f i c i a l s , who had nothing to gain from a m i l i t a r y takeover, so I suspect the t r a d i t i o n a l v i l i f i c a t i o n of Ch'in Kuel may be much closer to the truth. See Helmut Wilhelm, "From Myth to Myth: The Case of Ytteh Fel's Biography," Arthur Wright ed., Confucianism and Chinese C i v i l i z a t i o n . Hew York, 1964, pp. 225-226. 3 2 I b i d . , 3296-3299. 3 3 s s , 5433-c. 3 4 I b i d . , 5594-c. 35i - 4 a ; 1-1 a; 1 . a. An a l l u s i o n to Tu Fu's poem: "If there are no vulgar things near my eyes/ Though extremely sick, my body f e e l s l i g h t . " See A Concordance to the Poems of Tu Fu (abbreviated TF), Harvard-Yenchlng Inst i t u t e Slno-l o g l c a l Index Series, Supplement No. 14, repr. Taipei, 1966, 356/29/7. b. Ll-k'uai l i t e r a l l y means 'to pass over clods' and refers to a horse that runs s w i f t l y . Yang i s saying that his talents are no match f o r Hsiao Te-tsao. c. A reference to a conversation concerning poetry be-tween Hsieh A n ^ Jfc and Wang Hui-chihJJ. ^ f x . 2 ^ , Wang compared poor poetry to a duck f l o a t i n g i n the water, and Yang f e e l s that his own verse has not r i s e n above mediocrity. He also has ambitions to r i s e above the mediocrity of his current o f f i c i a l post 5 6Yang describes his burning of the e a r l i e r poems i n a preface to his e a r l i e s t c o l l e c t i o n . See COC, 8 0 , 672-a. 3 7CCC, 8*1t-676b. 5 8SPTK, L i u K'e-chuangjj \\ , Hou Ts f un Hsien Sheng l a Ch'flan O h i ^ ^ " J h % A ^ , 174-1557a. 5 9 i _ 7 a ; i-4b. 4 0 1 - 7 b ; 15a; 11 . 4 1 1 - 1 2 a ; 1 -9a. a. Marquis of Huai-yin i s the t i t l e of Han H s l n j ^ . ^ , great m i l i t a r y s t r a t e g i s t of the early Han, who eventually revolted against L i u Pang. His biography i s i n Shih Chi ^ |£y , chuan 9 2 . b. Yu-chi was a famous archer of the Chou dynasty. c. The disease urchins are the Illnesses which plagued Duke Ching of Tsin during the Spring and Autumn Period. When the duke called i n a good physician, the two boys 105 were frightened and escaped to "the region above the diaphragm and below the heart." The duke subsequently HTCTC, 3597. 4 3 I b i d . , 3664-3665. 4 41-12b; 1-10a. That i s , the r e f l e c t i o n of the moon in the water. In Yang's poetry t h i s image i s frequently a symbol f o r the emptiness of phenomenal existence, but here i t does not seem to have any special s i g n i f i c a n c e . 4 5HTCTC, 3668-3669-4 61-13b; 1-11a; 16. Here Yang i s comparing Hsiao Tsung's Proclamation of Self-censure to a proclamation issued by Han Wu T i a f t e r he became disgusted with m i l i t a r y reverses i n hi s campaigns against the Hsiung-nu. Yang i s en-couraging Hsiao Tsung not to adopt a s i m i l a r de-f e a t i s t a t t i t u d e . F e l - p ' i l i t e r a l l y means 'not a bear' and i s a r e f e r -Before Wen Wang went out hunting he had his fortune t o l d , and the soothsayers answer was: "What you w i l l catch w i l l not be a dragon, not a deer, not a t i g e r , and not a bear. What you w i l l catch w i l l be a man to aid you i n becoming a hegemon." died. See Tso Ohuan, H\ ^ ence to Wen Wang X 106 Wen Wang subsequently met h i s f u t u r e m i n i s t e r Lfl Shang w h i l e on the hunt. A l l u s i o n to a poem by Tu Fu: "They ask who t h e i r g e n e r a l i s / F e a r i n g i t i s Huo Ch 1tl-ping," I.e., the s o l d i e r s are a f r a i d t h a t t h e i r g e n e r a l w i l l be w a s t e f u l of l i v e s as the Han g e n e r a l Huo Ch'U-p l n g j j ^ Z N was. Yang i s i m p l y i n g t h a t Chang Chfln i s more popular w i t h h i s men. See TF, 87/l6b"/l2. d. The name of a p l a c e where the emperor KuangWu T i %J •7\j \^ passed d u r i n g the extremely d i f f i c u l t p e r i o d i n which he was f i g h t i n g to r e s t o r e the Han dynasty a f t e r Wang Mang's u s u r p a t i o n . Yang i s com-p a r i n g the Han r e s t o r a t i o n to the hoped f o r recovery of the n o r t h from the b a r b a r i a n s . e. Reference to a Han g e n e r a l Tuan Hui-tsung ^ who managed to o b t a i n merit f i g h t i n g the b a r b a r i a n s at Goose Gate i n modern Shansi, d e s p i t e h i s o l d age. Yang i s comparing Chang Chun to the o l d Han g e n e r a l . f . The age of s t r o n g s e r v i c e was f o r t y . g. At Yang's time the n o r t h e r n f r o n t i e r of the southern Sung was l o c a t e d roughly on the southern l i m i t s of Chinese c i v i l i z a t i o n i n e a r l y Chou times. Yang i s comparing the former s t r e n g t h of the Chinese w i t h the present weakness. 107 A tower b u i l t by the king of the state of Yen during the Warring States Period to a t t r a c t talented o f f i c -i a l s to his court. Yang i s c r i t i c a l of Hsiao Tsung's se l e c t i o n of o f f i c i a l s i n his confidence, who have been responsible f o r the m i l i t a r y d i s a s t e r . Yang means that since Hsiao Tsung has not yet selected worthy o f f i c i a l s , he should not be worry-ing about reconquest of the north but should put the court i n order f i r s t . 4 7ss, 5446a. 4 82-15a; 2-2a; 22. The word chung i s used here i n the sense of ' s u i t a b l e . When thi s sentence i s read together with the t i t l e , the poem becomes somewhat puzzling, f o r there i s no hint of malfeasance on the part of L i Hsien-chung during the campaign, and, i n f a c t , the SS paints him as the only hero of the m i l i t a r y debacle. According to the SS account, L l refused to d i s t r i b u t e the booty to his o f f i c e r s , thereby causing resentment among them, and t h i s i s probably what Yang means by describing the general as "covetous." However, i f L i had engaged i n any unlawful a c t i v i t i e s , i t Is d i f -f i c u l t to explain how he was appointed to a major m i l i t a r y p o s i t i o n soon a f t e r his temporary disgrace. See SS, 5446-b. When the Han m i l i t a r y l e a d e r Li;u P'en-tzu surrendered, the armor was p i l e d as h i g h as Bear Ear Mountain. See Pan Ku3Ji Q , Han Shu j j l » K " a l M l nS Shu Chu j'^j ^ /aj r e P r - T a i p e i , 720-d. Nia o, s h o r t f o r yao nlao vj£ j | , i s the name of £ a famous horse i n a n c i e n t times. One of L i Hsi e n -chung' s g r e a t e s t problems was t h a t the c i v i l a uthor-i t i e s d i d not gi v e him enough money to run h i s cam-pa i g n e f f e c t i v e l y . L i Hsien-chung was e x i l e d to Ch'ang-sha j u s t as the Han s c h o l a r Chla Y i , who was a v i c t i m of co u r t i n t r i g u e s . The s t o r y of Chu Ylin Jj^. ^ i s a f a v o r i t e with Confucian s c h o l a r s . Chu Ylin c r i t i c i z e d the prime m i n i s t e r of Han Ch'eng T i ^ and grabbed hold of the r a i l i n g i n the cou r t when the emperor ordered him to be dragged away. When the r a i l i n g broke, the emperor awoke to h i s f a u l t s and awarded Chu Ylin f o r h i s f o r t h r i g h t c r i t i c i s m i n s t e a d of pu n i s h i n g him. Ch'eng T i ordered t h a t the r a i l i n g not be r e p a i r e d , so he would not ignore c r i t i c i s m i n the f u t u r e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y Hsiao Tsung was not so open-minded and ref u s e d to l i s t e n to L i H s i e n -chung' s c r i t i c i s m s . 109 4 9 2 - l 6 b ; 2-5b. The chin p i or metal eyescraper was an instrument used i n ancient India f o r eye operations such as removing cataracts. The wind scrapes the eyes of the moon; i . e . , the wind blows clouds away from the moon's disk. A l l u s i o n to the Shih Shuo Hsln Ytt: "The sages f o r -get f e e l i n g s and i n f e r i o r men are not up to f e e l i n g s . Peelings concentrate i n people l i k e us." See SPTK, Shih Shuo Bis i n Yfl j£ |fe i kf\ , 104-b. A l l u s i o n to a poem by Han Yfcl: "The long lamp i s eight f e e t , needlessly long/ The short lamp i s two f e e t ; convenient and bright." See SPTK, Han Yfi M ^ , Chu Wen Kung Chlao Ch'ang L i Hsien 5-59b. The short lamp i n Han Yfl's poem i s one used by a poor scholar before he obtains a high p o s i t i o n . 5°Por an account of Hang-chou shortly a f t e r Yang's time with a discussion of the population problem, see Jacques Gernet Dally L i f e i n China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion. New York, 1962, 22-58. 5 12-I8b; 2-6a. 5 22-19b; 2-6b. The f i v e pecks of r i c e i s Yang's o f f i c i a l salary* a reference to T"ao Ch'ien's r e f u s a l to compromise himself for such a paltry amount. 4 i - 5 1 10 532-21a; 2-8b. 5-^2-23b; 2-11a. 5 52-23a; 2-1 Ob. 564-35»; 4-1b 5 74-38b; 4-5a; 49. a i The short lamp Is one used by a scholar who has not obtained high p o s i t i o n . b. A l l u s i o n to PengHsUan^ x fj^ of the Warring States Period who served under Meng Ch'ang Chfln^_ ^ of the state of Ch'l. When he f i r s t became a re-tainer of the prince, he was not highly valued and played h i s long sword singing that he wished to re-turn home because he had no f i s h i n his food. See Ssu-ma Ch'ien £] \ , Shih Chi ^ %U , Kai Ming Shu ChU, Taipei, 198-c. c. Reference to Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju's famous-poem the "Tzu-hsu. Fu" or "Prose-poem of Master F i c t i o n . " The work i s narrated by a f a n c i f u l character Master F i c t i o n and describes the wonders of the Imperial hunting parks i n extravagant language. Yang suggests that only such u n r e a l i s t i c writing i s appreciated by the present government. 58 4_3 9 a. 4 _ 6 a # 5 94-39b; 4-6b. 6 o4-43b; 4-10a. 111 6 l 5 - 4 6 a ; 5-2b; 5 3 . SPPY has 'a u s p i c i o u s e x p r e s s i o n s ' f or ^ | ^ •ancient e x p r e s s i o n s ' of the SPTK. Since the SPPY v e r s i o n makes more sense i n the context and the worcls ^ £ e are repeated i n the e i g h t h l i n e , the SPTK t e x t i s probably corrupted due to s i m i l a r i t y i n shape of the two c h a r a c t e r s . a. We f i n d a r e f e r e n c e to a s i m i l a r custom i n the T ' l e n Pao Y i Shi h : " i n the c a p i t a l on the n i g h t of the f i r s t f u l l moon, people make f l o u r cocoons and put paper l o t s or s t r i p s of wood w i t h o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n s w r i t t e n on them i n t o the p a s t r y . People choose them and use them to t e l l t h e i r f o r t u n e s . " See YWLHC, p. 5 3 . b. San-ch'ti or Three Thoroughfares i s Ch'li-chou i n modern Chekiang p r o v i n c e . c. The exact s i g n i f i c a n c e of the word ts'ung i s not c l e a r and the r e are v a r i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n s as to what a "brush s h r i n e " i s . d. Name of a palace of the Han dynasty, which a t the time of the emperor Ch'eng T i was used as a l e c t u r e h a l l . Yang means t h a t he doesn't have any ambitions to pursue a l i t e r a r y c a r e e r i n the c o u r t . e. A h u n t i n g park of the Han emperor Wu T i , which was l o c a t e d west of the c a p i t a l Ch'ang-an. The park was 1 12 the s u b j e c t of a famous p o e t i c a l work by the Han c o u r t poet Ssu-ma H s i a n g - j u . 6 2 5-50b; 5-7a. 6 5 6-55b; 6-5b; 57-a. West Mountain or H s i Shan i s i n the west of H s i n - c h i e n C o u n t y j t t l of K i a n g s i p r o v i n c e . b. Yang i s saying that he i s only concerned w i t h the paper work of a government o f f i c i a l . In a n c i e n t times o f f i c i a l documents were w r i t t e n out w i t h b l a c k and red i n k . c. In other words, Yang i s so occupied by o f f i c i a l d u t i e s t h a t he cannot w r i t e l i n e s as famous as Wang Po's "In the evening, p e a r l c u r t a i n s are r o l l e d up i n the West Mountain r a i n . " See SPTK, Wang Po >f# , Wang Tzu An C h i J J ^ ^ , 2-31b. d. In t h i s l i n e the word t u does not mean 'alone' but 'how', which i s Sung c o l l o q u i a l . 6 4 T h e t r e a t i s e appears i n CCC, 87-724-774. 6 5 6-56a; 6-6a. 6 6CCC, 89-763. 6^The pao-chla system and oth e r reforms of Wang An-shih are t r e a t e d i n James L i u , Reform i n Sung China, Harvard U. P r e s s , Cambridge, Mass., 1959. D OCCC, 88-75A-a. Shih Ching-t'ang was the founder of the Latter Chin dynasty of the Five Dynasties Period. Shih set up the M i l i t a r y P a c i f i c a t i o n Army i n 943. Shlh-chln l i t e r a l l y means the 'Chin dynasty of Shih.' tf. Because of peasant unrest, the name of the army was changed to Army of Heavenly Majesty the following year. One year l a t e r the Chin dynasty was destroyed by the Khltan. 6 9CCC, 89-770. . 7 0 I b i d . , 89-771. a. The L i n Bandits were peasant rebels who revolted i n 1165 i n Hunan province. The equal grain purchase, which was one of the main causes of discontent, was a government program which was supposed to buy grain from the peasants to feed m i l i t a r y and c i v i l per-sonnel. Frequently l o c a l o f f i c i a l s did not pay the peasants f o r the grain but pocketed the government's money. b. The equal buying was s i m i l a r to the equal grain pur-chase but i t entailed o f f i c i a l purchase of s i l k In-stead of grain. c. This was a s i l k tax supposedly levied to buy uniforms f o r soldiers stationed on the front l i n e s i n the Huai River region. 11 d. The peasants had to pay f o u r kinds of taxes a l -together, (1) the standard land tax, (2) the equal purchase tax, (3) the Huai uniform tax, and (4) the new s i l k tax l e v i e d f o r the sake of the n e i g h b o r i n g commandery. T h i s i s , of course, an o v e r - s i m p l i f i c a t i o n , because many other taxes were l e v i e d . 7 1 S S , 5585-b. 7 2 6 - 6 l a ; 7-4a. 7 5 S e e CCC, 7-65a. 7 4 7-66a; 7-8b; 63. In the p r e f a c e SPPY has-ib f or of SPTK. a. The name of Yang's study i s a r e f e r e n c e to L i u Tsung-ylian's l i n e : " I f i s h alone In the c o l d r i v e r ' snow." See SPTK, L i u Tsu n g - y u a n ^ ? , Chu — ^ ) \1P S h i h Y i n P i e n T'ang L i u Hsien Sheng Chi |£_ M \ pi X J I ^ 45-218a. The o b j e c t of the f i s h i n g i s to c a t c h n o t h i n g . b. L i t e r a l l y , "dream s o u l . " 7 5 7-72b; 8-6b. 7 6 7-69b; 8-3b. SPTK has @£j f o r SPPY's . I f o l l o w SPPY. a. F o r g e t t i n g words was an i d e a l of both T a o i s t s and Ch'an Bu d d h i s t s . Ch'an was the d o c t r i n e which does not " s e t up words ^ *^ ." 115 One of the basic tenets of the Ch'an Buddhists i s that enlightenment i s nothing special or secret. See p. 152. 7 7 7-70a; 8-4b; 65. The word chlang i s used i n the rather unusual sense of 'together with' or 'accompany.' 7 88-75h; 9-la. 7 9CCC, 80-672. Idem 8 l8-80b; 9-6a. 8 29-88b; 10-6a. of SPTK i s an obvious misprint f o r ^ of SPPY. 8 511-106b; 12-6b; 95-The emperor's kindness i s Yang Wan-li's o f f i c i a l salary, which was considered a p r i v i l e g e conferred by the emperor. For ch'ang chl see T'ao Ch'ien's poem "Drinking Wine": "Formerly I suffered from always starving/ So I threw away my plow and learned to be an o f f i c i a l . " See SPTK, T'ao C h ' i e n f l j , Chien Chu T'ao Yuan Ming c w ^ 5 i fij m ^ ^ • 5-34a-This l i n e seems to ref e r to the famous T'ang ch'uan ch' i story Chen Chung Chl j ^ j |£y , which t e l l s of a poor man named Lu Sheng who met a Taoist magician 116 In an Inn while t r a v e l i n g . The Taoist gave Lu Sheng a pillow, which he claimed would grant a l l wishes to the possesser. At that moment the magician was cooking grain f o r dinner, and Lu Sheng f e l l asleep on the pillow. Lu Sheng dreamed that he was married to a beautiful wife and a f t e r obtaining his chin-shih degree, he eventually became prime minister, dying at the age of eighty with many pros-perous of f s p r i n g . When he awake, he eraw that the inn hadn't changed and that the grain had not cooked yet, but even so, Lu Sheng refused to be-l i e v e everything had been a dream. The point of the story was the ephemeral nature of human l i f e and the f o l l y of seeking high position and rich e s . 8 4The story of Vimalaklrti i s contained i n the Vlmala-k l r t i - n l r d e s a - s u t r a or ^ Jjf it. ^ \ tfa & In Chinese. I t i s translated with copious annotations i n E. Lamotte, L'enselgnement de Vim a l a k l r t i. Louvain, 1962. 8 511-103b; 12-3b. 8 6CCC, 80-672. 8 715-1 A1a; l6-5a. 8 815-1 A1b; l6-5b. a. The partridge adds to the melancholy of the trave l e r , because i t i s supposed to cry -/j ^ -^ g itJ or 'you can't go on.' 117 89 1 5 _ 1 43b; l6-7a. SPTK has f o r SPPY's 3 In the f i r s t l i n e . T ^) a. The green robe i s the color of the unripe l i c h e e . In the f i r s t l i n e only part of the lichee i s r i p e , but i n the second l i n e the entire f r u i t i s r i p e . b. The lichee seems to have a cooling e f f e c t when one eats i t i n a t r o p i c a l climate. 9 0HTCTC, 3945. 9 116-I50a; 1 8-1 b. a. A bamboo branch song i s a form of f o l k song f i r s t ^popular i n Szechwan which was l a t e r u t i l i z e d by upper class poets to describe r u r a l scenes, a f t e r L i u Yli-hsi composed imitations. 9 216-I53a; l8-4b. 9 517-158a; 19-4a. SPTK has f o r <fj of SPPY i n the third l i n e . SPPY seems to make better sense here. 9 417-158a; 19-4b. a. The Pukien bandits are Shen Shih's troops. b. The Spear Comet's appearance was supposedly a sign of re v o l t . 9 5CCC, 62-500b. a. During the middle of the f i r s t century B. C. there were f i v e r i v a l shan-yu or chiefs f i g h t i n g f o r the 118 Hsiung-nu leadership. The Eastern Hu were a serious menace to the Hsiung-nu at the beginning of t h e i r im-p e r i a l period and also at various l a t e r times. The Jou-jan were a group of nomadic tribes who gave great d i f f i c u l t i e s to the northern Wei. Yang i s r e f e r r i n g to the recurring border problems of the Chin Tartars, who now had to fend off the r i s i n g power of the Mongols. b. Pien-ching i s the name of the northern Sung c a p i t a l and southern c a p i t a l of the subsequent Chin, modern day K'al-feng. Hai-chou i s the area around the Liao Elver basin i n modern Liao-ning. 9 6SS, 5595-a. 9 7 ;Chu Hsi's biography i s found i n chuan 429 of SS. 9 8Yang wrote a commentary on the I Chlng i n l i n e with northern Sung neo-Confucian i n t e r e s t s , but h i s most important neo-Confucian work i s his Yung Yen or Talk of the Mean, con-tained i n CCC, chuan 91-94. Unlike Chu Hsi, Yang's poetry has l i t t l e or no s p e c i f i c a l l y neo-Confucian content. 9 9 1 9 - l 8 3 a ; 21-10a; 131. In the second l i n e SPPY has of the SPTK, I have followed the and i n the f i f -SPTK readings i n a l l these cases. a. The Duke who followed the emperor Hui Tsung into c a p t i v i t y and l a t e r escaped 119 back to the southern Sung to encourage Kao Tsung to a t t a c k the Chin T a r t a r s and rescue Hui Tsung. Due to the p a c i f i s t i c sentiment i n the c o u r t , Ts'ao's a d v i c e was ignored and he was demoted. L a t e r when Ch'in Kuei managed to b r i b e the Chin to send the de-ceased Hui Tsung's c o f f i n back to the Sung, Ts'ao Hslin was appointed ambassador to Chin to r e c e i v e the c o f f i n and accompany back the s t i l l l i v i n g w i f e of Hui Tsung. Ts'ao Chung-pen i s an obscure I n d i v i d u a l , but he was s u r e l y a descendant of Ts'ao Hstln. The "Grand Empress" i s H s i e n - j e n T'ai-hou the w i f e of Hui Tsung and mother of Kao Tsung. Note that the events d e s c r i b e d i n the poem occurred f o r t y - t h r e e y ears before the poem i t -s e l f was w r i t t e n . The "Palace of V i r t u e and Longevity" was Kao Tsung's r e s i d e n c e a f t e r he ab d i c a t e d i n f a v o r of Hsiao Tsung. The "Great Sovereign" i s the r e t i r e d emperor Kao Tsung. The Mother of Jas p e r P o o l i s the m y t h i c a l H s i Wang Mu, but a c t u a l l y Yang means the r e t u r n i n g empress of Hui Reference to the empress' r e t u r n from the n o r t h e r n c o l d of the b a r b a r i a n Chin. T h i s i s an a l l u s i o n to the s t o r y of Su Wu, a poet of the Han dynasty who was captured by the Hsiung-nu and c a r r i e d o f f beyond the n o r t h e r n f r o n t i e r . When Han Tsung. 120 Chao T i asked f o r Su Wu to be sent back, the Hsiung-nu c h i e f t a i n refused to acknowledge the poet was s t i l l a l i v e . Later a Chinese ambassador tricked the Hsiung-nu c h i e f t a i n by saying that when the emperor was hunt-ing i n the imperial park, he shot a wild goo&e with a note from Su Wu stating he was s t i l l a l i v e . The Hsiung-nu were then forced to return him. Obviously the em-press had t r i e d to get through to her son Kao Tsung but was unsuccessful. g. A l l u s i o n to Tu Pu's poem "Presented to Ts'ao Pa": "General, you are a descendant of the Martial Emperor of Wei." See TP, 121/12/24. Although he had the same surname, Ts'ao Hsun was not a descendant of the re-nowned Ts'ao Ts'ao of the Three Kingdoms. Yang i s merely comparing t h e i r valor. h. The Red Pine Immortal was a mythological f i g u r e who had attained Immortality by Taoist yoga and alchemy. Ts'ao Hsfln i s obviously thinking of r e t i r i n g to the h i l l s . 1. Waxing of boots i s an a l l u s i o n to the biography of Juan Pu |7/J ^. i n the Chin Shu: "Pu loved sandals by nature. Someone went to v i s i t Pu and saw him just as he was waxing his sandals. Pu sighed saying, 'I don't know how many sandals I can wear i n one l i f e . ' " See retirement. 121 j . The great p a t r i o t i c general of the southern Sung, Yiieh P e l , was murdered by the prime minister Ch'in Kuei, who feared that Ytieh would become too powerful i f he succeeded i n taking back the northern t e r r i t o r y l o s t to the Chin Tartars. Yang i s advising Ts'ao Hslin to remove himself from p o l i t i c s before he becomes powerful enough to arouse the envy of a Ch'in Kuei. k. A l l u s i o n to Tu Pu's s a t i r e on another e v i l prime minister of T'ang times: "Be careful not to get too close i n front, because the prime minister i s glaring." See TP 26/4/26. 1 0 0CCC, 6 2 - 5 0 5 a . 1 0 1 S S , 5 5 9 5 - b . 102 T, m idem. 1 0 5 Y u Mou's biography i s i n SS, chttan 389-I 0 419-I83b; 21-10b; 135-SPPY has f o r of SPTK. i s considerably more l i v e l y i n i t s meaning, so I have accepted t h i s as the proper reading. In the fourth l i n e , SPPY.has In place of SPTK's a. The t i t l e of the poem refers to the frequent use of the two characters ^ and i n the poem. Lu Wu-kuan i s Lu Yu. b. Yang Tzu-yffn or Master-cloud Yang i s the Han Confucian thinker Yang Hslung. Inky Pool i s a place where the famed calligrapher Wang Hsi-chih was supposed to have 122 p r a c t i c e d h i s w r i t i n g . However, there seems to be no conn e c t i o n between Yang Hsiung and Inky P o o l . Yfln-chien or In the Clouds i s i n modern Sung-chiang County of Kiansu p r o v i n c e and was the home of Lu Shih l u n g or Scholar-dragon Lu, the Chin dynasty poet Lu Yang Hsiung and Lu Yu to Lu Ylin because of the i d e n t i t y of the surnames, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Although the c a p i t a l was a t Hang-chou d u r i n g the southern Sung, Yang s t i l l uses the name of the c a p i t a l of the T'ang dynasty, Ch'ang-an. T h i s i s a common anachronism of Sung poets. A l l u s i o n to the H s i Wang Mu, i n whose realm there was a miraculous peach t r e e that bore f r u i t only once i n three thousand y e a r s . A l l u s i o n to the annals of the n o r t h e r n Wei emperor Hsiao Wu T i : "Yli-wen T ' a i sent the gre a t m e t r o p o l i s commandants Chao Kuel and Li a n g Yd w i t h two thousand of armored c a v a l r y to him and c a r r i e d the emperor over the R i v e r . He s a i d to L i a n g Yfl: 'This water f l o w s to the east, but I am going up west. I f I can ever r e -t u r n to my a n c e s t r a l temples i n Lo-yang a g a i n , i t w i l l be because of your m e r i t . ' The t e a r s of the emperor In the poem Yang Wan-li corresponds to and h i s v a s s a l s streamed down. it K ' a i Ming Shu ChU, 2758a. 123 g. .. The seal i s one of an o f f i c i a l i n government. A big seal i s the sign of high o f f i c e . h. Reference to the biography of L i Ho i n the T'ang Shu: "Every day at dawn he went out r i d i n g a weak horse, followed by a small female slave with an old brocade sack on her back. When he thought of a poem, he wrote It down and tossed i t into the sack. As soon as he went home, i n the evening, he completed the poem." 4104-d. Lu Yu was noted f o r the immense quantity of h i s poetry, and he l e f t more poetry than any other poet of the Sung dynasty. i s t e r of the Han dynasty. During h i s age, i t was the custom to choose the prime minister only from the n o b i l i t y , but Kung-sun Hung had no noble t i t l e when he was selected f o r the post, so he was Immediately enfeoffed as P'ing-chln Hou or Marquis of Level Ford. j . According to Kung-sun Bung's biography i n the Han Shu: "He b u i l t an eastern p a v i l i o n to a t t r a c t worthy men." Han Shu. K'ai Ming Shu Chfl, 504-c. k. From the biography of Huai-nan Wang i n the Shih Chih. Wu Tzu-hsu* remonstrated with Fu-ch'a, the king of the state Wu, but Fu-ch'a would not l i s t e n to his advice so Wu Tzu-hsfl said: "Today I see deer wandering on the terraces of Ku-su." He meant that i f the king , K'ai Ming Shu Chfl, 1. A l l u s i o n to Kung-sun Hung ^ , a prime min-124 did not follow his advice, the state would be over-thrown and deer would wander about the c a p i t a l c i t y Ku-su. See Shih Chl, K'ai Ming Shu Chfl, 260-cd'. 1. Mount Lu i s one of the foremost holy mountains of China and l i e s i n northern Kiangsi province. m. Pu-sang was the tree from which the sun r i s e s , according to popular Chinese mythology. n. A l l u s i o n to L i Po's l i n e s : "His handwriting on a foot of white s i l k / Looks as if. the sky had dropped i t s cloud brocade." See Hanabasu Hidekl Hi Hyaku Kashl Sakuin (abbreviated LP)-^rl!) | A 1% i | J | , Kyoto, 1957, 632.04. o. Located at Hang-rchou' s West Lake. p. The Shang-ssu F e s t i v a l was the f i r s t ssu j day i n the t h i r d lunar month. q. This l i n e i s a d i r e c t quote from L i Po. See LP, 815.02. r . An a l l u s i o n to L i Po's poem: "Jade Mountain f e l l by i t s e l f , nobody pushed i t ! " See LP, 207.28. 1 0 524-229b; 27-3a. a. Lacquer Garden i s the place where Chuangtze became an o f f i c i a l . Chuangtze states that once he dreamed he was a b u t t e r f l y but af tier he awakened he could not decide i f he was Chuangtze dreaming he was a bu t t e r f l y 125 or a bu t t e r f l y dreaming he was Chuangtze. See SPTK, Nan Hua Chen Chlng ^ - ^ r j | » l-26ab. b. Great Locust Palace Is a reference to the T'ang story Nan K1 o T''al Shou Chuan jjfj jjfy A ^ ^ i n w h l c n a certain Ch'un-yu Fen>.|- ^ ^ slept under a locust tree and dreamed he entered the tree, which was ac t u a l l y a huge palace. Both a l l u s i o n s heighten the sense of the dream-like nature of the phenomenal world. 1°625-236b; 27-lOa. a. Chl-wen or Lucky Pattern i s another name f o r the Kan River of Kiangsi. b. The two Immortals are probably Tu Mou and Lu Tu. 1 0 725-237b; 2 7 - l l a . a. By for g e t t i n g the heart or mind r a d i c a l of the Chinese character f o r sadness, Tang has attained the Ch'an state of mindlessness or wu-hsln. 1 0 8 S e e SS, 54Q1 f o r a f u l l account. 10927-255a; 29-4a; 170. a. The ordinary name i n Chinese f o r the Tangtze River i s Ch'ang Chiang and only the section near Tang-chou i s known as the Tangtze. b. A l l u s i o n to the biography of K1 ung Fan J/j i n the Nan Shih: "When the Sui army was about to ford the Tangtze, a l l the o f f i c i a l s [of Ch'en] requested to make defense preparations, but Fan sent up a memorial saying: 'The Tangtze River i s the moat of heaven and has been a boundary l i n e since a n t i q u i t y . 126 How w i l l the barbarian army be able to f l y across? 1" Subsequently, the Ch'en dynasty was destroyed by the Sui armies. In Yang's time the Sung government simi-l a r l y depended on the Yangtze River as a natural de-fense l i n e . c. Yao-han i s the famous Han-ku Pass i n modern Honan province, which formerly was an Important pass pro-te c t i n g the central region i n Han and T'ang times. A very small force i n control of the pass could hold off a large army and possession of the pass was often decisive i n determining the outcome of p o l i t i c a l struggles i n Chinese h i s t o r y . d. A strategic mountain located i n the Yangtze River west of Chenkiang i n modern Kiangsu province. e. In other words, the enemy armies of the Chin Tartars are just across the r i v e r . f . On the surface the l a s t two l i n e s seem to be merely thanking the r i v e r god f o r making the weather good so that the poet can cross e a s i l y , but It i s obvious that i f the poet can cross so easily i n good weather, the enemy can cross just as easily and attack the Sung empire. , K'ai Ming Shu Chu, 2729-b. 127' °27-255b; 29- Aa; 172. Kua-chou or Melon Island i s to the southwest of Yang-chou i n Kiangsu province and was a str a t e g i c point i n the southern Sung dynasty. P i - l i i s another name f o r the northern Wei emperor T'ai Wu T i , who attempted to defeat the Sung dynasty of the North-south Period. He attacked as f a r south as Kua-chou and then was defeated by the general Shen P'u ~jkS -*J-A-liang i s the Chin emperor Pel T i , who led an ex-pedition against the southern Sung in 1161. Upon attempting to cross the Yangtze River at Ts'ai-shlh, he was defeated by the Sung navy and assassinated by his own troops in a m i l i t a r y coup. According to Yang's footnote to the poem: "In the hsln-ssu year (1161), Wan-yen Liang [Pel Ti] came south raiding and b u i l t a tower facing the r i v e r . He was assassinated i n i t according to the l o c a l people." !27-255b; 29-4a; 173. SPPY has ^ f o r of SPTK i n the fourth l i n e , an obvious error. In Sung times a bridge was b u i l t on Yangtze Ford south of modern Yang-chou. For obvious reasons the bridge was an important point i n the Chinese defences. 128 b;., In e a r l y Chou times the area of Chinese c u l t u r e d i d not extend south of the Huai R i v e r , so the southern Sung dynasty was south of the t r a d i t i o n a l t e r r i t o r y of the Chou k i n g s . The southern domain or f u i s a r e f e r e n c e to an a n c i e n t system whereby the country was d i v i d e d i n t o r e g i o n s a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r d i s t a n c e from the c a p i t a l . Each i n c r e a s e i n d i s t a n c e of f i v e hundred 11 was taken as a d i f f e r e n t d i v i s i o n , so these "domains" surrounded the c a p i t a l l i k e concen-t r i c r i n g s . A l t o g e t h e r there were nine of these, domains, the n i n t h r e a c h i n g the l i m i t of Chinese c i v i l i z a t i o n . c. Wang Tao and Hsieh Hsllaii were two famous g e n e r a l s of the e a s t e r n Chin dynasty a t the beginning of the North-south P e r i o d . H s i e h Hsuan i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r e -nowned as the commander of the Chin armies a t the b a t t l e of F e i - s h u i where he defeated the n o r t h e r n b a r b a r i a n k i n g Fu Chien, s a v i n g China from b a r b a r i a n conquest. Yang i m p l i e s t h a t although everyone lo o k s down upon the eas t e r n Chin as a p e r i o d of weakness, a t l e a s t t h a t dynasty had two famous g e n e r a l s such as Wang Tao and Hsi e h Hslian. The Sung dynasty i s so badly governed i t cannot produce g r e a t generals but k i l l s the great g e n e r a l s i t has such as Yueh P e l . 1 1 227-257a; 29-5b; 175-a. T h i s l a k e i s i n the west of Kiangsu p r o v i n c e . 129 b. Yang i s unhappy because he i s on the border between the Chin and Sung. c. Sang-kan i s the name of a r i v e r which r i s e s i n Shansi, passes to the southwest of Peking, and then enters the sea near Tients i n . At the time the area was occupied by the Chin forces, but formerly i t had been on the northern f r o n t i e r . 1 1 3Idem. 1 1 ^ a ' A l l four of the men mentioned were famous generals at the beginning of the southern Sung and were greatly feared by the Chin. k'Both Chao Teng and Chang Chun became prime ministers i n 1135 during the reign of Kao Tsung, but they were removed from t h e i r high positions a f t e r Ch'in Kuel came to power. a. Chiao Shan or Scorched Mountain l i e s to the north-east of modern Chenkiang i n Kiangsu province while Chin Shan or Metal Mountain i s opposite to the north-west of Chenkiang. b. There are many d i f f e r e n t versions of what the three r i v e r s and f i v e lakes re f e r to, but here Yang means a l l of the sources of the Yangtze's water. 528-26lb; 30-1b; 178. f o r i n the t i t l e . 130 The nine lands are the nine l e v e l s of the underworld. T h i s l i n e and the one proceding i t most l i k e l y r e f e r t o the s i g h t s and sounds of the famed Metal Mountain Monastery or Chin Shan Ssu, one of the major c e n t e r s of Buddhist worship i n Sung times. A jade-boat cup Is a l a r g e wine cup and would not n e c e s s a r i l y be made of jade. F l o a t i n g Jade i s an o l d name f o r Metal Mountain. T h i s poem has two p o s s i b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , and i t i s very p o s s i b l e the poet Intended both. The more s u p e r f i c i a l of these I n t e r p r e t a t i o n s i s t h a t Yang i s merely d e s c r i b i n g the b e a u t i e s of Metal Mountain, and s i n c e he does not d r i n k any wine i n the presence of the mountain, the mountain should f e e l "ashamed" of him and "sad" f o r him. However, we must keep i n mind t h a t Yang wrote t h i s poem while he was ambassador to the Chin, and because many of h i s poems of t h i s p e r i o d are p o l i t i c a l s a t i r e s , we should l o o k f o r a deeper p o l i t i c a l message i n t h i s work. Metal Mountain was extremely important f o r the border defense of the southern Sung, and the Chin emperor F e i T i had been murdered by h i s own troops near the mountain a f t e r he was defeated by the Sung navy w h i l e attempting a c r o s s i n g . In the Jung Chai S u l P i we r e a d : "At the end of the Shao-hsing p e r i o d , [ F e i T i ] herded h i s horses and watered them a t the R i v e r . L a t e r , when 131 he died of himself [ i . e . , at the hands of his own troops], i t was decreed that Ma-tang, Ts'ai-shih, and Metal Mountain should be invested as the three water strongholds . . . At the time when Wan-yen Liang occupied the Huai River, . . . prayers were said to the Great River that i f i t did not l e t the barbarians get across, a memorial would be sent up to Invest i t as a T i ['god']." See Hung M a i f ^ i ^ Jung Chal Sul £ijj|. ^ ^ » Commercial Press, Taipei, 1955* v o l . 1, p. 93. Thus, i t i s quite l i k e l y that Yang i s making fun of the imperial court's impo-tence i n the face of the enemy and the stupidity of r e l y i n g on the " s p i r i t u a l power" of the Yangtze River and Metal Mountain to r e s i s t the Chin Tartars. The danger to the nation would be even a greater reason f o r Metal Mountain to be "ashamed" and "sad." l t 6Chang Tuan-yljjk. ^ -4f » Kuei Erh Chi "If J| ^ i n Ts' ung Shu Chl Ch 1 eng ^ ^ ')cjj , Commer-c i a l Press, Shanghai, 1937, 45-a. 1 1 7CCC, 81-675b. 1 l 8 S e e HTCTC, p. 4080. The problem of iron money i s d i s -cussed i n Robert Hartwell, "A Revolution i n the Chinese Iron and Coal Industries During the Northern Sung," The Journal of Asian Studies, no. 21 (1961-62), pp. 153-162. 132 1 19CCC, 70-596. 1 2 0 38-358b; 39-1 a. 1 2 1HTCTC, 4107-4108. 1 2 2 I b i d . , 4109-4111. l 2 5 I b i d . , 4125-1 2 4 I b l d . , 4118 l 2 5 I b i d . , 4131. t 2 6 S S , 5595-b. 12?42-402b; 42-8b; 241. i . T'ao Yuan-mlng or T'ao Ch'ien and Hsien Llng-ytin were the two most famous poets of the North-south Period. They especially appealed to Yang because they were iar g e l y responsible f o r the great Interest i n nature i n l a t e r Chinese poetry. 1 2 838-359b; 39-2b. 1 2 q42_400b; 42-6b. "Flowers" r e f e r to blurred v i s i o n . 1304 2_4Q 0 b. 42-6b. l 5 1 T a i s h o Shlnshu DalzokyS (abbreviated Taisho) 1 M 4>\ 7\ $\ & l 3 l Mo Chi eh Suo Shuo Chlng gfe. ^ Tk r*\ , no. 475, v o l . 14, p. 551-c 1 3 2HTCTC, 2214. I 5 3 l b i d . , 4216. 1 5 4 I b i d . , 4241 . 1 5 5 S S , 5595b. 1364 2_4 0 7 d. 42-14a; 243. 133 1 ^ 7 A photograph of the tomb i s contained i n YWLHC. 1 5 8HTCTC, 4269. 1 3 9 I b i d . , 4275-l 4 o L u o Ta-ching Jjj. A J i . Ho L i n Y j L u ^ ^ ^ . i n P i Chi Ha la o Shuo Ta Kuan Hsfl P i e n ^ f£>/> 2?J$^fo H s i n Hsing Shu ChiH r e p r . £frj^.J^ ^ , T a i p e i , 1962, chuan 4, p. 5, p. 2294a. l 4 l38-360a; 39-2b. l 4 2 H o L i n Yit Lu, chuan 4, p. 5. l 4 3 i a e m . Yang Wan-li's Theory of Poetry In our study of Yang Wan-li's p o l i t i c a l c a r e e r and p r i -v a t e l i f e , we have alr e a d y touched upon the extreme importance of Ch'an Buddhism to h i s s p i r i t u a l and l i t e r a r y development. In the f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n of Yang's theory of l i t e r a t u r e , we s h a l l see t h a t Ch'an Buddhism played an e q u a l l y important r o l e i n forming h i s views on the w r i t i n g of p o e t r y . Buddhism was c e r t a i n l y one of the major p h i l o s o p h i c a l f o r c e s which i n s p i r e d e a r l i e r Chinese poets, but one encounters extreme d i f f i c u l t i e s i n d e f i n i n g the r e l a t i o n s h i p between Buddhism and poetry i n much Chinese v e r s e , because Chinese poets r a r e l y l i m i t e d them-s e l v e s to any p a r t i c u l a r s c h o o l of p h i l o s o p h y . The g r e a t e s t c o n f u s i o n a r i s e s when we d e a l w i t h what appears to be pure nature poetry and f r e q u e n t l y i s . Are we j u s t i f i e d to i n t e r -p r e t such an image as f a l l i n g plum f l o w e r s as a symbol of the impermanence of samsara, or are we r e a d i n g too much i n t o the poem when we make such an a s s e r t i o n ? The Chinese poet r a r e l y g i v e s us an answer to such q u e s t i o n s , and only i n Sung times, when poets s t a r t e d composing "poetry t a l k s " and l i t e r a r y c r i -t i c a l poems In a f a i r l y l a r g e q u a n t i t y , can we get a very c l e a r p i c t u r e of the views of poetry which the p r i n c i p a l Chinese poets h e l d . Although the founders of the v a r i o u s Ch'an Buddhist s e c t s had l i v e d i n the T'ang dynasty, i n many r e s p e c t s Ch'an Buddhism reached i t s h i g h p o i n t In Sung times. One of our 134 135 most important sources of Ch'an history, The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of the Chlng Te Era {Chlng Te Ch'uan Teng Lu)-<r , was compiled about 1004, whereas the two most widely used kung-an ^ ^ c o l l e c t i o n s , The Records of the Green C l i f f (Pi Yen Lu) ^ ^ and the Pass With-out a Gate (Wu Men K u a n ) ^ ; J j'jtj , were written i n 1125 and 1228, respectively. Even the collected sayings (yfl-lu) Sjfc of the T'ang masters were frequently re-edited by Sung writers and quite often did not receive t h e i r f i n a l form u n t i l Sung times. Most important of a l l , i t was i n Sung times that Ch'an Buddhism deeply influenced the i n t e l l e c t u a l and a r t i s t i c l i f e of the Chinese educated classes and, thus, served as a stimulus to much of what was f i n e s t i n Chinese culture. Su Shih ^ (1036-1101), the foremost poet of the northern Sung dynasty, was strongly influenced by Buddhist ideas. In a poem presented when sending off a Ch'an master, Su wrote of the intimate connection between the Buddhist mysti-c a l experience and the creation of poetry: If you want to make the words of your poetry miraculous, Don't despise emptiness and t r a n q u i l i t y . When t r a n q u i l , you can comprehend the multitude of movements; Empty, you receive the myriad realms. Experiencing the world, you walk amidst men; Contemplating your body, you l i e on a cloudy range. . In salty and sour are mixed a host of preferences, 136 But i n t h e i r middle there's a gr e a t f l a v o r , e v e r l a s t i n g P oetry and the dharma don't o b s t r u c t one another, So I should ask yo'u about these words. 1 Su Shih's emphasis on emptiness (sunyata) and t r a n q u i l i t y and h i s n o t i o n t h a t an u l t i m a t e u n i t y l i e s behind the phenomena of the world are d e f i n i t e l y of Buddhist i n s p i r a t i o n but not s p e c i -f i c a l l y Ch'an. However, when he ways, "Good poems b u r s t out of my mouth, who can choose them?" 2 one suspects t h a t h i s theory of poetry has been i n f l u e n c e d by the Ch'an n o t i o n of s p o n t a n e i t y . N e v e r t h e l e s s , i t was not u n t i l the g e n e r a t i o n of poets f o l l o w i n g Su S h i h t h a t the Ch'an Buddhist experience was c l o s e l y l i n k e d to the p o e t i c c r e a t i v e p r o c e s s . Su S h i h showed d e f i n i t e s i g n s of Ch'an i n f l u e n c e , but one of h i s p u p i l s Han C h l i J ^ j ( d . 1135) seems to have been one of the e a r l i e s t p oets who d e f i n i t e l y s t a t e d t h a t the process of s t u d y i n g poetry was the same as Ch'an m e d i t a t i o n : S t u d y i n g p o e t r y , you should be l i k e one s t a r t i n g t o study Ch'an: Before you are e n l i g h t e n e d , you must meditate on v a r i o u s methods. But one day when you are e n l i g h t e n e d to the t r u e dharma eye, Then t r u s t i n g your hand, you draw i t out and a l l the stanzas are ready-made. 5 137 Further, he i s supposed to have said: "The Way of poetry i s l i k e the Buddha dharma, f o r i t ought to be separated into great and small vehicles and a heterodox, demon external path. Only the knowing can speak of t h i s . " 4 In connection with Han Chu's Buddhist conception of poetry, i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that Su Shih considered him to be close i n s t y l e to the T'ang poet Oh'u Kuang-hsl"^||j %J 4\ , a Buddhist nature poet. Later, the c r i t i c Lu Pen-chung ^ >*• \j? (ca. 1119) included Han Chu i n the Kiangsi School of poets led by Huang T'ing-chien, but Han himself f i n a l l y disagreed with Lu's c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , and the Ch'an element i n his theory of poetry seems to j u s t i f y Han's opinion that he d i f f e r e d from the Kiangsi poets.5 Another northern Sung poet Wu K'ovjz (ca. 1126) saw the poet's process of creation as s i m i l a r to Ch'an enlighten-ment : Studying poetry i s e n t i r e l y l i k e studying the practice of Ch'an: The bamboo bed, the meditation cushion, one can't count the years. F i n a l l y when you comprehend i t a l l yourself, You easily draw It f o r t h and are transcendant. Here again we see the concept that the creation of poetry i s a natural act which becomes almost e f f o r t l e s s a f t e r one has reached the l e v e l of enlightenment. Yang Wan-li's own development as a poet bears a marked 138 resemblance to the s p i r i t u a l progress of the great Ch'an masters of the T'ang and Sung periods. Although t h e i r f i n a l enlighten-ment i s usually described as sudden, i t was frequently pre-ceded by rigorous d i s c i p l i n e and study under a number of masters. For Yang, the path to the f i n a l enlightenment, which enabled him to r i s e above the mediocrity of his youthful verse and create a new s t y l e , was as p a i n f u l as the Clr?an student's subjection to the master's bewildering paradoxes and i r r a t i o n a l beatings: I f i r s t learned poetry from the gentlemen of Kiangsi, following which I studied the f i v e character regulated the seven character chueh-chu of Wang An-shih X ~£ -"jsz and f i n a l l y , I studied chueh-chu from the T'ang poets. But the more e f f o r t I made i n studying, the l e s s I wrote. Once I sighed about t h i s to L i n Kuang-ch'ao c a r e f u l l y , i t i s d i f f i c u l t to obtain things, so how do you expect your works not to be few?" I sighed saying, "Poets probably have d i f f e r e n t 'diseases' from the same source, and surely I am not alone i n t h i s ! " Thus, from the spring of tlng-yu i n the Ch'un-hsi period (1177) a l l the way back to the year jen-wu (1162), I had written only f i v e hundred and eighty-two poems; so few they were! In the summer, I went to my p o s i t i o n i n Chlng-ch'i and as soon as I reached my post, I read lawsuits and arranged the Then I studied , and L i n said, "When you choose so 139 l o c a l revenue, associating only with red and black ink. Ideas f o r poems went back and f o r t h i n my breast from time to time, but although I wanted to write, I didn't have any l e i s u r e . On New Year's Day of wu-hsfl (1178), I was on vacation and lacking o f f i c i a l business, I wrote poetry on t h i s day. Suddenly, I was as i f en-lightened (wu), and at that moment, I took leave of the T'ang poets, Wang An-shih, Oh'en Shih-tao, and a l l the gentlemen ;Of Kiangsi and didn't dare to study any of them. I was then very j o y f u l . I t r i e d having my son hold the writing brush while I o r a l l y composed several poems, and they came gushing f o r t h without any of the previous grinding.^ 7 Again and again, we read of si m i l a r experiences i n the Ch'an l i t e r a t u r e . The monk L i n g - y u ^ (771-853), one of the founders of the Kuei-yang 5 ^ "j?^ Sect l e f t his family at the age of f i f t e e n and spent eight years "studying the sutras and vlnaya ( d i s c i p l i n e ) of the Great and Small V e h i c l e " before he was brought to sudden enlightenment by his master Pal-chang 5 )L ' 8 Similarly Wen-yen x. f l j (d.9^9), the founder of the Yfln-men^ /J Sect, made an exhaustive study of the vlnaya under under his f i r s t teacher Chih-ch'eng ^ before he reached sudden enlightenment under his l a t e r master Mu-chou In two poems written i n 1166, over ten years before his poetic enlightenment, Yang touches on a number of the ideas 140 t h a t became important l a t e r i n h i s p o e t r y . Although these poems are of l i t t l e l i t e r a r y value s i n c e they are s t i l l w r i t t e n i n a s t y l e i m i t a t i v e of the K i a n g s i poets, they can serve as a framework w i t h i n which we can d i s c u s s the b a s i c ideas of Yang's theory of p o e t r y : In Answer to L i T ' i e n - l i n In s t u d y i n g poetry one must be p e n e t r a t i n g and f r e e ; Then t r u s t i n g h i s hand, one i s lone and e x a l t e d . The robe and begging bowl are t i m e l e s s , And a h i l l or mountain i s j u s t one h a i r . In your own l i n e s — " t h e pool has g r a s s " ; a Beyond words, your eyes are a l l i n d i s o r d e r . ^ What then i s the d e l i c i o u s l i k e ? F r o s t y crab w i t h a l i t t l e wine dregs. The dharma of poetry i s hard f o r heaven to keep s e c r e t ; A l l you do i s add your own l a b o r . When i n m e d i t a t i o n — a cedar t r e e ; 0 F i n a l l y e n l i g h t e n e d , how i s i t s t i l l a peach f l o w e r ? d I want to share the east or west jade w i t h you [ i . e . , a wine cup], But we are as f a r a p a r t as the n o r t h and south shores. Are you w i l l i n g to come and t a l k t h i s over w i t h me? W e ' l l s i t a s i d e on a white s e a g u l l sandbank.^ 0 1 In the f i r s t two l i n e s of our f i r s t poem, Yang i s s a y i n g t h a t 141 once the poet i s enlightened, i . e . , "penetrating and f r e e , " he obtains his own independent st y l e which comes to him as i f by nature. We have already noted that Yang found writing more natural a f t e r he had been enlightened and was no longer de-pendent on his old masters. Now the writing of poetry i s c a natural act that the poet himself cannot control: Prom t h i s time on, every afternoon when the o f f i c i a l s had dispersed and the courtyard was empty, I carried a fan and paced i n the back garden. Ascending the ancient c i t y wall, I gathered lysium and chrysanthe-mum or pulled at flowers and bamboos. The myriad phenomena came to me and presented me with poetic material. Although I would wave them away, they wouldn't leave me. Before I had time to requite those i n f r o n t , the ones from behind were already pressing me.*'1 The idea that, a f t e r a poet i s enlightened, poetry comes to him of i t s e l f without any sp e c i a l e f f o r t i s f o r c e f u l l y expressed i n a l a t e r poem of Yang's written i n 1190: Refining l i n e s , how could one be without furnace and mallet? But a l i n e Is not completed e n t i r e l y because of them. This old fellow doesn't hunt f o r the poetry; The poetry comes hunting f o r him! 1 2 142 Thus, the poet must go through a t r y i n g p e r i o d of " r e f i n i n g , " but once he has passed beyond the stage of l e a r n i n g , the w r i t i n g of verse i s an e n t i r e l y n a t u r a l a c t f o r him. The t h i r d l i n e of the f i r s t poem "In Answer to L l T ' i e n -l i n " r e f e r s to the Ch'an Buddhist t r a d i t i o n of t r a n s m i t t i n g the master's t e a c h i n g to a p a r t i c u l a r l y e n l i g h t e n e d p u p i l , symbolized by p r e s e n t i n g the student w i t h the master's begging bowl and robe. The most famous t r a n s m i s s i o n of the robe i s the s e c r e t t r a n s m i s s i o n by Hung-Jen f^. to the s i x t h p a t r i -a r c h Hui-neng ^ \\ (638-713), the f i r s t master of the Southern School of Ch'an. In l i n e w i t h what Yang w r i t e s about the i m p o s s i b i l i t y of t r a n s m i t t i n g the method of poetry, we should mention t h a t Hui-neng re f u s e d to tr a n s m i t h i s robe to any of h i s d i s c i p l e s , c l a i m i n g that "the robe may not be handed down . . . I f you depend on the meaning of the verse of the F i r s t P a t r i a r c h , Bodhidharma, then there i s no need to hand down the robe." 1 3 i h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of the dharma from t e a c h e r to student was a mysterious process which could not adequately be represented by the g i f t of a robe or pegging bowl. A c c o r d i n g to l a t e r Ch'an t r a d i t i o n , Buddha f i r s t t r a n s -m i t t e d the Ch'an t e a c h i n g to Mahakasyapa merely by showing a f l o w e r to h i s d i s c i p l e s , upon which Mahakasyapa proved h i s s o l e understanding of the t e a c h i n g by being the only d i s c i p l e to s m i l e . Concerning t h i s s t o r y , the Sung monk H u i - k ' a i ij^ jJp (1184-1260), author of the Wu Men Kuan says: Y e l l o w - f a c e d Gautama, a c t i n g as i f there were no one near him, f o r c e d good people i n t o s l a v e r y , and hanging 143 up a sheep's head, sold dog meat instead, thinking how extraordinary this was. But i f at that time everybody had smiled, then how could he have transmitted the treasure of the true dharma eye, or i f Mahakas"yapa had not smiled, how could he have transmitted the treasure of the true dharma eye? If he says there i s a transmission of the true dharma eye, then that yellow-faced old geezer would be cheating country bumpkins. But i f he says there i s no transmission, then why did he approve of Mahakasyapa alone? 1* 4 Hui-k'ai agrees with Hul-neng that the Ch'an student should not become attached to any p a r t i c u l a r method or teacher, f o r the secrets of Ch'an cannot be transmitted i n such a way. Yang uses these ideas developed by the Ch'an Buddhists as a device to attack the thoughtless imitation of e a r l i e r poets that was so popular i n his own age. Yang has already t o l d us how he struggled i n his youth to r i d himself of the i n -fluence of the Kiangsi poets, and at t h i s time he was one of the few writers who was opposed to the imitation of the Kiangsi style represented most prominently by Huang T'ing-chlen (1045-1105)• Increasingly from the time of Su Shih onwards, the Sung poets had been moving away from the comparatively natural s i m p l i c i t y of the e a r l i e r northern Sung poets such as Ou-yang Hsiu %X f | ) (1007-1072) and Mel Yao-ch'enJ^ C/£ (1002-1060) to a more a r t i f i c i a l poetry characterized by ex-tensive use of l i t e r a r y a l l u s i o n and careful polishing of the 144 p o e t i c l i n e , and the l a t e r poets set up the T'ang poet Tu Pu jjti- a s a model f o r i m i t a t i o n . Huang T ' i n g - c h i e n h i m s e l f wrote: To c r e a t e words o n e s e l f i s most d i f f i c u l t . When Tu Pu wrote poetry or Han Yu wrote prose, not one c h a r a c t e r was without a source. I t i s probably because l a t e r men read few books t h a t they s a i d Han or Tu c r e a t e d these words themselves. Those men of a n c i e n t times who were s k i l l e d In l i t e r a t u r e were t r u l y capable of r e f i n i n g and s m e l t i n g the myriad m a n i f e s t a t i o n s . A l -though they took the a n c i e n t s ' o l d t a l k and made i t enter t h e i r brush and i n k , i t was l i k e a p i l l of the magic e l i x i r which could touch i r o n and change i t to g o l d . 15 Thus, w i t h the K i a n g s i poets the w r i t i n g of poetry became a matter of "making the o l d i n t o the new." To such a view of l i t e r a t u r e , Yang r e t o r t e d : I am ashamed of those who tr a n s m i t s e c t s and s c h o o l s , For each author has h i s own i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e . Don't r e s t your f e e t beneath Huang T 1 i n g - c h i e n ' s and Ch'en Shih-tao's f e n c e ; S t i c k your head out beyond the ranks of T'ao Yuan-mlng and Hsieh L i n g - y u n ! T 6 ; 145 T h i s i s not to say t h a t Yang was opposed to a l l i m i t a t i o n of the a n c i e n t s . We have already seen how he achieved h i s own en-lightenment only a f t e r s t u d y i n g e a r l i e r p o e t s . In the l e a r n i n g stage, i t was q u i t e p e r m i s s i b l e to set up a p a r t i c u l a r poet as one's model as l o n g as one d i d not become "a t t a c h e d " t o t h a t model. A f t e r Yang Wan-li abandoned the K i a n g s i poets, Huang T ' i n g - c h l e n and Ch'en Shih-tao, he i m i t a t e d Wang An-shih, and i n l a t e r y e a r s he p r e f e r r e d Wang to other n o r t h e r n Sung poets: On the boat the only t h i n g to keep me a l i v e i s poet r y ; A f t e r r e a d i n g the T'ang poets, I read Wang An-shih. I t ' s not t h a t t h i s o l d f e l l o w doesn't eat i n the morning, I take Wang's chtieh-chU f o r b r e a k f a s t ! 1 7 N e v e r t h e l e s s , s i n c e one cannot become attached to Wang An-shih i f one wishes to reach f u l l enlightenment, he has to pass from Wang to the T'ang poets: A f t e r Wang An-shih enables me to meditate and pe n e t r a t e , There s t i l l are the T'ang p o e t s — o n e more b a r r i e r ! 1 ^ One should even pass beyond the T'ang poets Upon f i r s t r e c e i v i n g i n s t r u c t i o n I meditated under Wang An-shih, But i n the end, I entr u s t e d myself to the l a t e T'ang poets. From them the Kuo Feng i s not f a r away; When you've grasped the mechanism i t ' s simple. 1 '9 146 A c c o r d i n g to the Wu Men Kuan, "to r e a l i z e Ch'an one must pass beyond the b a r r i e r s of the p a t r i a r c h s . " 2 0 Thus, Yang uses the p r o c e s s of Ch'an i l l u m i n a t i o n obtained by the study of the Ch'an masters as a metaphor f o r the s i m i l a r process whereby the poet a t t a i n s h i s own i l l u m i n a t i o n by mastering the teach-i n g of one p o e t i c master a f t e r another. The study of masters i s not the f i n a l g o a l , f o r as the Wu Men Kuan f u r t h e r teaches us: The great Way has no gates, Yet thousands of roads enter i t . Once one has penetrated t h i s b a r r i e r , He walks alone between heaven and e a r t h . 2 1 " When the poet has passed beyond the b a r r i e r of h i s masters, he, too, f r e e s h i m s e l f of h i s e a r l i e r i m i t a t i o n s and c r e a t e s h i s own i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e . As Yang h i m s e l f e x p l a i n s : You ask me what the dharma of good poetry i s ; There's no dharma, no bowl, and no robe I 2 2 The r e s u l t of Yang's u n w i l l i n g n e s s to become attached to any e a r l i e r p o e t i c s t y l e i s that he came to view the w r i t i n g of poetry as a continuous process of development,, and as soon as he t i r e d of one s t y l e , he longed to move on to newer ground. In the p r e f a c e of h i s c o l l e c t i o n Nan H a l Chi Yang say s: A l l my l i f e I have loved to write poetry. At f i r s t I loved i t , but l a t e r I despised i t . By the jen-wu year of the Shao-hsing period (1162) my poetry changed and I was delighted, but soon despised i t again. By the keng-yin year of the Oh'ien-tao per-iod (1170) my poetry changed again, and by the tlng-yu year of the Ch'un-hsi period (1177), my poetry changed once more . . . When Li u Huan of Oh'ao-yang was governor of Ch'ing-yuan county, he requested from me a so-called C o l l e c t i o n of the South Seas (Nan Hal Chi) of four hundred poems. By the time I saw him again i n the c a p i t a l , L i u re-quested i t unflaggingly and I was able to give i t to him. Alas! I am already old and I don't know, i f I continue my present poetry, whether I can change or not. Yu Mou used to say to me, "Each time your poems change, they advance." My poems can change, but I don't know i f they s t i l l can advance. Some other day when I see t h i s c o l l e c t i o n , w i l l I be de-l i g h t e d with i t or w i l l I despise i t ? 2 3 When i n 1190 he prefaced his c o l l e c t i o n Ch'ao T'len Hsu Chi ^ X if Yang wrote: My eldest son Chang-ju showed i t to the two gentlemen Pan Ch'eng-ta y^J A» and Yu Mou who thought my poetry had changed again, although I wasn't aware of t h i s myself. 2"^ 148 A l l throughout Yang's work we see a r e s t l e s s mind f o r e v e r s t r i v i n g to change and never becoming attached to any p a r t i -c u l a r master or s t y l e . The l a s t two l i n e s of the f i r s t c r i t i c a l poem we have t r a n s l a t e d above ("In Answer to L i T ' i e n - l i n " ) do not seem to make much sense u n t i l we r e a l i z e t h a t the comparison of the f l a v o r of t r u e poetry to " f r o s t y crab" cooked i n "wine dregs" r e f e r s to the famous d o c t r i n e of the " f l a v o r beyond f l a v o r " advanced by the l a t e T'ang c r i t i c Ssu-k'ung T ' U E ] :L /§ (837-908). T h i s d o c t r i n e was of extreme importance to l a t e r poets and was h e l d In h i g h regard by Su S h i h and o t h e r n o r t h e r n Sung poets. In h i s " L e t t e r to Master L i D i s c u s s i n g Poetry" Ssu-k'ung T'u w r i t e s : Prose i s d i f f i c u l t , but poetry i s even more d i f f i c u l t . There have been many metaphors f o r t h i s from a n c i e n t to modern times, but I t h i n k one must be d i s c e r n i n g i n " f l a v o r " before one can d i s c u s s p o e t r y . To the south of the r i v e r s and mountains [South China] there are many t h i n g s which w i l l serve as sustenance. F o r example, i n the case of p i c k l e s , i t i s not t h a t these are not sour, but they are merely sour and n o t h i n g f u r t h e r . Or i n the case of b r i n e , i t i s not t h a t i t i s n ' t s a l t y , but i t i s merely s a l t y and n o t h i n g f u r t h e r . That the men of Hua [ n o r t h e r n e r s ] use these to r e l i e v e t h e i r hunger but theft immediately d e s i s t [ e a t i n g them] i s because they know th a t beyond t h e i r s a l t i n e s s and sourness, they are d e f i c i e n t i n what i s 1 49 pure and d e l i c i o u s . That the men of the r i v e r s and mountains [the s o u t h e r n e r s ] are used to them and can-not d i s c r i m i n a t e [them from other f o o d ] i s under-standable . ' 2 5 L a t e r i n the same l e t t e r , Ssu-k'ung T'u p r a i s e s L i ' s knowledge of poetry by s a y i n g he "knows the e x c e l l e n c e beyond f l a v o r . " Yang a p p l i e d Ssu-k'ung T'u's concept to a l l s c h o l a r l y study i n g e n e r a l : In r e a d i n g books, one must know of the f l a v o r beyond f l a v o r . One who does not know of the f l a v o r beyond f l a v o r and says, " I can read books," i s wrong. A poem of the Kuo Feng s t a t e s , "Who says that the t h i s t l e i s b i t t e r ? / I t i s sweet as the shepherd's purse." I take t h i s as my method f o r r e a d i n g books. When one eats the b i t t e r e s t t h i n g under heaven, he o b t a i n s the sweetest t h i n g under heaven. The a c t of e a t i n g i s the same i n men, but what i s obtained i s not the same!26-T h i s Idea can be s p e c i f i c a l l y a p p l i e d to po e t r y : As f o r the poems of the K i a n g s i s c h o o l , the poetry i s K i a n g s i [ s t y l e ] , but not a l l of the poets [of t h i s s c h o o l ] are from K i a n g s i . What do I mean by "the poets are not a l l from K i a n g s i , but the poems are 1 5 0 K i a n g s i ? " I am j o i n i n g them a l l t o g e t h e r . With what am I j o i n i n g them together? With t h e i r f l a v o r , not t h e i r form. Su S h i h s a i d , "The mussel i s l i k e the l i c h e e , " and "Tu Fu's poems are l i k e Ssu-ma Ch'ien's J ^ L book." Not only were those who heard him a t that time confused w h i l e p r e t e n d i n g to an-swer him i n agreement, but today, people s t i l l are confused. T h i s i s not the f a u l t of those who are confused, f o r they r e j e c t the f l a v o r of s t y l e and d i s c u s s s i m i l a r i t y i n form so they are n a t u r a l l y con-f u s e d . I f we speak of form and n o t h i n g more, Kao-"k -Hz. Tzu-mlen [Kao Ho] |Jq 4") i s not s i m i l a r to the two Hsieh's [ H s i e h Y i and H s i e h K ' o ] J ^ j ^ _ f$ JJJL the two Hsieh's are not s i m i l a r to the three Hung's [Hung P'eng, Hung Yen, and Hung C h ' u ] ? ^ >/x j^j ; the t h r e e Hung's are not s i m i l a r to Hsfl Shih-ch'uan [Hsfl Fu] 4% » a n<i Hsu* Fu i s not s i m i l a r to Ch'en Hou-Shan [Ch'en Shih-tao] fj^ l ^ i f ^ and even l e s s to Shan-ku [Huang T ' i n g - c h i e n ] . T h i s i s f l a v o r and n o t h i n g e l s e . Sour and s a l t y are com-bined d i f f e r e n t l y , w h ile mountain and seafood are d i f f e r e n t d e l i c a c i e s , but the m i r a c l e of seasoning and cooking a r i s e s from the same hand. One can seek f o r the s i m i l a r i t i e s and d i s s i m i l a r i t i e s , but one can f o r g e t them t o o ! 2 7 As i s true w i t h many of the concepts of Chinese l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , i t i s q u i t e d i f f i c u l t to d e f i n e the exact meaning of 151 the i d e a " f l a v o r beyond f l a v o r " i n the w r i t i n g s of Ssu-k'ung T'u and Tang Wan-li, and y e t Tang's c o n t r a s t of outward form w i t h f l a v o r g i v e s us a h i n t as to what he meant. G e n e r a l l y speaking, Tang's idea of a f l a v o r beyond form i n poetry i s c l o s e l y a k i n t o the Ch'an c o n t e n t i o n that u l t i m a t e t r u t h i s i n e x p r e s s i b l e i n r a t i o n a l terms and can only be i n t u i t e d . I t might be objected t h a t the poet i s a p r i s o n e r of form and words, but Tang s t r e s s -es t h a t p o e t i c form i s only an e x t e r n a l appearance and the ac-t u a l " f l a v o r " of the poem i s something t h a t can be i n t u i t e d and y e t cannot be p r e c i s e l y pinned down or r a t i o n a l l y e x p l a i n e d : Then what i s poetry? [some say:] " I t i s the ex-t o l l i n g of words and n o t h i n g e l s e . " I say t h a t one who i s good at poetry does away w i t h words. "But then he e x t o l s the meaning and n o t h i n g e l s e . " I say t h a t one who i s good at poetry does away w i t h the meaning. "But when one does away w i t h words and mean-i n g , then where i s the poetry l e f t ? " I say t h a t when one does away w i t h words and meaning, the poetry s t i l l e x i s t s . But where i s the poetry then? I say, "Have you ever t a s t e d sweets or b i t t e r tea? Who doesn't l i k e sweets? At f i r s t they are sweet, but i n the end, they t a s t e sour. As f o r b i t t e r t e a , people a l l com-p l a i n of i t s b i t t e r n e s s but before i t s b i t t e r n e s s i s exhausted, i t s sweetness i s incomparable. P o e t r y , too, i s j u s t l i k e t h i s . " Formerly when Duke Pao s l a n d e r e d Duke Su, Duke Su s a t i r i z e d him, but today, 152 i f we look at h i s poem, there are no words of s a t i r e , and we can't see the meaning of his s a t i r e . He wrote: "Two men follow each other/Who has made this disaster?" When he caused Duke Pao to hear of t h i s [Duke Pao thought], "He has not even referred to me but i f i t i s n ' t me, then who i s i t ? " Gh the outside he didn't dare be angry, but inside, he was dying of shame. 2 8 The second of the two early l i t e r a r y c r i t i c a l poems of Yang which we translated above, i s not so r i c h i n concepts as the f i r s t , but i t s f i r s t l i n e , "The dharma of poetry i s hard f o r Heaven to keep secret," i s derived from one of the key con-cepts of Ch'an Buddhism. The Ch'an school stresses that there i s nothing secret about the Buddhist teachings, f o r once a per-son has l i f t e d the v e i l of i l l u s i o n , there i s no mystery l e f t . With regard to the supposedly secret transmission of the dharma from Buddha to Mahakasyapa, the T'ang Ch'an Master Tao-ying ^ Jj^ ^ (d.901) said: " I f you don't understand, i t remains a secret of the World Honored One, but i f you do understand, i t becomes the unkept secret of Mahakasyapa."29' Fo-kuo//'^? (d.1135) commented, "The Tathagata had a secret, but Mahakasyapa di d not keep i t ; that Mahakasyapa did not keep the secret was the Buddha's r e a l secret. What i s not kept secret i s a secret, but what i s kept secret i s not a secret."3®' When Yang Wan-li was awakened, he wrote: Suddenly, I didn't f e e l the d i f f i c u l t y of writing poetry. It was probably because the poet's "disease" 153 was about to leave my body. At this time, not only d i d I not f e e l the d i f f i c u l t y of writing poetry, but also I did not f e e l the d i f f i c u l t y of being a magis-t r a t e . The next year on the l a s t of the second month when my replacement came, I matched t a l l i e s to leave and t r i e d to c o l l e c t my manuscripts together. With-i n a t o t a l of fourteen months, I had written four hundred and ninety-two poems. I have not yet dared to show them to anyone, but t h i s year when I f i l l e d a post as a public bureau o f f i c i a l , my old f r i e n d Chung.Chiang-chih sent a l e t t e r from the Huai River to me writing: "Recently Chlng-ch'l changed i t s governor. Formerly, you had no d i f f i c u l t y i n govern-ing, but the present [replacement's] d i f f i c u l t i e s w i l l be more than ten times greater. Why don't you publish your poems from Ching-ch'i?" With one laugh, I copied and sent them to him. 3-1 When Yi-hsttan ^ , the founder of the L i n - c h i j ^ ^ Sect of Ch an Buddhism, was studying under the master Huang-po , he was beaten three times, having asked the true meaning of the Buddha's teachings. But a f t e r he had been f u l l y en-lightened, he stated to Ta-yfl "K $1 , "There i s nothing much 'NT to Buddha's teaching." 32 s i m i l a r l y , to Yang Wan-li there was nothing mysterious or d i f f i c u l t about the w r i t i n g of poetry. One of the most s t r i k i n g proofs that Yang did not con-side r the creation of poetry to be d i f f i c u l t i s the tremendous number of poems he wrote, over four:.thousand two hundred, 1 54 second only to h i s contemporary and f r i e n d Lu Y u ^ ; yfy (1125-1210). When one compares t h i s number to the s e v e r a l hundred poems, a t most, preserved f o r i n d i v i d u a l authors i n T'ang poetry c o l l e c t i o n s , i t i s , Indeed, a s t a g g e r i n g f i g u r e , es-p e c i a l l y when we r e a l i z e t h a t Yang burned over a thousand of h i s poems w r i t t e n p r e v i o u s to 1162, when he was a l r e a d y t h i r t y -f i v e . We have seen t h a t i n 1177 Yang was g r e a t l y dismayed be-cause he had w r i t t e n "only" f i v e hundred eighty-two poems i n the f i f t e e n y e ars p r e c e d i n g h i s p o e t i c enlightenment. From t h a t time onward, Yang was deeply concerned w i t h the q u a n t i t y Of h i s p o e t i c p r o d u c t i o n , f o r a f t e r he had d i s c a r d e d h i s i m i t a t i o n of e a r l i e r poets, he wrote f o u r hundred ninety-two poems i n the s h o r t space of f o u r t e e n months. Yang's o b s e s s i o n w i t h c o n t i n u a l c r e a t i v i t y remained w i t h him throughout h i s l i f e and i n the p r e -f a c e to h i s f o u r t h c o l l e c t i o n , Nan Hai Chi, he proudly w r i t e s : "From the year jen-wu (1162) to the present, my poems are a l t o -g e t h e r more than two thousand one h u n d r e d . W h e n he was i n mourning f o r h i s mother's death from 1182 to 1184, he d i d not w r i t e any poetry, and h i s e l d e s t son, Chang-ju, must have no-t i c e d h i s f a t h e r ' s r e s t l e s s n e s s f o r Yang w r i t e s i n h i s p r e f a c e to the Ch'ao T'len Chlj^j X ^ (1188): Chang-ju begged me saying, "Father, you have not w r i t t e n any poetry f o r a l o n g time, so now you can w r i t e some." Somewhat s t a r t l e d I s a i d , " I f f o r three years one does not p r a c t i c e r i t u a l , then r i t u a l w i l l be r u i n e d , and i f f o r t h r e e years one does not 'compose' poems, then poetry w i l l decay. I t would be best to f o l l o w your advice." On that day I started to make a dr a f t on the subject of the chin-shlh examination. On the twenty-seventh I was presented a post and was call e d to my duty. Ten days l a t e r , I started on my journey to the c a p i t a l and I only wrote some twenty odd poems, but I f e l t they were somewhat awkward and did not convey my meaning, because I probably had not forgotten my sorrow yet Yang recovered quickly, f o r i n a preface written i n 1190 he i n -forms us: "Prom the year jen-wu (1162) to now, there are close to three thousand poems i n a l l of my seven c o l l e c t i o n s . " 3 5 " Apparently, many l a t e r c r i t i c s did not agree with Yang's conception of poetry as something simple f o r the enlightened, f o r many of them attacked what they considered the excessive quantity of poetry which Yang preserved i n his complete works. Typical of these c r i t i c s i s the Ch'ing poet Yeh H s l e h ^ ^ who wrote: Collections of poetry and prose which emphasize quantity w i l l necessarily be bad. The imperishable works worthy to be handed down from the ancients are not so because of quantity. The few poems of Su Wu ^ ~jf\^ and L i Ling |^ w i l l l a s t f o r a thousand ages. Men of l a t e r times gradually prized quantity, and Yuan Chen -7\ji^. and Po Chu-yi^l with t h e i r C o l l e c t i o n of the Ch'ang Ch' ing Period (Ch'ang Ch' ing Chi) were the f i r s t to 156 "overflow the g o b l e t . " W i t h i n [ t h i s c o l l e c t i o n ] t h a t which i s decadent and v u l g a r comprises s i x t y o r seventy per cent. I f they had done away w i t h t h i s s i x t y o r seventy per cent, the twenty or t h i r t y per cent l e f t would a l l be ou t s t a n d i n g and famous works. Of the Sung authors r i c h i n poems, none exce.eded Yang Wan-li and Chou P i - t a . Of what these two wrote, there i s h a r d l y one poem or even one l i n e t h a t can be approved . . . I f we view i t t h i s way, what use i s there i n q u a n t i t y ? ^ O b v i o u s l y , Yang's contemporaries d i d not agree w i t h t h i s view t h a t only a poet's "masterpieces" are s i g n i f i c a n t , f o r when Yang Wan-li showed the famous poet Yu Mou a few l i n e s from the e a r l y poetry which he had burned, Yu Mou sighed and r e -p l i e d , "Why should poetry be ot one form only? What a shame you burned them!" 37 Prom the concept t h a t Ch'an te a c h i n g i s n o t h i n g d i f f i c u l t o r mysterious, one can l o g i c a l l y conclude that the a c t i v i t i e s of the en l i g h t e n e d man do not d i f f e r from those of the o r d i n -ary man. In the Wu Men Kuan we read: "Chao-chou asked Han-ch'tian, 'What i s the Way l i k e ? ' Nan-ch'uan answered, 'The - jj. o r d i n a r y mind i s the Way. V"5®' The T'ang layman P'ang 1toa^f,&. wrote i n a poem approved by h i s master: " S p i r i t p e n e t r a t i o n and miraculous f u n c t i o n are l i k e c a r r y i n g water and moving f i r e w o o d . " ' 3 9 S i m i l a r l y , the poet who has reached the h i g h e s t stage need not search out h i s themes i n unusual of a b s t r u s e 157 s u b j e c t s , but f i n d s h i s t o p i c s f o r poetry i n o r d i n a r y o b j e c t s . We have a l r e a d y seen t h a t when Yang had awakened, he found poetry came to him n a t u r a l l y while merely walking i n the back-ya r d d u r i n g h i s spare time. One does not w r i t e poetry by l o c k -i n g h i m s e l f i n h i s study, and o r d i n a r y t r a v e l p r o v i d e s a l l of the themes r e q u i r e d : Mountain thoughts and r i v e r f e e l i n g s don't d i s -a p p o i n t them; a F o r the r a i n ' s aspect and the c l e a r weather's manner are always wonderful. To c l o s e your door and hunt f o r l i n e s i s not the method of poetry; Only when you're t r a v e l i n g do the l i n e s come of themselves.^O Since poetry i s not the r e s u l t of i n t e n s e e f f o r t and comes of i t s e l f through o r d i n a r y experiences, the i d e a l poem i s a r t -l e s s and n a t u r a l . How much the c u l t of the unadorned was the i n f l u e n c e of Ch'an Buddhism or of even more a n c i e n t tendencies of the Chinese i s d i f f i c u l t to say, but Yang h i m s e l f had a s t r o n g a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r the simple and unadorned. T y p i c a l i s Yang's d e s c r i p t i o n of a s m a l l r u r a l i n n he stopped a t d u r i n g one of h i s journeys: When I get o f f my pa l a n q u i n I f i n d a new i n n ; Opening i t s door, I a r r i v e a t a s m a l l side-room, I n s i d e t h e r e ' s a s i n g l e yew t a b l e , 1 58 And two rush mats f a c i n g each other, The r a f t e r bamboos are green w i t h t h e i r j o i n t s remaining; The eaves' rushes white, s t i l l b e a r i n g t h e i r r o o t s . I have but one r e g r e t about the b r i g h t window— Where the papers were j o i n e d , i t s t i l l has a s c a r . a 4 1 E v e r y t h i n g i n the s m a l l room i s completely n a t u r a l except f o r the s c a r l e f t by g l u i n g papers t o g e t h e r to make a window pane. Such an o r d i n a r y a c t i v i t y as sunning h i s c l o t h e s made Yang w r i t e : At h i g h noon I sun my c l o t h e s , i n the a f t e r n o o n f o l d them up; In a c l o t h - c o v e r e d w i l l o w basket I c a r r y them back home. My wif e and c h i l d r e n laugh and ask one another. "Who i n the world i s that bare-footed servant over t h e r e ? " 4 2 Pew government o f f i c i a l s of Yang's p e r i o d wp.uld have l i k e d t o t h i n k of themselves as on the same l e v e l w i t h common servants even i n j e s t , but Yang's poem i s completely i n harmony w i t h the i d e a t h a t one can be a c r e a t i v e poet even w h i l e l i v i n g i n com-p l e t e s i m p l i c i t y and n a t u r a l n e s s . However, many of Yang's contemporaries d i d not agree w i t h h i s l o v e of s i m p l i c i t y i n poetry, and the e n t i r e K i a n g s i group, a g a i n s t whom Yang had r e v o l t e d i n h i s youth, stood d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed to Yang's a r t l e s s n e s s . In two poems w r i t t e n i n p r a i s e 159 of the n o r t h e r n Sung poet Chang L e l J ^ (1052-1112), Yang both c r i t i c i z e d the a t t i t u d e of Huang T ' l n g - c h i e n and a l s o ad-vanced h i s theory of the n a t u r a l n e s s of good v e r s e : In f r o n t of Huang T'l n g - c h i e n , [Chang L e i ] dared to speak of poetry, And [Huang] h i g h l y p r a i s e d h i s l i n e s " r i n s i n g the w e l l , " "sweeping f l o w e r s . " I f l a t e r , one had madel[Huang] read h i s complete works, He would have found another n a t u r a l t r e a s u r e , but what d i d [Huang] know of t h a t ! Yang's p o i n t i s t h a t Huang and h i s group only knew enough to p r a i s e a p a r t i c u l a r l y c l e v e r t u r n of phrase or usage of words, but t h a t they were i n c a p a b l e of g r a s p i n g the " n a t u r a l t r e a s u r e " of Chang's p o e t r y . That Yang meant Chang's a r t l e s s n e s s by " n a t u r a l t r e a s u r e " i s made even c l e a r e r i n the f i r s t of the two poems: L a t e l y I've come to l o v e the Pat Immortal's poems f o r being so n a t u r a l ; He never embroidered or p a i n t e d , much l e s s carved or engraved. S p r i n g f l o w e r s , autumn moon, the w i n t e r ' s i c e and snow; I never hear s t a l e words from him, I j u s t hear naturae ! 4 3 In o t h e r words, Chang L e i chose h i s themes from the n a t u r a l ob-j e c t s around him and d i d not engage i n g a t h e r i n g s t a l e words 160 from o l d books and s t r i n g i n g them t o g e t h e r w i t h rhymes. Among the poets and c r i t i c s i n s p i r e d by Ch'an ideas a f t e r Yang Wan-li, the most s i g n i f i c a n t was Yen Y t fJ^ SJ=J ( f l o u r i s h e d around 1200), author of the h i g h l y i n f l u e n t i a l Ts'ang Lang Shih Hua z>%^ I^J. Y e n considered Yang Wan-11 to be one of the most important poets of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e and honors him by i n -c l u d i n g h i s poetry as one of the major s t y l e s ( t ' i ) of Chinese v e r s e . Having given the name Ch'eng-chal t ' 1 ( a f t e r Yang's hao Ch'eng-chal) to Yang's poetry, Yen repeats what Yang has a l r e a d y t o l d us about h i s process of enlightenment: At f i r s t he s t u d i e d Wang An-shlh and Ch'en Shlh-tao and f i n a l l y s t u d i e d chfleh-chtl from the T'ang poets. At l a s t , he abandoned the forms of the v a r i o u s poets and produced h i s own "mechanism." 4 4 Although Yen Y3 does not acknowledge any debt to Yang Wan-li's views on l i t e r a t u r e , t here i s much i n common between them and d i r e c t i n f l u e n c e should not be r u l e d out. About the n e c e s s i t y of enlightenment, Yen says: In g e n e r a l , the way of Ch'an l i e s i n miraculous en-lightenment, and the way of poetry a l s o l i e s i n mir-acul o u s enlightenment. The power of Meng Hao-jan's s c h o l a r s h i p was f a r below Han Yft, but t h a t h i s poetry went beyond Han Yu" s was e n t i r e l y due to h i s miracu-l o u s enlightenment. Only enlightenment i s the voca-t i o n and b a s i c t y p e . 4 5 161 Yen a l s o agreed w i t h Yang i n c r i t i c i z i n g the a r t i f i c i a l i t y and f o r m a l i s m of the K i a n g s i poets: The poetry a t the beginning of t h i s dynasty s t i l l f o l l o w e d the T'ang poets . . . But when Su Shih and Huang T ' i n g - c h i e n f i r s t expressed t h e i r own o p i n i o n s to make poems, the T'ang s t y l e was a l t e r e d ; Huang T ' i n g - c h i e n was p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r c e d i n h i s l a b o r s . A f t e r t h a t , t h e i r r u l e s f l o u r i s h e d and a l l w i t h i n the seas c a l l e d them the K i a n g s i s c h o o l . 4 6 Another p o i n t on which Yang Wan-11 and Yen Yti agreed i s the n e c e s s i t y of s t u d y i n g the great poets of the past i n order to a r r i v e a t the stage where sudden enlightenment can occur: F i n a l l y , one chooses widely from the famous poets of the F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang and "ferments" them i n h i s b r e a s t , and a f t e r a l o n g time he i s n a t u r a l l y e n l i g h t e n e d and e n t e r s . . . T h i s i s c a l l e d "the sudden gate" or " e n t e r i n g s t r a i g h t w i t h a s i n g l e s w o r d . " 4 7 Yen Yfl was one of the f i r s t c r i t i c s to put so much s t r e s s on the F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang, and here he d i f f e r e d from Yang Wan-li, f o r as we s h a l l see, Yang was much more deeply indebted to the l a t e T'ang poets than Yen YlS's masters Tu Fu and L i Po. The d i f f e r e n c e i n p o e t i c p r e f e r e n c e s between Yang and Yen i s of f a i r l y minor importance, but i t i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a profound d i f f e r e n c e between t h e i r views as to the process by which 162 sudden enlightenment i s to be obtained. Yang held that imita-t i o n i s allowable and even necessary, but that the poet should view the object of his imitation to be merely a b a r r i e r (kuan) •fjjj) which i s to be passed when he reaches a cert a i n degree of enlightenment. Yang certainly had preferences f o r i n d i v i d u a l poets, but he never attempted to f i t the poetic creations of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e into a r i g i d hierarchy as Yen Yfl' does: In the Ch'an school, there are a Great and Small Vehicle, a north and south sect, and a heterodox and orthodox Path. Those who study must follow the high-est Vehicle and r e a l i z e the correct dharma eye and, thus, be enlightened to the Supreme Truth. The f r u i t s of the sravaka and the pratyeka-buddha are not ortho-dox. Discussing poetry i s l i k e discussing Ch'an. The poetry of Han, Wei, Chin and Flouri s h i n g T'ang are the Supreme Truth. The poems from the T a - l i per-iod [766-780] onward are Small Vehicle Ch'an and they have already f a l l e n into the second truth. The poems of the Late T'ang are the f r u i t of the sravaka and pratyeka-buddha. Studying the poetry of Han, Wei, and Flourishing T'ang, one i s i n the Li n - c h i sect; studying the poetry from a f t e r T a - l i , one i s i n the AA Ts'ao-tung sect. Yang Wan-li strongly emphasized that each author has his own s t y l e which sets him apart as an i n d i v i d u a l and, thus, he would have found a r i g i d d i v i s i o n of poets into various sects ex-163 tremely d i s t a s t e f u l . As he had s a i d : " I am ashamed f o r those who t r a n s m i t s e c t s and s c h o o l s . " Yang Wan-li had f i r s t s t u d i e d h i s near contemporaries, the K i a n g s i s c h o o l , and only then moved on to Imitate the au-t h o r s of T'ang times. There does not seem to have been any par-t i c u l a r d e s i g n i n t h i s p r o g r e s s i o n from modern to more a n c i e n t a u t h o r s , but Yen Yu set up a d e f i n i t e c h r o n o l o g i c a l order in which the a s p i r i n g poet should study the authors of the p a s t : Studying p o e t r y , one ought to make understanding the p r i n c i p a l t h i n g . In e n t e r i n g the gate, he must be c o r r e c t , and i n s e t t i n g up h i s g o a l s , he must be l o f t y . . . F i r s t one must read the Oh'u Tz'u t h o r -oughly, r e c i t i n g i t morning and n i g h t as a b a s i s ; then read the Nineteen A n c i e n t Poems, and the f o u r Yueh-fu poems. The f i v e - c h a r a c t e r poems of L i L i n g and Su Wu and of Han and Wei must a l l be thoroughly r e a d . Then the two c o l l e c t e d works of L i Po and Tu Fu are to be perused through and through j u s t as modern men l e a r n the c l a s s i c s . L a t e r , choose widely from the famous masters of the F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang and ferment them i n your b r e a s t and, a f t e r a l o n g time, you n a t u r a l l y are e n l i g h t e n e d and e n t e r . Although you may not be suc-c e s s f u l i n your study, a t l e a s t you w i l l not l o s e the c o r r e c t p a t h . 4 9 In h i s Yuan S h i h ^ , Yeh H s i e h :|~ v i o l e n t l y a t t a c k e d t h i s a spect of Yen Yii's l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m with arguments that Yang would have seoonded: When Yen Yii says t h a t i n s t u d y i n g poetry one should be understanding, he i s c o r r e c t . When one has understand i n g , he ought then t o spread out i n f r o n t of h i m s e l f the poems of Han, Wei, and the S i x D y n a s t i e s , a l o n g w i t h the complete poems of T'ang and Sung. He w i l l then c e r t a i n l y be a b l e to know, h i m s e l f , what should be chosen and on what he can r e l y , which i s c a l l e d " t r u s t i n g the hand to p i c k out nothin g t h a t i s not the Way." But i f one speaks of the Han, Wei, and F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang, then even a f i v e - f o o t boy or a v i l l a g e t u t o r of three f a m i l i e s i s used to h e a r i n g about t h i s and has been s k i l l e d i n t e a c h i n g and l e a r n -i n g i t f o r a l o n g time. T h i s i s l i k e a gr e a t thorough f a r e to which the masses throng i n hordes, f o r even a b l i n d man i s a b l e to f o l l o w them. Why does he need to wait f o r understanding before he can do tha t ? I t h i n k t h a t i f one does not have understanding, then i f he hastens step by step a f t e r the Han, Wei, and F l o u r i s h -i n g T'ang, t h e r e i s no p l a c e where there are no poetry demons. I f one does have understanding, then even i f he does not hurry i n the f o o t s t e p s of Han, Wei, and F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang, a l l poetry demons w i l l t u r n Into p r a j n a , and he w i l l not do any harm to the Han, Wei, and F l o u r i s h i n g T'ang. How m i s l e a d i n g and perverse was t h i s t a l k of Yen Yu and how c o n t r a d i c t o r y was h i s thought!-5"° 165 F o r Yang Wan-li, the major f a u l t of Yen Yu would not l i e i n h i s s e l e c t i o n of masters, but t h a t he d i d not transcend h i s masters, remaining attached to them. In t h i s r e s p e c t , Yen Yu was "Hlnayana" and Yang Wan-li "Mahayana." 1 166 SPTK, Su S h i h J | ^ , ^ h i Chu Pen L e i Tung. P\, Hslen Sheng. Shih (abbreviated TPHSS)^ ^ s? #1-|T*4 $J3- fjf § ohflan 21, p. 391- a . 2 I b i d . , 18, 337-b. 5Han Chli j£| , Ling Yang Hslen Sheng Shih f^J§) %J i , Yao Tai Shen Shih edition, 1910, chuan 1, p. 8-b. 4Wei C h ' i n g - c h i h ^ i ^ i , » Shih Jen Ytt Hsieh |2j j L *\ » Chung Hua Shu Chli ^ ^ -j| /kj , Shanghai, 1 9 5 9 , chuan 5. p. 122. 5Kuo S h a o - y f l ^ J[ , Chung Kuo Wen Hstleh P'l P'ing s-^t|7l^li 'I l & j f ^ i ^ . P- 214. 6 S h i h Jen YU Hsieh, 1,8. 7CCC, 80-672. °Taisho, Ching Te Ch'uan Teng Lu (abbreviated CTCTL) ^ ^ ' n 0 * 2 0 7 6 , ' v o l . 5 1 , P. 264-b. 9 I b i d . , p. 356-b. 1 04-34-b; 4-1 b; 42. a. "The pool has grass" i s an a l l u s i o n to Hsieh Llng-jrun's famous l i n e "The pool bears spring grasses" i n h i s poem "Teng Ch'ih Shang Lou" ^ ^ . " See Ting Pu-pao e d * J %h ^% * C n ' flan H a n San Kuo Chin Nan Pel Ch'ao Shihj> 7 ^ s- lg\ % |f) JU 1*1 , Shih Chieh Shu Chli repr., Taipei, 1962, v o l . 2, p. 638. 167 "Eyes a l l i n disorder" i s from Chuang-tzu, "P'ien Mu" >E^j ' " T n e humane men of t h i s age worry about the troubles of the world with eyes i n disorder." See SPTK, Nan Hua Chen Chlng, - j * j | ,$£ , 4, 69-a. —W" ^ Kuo Hsiang glosses the word hao ^ as luan , and many l a t e r commentators follow him. However, Burton Watson followed the interpretation of Ma Hsu-lun and translates the passage: "Nowadays the benevolent men of the age l i f t up weary eyes, worrying over the Hits of the world." See Burton Watson t r . , The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, Columbia University Press, 1968, p. 100. Although Watson's rendering of hao i s probably more f a i t h f u l to the o r i g i n a l , Yang Wan-li most l i k e l y read Kuo Hsiang's commentary. On p. 42 of his Yang Wan-li Hsttan Chi, Chou Ju-ch'ang suggests that Yang's l i n e means that the poet should concern himself with the p r a c t i c a l problems of the world. However, I f i n d Chou's Interpretation of the l i n e rather unlikely i n l i g h t of the unmistakable mystical q u a l i t i e s of both poems, and so I suspect that Yang means that the poet i s unconscious of anything beyond his own poetry. "When a monk asked, 'What was the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the West,' the master r e p l i e d , 'A cedar i n fron t of the courtyard.'" See TalshS, Wu Men Kuan lfc ']•!•£) (abbreviated WMK) , no. 2005, v o l . 48, p. 297-b. 168 d. Reference to the Ch'an master C h i h - c h ' i n ^ , who was enlightened upon seeing a peach flower. According to Chou Ju-ch'ang's notes t h i s story i s from the Shen Hsien Chuan ^ i ? yfj,^ • hut I have not been able to locate the story. 1 1CCC, 80-672D-. 1229-273a; 31-4a; 182. 1 3See P. B. Yampolsky, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. Columbia U. Press, New York, p. 172. The text used i n the tr a n s l a t i o n i s based on Tun-huang manuscripts and d i f f e r s considerably from the common version used by modern readers. 14WMK, 293-b. 1 5SPTK, Yji Chang Huang Hsien Sheng Wen Chi (abbreviated YCHHSWC)^ ip (j? i- A ^ , 19-204a. Note the meta-phor borrowed from Taoist alchemy. l626-251b; 28-13a; 165. 1 731-291a; 33-1b; 187. , 88-8l-b; 9-7a. 1 935-328b; 36-5a. 20WMK, 292-c. 2 1 Ibid., 292-b. 2 238 -363a; 39-6a. 169 2 3CCC, 80-673a. 2 4 I b i d . , 81-675a. 2 5SPTK, Ssu-k'ung T'u £J ^ r|) , Ssu K'ung Piao Sheng WenChi^S^'feif . 2 , 9 - a . 2 6CCC, 77-652a. Yang quotes from the Shih Chlng, Kuo Peng, no. 35, "Ku Peng"^. l i n e s 13 and 14. 2 7 I b i d . , 79-666b. Ibid., 83-690ab. The l i n e s Yang quotes are from Shih Chlng, Hsiao Ya, no. 199, "Ho Jen S s u " A jM , and, of course, Yang follows t r a d i t i o n i n Interpreting the poem as a p o l i t i c a l s a t i r e . 2 9CTCTL, 335-c. 5 0 T a i s h o , Yflan Wu Po Kuo Ch'an Shih Y j Lu /|) t j | ^ ^ ^ i | | | ^ » no- 1997, v o l . 47, p. 782-a. It i s i n t e r -esting to note that Yang Wan-li's mentor, Chang Chfln, wrote one of the prefaces to t h i s work. 5 1CCC, 80-672b. 3 2CTCTL, 290-b. 3 3CCC, 80-673b. 3 4 I b i d . , 80-673b. 3 5 I b i d . , 81-675b. 170 3 6Yeh Hsien 3Jj^ ^ , Yuan Shih |^ , i n Ting Fu-pao ed. J 4^ , Oh'ing Shih Hua |^ , Chung Hua Shu Chtt, Peking, 1963, v o l . 2, p. 606. 3 7 L ( i L l u - l i a n g ^ % % et a l . ed., Sung Shih Ch'ao %\ ^ , Commercial Press, Shanghai, 1935, v o l . 3, p. 1871. 38WMK, 295-a. 5 9CTCTL, 263-b. 4°26-248b; 28-1 Ob; 1 61 . a. The pronoun j i . refers to the boatmen i n the previous poem. 4 l25-242a; 28-4a; 1 58. a. L i t e r a l l y , "The place joined, paper scar streak." 4 240-382a; 41-2a; 232. 4 540-382a; 41-2a; 233. The Fat Immortal was a hao of Chang L e i , who was noted f o r his rotundity. 4 4Yen Yu" 7^ $ , Kuo Shao-yti' 1^ & J[ ed. and comm., Ts'ang Lang Shih Hua Chlao Shih (abbreviated TLSHCS) ^ 5^ V\ l i ^ i ^ ' J e n M l n W e n H s f l e n C h , u P a n S n e , f e t i n g , 1962, p. 54. The entire Ts'ang Lang Shih Hua has been translated Into German with exhaustive commentary and an excellent into-duction i n Guhther Debon, Ts 'ang Langs Gesprache liiber die Dlchtung, Wiesbaden, 1962. The book was extensively reviewed by Prof. P. Demie'ville i n T'oung Pao, 49 (1962), pp. 463-71-171 4 5 I b i d . , p. 10. See Debon, p. 57. 46 Ibid., p. 24. See Debon, p. 62, where he translates the term shen-k'o 'elnschneldend.' 4 7 T b i d . , p. 1. 48 Ibid., p. 10. See Debon, p. 57. The word wu i s trans-lated as a noun ('die Erleuchtung'), which does not seem to correspond to the Chinese grammatical construction. Hence, Debon reads "Der lernende muss . . . die Erleuchtung a l s hochste Wahrhelt [betrachten]." 49 ^Ibld., p. 1. I have not been able to determine what Yen YiU means by the four Ytieh-fu poems. See Debon, p. 59. 5 0Yeh H s i e h ^ ^ , Yuan S h l h / ^ , chlian 3, p. 599-The Live Method 1. Background In the second of two chfleh-chu1 presented to Yang Wan-li i n the year 1189, Yang's fr i e n d Chang T z u J J ^ 7^1 (ca. 1195) wrote: There i s no end to the s p i r i t of your c r e a t i v i t y ; With leaps and st r i d e s , you race on as quickly as possible. I don!t know how many words and l i n e s are before my eyes, But poems with your " l i v e method" are rare. 1 At about the same time, another f r i e n d of Yang's, Chou P i - t a In a l l things Ch'eng-chai [Yang Wan-li] has been en-lightened to the " l i v e method." 2 Ever since Chang Tzu and Chou P i - t a praised Yang Wan-li's to be the basis of his claim to o r i g i n a l i t y i n the Chinese poetic t r a d i t i o n , and i n h i s introduction to Yang Wan-li's poetry, the twentieth century scholar Chou Ju-ch'ang focuses (1126-1204), wrote to him: c r i t i c s have considered i t 172 173 most of h i s a t t e n t i o n on Yang's l i v e method. 3 However, Yang's immediate contemporaries were not the f i r s t c r i t i c s to speak of the l i v e method, and by l a t e n o r t h e r n Sung times, the c r i t i c of the K i a n g s i s c h o o l Ld Pen-chung s t r e s s e d the importance of the l i v e method: Studying poetry, one must understand the l i v e method. What i s meant by the l i v e method i s t h a t a l l of the r u l e s are observed but one i s a b l e to transcend the r u l e s ; t h a t i s to say, the changes and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s [ i n the p o e t r y ] are unfathomable, y e t one does not t u r n h i s back on the r u l e s . T h i s Path has a set method, y e t i t i s without a set method. I t l a c k s a s e t method, y e t I t possesses a set method. I f some-one understands t h i s , then you can d i s c u s s the l i v e method w i t h h i m . 4 Although Lu1 Pen-chung's use of the term " l i v e method" may be s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t from Yang's contemporaries, they would agree on the e s s e n t i a l meaning, as we can see from L i u K'o-chuang's statement on t h i s matter: L a t e r Ch'eng-chai [Yang Wan-li] appeared, and he r e a l l y obtained the s o - c a l l e d l i v e method, t h a t i s to say r o l l i n g and p e r f e c t l i k e a s m a l l p i l l . I r e g r e t t h a t Tzu-wei Kung [Lfl Pen-chung] was not a b l e to see h i m . 5 174 L i u K'o-chuang l i v e d i n the g e n e r a t i o n f o l l o w i n g Yang Wan-li and h i s f r i e n d s Chang Tzu and Chou P i - t a , so h i s com-ments concerning the l i v e method h e l p us to d e f i n e what the commonly accepted meaning of the term " l i v e method" was from the time of Lu1 Pen-chung down to the end of the Sung dynasty. The most important p o i n t In common between Lii Pen-chung's and L i u K'o-chuang's d e s c r i p t i o n of the " l i v e method" i s the r e -f e r e n c e to some form of constant, dynamic motion, f o r LU r e f e r s to "changes and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s " while L i u speaks of the poetry as " r o l l i n g and p e r f e c t l i k e a s m a l l p i l l . " We have a l r e a d y examined Yang's continuous obs e s s i o n w i t h t r a n s f o r m i n g the s t y l e of h i s poetry, but we s h a l l f i n d the i d e a of change and p a r t i c u l a r l y , unexpected change, to be a fundamental concept which u n d e r l i e s a l l of h i s v e r s e . L i u K'o-chuang's comments do not e n l i g h t e n us much f u r t h e r about the meaning of the term " l i v e method," but Lii Pen-chung t e l l s us more, though not as much as we could wish. The most s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e of Ltf's d e s c r i p t i o n of the l i v e method i s the p a r o d o x i c a l language he u t i l i z e s . One observes the r u l e s , while t r a n s c e n d i n g them. There i s a path f o r the l i v e method, but the r e i s no path. Although such pronouncements are q u i t e vague, they immediately remind one of Yang's c o n t e n t i o n t h a t one f i r s t s t u d i e s poetry from v a r i o u s masters but i n the end must t r a n s -cend those masters. One i s f u r t h e r reminded of Yang's theory of poetry as "the f l a v o r beyond f l a v o r " i n which one abandons words and meanings, but poetry s t i l l remains behind. Although i t i s imp o s s i b l e to s t a t e s p e c i f i c a l l y the p o i n t s of c o n t a c t between Lii Pen-chung's d e s c r i p t i o n of the l i v e method 175 and Yang Wan-li's theory of l i t e r a t u r e , the use of paradox In both cases makes clear the influence of Ch'an mysticism. The term " l i v e method" or huo-fa l i s i t s e l f suggests Buddhist influence, f o r i n interpreting Sung l i t e r a r y c r i t i c a l terms, we should always be conscious of the ambiguity of the word f a , which can retain i t s common secular meanings of 'method,' 'law' or can be used to translate the Sanskrit term dharma with the wealth of associations which that word evokes. Sung c r i t i c s constantlly played on the ambiguity of such words, and we have already found occasion to translate such technical terms as shih-fa j^j as the "dharma of poetry" when i t was necessary to emphasize the Buddhist connotations of these words. A fri e n d of Yang Wan-li, Ko T'ien-min"^ A &J leaves no doubt about the connection between Yang's l i v e method and Ch'an Buddhism i n a poem he sent to Yang: Meditating on Ch'an and studying poetry are not two di f f e r e n t dharmas ( f a ) ; He [Yang] understands how to make a dead snake leap with l i f e . With s p i r i t upright, mind empty, h i s eyes transcend by themselves; His f u r - c u t t i n g sword, though not moving, can spare or k i l l . 3 His l i v e mechanism does not eschew f a m i l i a r language; In recent ages only Yang Wan-li i s l i k e t h i s . 6 176 A d i l i g e n t search of Sung Ch'an t e x t s has f a i l e d to t u r n up the term " l i v e method" or huo-fa, so i t probably was invented by Lii Pen-chung, y e t such w r i t e r s as Ko T'ien-min c l e a r l y saw the c o n n e c t i o n between Lli' s l i v e method and Ch'an Buddhism. What makes Ch'an Buddhism and the l i v e method a l i v e i s t h a t both r e -j e c t a l l " g r a s p i n g " a t o b j e c t s . J u s t as the Ch'an monk f r e e s h i m s e l f from the c y c l e of b i r t h and death by h i s l a c k of a t t a c h -ment to o b j e c t s , the p r a c t i c i o n e r of the l i v e method of poetry i s c o n s t a n t l y "on the move." In the words of Lii Pen-chung h i s "changes and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s are unfathomable," f o r "the Path has a set method, y e t i t i s without a set method." By now the reader may f e e l somewhat m y s t i f i e d as to the exact s i g n i f i c a n c e of the term " l i v e method," and, indeed, we would f i n d the Sung c r i t i c s ' e x p l a n a t i o n of l i v e method n e a r l y i m p o s s i b l e to comprehend i f i t were not f o r the .many concrete examples of the method to be found i n Yang Wan-li's own p o e t r y . Thus, we should now proceed to the poems themselves i n order to understand what Yang's contemporaries found " l i v e " about them. Although none of the a n c i e n t c r i t i c s who d e a l t w i t h Yang Wan-li enumerated the b a s i c elements of Yang's l i v e method, we have seen f i t to t r e a t the method under the f o l l o w i n g t o p i c s (,T) u n c o n v e n t i o n a l i t y , (2) i l l u s i o n i s t i c and p a r a d o x i c a l lang-uage, (3) s u r p r i s e and sudden enlightenment, (4) humor, and (5) c o l l o q u i a l language. We can never be sure t h a t Sung c r i t i c s would have i n c l u d e d a l l of these elements under the r u b r i c of l i v e method, but we f e e l t h a t these are the most important de-v i c e s by which Yang Wan-li keeps h i s poetry from f a l l i n g i n t o a "dead method" but r a t h e r c o n t i n u o u s l y "on the move." 177 1 Chang Tzu | ^ ^ , Nan Hu Chl :Yjj j | , chuan 7, i n Chih Pu Tsu Chal Ts' una Shu Jfe^ ^ * Shanghai, 1921, 22-a. 2 Chou P i - t a if] A_ » C h o u I i £H2 MiS Chung Rung Chl $\ i 'U i >V A % ' 1 8 A 8 » " P ' l n S Y u a n H s u Kao"-* l|] ^ . chuan 1, "Tz'u Yun Yang T'ing-hsiu Tal Chih Chi T ' i Chu Shih Huan Jan Shu Yuan" >X %\ % ^ ^ M % Al ^ 5YWLHC, pp. 5-19- Although I have found Chou Ju-ch'ang's discussion of the l i v e method useful, my treatment of the method i s en t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t . It i s quite l i k e l y that due to p o l i t i c a l pressures Chou was not able to explore the Buddhist elements of Yang's l i v e method. 4SPTK, L i u K'o-chuang <?J )fi . Hou Ts'un Hslen Sheng Ta Ch'uan Chi fa %\ ?J £ A A. it* , 95-826a. 5 I b i d . , 95-822b. 6Ko T'len-min 1| \ , Ko Wu Huai Hsiao Chl f f [ > I » j | , i n Chi Ku Ko Ylng Ch'ao Nan Sung Liu Shih Chla Chi ik t *\ h l y if) 4 * i % $ ' " 0 M Y a n g Ch'eng 0hal" a • Ch1ul-mao refers to a sword so sharp that i t w i l l cut hairs when they are blown against i t by the wind. Ko means that Yang's poetry achieves i t s effects without any v i s i b l e e f f o r t . 178 2 . . U n c o n v e n t i o n a l i t y One of the most important elements of Yang Wan-li's l i v e method i s expressed i n a s h o r t poem w r i t t e n soon a f t e r h i s p o e t i c a l enlightenment: L i g h t Rain Lonely, depressed, without speech I l e a n a g a i n s t the door by myself; Plum f l o w e r s , l i g h t r a i n ; i t ' s almost dusk. What a shame the eave's r a i n d r o p s a r e n ' t f r e e - s p i r i t e d ; a D r i p , d r i p , when d i d they ever leave t h e i r o l d rut? Yang f e l t t h a t the m a j o r i t y of poets contemporary w i t h him were i n a " r u t " j u s t as r a i n d r o p s d r i p p i n g from eaves, and through-out h i s Poetry T a l k ^ ^ he c o n s t a n t l y p r a i s e s those poets who were a b l e to overthrow the accepted t r a d i t i o n s of t h e i r own ages: In T'ang r e g u l a t e d poetry there are seven c h a r a c t e r s f o r each of e i g h t l i n e s , and i n one poem, each l i n e i s unusual, and i n one l i n e , each c h a r a c t e r i s unusual. Authors from a n c i e n t to modern times have found t h i s d i f f i c u l t . . . Por example, Tu Pu i n h i s poem on the Minth Day w r i t e s . . .: "I'-am ashamed w i t h my s h o r t h a i r to have my hat blown upon/ I l a u g h i n g l y ask some-one next me to s t r a i g h t e n my cap." He has taken one 179 thing and turned i t upside down to make a couplet, and, moreover, Meng Chiaj^_ considered his hat f a l l i n g off to be romantic, but Shao-llng [Tu Pu] considered i t not f a l l i n g off to be romantic. He has turned over a l l of the "public cases" of ancient • p men, which i s the most miraculous method. What Yang Wan-li admires most i n Tu Pu i s his unconven-t i o n a l attitude toward the t r a d i t i o n of poetry which he had i n -herited i n the T'ang dynasty. Even before he had f u l l y rejected h i s e a r l i e r masters, Yang Wan-li relished d e f l a t i n g previously accepted stereotypes: I Gaze at the Moon on a Frosty Night from Snow Angling Boat I stand a while by the creekside, waiting impatiently f o r the moon, But the moon knows my intentions, and purposely comes out l a t e . I go home and close my doors, so depressed I don't look f o r her, When suddenly she f l i e s over the t i p s of a thousand peaks. So I climb to Snow Angling Boat and watch her a b i t ; Her icy wheel just hangs there on a pine tree branch. "Does the poet prefer the moon now or at the mid-autumn f e s t i v a l ? " 3 Someone asks me, but I just shake my head. 180 A l l y ear long I t ' s only i n December t h a t the c o l o r of the moon13 Is rubbed and p o l i s h e d i n snow j u i c e , washed i n f r o s t y water. In a l l e i g h t d i r e c t i o n s f o r t e n thousand m i l e s t h e r e ' s one blue sky And h e r white jade p l a t t e r f l o a t s out over t h i s azure l a k e . Moreover, she i n v i t e s the plum f l o w e r s to become her companions; 0 Doesn't the mid-autumn f e s t i v a l l a c k a l l of t h i s ? 3 Prom e a r l y T'ang times, the mid-autumn f e s t i v a l was considered t o be the most a p p r o p r i a t e time f o r viewing the moon, but when someone expresses t h i s t r a d i t i o n a l viewpoint, Yang merely shakes h i s head In d i s g u s t , and then proceeds to p o i n t out why the moon i s a much more s p l e n d i d s i g h t i n the t w e l f t h month. Yang's poem i s o b v i o u s l y no r e v o l u t i o n a r y break w i t h Chinese l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n , but the u n c o n v e n t i o n a l l t y we see here i n embryonic form would l a t e r g i v e r i s e t o Yang's r e j e c t i o n of many of the s t e r e o t y p e s of Chinese p o e t r y , as we s h a l l f i n d i n another c h a p t e r . One of the most common forms of departure from convention found i n Yang's v e r s e i s c a l l e d fan-an j^jj -3F or " t u r n i n g over the case." What t h i s term means can be seen from a s e c t i o n i n h i s Poetry T a l k where Yang p r a i s e s e a r l i e r poets who have used the same method: 181 When Confucius and Lao-tzu saw one another they lowered the covers [of t h e i r c h a r i o t s ] , so Tsou Yang said: Sun Mou and Tung-p'o [Su Shih] did not know one an-other, so when [Sun Mou] sent him a poem, Su Shih an-swered: "I don't need to lower my chariot cover to you." When L i u K'uan was an o f f i c e r , he made a whip of reeds, because he was so lenient. Su Shih wrote: "I have a whip I don't use, so why do I need reeds?" Tu Fu wrote: "I suddenly r e c a l l the previous ruin of an autumn w e l l / The white bones of ancient men are covered with green moss/ How could a man not drink and make his heart sad?" Su Shih wrote: "Why must you wait f o r the ruin of an autumn we l l / And hold a wine cup only when you see men's white bones?" These are a l l the method of "turning over the case." 4 From Yang's discussion i t should be clear that fan-an i s a po e t i c a l device by which a poet turns the language and ideas of an e a r l i e r poet upside down. In his famous poem "Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon" L l Po had written: "The moon doesn't know how to d r i n k . " 5 Yang Wan-li r e t o r t s : "'The moon doesn't know how to drink' i s r e a l l y reckless t a l k . " 6 L i Po's moon i s t o t a l l y aloof from the poet, but Yang Wan-li writes: "I chant and the moon knows how to l i s t e n . " 7 In his Proclamation of North Mountain K'ung Chlh-i i They lowered the covers as i f they were old f r i e n d s . II kuei "J/J described the creatures of the wilderness 182 which are upset because a r e c l u s e has abandoned h i s mountain hermitage: "His o r c h i d c u r t a i n s empty, the n i g h t cranes com-p l a i n / The mountain man has gone, the morning apes are f r i g h t e n -e d . " 8 When Yang Wan-li d e c i d e s to r e t u r n from h i s o f f i c i a l c a r e e r a f t e r having viewed some p a r t i c u l a r l y m a g n i f i c e n t scen-ery he w r i t e s : "I'm t i r e d of wandering and ought to go home/ And not j u s t because of the apes' and cranes' c o m p l a i n t ! " 9 When he was drunk L i Po wrote: "Jade Mountain f a l l s over by I t s e l f , without anyone p u s h i n g . " 1 0 Under s i m i l a r circumstances Yang Wan-li w r i t e s : "Who cares whether Jade Mountain f a l l s over or n o t ? " 1 1 In a l l such cases Yang Wan-li i s g l e e f u l l y t u r n i n g the most famous l i n e s of the most revered authors up-s i d e down. In h i s d i s c u s s i o n of Tu Pu's iconoclasm above, Yang Wan-l i s t a t e d t h a t Tu Pu had "turned over a l l of the ' p u b l i c cases' of a n c i e n t men . . . " The term ' p u b l i c cases' or kung-an (Japanese ko-an) i s taken d i r e c t l y from Ch'an l i t e r a t u r e , and i t i s very l i k e l y t h a t Yang's use of fan-an o r , ' t u r n i n g over the case' was i n s p i r e d by Sung Ch'an p r a c t i c e s . J u s t as Tu Pu turned over the ' p u b l i c cases' of e a r l i e r poetry masters, the Sung aut h o r of the Wu Men Kuan turned the ' p u b l i c case' of the e a r l -i e r T'ang Ch'an master Nan-ch'Uan upside down: Nan-ch'uan s a i d : "The mind i s not the Buddha, and knowledge i s not the Way." Wu Men says: "Nan-ch'lian can be s a i d to not know shame because he was g e t t i n g o l d , and opened h i s s t i n k i n g mouth, exposing h i s 1 ? f a m i l y scandal to o u t s i d e r s . . . , c 183 The reason why Wu Men i s so v i o l e n t toward Nan-ch'uan i s not because he i s In disagreement w i t h the T'ang master's d o c t r i n e , but because the Ch'an monk must o v e r t u r n a l l of h i s masters i n order to a t t a i n the freedom of enlightenment. Nan-ch'dan's kung-an can serve as an o b j e c t of m e d i t a t i o n i n the b e g i n n i n g stages, but e v e n t u a l l y even such concepts as "the mind i s not the Buddha" must be d i s c a r d e d . S i m i l a r l y , the p r a c t i c e of fan-an i s one means by which Yang Wan-li can transcend the masters of T'ang and e a r l i e r p o e t r y . F o r Yang iconoclasm was one more method by which he could a t t a i n the l i v e method. 1 84 ^ - l ^ b ; 13-4b; 100. a. T' uo-sa i s very much l i k e modern Mandarin hslao-sa Since sa means 'sprinkle' when used i n i s o l a t i o n , t'uo-sa may be a pun with the additional meaning of 'leaving t h e i r sprinkling.I-2CCC, 1l4-988ab. Meng Chia was a scholar from the Tsin dynasty noted f o r his wild behavior. One day while he was at a banquet, the wind blew his hat o f f , but i n accordance with h i s romantic nature he did not pay attention to t h i s . See Tsin Shu jg _j| , chuan 98, p. 1341b. For "public cases" see the following discussion. 57-67a; 8-1a; 64. a. The mid-autumn f e s t i v a l was held on the f i f t e e n t h of the eighth lunar month at f u l l moon. It was customary to write poems describing the moon at t h i s time, but Yang disagrees with the t r a d i t i o n a l sentiment that the moon i s most beautiful on t h i s day. b. La i s the twelfth month of the lunar calendar and would usually f a l l about i n January of the Western calendar. c. In north China plum trees bloom just before New Year in the twelfth lunar month while there i s s t i l l snow on the ground. CCC, 1l4-989ab. 1 85 5SPTK, L i Poy^ -fa , Pen L e i Pu Chu L i T'ai Po Shih (abbreviated LTPS)^* $f4$] -k^f A 13 23-313a-. 636 - 3 4 5 b ; 3 7 - 8 b . 7 2 5 - 2 3 3 a ; 27-6b. Yen K'o-chtin e d . ^ *J ^ , Ch'flan Shang Ku San Tai Ch'in Han San Kuo L i u Ch'ao Wen ± £',2. 2& £- ^ ^ 7 ^ X_ repr. Shih Chieh Shu Chli, Taipei, 1968, vol.6, Ch'ilan Ch'i Wen ^ ^ , chuan 19, p. 8 . 9 1 4 - 1 2 7 b ; 15-1 a. 1 0LTPS, 7 -134b. 1 l 1 9 - l 8 3 b ; 21-10b. 12WMK, 297b. 186 3. I l l u s l o n l s t i c and Paradoxical Language In another chapter we s h a l l discuss Yang Wan-li's f a s c i n -a t i o n with o p t i c a l I l l u s i o n s as part of his Buddhist philoso-p h i c a l i n s p i r a t i o n . Yet, the use of i l l u s l o n l s t i c language Is also one of the most important elements i n his l i v e method. In the following poem we can observe how Yang creates a whole series of i l l u s i o n s through the use of such language: Making Pire i n the Boat on a Snowy Day ( F i r s t Poem of Two) Raven s i l v e r [charcoal] catches f i r e and gives f o r t h green fog, So I make believe i t s a thick s t i c k of heavy aloes incense. Because i t stops, then s t a r t s , i t billows f o r t h t h i c k l y ; Scattered into a f i n e mist, i t warms my robe and trousers. But i n a moment the fog clears, s p i t t i n g out red rays, And blazes l i k e the r i s i n g sun on the surface of the clouds. This bright spring and mild sun warm my whole room; My pale face turns moist red; I think I'm i n the Land of Drunks! Suddenly the f i r e s goes cold, and the fog a l l disappears; A l l I see i s snowy [ash] piled up i n my red stove. Outside my window the snow i s more than three feet deep, But t h i s snow inside my window i s only one inch fragrant! 1 87 In the very f i r s t l i n e of the poem Yang creates two i l l u s i o n s , f o r he does not simply state that the charcoal has caught f i r e and given f o r t h smoke but rather that "raven s i l v e r " has ignited and produced green " f o g i " The i l l u s i o n i s continued i n the second l i n e , f o r now the sil v e r / c h a r c o a l has been transformed into a s t i c k of incense, but instead of billowing f o r t h smoke, the "incense" proceeds to produce "mist" i n the t h i r d and fourth l i n e s . The f i r e born i n the silver/charcoal/incense i s not r e a l l y f i r e but the r i s i n g sun, which gives r i s e to spring-l i k e weather i n Yang's boat cabin, despite the f a c t that the poem i s being written on a snowy day. Even the poet himself is not free from i l l u s o r y transformations, f o r when he f e e l s the warmth of the sun/fire, his face turns red and he i s intoxicated, although he has not drunken any wine. Suddenly the i l l u s i o n disappears, when the f i r e goes out, but i n the meantime the silver/charcoal/incense has further transformed i t s e l f into snow. Even measurements of length and depth do not have any meaning i n Yang's world of i l l u s i o n , f o r the one inch of "snow" i n Yang's stove i s equivalent to the three feet of snow outside his window. F i n a l l y , unlike ordinary snow, thi s "snow," a product of f i r e and heat, also possesses the property of fragrance. The kinds of transformations produced by Yang's use of i l l u s i o n i s t i c language bear a strong resemblance to the conten-t i o n of the prajna sutras that a l l phenomenal existence i s l i k e a " s l e i g h t of hand, a mirage, etc." In f a c t , Yang himself f r e -quently compares the i l l u s o r y transformation of physical objects to a magical t r i c k played by some immortal: 1 8 8 Clearing Snow ( F i r s t Poem of Two) An immortal cuts water into f l y i n g flowers; And when he changes them into jasper, i t ' s already miraculous. But he changes the jasper back into water, Which, dripping on the l e v e l ground i s f i n a l l y g l a s s . 2 In four short l i n e s we see an Immortal change water into flowers (snow f l a k e s ) , then Jasper ( s l e e t ) , back into water ( r a i n ) , and f i n a l l y glass (standing pools of water). In short, Yang's use of I l l u s l o n l s t i c language i s extremely s i m i l a r to the way the Buddhas and gods create the i l l u s i o n of maya i n Indian Buddhist Not only i s the method by which the magical transforma-tions are effected s i m i l a r to what one finds i n Indian Buddhist texts, but the very i l l u s l o n l s t i c language which Yang employs i s p r a c t i c a l l y i d e n t i c a l to what one finds i n these texts. If one examines the large body of poetry which Yang wrote on the theme of transformation, he w i l l f i n d that words f o r gems and precious metals such as ' jade ^ ,' ' c r y s t a l ;>]< ^ ,' the f i r s t place i n the magical changes he describes. Anyone who has read a reasonable quantity of Indian Buddhist l i t e r a t u r e w i l l recognize the s i m i l a r i t y between the bejewelled world of i l l u s i o n i n Yang Wan-li's poetry and the same world found i n p r a c t i c a l l y every Indian sutra. The Saddharma Pundarlka Sutra describes the Buddha f i e l d of a future Buddha i n the following terms: texts. occupy The ground w i l l be made of glass with jewel trees i n rows. There w i l l be ropes of gold i n order to mark the boundaries of roads. Jewel flowers w i l l be scattered, covering everything i n t h e i r p u r i t y . 4 However, i n many cases Yang Wan-li's use of such i l l u -s i o n i s t i c language goes one step beyond the ornate i l l u s o r y world of Indian Buddhist l i t e r a t u r e : River Water The water's color i s o r i g i n a l l y pure white, But when pil e d deep, i t turns to green. What kind of potion did the River Fairy use a To soften t h i s thousand miles of jade?^ Rather than comparing the r i v e r water to jade, Yang Wan-li surprises the reader by s t a t i n g that the water only became water a f t e r the "jade" of the r i v e r was magically "softened" by an immortal. Yang u t i l i z e s a si m i l a r method i n a poem about the moon On the Night of the Twelfth of the Eighth Month I Gaze at the Moon from Sincere Study a Hearing mid-autumn, the moon i s already pure; A c i r c l e of i c e , i t hangs on a raven black curtain. Suddenly I discover that tonight the moon Isn't r e a l l y glued on the sky, but moves e n t i r e l y on Its own!6 190 Yang's desc r i p t i o n of the moon as "a c i r c l e of i c e " and the sky as a "raven black curtain" f i t s i n with his more usual use of Il l u s o r y language, but the l a s t l i n e of the poem i s as unexpected as the transformation of jade into water i n the preceding work. The poet obviously knows that the moon/ice i s not "glued" on the sky/curtain, so when he t e l l s the reader he i s surprised by the moon moving " e n t i r e l y on i t s own," the reader i s taken off guard just as he was when he discovered that the water of the r i v e r was o r i g i n a l l y jade. By now, i t should be reasonably clear how Yang Wan-li's use of i l l u s l o n l s t i c language f i t s i n with his l i v e method. We have seen how Ko T'ien-min thought that anyone with a com-mand of the l i v e method "understands how to make a dead snake leap with l i f e , " and Yang's i l l u s l o n l s t i c language accomplishes exactly t h i s goal. In reading Yang Wan-li's poetry, one can never precisely determine what i s " r e a l " and what i s " i l l u s o r y . " P l a i n charcoal transforms i t s e l f into s i l v e r , incense, and snow, while water can take any form ranging from jasper to gla s s . Hence the reader i s constantly f i n d i n g himself taken aback as one i l l u s i o n s h i f t s to another, just as he would be i f a dead snake suddenly woke up and leapt at him. In addition to using l l l u s i o n i s t i c language, Buddhist sutras make frequent use of paradoxical language. Thus i n most Mahayana works one finds suoh expressions as "the hair of a t o r t o i s e " of "the ch i l d of a barren woman" i n constant use. Such paradoxical language consists of elements which seem to be self-contradictory on the l e v e l of worldly truth and, 191 therefore, shock the mind from i t s normal thought processes to a t t a i n a higher l e v e l of consciousness where a l l such para-doxes are resolved. Although paradoxical language i s less common i n Chinese poetry than i n Buddhist philosophical discourse, one finds that Yang Wan-li occasionally uses language which i s s e l f -contradictory, hence, paradoxical. Thus, Yang Wan-li frequently writes such sentences as: "There i s a dream, but there never was a dream;/ It seems l i k e thought, but i t i s not thought e i t h e r . " 7 Although such l i n e s sound as i f they could have been quoted from some Buddhist text on l o g i c , Yang Wan-li achieves considerable e f f e c t when he applies paradoxical language to a description of the landscape: Written While on the Road to Wan-an ( F i r s t Poem of Three) Jade peak clouds, scraped, l e t slanting l i g h t through; Flower paths' mud, dried, I can go out f o r an evening walk. Fine, f i n e , a constant breeze, warm i n the midst of cold; Q From time to time, a few drops, r a i n i n cle a r weather. In Yang's paradoxical landscape, there i s heat when i t i s cold and r a i n when the sky i s clear. However, we need not worry about the seeming contradic-tions i n Yang Wan-li's landscape, f o r no such contradictions ex i s t i n the realm of absolute truth. 192 In most poems Yang resolves the contradictions which his use of paradoxical language seems to create: Looking at the Snow on a Moon-lit Night (Second Poem of Three) The moon's l i g h t and the snow's color are both pure and cold; When I see the moon, I f i r s t suspect i t ' s a c i r c l e of snow. Yet I see the snow's l i g h t i s l i k e a moon; In the end the snow and moon are just the same!9 At f i r s t the poet cannot decide whether the moon i s snow or whether the snow i s moon, but a f t e r musing about the seeming contradiction between the two, he r e a l i z e s t h e i r i d e n t i t y . A s i m i l a r resolution of a contradictory s i t u a t i o n occurs i n a landscape poem: On the Third Day of the F i r s t Month I Spend the Night at the Fan Clan V i l l a g e ( F i r s t Poem of Four) • • • Where did these three mountain peaks come from? They gallop over to me l i k e neighing c o l t s . By my window, they can't stand to leave; Hesitating, they stay just f o r me. Facing them, we become four f r i e n d s ; I c a l l f o r wine, l e t t i n g them help themselves. 193 I am drunk, but the mountains are awake; We forget, yet seek, f o r one another. 1 0 In his state of i n t o x i c a t i o n Yang Wan-li i s separate from the mountains which remain sober, and, hence, Yang and the mountains should seem to forget about one another despite t h e i r i n i t i a l f r i endship. Yet i n a philosophical system such as Ch'an, where one attains enlightenment by not seeking i t , there i s no con-t r a d i c t i o n i n Yang and the mountains f o r g e t t i n g about one an-other and seeking one another at the same time. Yang Wan-li does not use paradoxical language i n his poetry as commonly as he uses i l l u s l o n l s t i c language, but the e f f e c t i s s i m i l a r . Paradox keeps the mind off balance, and, hence, brings l i f e to what might otherwise be dead. 194 128-26la; 30-1a; 177-SPPY has Bij instead of B^J of SPTK i n the t i t l e and Instead of ^ i n the s i x t h l i n e . Raven s i l v e r Is an a l l u s i o n to Meng Chlao's poem: "He presents charcoal, i t s price greater than double raven l i v e r . " See SPPY, Meng Tung Ye Chi ^ jj^ fj> j| , s 9-4b. b. Aloes incense i s also known as j>J^ ^ or 'water-sinking incense,' so called because i t was so heavy that i t would not f l o a t on water. c. Pu-sang was the tree from which the sun was supposed to r i s e according to popular t r a d i t i o n . d. Wo-tan i s o r i g i n a l l y from the Shih Ching: "A face l i k e moist cinnabar." See Shih Chlng, Ch'in Feng ^ l(b Chung Han i^) . Yang i s saying that his face which i s pale from old age suddenly becomes moist and rosy l i k e a drunk man due to the heat of the charcoal. 221-201a; 23-6a. 5Refer to the following poems translated i n the body of the the s i s : bottom p. 199, bottom p. 222, bottom p. 224, pp. 283-284, pp. 312-314. 195 Taisho, Miao Pa Lien Hua no. 262, v o l . 9, p. 20-c. 526-247b; 28-9b; 161 . a. According to popular mythology the River Fairy was a be a u t i f u l female s p i r i t who inhabited the Yangtze River. 637-356b; 38-9b; 224. has ^. i n place of Jf_ i n the SPTK edition, a. Sincere Study or Ch'eng-chai was the name of Yang's l i b r a r y a f t e r his hao. 725-239b; 28-1b. 815-I38b; l6-2b; 116. 911-108b; 12-9a. 1 Q18-I66a; 20-2b, i n the t i t l e and 196 4. Surprise and Sudden Enlightenment The problem of r e a l i t y and i l l u s i o n i s one of the most Important themes of Yang Wan-li's poetry, and we have seen how h i s l i v e method u t i l i z e s i l l u s l o n i s t i c and paradoxical language to emphasize the i l l u s o r y nature of sense perception. Yet, when we f i n a l l y r e a l i z e that our senses have been fooled into confusing i l l u s i o n f o r r e a l i t y , our minds are st a r t l e d into awareness, a process akin to that of the man who attains sudden enlightenment a f t e r groping around i n the darkness f o r many years. While looking at some flowers, Yang was s t a r t l e d to discover that some of the flowers were actually b u t t e r f l i e s when the "flowers" flew away; As I look up toward the t r e l l i s , I can only see a few from afar, But a f t e r I go upstairs, I gaze down and they stand out be a u t i f u l l y , There's no way to d i s t i n g u i s h the t'u ml flowers from b u t t e r f l i e s ; a Only when they f l y away do you know they're not flowers! 1 A s i m i l a r 'awakening" occurred when Yang was watching clouds shaped l i k e mountain peaks i n the sky: A clear sky just before dawn, when i t i s n ' t l i g h t yet; My eyes are f u l l of strange peaks, always a t t r a c t i v e . But when one of the peaks suddenly grows, Only then do I know, not moving, i t ' s a r e a l mountain! 2 197 A common method used by Ch'an masters to enlighten t h e i r stu-dents was to shock t h e i r minds and bodies into awareness. This frequently took the form of shouting at the student or beating him on the body, and sometimes even more d r a s t i c methods were used when warranted: The monk Chu-chih only raised his fi n g e r whenever there was an inquiry. Later, his boy attendant was asked by an outsider, "What are the fundamentals of your master's dharma?" The boy, too, raised his fi n g e r . Chu-chih heard of t h i s , and cut off his fi n g e r with a k n i f e . In pain, the boy ran away screaming and crying, but Chu-chih c a l l e d him back again and when the boy turned hi s head around, Chu-chih raised h i s fi n g e r . The boy was suddenly enlightened. 5 We f i n d a s i m i l a r method employed i n Yang Wan-li's poetry, which frequently s t a r t l e s us into sudden enlightenment with i t s unexpected changes. Up to Yang's time, most Chinese verse was written with careful attention to the l o g i c a l order of the poem from f i r s t l i n e to l a s t . Even such an innovative c r i t i c and poet as Lu Pen-chung wrote: Whenever you write poetry, you must cause people to know there i s a second l i n e a f t e r reading the f i r s t l i n e , and a t h i r d l i n e a f t e r reading the second l i n e . Only i f thi s order i s maintained to the end of the poem, can i t be considered to be wonderful. 4 198 Here again, Yang did not follow t r a d i t i o n a l practice, and unexpected s h i f t s i n his poems were noticed by the l a t e Ch'ing In other poems there i s only one " f o l d , " merely one twist or turn and no more. Yang Wan-li has at least two twists and turns. Other people f o l d f i r s t to the l e f t and then f o l d further to the l e f t . Yang Wan-li f i r s t f olds to the l e f t and then f o l d s again to the l e f t , but a f t e r three f o l d s he f i n a l l y goes to the r i g h t . 5 In his .Poetry Talk, Yang admired s i m i l a r q u a l i t i e s i n e a r l i e r poets: There are poems which express three ideas i n one l i n e of seven characters. Tu Pu wrote: "Pacing my food, I eat f o r a while, but f i n a l l y cannot continue." T'ui-chlh [Han Yu] wrote: "I am going to go, but before I a r r i v e , I think of returning." 6 In Yang's own poetry, we frequently f i n d ourselves whirl ing around with our ordinary sense of d i r e c t i o n l o s t due to some surprise: The oarsmen Just l e t the boat follow the current, And make no plans f o r water and rocks i n the rapids ahead. A surprise torrent whirls us around three times. So our boat's t a l l becomes i t s head! 7 199 We would not be so surprised i f the boat turned about merely once, but just when i t seems to be returning to normal a f t e r the second revolution, we are s t a r t l e d by being swung around once more. In h i s Poetry Talk Yang Wan-li praises e a r l i e r poets who succeeded i n shocking the reader into a new awareness: Some poems have l i n e s which s t a r t l e one. In his "Landscape Screen" Tu Fu wrote: "There shouldn't be maple trees i n the h a l l / How strange, the r i v e r s and mountains give r i s e to smoke and mist!" Also: " i f you chop down the cassia tree oh the moon,/ Her pure rays w i l l be even more!" Po Le-t'ien [Chtl-yi] wrote: "Prom afar I pity the moon's cassia flowers so lonely,/ So I ask i f Huan-e i s r e a l l y there./ The moon has a l -ways had a l o t of unused land,/ So why doesn't she Q plant two more trees In the middle?" However, Yang Wan-li's shock method i s much more extreme than anything seen e a r l i e r i n Chinese verse, f o r he delights i n making us imagine that something i s what i t i s not, and then i n the f i n a l l i n e of his poem, he shatters the i l l u s i o n he has created: A young boy removes the morning ice from a metal bowl, And hanging i t on a colored s t r i n g makes i t into a s i l v e r gong. 200 As he str i k e s i t a jade chime resounds throughout the woods, When suddenly—the t i n k l e of glass shattering on the ground! 9 As soon as Yang has made us believe that the piece of ice i s a s i l v e r gong with the resonance of jade chimes, he smashes our dream against the ground, but even then the sound i s that of breaking glass and not i c e ! Just as Yang smashes our dream chimes, so he enjoys shocking us out of other dreams which he conjures up f o r us with his poetic imagination: The Boatman Plays a Piute The Long River has no wind, the water i s l e v e l , green; Neither shoe leather wrinkles, nor even gauze r i p p l e s . As one gazes east and west, the l i g h t f l o a t s i n the void, Gleaming l i k e a f a u l t l e s s jade f o r a thousand acres. The boys i n our boat can't stand being i d l e , So they drunkenly pick up the f l u t e and play midst clouds and haze. With one sound, pure and long, i t resounds, piercing the sky A mountain ape crying at the moon, a spring f a l l i n g i n torrent. Then they beat t h e i r small sheepskin hip drum, Head erect l i k e a green peak, hands f a l l i n g l i k e r a i n . 201 Suddenly, i n mid-stream, one huge f i s h Leaps and smashes the glass water f o r over a y a r d ! 1 0 The f i r s t ten l i n e s of the poem evoke a dream world of exquis-i t e beauty. We are not s i t t i n g s t i l l on land but d r i f t i n g at ease i n a boat on the water midst fog and clouds, hence, with no sense of d i r e c t i o n or time. As i f the i n t o x i c a t i o n of wine were not enough, we are further intoxicated by the music of the f l u t e , which does not sound l i k e an ordinary f l u t e but i s "a mountain ape crying at the moon" or the waters of a torren-t i a l spring. Suddenly, t h i s i d y l i s shattered by a huge f i s h coming from beneath the mysterious waters and we are shocked out of our dream into the world of r e a l i t y . Sometimes, rather than s t a r t l e us into awareness by shattering a dream world he has created f o r us, Yang chooses the method of d r i v i n g us back into a corner and just when we expect to be relieved, d e l i v e r s a blow to us stronger than any-thing before: Spending the Night at the River-Port Pool Rock At the t h i r d watch, no moon, the sky's r e a l l y black; A f l a s h of li g h t n i n g i s followed by the roar of thunder. Rain pierces the sky, f a l l i n g on my boat-hut's roof; A d r i v i n g wind blows across, crooked, then s t r a i g h t . The loose matting leaks, soaking my bedding; The sound of waves beats my pillow, a paper's width away. In the middle of dreams, I am sta r t l e d awake and can't sleep; Grabbing my clothes, I s i t up straight and sigh again and again. There's no d i f f i c u l t y or hardship I've not experienced i n my tr a v e l s , But i n my whole l i f e there's been nothing l i k e tonight I Lord Heaven scares me with his nasty jokes; He did not inform me, but gave me a surprise. There's no way f o r him to suddenly gather the wind or tidy the r a i n ; Yet can I now ask him f o r the east to get l i g h t ? I hang my head, draw i n my legs,, how narrow and confined! When suddenly once more, on my head d r r i p p p ! ! ! 1 1 A f t e r suffering from the cold and wet, we are huddled up await-ing a happy ending i n the dawn or, perhaps, some apt philoso-p h i c a l comment about fate from the poet, when our already har-assed nervous system i s subjected to the shattering sensation of an ice cold drop of water h i t t i n g us squarely on the head! The perceptive reader w i l l notice a great s i m i l a r i t y be-tween Yang Wan-li's drop of ice cold water and the club and shout of the Lin - c h i Ch'an masters, and i t i s not surprising that the southern Sung poet and c r i t i c L i u K'o-chuang, who i n -tensely admired Yang Wan-li, wrote: If we compare t h i s to Ch'an Buddhism, Shan-ku [Huang T'ing-chien] was the f i r s t p atriarch. Lfl [Pen-chung] were the North and South Schools 203 of Ch'an. Ch'eng-chai [Yang Wan-li] appeared somewhat l a t e r l i k e Te-shan of L i n - c h i [Yi-hstfan]. The f i r s t p a t r i a r c h and those immediately following him only [used] "words," hut when [Yang Wan-li's] clubbing and shouting appeared, things became considerably more act i v e . . . Both Hstl Yflan-tzu [Ssu-tao/fj.^ ] and chai [Yang Wan-li], and t h e i r s t a r t l i n g l i n e s are f r e -1 p quently s i m i l a r to h i s . " 1 Thus, we see that L i u K'o-chuang thought that Huang T'lng-chien was s i m i l a r to early Ch'an masters, who were s t i l l attached to words and had not been enlightened to the basic doctrine of l a t e r Ch'an masters "not to set up words''^ Ji X • Yang Wan-li, on the other hand, was s i m i l a r to the Li n - c h i master Yi-hstian, who either clubbed or shouted at students who remained attached to language and the discursive thought which accompanies i t . By means of his clubbing and shouting, Yang Wan-li did not s l i p back into the cycle of "transmigration and death," but wa.s able to escape the l i m i t a t i o n s of language with his l i v e method. ] meditated under Ch'eng 204 125-236a; 27-9b. a. The t'u-mi i s a member of the rose family. 2 32-306a; 34-7a. W^MK, 293b. \ e i Ch'ing-chih^j^ ^ ^ , Shih Jen Y j Hsieh || A i ^ , Chung Hua Shu Chli, Shanghai, 1959, p. 121. ^Quoted on p. 6 of YWLHC. Chou Ju-ch'ang gives his source as p. 1 of Ch'en Yen's T'an Y i L u | ^ fjti Jj*^ , but thi s work has not been available to me. 6CCC, 1l4-987a. 726-248b; 28-1 Ob. 8CCC, 1l4-987a. 91 1-108a; 12-8a; 97. 1 Q18-I69b; 20-6a; 127. 1 113 -123b; l4-5a; 105-1 2SPTK, L i u K'o-chuangjfj j j j , Hou Ts' un Hsien Sheng Ta Ch'flan Chl ^ ^ ^ ^_ ^ ^ j | , chflan 97, 844ab. 5. Humor 205 It i s hoped that by now the reader has noticed the use of humor i n the poems of Yang Wan-li already translated, and, i n f a c t , humor i s one of the most important elements of Yang's l i v e method. Of course, i t would be f u t i l e to ascribe Yang's humor completely to Ch'an Buddhism or the influence of any other school of thought, but we can certainly understand h i s humor better i n the context of the undeniable influence Ch'an had on his l i t e r a r y theories and poetic creation. As we have already seen, Yang uses the s t a r t l i n g to pro-duce the effect of "sudden enlightenment" i n his verse. How-ever, much good humorous l i t e r a t u r e uses the unexpected i n a very s i m i l a r manner to e l i c i t laughter, and the act of laughter i t s e l f i n i t s suddenness bears a d e f i n i t e a f f i n i t y to enlight-enment. Thus, we f i n d that when we read Ch'an works written during T'ang and Sung times, we are, often excited into laughter by t h e i r a b i l i t y to shock us with t h e i r I r r a t i o n a l humor: One day P'u-hua was eating raw vegetables i n front of the monk's h a l l . The master [Yi-hsflan] upon seeing him said: "You look just l i k e a donkey!" P'u-hua immediately brayed l i k e a donkey. The master retorted: "You bandit!" P'u-hua shouted: "Bandits! Bandits Iw and immediately ran away.1 Although very l i t t l e of Yang Wan-li's early poetry i s humorous, since he was s t i l l under the influence of the Kiangsi 206 poets, as early as 1168 we can already see a hint of what was to come l a t e r : I Follow Behind Uncle Ch'ang-ing to Go out V i s i t i n g on Man Day at Dawn Each of the. four seasons has i t s good points, But i n the end, none are l i k e the springtime. What need have we of flowers and willows To love the splendor of the spring season? This morning I went out walking Following behind uncle to the west of the south h i l l . The mud i s so soft my sandals are cozy, The wind so tender, my face doesn't f e e l i t . The cold grasses move t h e i r warm sprouts; Clear mountains r e t a i n the appearance of r a i n . Water and sun f l i r t with one another; In wrinkled r i p p l e s i s born a shattered radiance. How could the bird song be just f o r my sake? Yet l i s t e n i n g to i t , I am delighted by chance. When I went outdoors I f i r s t feared trouble,^; But now on the road, I forget to go home. As long as my mind i s s a t i s f i e d , What matter i f I go out or stay home? A passerby sees me and bows Just when I'm thinking about something. I don't even see his face And answer him with what comes to my mouth. Only l a t e r I awaken and fear I've insulted him; I want to beg forgiveness, but can't catch up to him. Perhaps, my frankness w i l l seem insolent, But i f he's angry, then what can I do? 2 Of course, the humor of t h i s poem Is extremely subtle, but i n i t we see the germs of Yang Wan-li's l a t e r writing. In the f i r s t part of the poem, Yang shows himself t o t a l l y i n harmony with nature. Although he knows his importance to the natural world i s n e g l i g i b l e , he finds great delight i n the mysterious processes whereby nature renews herself i n the early spring, and as a r e s u l t , he Is l o s t In a sort of reverie i n which he transcends s o c i a l conventions. However, unnatural society soon intrudes into Yang's dream world, and when he f i n a l l y awakens, he i s worried by his neglect of the decorum of s o c i a l l i f e . In the end the natural side of Yang wins, and he con-cludes somewhat unsoclally, that since there i s nothing he can do to correct his mistake, he might as well forget i t . The humor of t h i s poem i s more d i f f i c u l t f o r the modern Westerner to fathom, f o r we are not as easily shocked i n s o c i a l matters as the medieval Chinese, yet we can readily recognize an a f f i n -i t y between the humor of Yang's poem and the irreverent a t t i -tude of the Sung Ch'an masters such as Hui K'ai, who as we have seen, refers to the Buddha as "yellow-faced Gautama." After Yang's poetic enlightenment h i s humor was no longer so restrained as i n his e a r l i e r works, and he f u l l y mastered the use of the unexpected or shocking to make the reader laugh. 208 In 1181 he wrote: I Give Warning to the Wind God Sheer c l i f f s , gaping, gaping, l i k e t i g e r s yawning t h e i r jaws; T e r r i f y i n g rapids, rumble, rumble, l i k e thunder roaring f o r t h . As we s a i l against the current, there's a head wind, too; It's l i k e rowing an iron boat up to the Milky Way. "Wind God! Let me treat you to a cup of wine; Why do you play such bad jokes to scare t h i s old poet? Can't you just calm down your anger f o r me?" But shore willows toss t h e i r heads and rushes wave t h e i r f i s t s ! ! 5 I t i s quite rare to f i n d such natural forces as the wind per-so n i f i e d i n Chinese verse, but the violence with which the wind refuses the poet's request through the medium of the willows and rushes i s a t o t a l l y new element i n Chinese poetry. It i s prec i s e l y the shock of t h i s violence which makes the poem so funny i n the Chinese o r i g i n a l . In 1178, Yang had written another humorous poem about the wind: On Hearing the Wind's Sound at Night When he makes i t hot or cold, there's nowhere f o r me to escape; 209 He opens flowers and f e l l s them, just s u i t i n g h i s own fancy. I t ' s h i s sound at night that's especially despicable, For he's set on d i s t r a c t i n g t h i s sad man's midnight sleep. Since he has no form, how can he have a voice? For no reason at a l l , the trees help him make noise. I'm going to cut down a l l the old catalpas and withered willows; And then we'll just see what the h e l l he can do about that 1 4 In t h i s poem, the poet takes the offensive against the wind and the unexpected violence of the author's assault upon the poor catalpas and willows surprises the reader into laughter. Thus, we can conclude that although much of Yang Wan-li's humorous verse has l i t t l e to do with Ch'an Buddhism d i r e c t l y , the tech-nique of h i s humor i s si m i l a r to that of the more Buddhist poems and even Sung Ch'an texts themselves. Yang Wan-li's humor was rarely appreciated by post-Sung c r i t i c s , f o r many of the more conservative Ming and Ch'ing authors took such joking to be mere buffoonery. Nevertheless, not a l l l a t e r c r i t i c s were h o s t i l e and the editors of the Sung Shih Ch'ao, who were so i n f l u e n t i a l i n reviving i n t e r e s t In Sung poetry i n Ch'ing times, wrote: Yang Wan-li's natural endowments were l i k e L i Po. He discarded a l l the skin and h a i r [I.e., the s u p e r f i c i a l ] and produced h i s own "mechanism." When those [poems of Yang] which the ancients said were si m i l a r to L i Po's, enter the vulgar eyes of moderns then they are a l l r u s t i c and crude. A f t e r I f i r s t obtained the selection of the Huang Ch'un Bookshop and fur t h e r those poems which were recorded by Mr. Kao of T s u l - l i , I edited and copied them and everyone who saw them laughed h e a r t i l y . Alas! That which does not make one laugh i s not worthy of being Yang Wan-li's poetry! 21 1 Taisho, Chen Chou L i n Chi Hui Chao Ch'an Shih YU Lu /£§ , no. 1985, v o l . 47, p. 503-b. The entire work has been translated Into French In Paul Demieville, Entretlens de L l n - t s l , L l b r a r l e Artheme Fayard, Paris, 1972, p. 180. 25-45b; 5-2a; 50. The l a s t l i n e of the poem translates l i t e r a l l y : " i f he i s angry, how can I avoid I t ? " Note the highly c o l l o q u i a l use of tu f o r 'how.' The Implication of the l i n e i s that since the poet cannot avoid i n s u l t i n g the passerby, then that i s the passerby's problem. 516-1 511>; l8-3a; 124. 410-100a; 11-1 Ob; 92. 5L(i L i u - l i a n g et a l . ed. ^ ^ ^ , Sung Shih Ch'ao ^ ^ J0j Commercial Press, Shanghai, 1935, v o l . 3, p. 1871. « 212 6. C o l l o q u i a l Language In our discussion of Yang Wan-li's theory of poetry, we have already stated that he strongly advocated a simple, un-adorned form of verse r e l a t i v e l y free from erudite a l l u s i o n s . Yang's attempt to write such natural poetry led him to make poetry written In a highly c o l l o q u i a l style to be one of the bases of h i s l i v e method. No scholar poet before him used c o l l o q u i a l so extensively, and possibly i t i s s i g n i f i c a n t that the language of his verse displays a marked s i m i l a r i t y to the c o l l o q u i a l of contemporary Ch'an writers, who l i k e Yang did not place so much emphasis on polished refinement. However, we need not necessarily look to the Ch'an monks to f i n d the source f o r Yang's use of the spoken tongue, f o r throughout his l i f e , Yang was a great admirer of Po Chil-yi, the poet who was most instrumental i n introducing c o l l o q u i a l into T'ang verse: On the F i f t h of the F i f t h Month I Stop Drinking Due to I l l n e s s In my sickness I'm so bored I give up sweeping and cleaning; Not drinking during the holidays, makes me even sadder. By chance I read the Works of Po Chfl-yl; Not only has my sadness gone, but my sickness has l e f t , too! 1 Yet Yang Wan-li went even fart h e r than Po Chli-yi i n the 213 w r i t i n g of c o l l o q u i a l verse, as can be seen from the following poem: Passing the Chen-yang Gorges (Sixth Poem of Six) A hundred sandbanks a thousand i n l e t s , with a few breakers and waves; Crowded together into the Chen-yang Gorges, they r e a l l y aren't too much. If you used a l l the gorges' mountains to plug i t up t i g h t , I wonder i f the r i v e r ' s waters would flow backwards! 2 Yang's poem i s f u l l of words which normally occur only i n the spoken language, and although th i s p a r t i c u l a r poem i s a b i t extreme i n i t s use of c o l l o q u i a l p a r t i c l e s i n p a r t i c u l a r , any-one who reads the footnotes to the poems translated throughout t h i s work, w i l l notice the frequency with which Yang u t i l i z e s the spoken language of his age. Although Yang Wan-li's love of c o l l o q u i a l i n a l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n noted f o r Its obscurity i s highly laudable, the p i t -f a l l s of his method are also v i s i b l e i n the work quoted above. Although th i s p a r t i c u l a r poem i s very d e l i g h t f u l to read i n the o r i g i n a l , there i s always the danger that the use of too much c o l l o q u i a l language, and especially spoken p a r t i c l e s such as i s one of the chief g l o r i e s of the t r a d i t i o n of Chinese shih poetry. Yang Wan-11 himself was f u l l y aware of the problems l l a o J , w i l l destroy the very compactness that 214 Involved and according to his contemporary Lo Ta-chingjp^ ^ J^-(ca. 1224), Yang stressed the care with which one should use c o l l o q u i a l language In c l a s s i c a l poetry: Yang Wan-li said: "Certainly there are poems which make the vulgar into the refined, but this must have passed through the smelting and transformation of pre-vious generations before i t can be followed. L i Po's [use of] nai-k'e. Tu Fu's che-mo, and 11-hsu or jo-ke of the [Late] T'ang poets are of this category. In t h e i r Cold Pood F e s t i v a l poems, the T'ang poets did not dare to use the word t'ang [ c o l l o q u i a l f o r a type of sweet cake eaten on t h i s f e s t i v a l ] , and i n t h e i r Double Nine F e s t i v a l poems, they did not dare use the word kao ['cake']. Wang An-shih did not dare write poems about plum flowers; he did not dare l i g h t l y lead a v i l l a g e woman or peasant man to s i t at the side of King P'ing's son and Marquis Wei's wife. I have observed that among Tu Fu's poetry there are entire poems which use ordinary and vulgar language without any harm to t h e i r superiority or subtlety [several examples quoted]." Yang Wan-li frequently imitated t h i s s t y l e which i s so s a t i s f y i n g and de-l i g h t f u l . 5 However, many l a t e r c r i t i c s did not agree with Yang's attempts at a r t l e s s c o l l o q u i a l poetry. Typical of these Is the Ch'ing poet and c r i t i c Chu Yi-tsun ^ j^jt ^ (1629-1709): 215 At the present, those who speak of poetry always des-pise and discard the sound of T'ang and enter Into the currents and schools of the Sung. The highest take Su Shih and Huang T'ing-chien as t h e i r masters, while the lowest Imitate the s t y l e of Yang Wan-li. They think shouting and clamor to be marvelous and r u s t i c i t y and crudeness to be c o r r e c t . 4 Further: Recently, poets a l l have abandoned T'ang and studied Sung. I suspect that Lu Yu was too cooked and Huang T'ing-chien too raw. The raw flowed and became Hsiao Tung-fu, while the cooked sank and became Yang Wan-li. Hsiao was not transmitted but Yang was. What d i f f e r -ence i s there between those who imitate him and one who searches f o r f i l t h by the side of the sea Chu Yi-tsun was attached to the "dead method" of imitation of the ancient, whereas Yang Wan-li preferred to meditate on the l i v e l i n e s s of the spoken language. 216 1 42-408b; 42-14b, 1^ 5-141b; l6-5b. 5Luo Ta-ching ^ A ,fi » Ho L i n J j L u | | 4^3^% • i n P i Chi Hsiao Shuo Ta Kuan Hsti Pien ^ f £/ J ; fjj A >^ » H s l n H s5- nS S h u 0 h u » Taipei, 1962, chuan 3, p. 4a, p. 2290. 4SPTK, Chu Y l - t s u n ^ ^ ^ , Plu Shu I'ing Chl fl| ^ , 38-319a. 5 I b i d . , 52-412b. Major Themes 1. I l l u s i o n and Reality Not only did Yang use the Ch'an concept of enlightenment as a metaphor f o r the process whereby the poet creates poetry, but also many of the basic concepts of Buddhism had a pro-found Influence on the poetry he wrote. One of the basic pro-blems that occupied the Buddhist was the concept of r e a l i t y versus i l l u s i o n , and It was precisely i n the r e a l i z a t i o n of the non-duality of r e a l i t y and i l l u s i o n that enlightenment lay f o r the Ch'an Buddhists. Yang explores t h i s question i n one of his l a t e poems (1201): Playing with the Moon on a Summer Night When I rais e my head, the moon's i n the sky, But when i t shines on me, my shadow's on the ground. As I walk, my shadow walks, too; When I stop, my shadow also stops. I wonder i f my shadow and I Are one thing or maybe two.8. The moon can trace out my shadow, But i f i t traced i t s own, I wonder what i t ' d be l i k e . By chance, I pace by the bank of a stream, And now the moon i s i n the stream! Above and below, altogether two moons; 217 21 8 Which of them i s the r e a l one? Or i s the water the sky? Or the sky the water? 1 The r e f l e c t i o n of the moon In the water as a symbol of r e a l i t y versus i l l u s i o n i s not o r i g i n a l l y Chinese and i s already found i n the pra.1na l i t e r a t u r e , which shook Chinese thought when i t was introduced at the end of the thi r d century. In describing the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the bodhlsattva. the Pancavlmsatl-sahasrika-pra.jna-paramlta-sutra translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva states that the enlightened being "understands a l l dharmas to be l i k e a sl e i g h t of hand, a mirage, the moon i n the water (.1ala-candra), the void, an echo, a gandharva c i t y , a dream, a shadow, the r e f l e c t i o n i n a mirror, a transformation."' passage reads: As f o r being l i k e the moon i n the water, the moon Is r e a l l y In the sky, but i t s r e f l e c t i o n appears i n the water. The moon as the mark of the r e a l dharma i s as i n the void of the r e a l i t y of the true dharma nature. In the water of the mind of a l l gods and men there appear the marks of the ego and a l l that belongs to the ego, and f o r th i s reason i t i s said to be l i k e the moon i n the water. Moreover, i f a small c h i l d sees the moon i n the water, he i s glad and wishes to grab i t , but when an adult sees t h i s , he laughs. 5 on this 2 1 9 As early as the Liang dynasty ( 5 0 2 - 5 5 7 ) . the ten meta-phors f o r i l l u s i o n served as material f o r poetry, and the Buddhist emperors of the Liang dynasty, Wu T i l r \ | y ( 5 0 2 - 5 5 0 ) and Chien Wen T i j-^ j Vp ( 5 5 0 - 5 5 1 ) both wrote poems on each of these metaphors. In his poem "Water Moon" Chien Wen T i writes: A round wheel, i t shines on the water; New born, i t also r e f l e c t s on the current. P u l l , f u l l , l i k e a soaked jade r i n g ; Clear, c l e a r , l i k e a sunken hook. Though not worried about i t s hare drowning, How can i t s cassia-tree branches f l o a t ? Although i t vainly causes people to appreciate t h i s , It may s t i l l serve to delight a jumping monkey. A myriad troubles seem dissolved, washed away; What further marks are there to search f o r ? 4 Thus, by the time Yang wrote about the r e f l e c t i o n of the moon i n the water, i t was already widely known as a metaphor f o r the i l l u s i o n of the world. Nevertheless, Yang ce r t a i n l y was the f i r s t poet to substitute wine f o r the water, the r e s u l t of which was probably his f i n e s t philosophical poem: 220 Two Days A f t e r Double Nine I Climb with Hsu K'e-chang to Myriad Flower River Valley and Pass the Wine Cup Beneath the Moon This old fellow's r e a l l y t h i r s t y , but the moon's t h i r s t i e r s t i l l ; As soon as the wine f a l l s into my cup, the moon's already Inside. She brings i n the blue sky along with her, So both moon and sky are soaking wet. "The sky loves wine" has been handed down from antiquity, But "the moon doesn't know how to drink" i s r e a l l y reckless t a l k . I raise my cup and swallow the moon down with one gulp, Yet when I raise my head I see the moon s t i l l i n the sky. This old fellow laughs and asks his guest, "Is there just one moon or are there two?" The wine enters my poet i n t e s t i n e s — w i n d and f i r e burst out; The moon enters my poet I n t e s t i n e s — i c e and snow pour f o r t h . Before I can down one cup, my poem i s already f i n i s h e d ; I r e c i t e the poem to heaven and even heaven i s s t a r t l e d . How do I know that the myriad ages are just some dried-up bones? I pour out some wine and gulp down another moon!5 Yang obviously regarded t h i s poem as one of his most important 221 creations, f o r the poet Lo Ta-ching, who was a f r i e n d of Yang's eldest son and from the same v i l l a g e as the Yang family, wrote: Yang Wan-li's poem about passing the wine cup under the moon i s as follows [poem quoted]. When I was about ten years old, I waited on my father, the Old Man of Bamboo Valley, to v i s i t Yang Wan-li, and with my own ears heard Yang r e c i t e t h i s poem, a f t e r which he said: "I w i l l say myself that t h i s work of mine i s s i m i l a r to L i Po's!" The s t y l e of the poem i s cer t a i n l y influenced by L i Po, but the wine drinking i n Yang's poem i s Buddhist compared to the Taoist content of L i ' s works. The moon i n the wine corresponds to the same moon i n the creek water i n our f i r s t poem, with the d i f f e r -ence that the i l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y are so mixed that i n the end, the reader i s not even sure which moon i s the r e a l one. Through the e l i x i r of Chinese poetry, namely wine, an Indian philosophical concept i s expressed i n a uniquely Chinese way. When one reads the l i s t of the ten metaphors f o r i l l u s i o n from the Pra.Inanaramlta. l i t e r a t u r e , one notices that a number of them such as the "mirage" or "echo" are not only of an ex-tremely I l l u s o r y nature p h y s i c a l l y , but also of extremely short duration i n the temporal sphere as we l l . Yang Wan-li had a p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i n phenomena of short duration, and a l -though he i s not en t i r e l y alone i n thi s i n t e r e s t among Sung poets, he was probably the most successful i n describing such objects. Indeed, i t i s not Improbable that he had the "mirage" of the pra.lnS l i t e r a t u r e i n mind when he described what happens as one looks at a lamp early i n the morning before lie has t o t a l l y awakened to the realm of ordinary consciousness: Getting Up Early on an Autumn Day The cock's crowed but the b e l l hasn't rung yet, So I don't know i f i t ' s dawn or not. I get up, but I'm a f r a i d I ' l l waken everybody, And I don't dare open the windows. The l e f t - o v e r lamp spi t s f o r t h i t s pointed horn rays; Above and below I t , two s i l v e r broomsticks form. I focus my eyes, t r y i n g to examine them cl o s e l y , But they scatter, racing away l i k e a f l a s h of l i g h t n i n g ! 7 Yang's intere s t i n phenomena of short duration enabled him to f i n d beauty i n occurrences which most e a r l i e r poets would not have even noticed. One winter night he l e f t some newly picked plum branches i n two vases f i l l e d with water. When the water froze and the vases broke, the flowering branches were s t i l l stuck i n two vase-shaped pieces of ice which Yang Wan-li's poetic genius transformed into c r y s t a l vases sent from heaven: Who has sent me these two c r y s t a l vases, With several branches of plum growing from them? Their slender branches s t i l l bear scars from picking; Through the vases I see them re f l e c t e d , c l e a r to t h e i r bones. 223 The big branches have opened completely, t h e i r flowers l i k e snow; The small branches, not yet opened, are purer by f a r . They vie i n bursting f o r t h from the vases' mouths; Alas! One can only look and not pick! They say that when c r y s t a l has Just appeared i n the myriad ravines, About to harden, not yet hardened, i t ' s l i k e frozen l a r d . Above was a r i v e r plum, i t s flowers at t h e i r peak; Several branches were blown o f f , f a l l i n g on these cold mirrors. A jade carver cut them out and brought them to this world, Polishing out these vases with the plums f o r us to see. Even now there are places where they haven't hardened, And i n the vases pearls of water race back and f o r t h . A l l that bothers me i s the spring sun reddening outside my window, For i t w i l l soon turn my vases into "Mister No-suches!" 8 Through the medium of Yang's poetic fancy, two pieces of ice are magically changed into c r y s t a l vases sent by some mysteri-ous jade carver from the land of the immortals. The only pro-blem about the fantasy Yang has created i s that i n a few hours, i t w i l l have melted away into nothing. For Yang Wan-li, the ordinary world of "common sense" i s f u l l of mysterious o p t i c a l i l l u s i o n s . When he watches the sun 224 s e t t i n g over a lake, i t seems to enter d i r e c t l y into the water: I s i t and watch the west sun set over the lake shore; It's not swallowed by mountains nor are there any clouds. Inch by inch i t comes lower and suddenly sinks completely; Clearly i t ' s entered the water, but there aren't any traces l e f t behind! 9 Or when Yang observes a fisherman f l o a t i n g away from him on a small boat, the fisherman i n his grass raincoat seems to turn into a goose perched on a reed: The fisherman and his boat enter the tortuous lake, And my old eyes are very d i l i g e n t i n watching him. I look back and f o r t h , but something strange happens: He changes into a lone goose perched on a horizontal r e e d ! 1 0 One of the most common symbols f o r the i l l u s i o n and brevity of l i f e i n India and China i s the bubble: Bubbles A pale sun, l i g h t clouds, the r a i n drops are sparse; Water bubbles follow the r a i n and ar i s e i n the pure d i t c h . Jumping here, racing there, as on a jasper p l a t t e r , They create dragon palace pearls an inch i n diameter. 225 The bubbles seem to be dragon palace pearls but i n a second, they have burst and are no more: How can we ever get to know the greatest treasures completely? These black dragon pearls f l o a t , then disappear In an instant. 8 . Just as the ornament on the forehead of the Golden Immortal, They only l e t ordinary f o l k see one half of themselves. 1 1 The "Golden Immortal" Is the Buddha and the ornament on his forehead i s the pearl sunk into the forehead of a Buddhist statue to represent the Buddha's divine eye. Of course, only one hal f i s v i s i b l e to the observer Just as one sees only one h a l f of the "sphere" of a bubble. Thus, the bubble not only becomes a symbol of the brevity of temporal existence but also, somewhat i r o n i c a l l y , a symbol f o r the secrets of the universe, denied to the ordinary eye and reserved only f o r the enlightened. By making the ephemeral into a symbol f o r the eternal, Yang comes close to transcending the dualism between i l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y . 226 139-377b; 40-1 l a ; 229. a. The word ting Is not used In i t s usual l i t e r a r y sense of 'certain' but i s highly c o l l o q u i a l with the meaning of 'or' and a s l i g h t l y interrogative tone. 2Taisho, Ta Chih Tu Lun % ^ ^ W\ » n o - 1509, v o l . 2 5 , p. 101-c. ^Ibid., 102-b. This passage has been translated and annotated i n E. Lamotte's monumental Le t r a i t e de l a grande vertu de sagesse de Nagar.juna. Louvaln, 1944, v o l . 1, p. 364. Lamotte translates the word fan as a noun with the meaning 'sots ( b a l a c l t t a ) , ' whereas I have taken It as an adjective modifying the two nouns following i t . 4 T i n g Pu-pao ed. jfe 4^ , Oh'tian Han San Kuo Ohln Kan Pel Ch'ao Shih ^ 5. if) - | /f) dtl . Shih Chieh Shu Chii, Taipei, 1962, v o l . 2, p. 907. According to Chinese mythology the moon contains a hare and a cassia tree. 536-345b; 37-8b; 218. In t h i s poem there are two all u s i o n s to the four poems of L i Po e n t i t l e d "Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon." See LTPS, 23-313ab. "The sky loves wine" i s from the f i r s t two l i n e s of the second poem: " I f the sky did not love wine/ The Wine Star would not be i n the sky." "The moon doesn't know how to drink" i s a d i r e c t quote 227 from the f i f t h l i n e of the f i r s t poem. This a l l u s i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g , because i t i s an example of fan-an. The second l i n e from the l a s t i s somewhat puzzling, and an a l t e r n a t i v e t r a n s l a t i o n would be: "How do I know that through the myriad ages there i s only a single material body?" Although such an i n t e r -pretation i s possible, i t does not seem to connect-with the l a s t l i n e as well as the t r a n s l a t i o n I have chosen. 6Luo T a - c h i n g ^ A , Ho Lin Jj L u | | jf^J^ , i n P i Chi Hsiao Shuo Ta Kuan Hsft Pien ^ \& A) $J A ,lf[ H s i n Hsing Shu Chfl, Taipei, 1962, chiian 10, p. 10-b, p. 2313. 740-379a; 40-12b; 230. 812-110a; 13-1b; 98. a. Mister No-such i s one of the three characters i n Ssu-ma Hsiang-Ju's Tzu Hs& Pu J ^ . See the poet's biography and f u i n Shih C h i | £ y , chuan 117. 927-256a; 29-4b. 1 029-277a; 31-8a. 1l32-303b; 34-4a; 192. a. A l l u s i o n to Chuang-tzu: "On the r i v e r there was a family so poor they r e l i e d on weaving reeds f o r a living. When the son dove into the depths he obtained a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold. His father told the son, 'Take a stone and smash i t , f o r a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold must be from a nine-layered depth and from under the chin of a black dragon.'" See SPTK, Nan Hua Ohen Chlng |f) _j | * 10-226a. 229 2. The World of Man a. Family and Children In our biography of Yang Wan-li, we have already trans-lated most of h i s important p o l i t i c a l poems, and since they give us a very clear picture of his attitudes concerning the Sung government, we s h a l l not pursue t h i s aspect of his poetry any f a r t h e r . One of the more unique t r a i t s of Yang's poetry i s that he not only t e l l s us a good deal about h i s p o l i t i c a l career but he also describes his personal l i f e with a wealth of d e t a i l unequalled by e a r l i e r poets. We have already seen how Yang's concern with mundane a f f a i r s derives from his Ch'an inspired view of l i t e r a t u r e as a natural act, but l e t us now explore the d a l l y l i f e of the Sung scholar o f f i c i a l as-. de-picted i n Yang's poetry. The focus of da i l y l i f e f o r the Chinese scholar o f f i c i a l from most ancient times was the Chinese extended family. The i n t e l l e c t u a l ' s career i n government was largely an expression of the family's desire f o r Increasing i t s wealth and prestige, and although the Sung examination system held out great rewards f o r the ambitious i n d i v i d u a l , the family always benefitted from the accomplishments of i t s members. However, despite the over-r i d i n g Importance of the family system, i t i s quite strange that not u n t i l the eighth century do we f i n d much mention of the family i n c l a s s i c a l poetry. T'ao Ch'ien's "Poem of Scolding Pu was r e a l l y the f i r s t poet to write about his wife and c h i l d -s a notable exception to t h i s rule, but Tu ren to any extent, and such a poem as "The Moon-lit Hight"^ ^ 2 i s very innovative i n the highly personal description of the r e l a t i o n between the poet and his wife. Tu Fu i s one of the most important figures In the overthrow of the a r i s t o c r a t i c conventions of l i t e r a t u r e , which had been formed during the North-south Period, and, hence, he was able to write about a subject which was considered "unpoetical" by e a r l i e r writers of a more refined age. By northern Sung times the a r i s t o c r a t s and t h e i r l i t e r -ary pretensions had been t o t a l l y eliminated, so Sung authors f e l t free to deal with subject matter which an a r i s t o c r a t i c poet would have considered beneath h i s d i g n i t y . Therefore, i t i s no surprise that the Sung poets, as a whole, wrote about t h e i r parents, children, wives, and even concubines to a much greater degree than ever before. We have already seen how Yang Wan-li had written about his dead father with great tenderness, and a poem composed while both parents were s t i l l a l i v e gives us an even clearer insight into his r e l a t i o n s h i p with them: When my term as Governor at Ling l i n g has f i n i s h e d but no replacement comes, my father takes our old and young back home f i r s t . As I send them out of the c i t y we meet up with mud and r a i n , so ten thousand fee l i n g s suddenly gather i n me. My father has gone home f i r s t , but I can't go yet; My mother's already set o f f , but she s t i l l looks back at me. The children are happy to go home; they don't under-stand sorrow y e t ; a 231 I'm sad, f o r how could I be as f o o l i s h as a child? People watching from the wall shouldn't f e e l envy, b For how can a settled man understand the sighs of wanderers? Luckily, yesterday i t was clear, but today there's r a i n again; When did the Lord of Heaven ever worry about t r a v e l e r s ' hardships? My mother's lungs are a i l i n g , and she greatly fears the c o l d , 0 So the evening wind hasn't cause to moan through my room. People a l l r a i s e t h e i r sons to become o f f i c i a l s , But who was i t that caused my father's t r i p to be l i k e t h i s ? 5 We have said that pressure from the family was one of the main forces which propelled men into o f f i c i a l careers, and Yang him-s e l f t e l l s us that "people a l l r a i s e t h e i r sons to become o f f i -c i a l s . " But Yang also suggests a strong tension between his f i l i a l piety toward his parents and his o f f i c i a l duties, f o r he c i t e s h is absence from home on government duties as a major cause f o r h i s parents' discomfort. We have frequently noticed a strong contradiction between personal e t h i c a l standards and public o f f i c i a l duties i n Yang's government career, but i t is extremely Informative to f i n d the same dichotomy e x i s t i n g i n hi s family l i f e . ' 232 Such a dichotomy suggests that either Yang's family was highly unusual or else great changes had occurred i n the family structure during l a t e T'ang and Sung times. Yang was c e r t a i n l y no ordinary i n d i v i d u a l , hut the great warmth which pervades the poetry he wrote to his family proves that the stern Confucian father f i g u r e of the e a r l i e r a r i s t o c r a t i c society was very d i s -tant from the present r e a l i t y . In a poem composed while he was f a r away from his home on o f f i c i a l business, Yang wrote: On Cold Food F e s t i v a l I Cook Breakfast at Chiang Family Grove, the Second Day After Setting Out on My Journey It almost seems there i s n ' t any Cold Food F e s t i v a l at. a l l ; a They should have l e t me off f o r holiday, but now I'm away from home. In a myriad houses on Cold Food Day, the f i r s t swallows return, But t h i s single old man i n his spring s h i r t rides on a lame mule.13 A f t e r an old willow's been tonsured, how does i t grow back i t s h a i r ; Perhaps, haby catalpas, now clawed, can be used as rhino horn combs.0 My son's l e t t e r s long ago asked when I ' l l be on the road back home, But there's no use to get mad at him; I ' l l just laugh at him. 4 233 The figu r e of Yang as a balding poet r i d i n g on a lame mule i s highly pathetic and tends to bring the father down to a more human l e v e l . On another voyage Yang wrote to his sons: I receive a l e t t e r from my two sons Shou-Jen and Shou-chu*n st a t i n g that they could not take t h e i r examinations due to i l l n e s s and Informing me of t h e i r date of a r r i v a l . ( F i r s t Poem of Two) When w i l l my two sons arrive? The three autumn months are almost ended. Receiving your half piece of paper, Washed away a year of my sadness. I have not strength i n my f u r c h i s e l writing brush, But t h i s i s no reason f o r my ink to be ashamed. The sea and mountains are cold and even more azure; I put my carriage i n order to await your companionship.5. Once again Yang displays h i s most personal fee l i n g s toward his children and i n the end seems to accept them as equals i n com-panionship. This s p i r i t of friendship on equal terms i s p a r t i -c u l a r l y strong i n a poem Yang wrote a f t e r h i s retirement: When Tz'u-kung's period of service i s completed, he returns home. By chance the Shang-ssu and Cold Food F e s t i v a l s are on the same day, so father and son have a small drink together. Once again i t ' s the time of the year f o r p u r i f i c a t i o n r i t u a l s , 234 But what need i s there to f l o a t metal cups i n the twisting stream? 8 I taste a l l the d i f f e r e n t kinds of wine, with a l i t t l e I'm drunk; I s i t u n t i l the third watch, when i t ' s s t i l l not too l a t e to sleep. By chance Shang-ssu i s on the Day of Cold Pood, Yet the spring wind i s too stingy to l e t the peonies bloom. White-haired father and son t a l k In front of the lamp, Forgetting t h e i r long parting midst the r i v e r s and lakes. 6 Although the more Informal family r e l a t i o n s r e f l e c t e d i n Yang's poetry were being written about by poets such as Mei Yao-ch'en over a hundred years before Yang's time, 7 Yang's a t t i -tude toward children i s extremely o r i g i n a l . Tu Fu wrote about hi s children with great a f f e c t i o n , and even such a refined poet as L i Shang-yin wrote a poem "Bragging about my Son" %\ 8 However, Yang was the f i r s t poet who attempted to enter into the chil d ' s own world, an i n t e r e s t which was also shared by southern Sung painters, who painted a number of works on the following theme:9 Watching a Children's F e s t i v a l f o r Welcoming a God a Their flower caps are about an ounce heavy, b And t h e i r s i l k robes are l i k e water i n autumn. They try hard to walk, but they end up dawdling; 235 When they attempt singing elegantly, they just get bashful. A parrot rests on a l e e k - l i k e f i n g e r ; 0 While lotuses load a brocade boat. d Don't watch the l i t t l e children's f e s t i v a l For i t only makes an old man sadder. 1 0 Adults do not enter into Yang's description of the children's f e s t i v a l just as they are excluded from contemporary paintings of children's celebrations. Only i n the l a s t two l i n e s of the poem does the adult world intrude, and such nostalgia f o r l o s t youth i s c e r t a i n l y one of the reasons behind the southern Sung in t e r e s t i n children as l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c subjects. However, nostalgia i s not the only reason f o r such i n t e r e s t , f o r the loss of youth i s most l i k e l y a symbol of worldly corruption. In his "Poems on Returning to the F i e l d s " Jif l§ ffl 1 1 T'ao Ch'len states that o r i g i n a l l y he was free from corruption dur-ing his youth, but he became tainted by the dust of the world only a f t e r entering public service. Centuries before T'ao, the Tao-te Chlng had compared the perfect r u l e r to a baby, 1 2 and on the Confucian side, the Mencian doctrine of man's o r i g i n a l l y good nature suggests the purity of children compared to adults. Yang f e l t that children l i v e i n t h e i r own realm of " r e a l i t y " quite apart from the humdrum existence of the adult i n t e l l e c t u a l : Garden of Youth 236 When we were re s i d i n g at Rush Bridge, there was a square rock i n the garden which someone had dug out and f i l l e d with s o i l . My l i t t l e grandson planted flowers and vege-tables i n i t , and i n jest I named i t "Garden of Youth." a The backyard i n our residence i s hardly half a pace long; His garden Is made from swallow's mud, the wall from pebbles. One or two plants of lucky incense and day l i l y And three or four clumps of leek leaves and nasturtium sprouts. b The l i t t l e boy opens up his small Golden Valley V i l l a , 0 And a s n a i l chooses the s i t e to build another pearl palace. I wish I could go every day and play with the boy there, But I think only an ant could make i t through the path! 1 3 In adult terms the child's garden i s t o t a l l y I l l u s o r y , but f o r the c h i l d i t has a r e a l i t y which i s as v a l i d as the " r e a l i t y " of adult l i f e . Yang wishes that he could escape from the adult world of o f f i c i a l r e s p o n s a b i l l t i e s , but the gulf between c h i l d and adult cannot be bridged. In addition to the Confucian and Taoist elements present i n the previous poem, the present work can be interpreted to Include Ch'an concepts, too. To Yang, the child's world symbolizes a state i n which such " r a t i o n a l " concepts as space and time are eliminated and one i s free of the discursive thought which ie. an impediment to casting off the realm of dust. The seventeenth century wildcat Ch'an thinker L i Chih s i m i l a r l y i n s i s t s that one must return to his " c h i l d mind" i n order to gain freedom from the trammels of mundane l i f e . 1 4 Although L i Chih was also deeply influenced by Taolst thought, such an idea Is extremely s i m i l a r to the Mahayana Buddhist contention that i n a l l beings there exists an o r i g i n a l l y pure Buddha Nature ^\ » which only becomes d e f i l e d through desire and thought. Such an idea of o r i g i n a l purity from such emotions as sadness i s hinted at i n the second l i n e of a short poem Yang wrote while on a boat voyage: I Make Pun of a L i t t l e Boy On a boat i n the ra i n we f e e l so cooped up; Even a l i t t l e boy without sadness becomes sad. I've watched you s i t there sleeping, not once did you wake up, But when I t e l l you to go to bed, you just wag your head! 1 5 Although the poem lacks any of the philosophical pretensions of some of Yang's other verse on children, once again we ob-serve Yang's subtle understanding of a child's psychology, and the gentle humor of the poem gives further proof of the change i n r e l a t i o n s between adult and ch i l d i n l a t e T'ang and Sung times. In conclusion, we should say that Yang's poetry on the family displays the same interest i n everyday l i f e and con-sciousness of the seeming contradiction between the mundane and absolute that we f i n d throughout a l l of his verse. 239 1SPTK, T'ao Ch'ien fjjjj ^ , Chien Chu T'ao Yuan-ming Chi (abbreviated CCTYMC) ~| f l f|J ^ ^ i | , 3-37a. Translated i n J . R. Hightower, The Poetry of T'ao Ch'len. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1970, pp. 163-165-2SPTK, Tu Fuj£± j|j , Tu Kung Pu Shih (abbreviated TKPS) 1 ^ , 1-53a. 51-8b; 1 - 6 a ; 1 3 . a. A l l u s i o n to Tu Pu's poem; "Prom afar 1 pity my l i t t l e sons and daughters/ For they do not yet know enough to think of Ch'ang-an." See TP 295/6/4. At the time Tu Pu was i n Ch'ang-an. b. A l l u s i o n to Tu Pu's poem: "Neighboring people cover the w a l l ; / They sigh and also sob." See TP 52/8a/9. c. The word sheng Is quite c o l l o q u i a l and the phrase sheng-ch'leh very s i m i l a r to modern Mandarin sheng-p'a 434-317b/ 35-6b; 203. a. L i t e r a l l y , "the good f e s t i v a l of one hundred and f i v e , " so called because the Cold Pood F e s t i v a l f e l l on the one hundred and f i f t h day a f t e r the winter s o l s t i c e . According to ancient custom, people were not supposed to use f i r e to cook food on t h i s day. Hence the name Cold Pood F e s t i v a l . One of the major a c t i v i t i e s was to sweep the graves of deceased r e l a t i v e s , 240 b. A l l u s i o n to Tu Fu's poem: "I have been r i d i n g a mule f o r t h i r t y years." See TP 2/1/19. In l a t e r times a lame mule almost became a symbol f o r poets. C < ^ JKJ » o r 'rhinoceros vegetables' i s probably an error for^j* or 'rhinoceros comb.' Otherwise the reference to hair i n the previous l i n e would be d i f f i -c u l t to explain. Note Tu Mu's poem: "He f i r s t pre-sents heavenly horse brocade/ And then matches i t with water rhinoceros comb." See SPTK, Tu Mu j^L X^. , Fan Ch'uan Wen Chl ^ "J SL ^ , 1-21b. 516-145b; 17-1 b. 640-385b; 41-12b. a. A l l u s i o n to the Lan T'lng Chl Hsu & j | of Wang Hsl-chlh ^ ^ i n which Wang and his friends floated wine cups i n a small stream on the shang-ssu f e s t i v a l . 7SPTK, Mei Y a o - c h ' e n ^ ^ g_ , Wan-ling Hslen-sheng Chl ^ £ j£. ^ , 28-243b. Mel's poem "Drinking with my Wife at Night on the Boat" 4\ ^ ^ M iF$ ^ 4*L i s the e a r l i e s t Chinese poem which I know that suggests accompany-ing one's wife could be more stimulating than male companionship! 8SPTK, L i S h a n g - y l n ^ jj^, , L i Yi-shan Shih C h l i - ^ 9see Ku-kung Po-wu Yuan % ti§ Tp fV , Sung Jen Hua Ts'e (abbreviated SJHT) jjL A ^ , Peking, 1957. Plate no. 85 reproduces a children's f e s t i v a l s i m i l a r to the one Yang Wan-li describes. 1 0 2 5 - 2 3 8 b ; 2 7 - 1 2 b ; 156. a. The f e s t i v a l Yang witnessed took place i n Yfln-chou^-/I modern Kao ran ^ ^ of Kiangsi province, during the s i x t h month of the lunar calendar. There are frequent references to such children's f e s t i v a l s i n early collo-q u i a l novels. For example, see chapter s i x t y - f i v e of the Shui-hu Chuan. As i n modern times, the f e s t i v a l s were usually held around the New Year or" on the b i r t h -days of l o c a l d e i t i e s . They normally consisted of children's processions and performances of music and dancing. b. The chu was an ancient weight, twenty-four of which were equivalent to one Hang. Yang Is merely des-c r i b i n g the fineness with which the caps are made. c. Leek fingers are de l i c a t e f i n g e r s , thin l i k e the leek. The parrot i s probably some decoration carried by the children and not a r e a l parrot. d. The boats are not r e a l boats but f l o a t s i n the pro-cession with lotus flower decorations. CCTYMC, 2 - 1 5 b - 1 7 a . Translated i n Hightower, p. 5 0 - 5 6 . 242 12 SPTK, Lao-tzu Tao-te Chlng J & 1-8b. 1 ^ 20-1 89a; 22-4b; 1 41 . a. P'u Ch'lao or Rush Bridge was a bridge i n the c a p i t a l Hang-chou near to Yang's o f f i c i a l residence. At Yang's time i t no longer functioned as a bridge, because the stream under i t had dried up. b. Jui-hslang or lucky incense i s Daphne odora. hsuan-ts'ao Hemerocallls f l a v a , han Nasturtium. A l l these plants were popular with Sung landscape gardeners. c. Golden Valley V i l l a was the famous garden of the Chin dynasty multi-millionare, Shih Ch ung /fe d"? , who was noted f o r his extravagance and Cruelty. Chung Hua Shu Chu, Peking, 1961, pp. 97-99. 5 24-299a; 27-2b; 153. 243 b. The Scholar Poet's Place In Society In addition to describing the i n t e l l e c t u a l ' s personal re-l a t i o n s h i p with his family, Yang's poetry also supplies much in? formation about the scholar o f f i c i a l ' s day to day l i f e . When the scholar was not occupied with o f f i c i a l paperwork, he spent much of his time reading books, and Yang's attitude toward the a c t i v i t y of book learning i s closely related to h i s theories of poetic creation, which we have already discussed. Book learn-ing occupied an even higher position i n China than i t did i n any other culture, and the worship of the written word was no-thing new to Sung times. Yang himself f e l t that there was no a c t i v i t y more enjoyable than reading a book during the cold winter season: Gazing at Evening from Lichee H a l l (Second Poem of Three) My s i c k l y bones, emaciated by autumn, fear the evening, pure; A cool wind s t e a l t h i l y brings the north wind, l i g h t . To repel the cold the window frames are a l l pasted over double; a And I only l e t i n a few eyes of l i g h t next to my book.1 The widespread use of p r i n t i n g during the Sung dynasty allowed the Chinese to read even more than they had i n T'ang times, and the c u l t of the b i b l i o p h i l e became Increasingly popu-l a r by Sung times. Now the Chinese scholar became deeply i n -volved i n acquiring a large c o l l e c t i o n of books, paying p a r t i -cular attention to the quality of p r i n t i n g and r a r i t y of the e d i t i o n . Yang himself collected rare books during h i s youth and f u l l y appreciated the differences between good and bad ed i t i o n s : I Thank the Tea Secretary of Chien-chou Wu Te-hua D f o r Sending Me a New E d i t i o n of Su Tung-p'o Yellow gold, white jade-rings, bright moon pearls, Pure song, wonderful dances, and beauties who ru i n c i t i e s Other houses have them but my house doesn't; Like Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju a l l I have are four walls around me Besides them, I have a shelf of books, But they can't f i l l me up, they just f i l l the book-worms. An old f r i e n d sends Su Tung-p'o's works from afar, And my old books leave t h e i r seats and make way f o r them.d While a boy I was never lazy about playing around, But when anyone talked of reading books, I got up l a t e on purpose. My Dad got angry and scolded me f o r being such a lout, So I forced my hungry inte s t i n e s to devour worm-eaten pages. As I got older a l l my business f e l l behind others, And I casually used old books to screen my sick eyes. e When my sick eyes met with a book they suddenly went fuzzy Under my writing brush fly-head characters turned to old ravens.^ With such bad eyes what could I do with old - Library Home /
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The poetry of Yang Wan-Li Schmidt, Jerry Dean 1975
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| Title | The poetry of Yang Wan-Li |
| Creator |
Schmidt, Jerry Dean |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Date Issued | 1975 |
| Description | Yang Wan-li (1127-1206) is regarded by Chinese literary historians and critics as one of the three most outstanding shih poets of the twelfth century. The present study attempts to explore Yang Wan-li's unique contribution to Chinese literature largely by utilizing the tools of traditional Chinese literary criticism, rather than emphasizing European methodology as is the case with most studies on non-European literature done by Westerners. I begin with an extensive account of Yang Wan-li's life, paying particular attention to the influence that his political career had upon his literary works. However, the biography is not merely limited to a study of Yang's official life, for the very personal nature of his poetry allows us to explore the inner workings of his mind, and, in particular, the important role played by Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in determining his outlook on life and his attitudes toward literature. The next major section focuses on Yang's theory of literature and how his Ch'an background led him to view the writing of poetry as an intuitional process which results from sudden enlightenment. Such a theory caused him to reject thoughtless imitation of earlier poets and to advance the idea of natural, unadorned verse. The most concrete expression of Yang's theory of poetry is his "live method" (huo-fa). a poetic method which includes such elements as iconoclasm, illusionistic and paradoxical language, surprise and sudden enlightenment, humor, and extensive use of colloquial language. After this general discussion of Yang's literary theory and practice, I proceed to explore some of the major themes of Yang Wan-li's poetry, finding that a considerable body of his poetry is concerned with the Buddhist theme of illusion and reality. However, Yang's career as a Confucian bureaucrat also was of the utmost importance for his poetry, and he frequently describes his family and his general relationship with society. He is particularly original in his verse of social criticism and the life of the lower classes. However, the most common subject of Yang's literary creations is nature, a tendency which is consistent with the esthetic interests of both painters and poets of his period. Yang's nature poetry has great similarities to the visual art of his contemporaries', and the striking innovations in Yang's nature poetry are easily compared to contemporary changes in Chinese painting. Yang's landscape poetry, In particular, is found to be intimately connected with Ch'an Buddhist mysticism. His poetry on plants and animals, like the painting of the period, is in harmony with the scientific, analytical tendencies of the culture as a whole. I conclude with a study of Yang Wan-li's position in Chinese literature. The influences of earlier poets on his verse are analyzed and the traditional opinions concerning the evolution of his style are found to be erroneous. Yang's poetry is compared and contrasted with the work of the two most prominent shih poets of his period, Pan Ch'eng-ta and Lu Yu. Finally, I give a brief account of Yang Wan-li's influence on later poets and critics. |
| Genre |
Thesis/Dissertation |
| Type |
Text |
| Language | eng |
| Date Available | 2010-02-05 |
| Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
| DOI | 10.14288/1.0093625 |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/2429/19705 |
| Degree |
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD |
| Program |
Asian Studies |
| Affiliation |
Arts, Faculty of Asian Studies, Department of |
| Degree Grantor | University of British Columbia |
| Campus |
UBCV |
| Scholarly Level | Graduate |
| AggregatedSourceRepository | DSpace |
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