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Abstract

Chinese historical traditions view “rhyme” (yao謠), a form of anonymous short verses, as songs originating with the common people and collected by elites. These anonymous songs and verses serve as authoritative narrative rhetorical devices in Chinese historical writings. Yet there have not been many studies on how historians and political elites construct the political functions of folk rhymes within historical traditions. This thesis examines the role of folk rhymes in early medieval historical writings as mediating Heaven, the common people, and the ruling authorities in Chinese historical traditions. This thesis conducts a close reading of folk rhymes of the Sun-Wu 孫吳 regime (222-280) that focuses on sonic features, allusions, word use, emotions, and the prophetic meanings some of the rhymes contain, with attention to the political context of these rhymes in historical writings. This thesis aims to bring us closer to understanding the relationship among political authority, collective emotions, and the ideology of the Heavenly Mandate (tianming天命) in early medieval Chinese society by examining these short, anonymous rhymes in historical writings.