Imitations of the Self : : Jiang Yan and Chinese Poetics / / by Nicholas Morrow Williams.

• Superior document: Sinica Leidensia ; v. 118
• Author: Williams, Nicholas Morrow.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2015]
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Sinica Leidensia 118.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (312 pages).
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Imitations of the Self reevaluates the poetry of Jiang Yan (444–505), long underappreciated because of its pervasive reliance on allusion, by emphasizing the self-conscious artistry of imitation. In context of “imitation poetry,” the popular genre of the Six Dynasties era, Jiang’s work can be seen as the culmination of central trends in Six Dynasties poetry. His own life experiences are encoded in his poetry through an array of literary impersonations, reframed in traditional literary forms that imbue them with renewed significance. A close reading of Jiang Yan’s poetry demonstrates the need to apply models of interpretation to Chinese poetry that do justice to the multiplicity of authorial self-representation.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction—The Double Voice -- 1 A Brocade of Words: Theories of Poetic Imitation -- 2 The Reciprocal Origins of Pentasyllabic Verse and of Imitation Poetry -- 3 Impersonation and the Art of Authorship -- 4 Echoing through the Rafters: The Afterlife of Jian’an -- 5 Self-Portrait as Sea Anemone, and Other Impersonations of Jiang Yan -- 6 Jiang Yan’s Allusive and Illusive Journeys -- 7 Pathways in Obscurity: Jiang Yan and Ruan Ji -- Appendix: Jiang Yan’s Poems in Diverse Forms -- Works Cited -- Index.