by Chen Jack W
the participants. (Zhao Shuai’s role here seems almost intended for the
benefit of the reader of the chronicle, since the actors all understand what
is going on.) As Steven Van Zoeren points out, while the poems as com-
plete works may not match the situation exactly, they are recited for the
sake of a single line (“to help the Son of Heaven”) which is then under-
stood as the intent by the listener.6 In fact, there is little importance at-
tached to understanding the poem as a whole. What the listener must
catch is the motivation behind the selection of the poem, something that
may emerge in a single line or a cluster of imagery.
Underlying
the
Zuo zhuan episode is the question of zhi 志, a term
that Stephen Owen renders as “what is intently on the mind.”7 Though
the term zhi can also mean “aims” or “ambitions” in other, more overtly
political contexts, it becomes part of literary discourse with a speech given
by Shun and recorded in the “Canon of Yao.” Shun states, “The lyrics of
the song speak of that which is intently on the mind; the singing with
music prolongs (or “chants”) the words; the sound depends on the pro-
longing (or “chanting”); and the pitch-pipes harmonize the sound.” 詩言
志，歌永言，聲依永，律和聲.8 Shi (“song lyrics” in this context) is
—————
5. See Zuo zhuan, Duke Xi, 23rd year / Chunqiu Zuo zhuan zhu, pp. 410–11. For a translation of the whole episode, see Watson, trans., Tso Chuan, p. 44.
6. See Van Zoeren, Poetry and Personality, pp. 39–44.
7. For a discussion of this term and its translation, see Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, pp. 40–41.
8. In “Canon of Yao,” Shang shu zhengyi, 3.19c, in Shisanjing zhushu, p. 131. Again, for Taizong, this would have been found in the “Old Text” subdivision of the “Canon of Shun.”
On the formula shi yan zhi, see Zhu Ziqing, “Shi yan zhi bian,” in Zhu Ziqing gudian wen-This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Sat, 20 Jul 2019 13:01:41 UTC
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The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
109
defined in this passage as the articulation of a mental preoccupation, the
exterior manifestation of an interior state. The passage then goes on to de-
scribe the metonymic concatenations that relate zhi to words, words to
musical song, song to sound, and finally, sound to pitch pipe. Nowhere in
the passage is there any suggestion that the translation from one state to
another may meet with difficulties or loss of meaning; the “Canon of
Yao” views the communication of the interior state as perfectly effective
and utterly transparent.
As influential as the record of Shun’s speech may have been, it says noth-
ing about the necessity or motivation for using poetic language within the
sociopolitical realm. It is precisely this point that is taken up in the follow-
ing quotation attributed to Confucius and recorded in Zuo zhuan:
Confucius said, “There is a record that says: ‘Words are used to supplement aims;
patterning is used to supplement words.’ If one does not speak, then who will
know what is on the mind? And if one speaks but the words lack patterning, the
words may go forth but will not go far.”
仲尼曰：“志有之，言以足志，文以足言，不言誰知其志？言之無
文，行而不遠。9
At first glance, this statement seems merely to expand upon the discussion
of the terms yan 言 and zhi 志, though instead of the term shi, we find the term wen 文, or “patterning.” Wen is one of the most semantically complex terms in the Chinese language, meaning also “refined,” “civil” (as op-
posed to “military”), “writing,” and not least of all, “literature.”10 By stat-
ing that language must be patterned “to go far” seems to be a statement
about the efficacy of literary language, though, where the prior example
from “Canon of Yao” speaks with simple confidence of the translation
from mental interiority to linguistic exteriority, the Zuo zhuan statement
betrays an anxiety over the possibility of failure. It describes the condi-
tions for communicative success: the words ( yan) have to be adequate to
the mental intention ( zhi), and the patterning ( wen) of the words has to be adequate to the words. If the condition of speech is not fulfilled, then
the thought will not be known; if the condition of patterning is not ful-
—————
xue lunwenji, vol. 1, pp. 183–355; Chow Tse-tsung, “Early History of the Chinese Word Shih (Poetry),” pp. 151–210; and Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, pp. 26–27.
9. See Zuo zhuan, Duke Xiang 襄公, 25th year / Chunqiu Zuo zhuan zhu, p. 1106.
10. See Luo Genze, Zhongguo wenxue piping shi, pp. 45–67, 81–89.
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The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
filled, then the language will not be efficacious. The zhi, which had so easily found its way into poetic form, is now subject to strict rules. This
speaks to the role of “patterned language,” as if the component of wen
were suddenly understood as a critical element in social interactions.
The Mao “Great Preface”
The orthodoxy of shi poetry derives from the accumulation of these early
hermeneutic statements, and once they were reformulated in the “Great
Preface” 大序, a work sometimes attributed to Wei Hong 衛宏 (fl. ca. ad
25), poetry would become inextricable from the concerns of moral sover-
eignty.11 The opening passage of the “Great Preface” reads:
“Guan ju” [“Fishhawks Cry”] is the virtue of the queen and the beginning of the
Feng. Through it, the world is influenced and [the relationship between] husband and wife is rectified. Thus it is used among rural folk and it is used in the
royal domain and outlying regions. “Feng” means “to influence,” which is “to
teach.” Through feng it moves them; by teaching it transforms them.
《關雎》，后妃之德也，風之始也，所以風天下而正夫婦也。故用之
鄉人焉，用之邦國焉。風，風也，教也。風以動之，教以化之。12
The poem sings the praises of the moral rectitude of the queen, and as a
text that circulates throughout the empire, it influences ( feng 風, meaning
also “wind”) the people. In this way, the customs of the people (also feng
風) are rectified. This is an interpretation of poetry that demonstrates
just how efficacious the patterning of language can be. Through the dis-
semination of poetry, the sovereign’s influence moves vertically from su-
perior to inferior, and horizontally throughout the space of empire.
What follows is the Mao Commentary’s definition of poetry. As one
may see from the disjunctions in topic and subject matter, this is a text ei-
ther composed of different strata or organized according to specific exege-
ses (instead of as a continuous argument).13 Though the turn from the
discussion of the first poem, “Fishhawks Cry,” to the more general discus-
—————
11. On the composition of the “Gr
eat Preface,” see Van Zoeren, Poetry and Personality, pp.
80–95.
12 . Mao Shi zhengyi, 1.1.3, in Shisanjing zhushu, p. 271.
13. Van Zoeren, Poetry and Personality, pp. 97–98.
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The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
111
sion of poetry is somewhat sudden, there are still clear thematic continui-
ties. The preface reads,
Poetry is that to which what is intently on the mind goes. In the mind, it is intent thought; released as words, it is poetry. Feelings stir within and are formed as words. If one speaks them as words but this is not enough, then one expresses
them as sighs. If one expresses them as sighs but this is not enough, then one sings them in songs. If one sings them but this is not enough, then one unknowingly
taps one’s hands and stamps one’s feet. Feelings are released as sounds, and when
sounds become patterned, then one calls them “tones.” The tones of an ordered
world are peaceful and happy; its government is harmonious. The tones of a cha-
otic world are resentful and angry; its government is perverse. The tones of a lost
state are lamenting and full of longing; its people are in dire straits. Thus, in rectifying success and failure, moving Heaven and Earth, stirring ghosts and spirits,
nothing approaches poetry. The king uses this to regulate husband and wife, to
perfect filiality and respect, to strengthen human bonds, to beautify moral teach-
ings and transformations, and to change the customs and folkways.
詩者，志之所之也。在心為志，發言為詩。情動於中而形於言，言之
不足故嗟歎之，嗟歎之不足故永歌之，永歌之不足，不知手之舞之足
之蹈之也。情發於聲，聲成文謂之音。治世之音安以樂，其政和。亂
世之音怨以怒，其政乖。亡國之音哀以思，其民困。故正得失，動天
地，感鬼神，莫近於詩。先王以是經夫婦，成孝敬，厚人倫，美教
化，移風俗。14
This is the single most important statement on poetry in the Chinese lit-
erary tradition. It builds upon the earlier statements in the “Yao dian” and
Zuo zhuan, but it has invested the hermeneutics of character with the
ideology of imperial rulership. Moreover, the emphasis on sovereignty al-
so brings together the themes of kinship, structure, and the body.
The passage begins with the definition of poetry. As Stephen Owen
points out, this reformulation of the “Yao dian” definition cannot be ig-
nored. Owen writes that whereas the “Yao dian” defines poetry as the act
of speaking what is on the mind, the “Great Preface” definition conceives
of poetry as “a spatialization of poetic process in conformity to the fully
—————
14. Mao Shi zhengyi, 1.1.1c–2c, in Shisanjing zhushu, p. 271. See also Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, pp. 40–45; Van Zoeren, Poetry and Personality, pp. 95–96; and Saussy, Problem of a Chinese Aesthetic, pp. 75–79. Saussy provides translations for both the Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) and Kong Yingda 孔穎達 (574–648) subcommentaries to
the “Great Preface.”
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112
The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
established paradigm of ‘inner’ ( nei 內) and ‘outer’ ( wai 外).” He goes on to say that, “This becomes the ground of the psychology of poetic theory
and links the movement in the production of the poem to the ‘extensive’
aspect of communication in shih.”15 That is to say, the “Great Preface” de-
fines poetry not simply as the act of speaking one’s zhi, but as the measur-
ing of the movement of the zhi from inside to outside. This is a somewhat
abstract and awkward way of defining poetry, as it is no longer a thing or
act, but the accounting of the spatial difference between the origin (the
xin, that is, mind) and the vector’s end point (the shi, or poem).
Once the spatial relationship between the mind and the poem is estab-
lished, the “Da xu” introduces a somatic account of the poetic process.
When one’s feelings ( qing 情) are disturbed, then they are given external
form as words. However, if words are not enough to give full expression
to the feelings, then one turns to sighing, and then to singing. Finally,
one’s hands tap and feet stamp, as the feelings find their outermost and
most intense somatic expression. The body cannot control this process,
since the feelings must reach full expression in some way. This is an en-
tirely different account of poetry. It is not the mind ( xin), or what the mind intently holds ( zhi), that is relevant here. Rather, this seems to be a description of the body as a mechanism for emotional release. Language,
song, sighs, and unconscious body movements are all vehicles for the re-
lease of emotions from their interior state. There is no real difference of
kind between the expressive forms—they are merely increasingly intense
manifestations of the same interior disturbance.
After this, the preface turns to classical music theory. It once more
takes up the expression of feelings, but the preface now names the out-
ward manifestation as sounds ( sheng 聲), and if patterned ( wen), as tones ( yin 音). The passage asserts a political hermeneutics of such tones: joyful tones reveal an origin in a well-ordered state; angry tones reveal an origin
in a disordered state; and sad tones reveal an origin in a destroyed state. It
is worth bearing in mind that poetry and music are inextricable at this
early point, especially as the section of the Classic of Poetry under discussion by the “Great Preface,” the guofeng 國風 (“Airs of the State”), con-
sisted almost certainly of musical pieces.
—————
15. Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, pp. 40–41.
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The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
113
Within
the
Zuo zhuan, we already see the relationship of the aesthetic
and the political. Noble Scion Zha of Wu 吳公子札 visited Duke Xiang
in Lu, a state that was held to be the custodian of musical and ritual cor-
rectness (being the home state of Confucius). The music of the various
states was performed for Zha, and following each selection, he com-
mented as to the fortunes of the state. For example, the songs of the state
of Zheng 鄭 were performed. Zha said, “Ah, beautiful! But the intricacies
are excessive. The people cannot bear it. Thus it will be the first to be de-
stroyed!” 美哉！其細已甚！民弗堪也，是其先亡乎.16 Music is the
translation of government into expressive form, since it has the power to
make manifest the historical circumstances of composition. Because
Zheng was a state on the brink of destruction when the songs were com-
posed, the immorality of its government takes form as the excessive or-
namentation of its music. The skillful listener—the prototype for the zhi-
yin 知音 (“the one who kn
ows the tone”)—hears beyond the musical
form to the historical situation.
This is an important extension of the orthodox hermeneutics of in-
teriority. Whereas the “Yao dian” and Confucius quotation in the Zuo
zhuan had conceived of the interior as a mental circumstance, what
someone was intently thinking or feeling, the tone will tell of the fate of
an entire state. What lies behind the poem is merely an individual’s life,
but what underlies the tone is the broad narrative of a people and their
government. In part, this is because of the importance of music in state
rituals, as well as the belief that music could transform the people through
the power of harmony ( he 和). To the Han thinker, music was seen as
possessing the supreme power of uniting seemingly separate bodies. This
will become even more prominent in the Eastern Han. As Kenneth De-
Woskin points out, two prominent Eastern Han thinkers define the sage
( sheng 聖) as “sound” ( sheng 聲): Ban Gu in the Baihu tong 白虎通
( Comprehensive Discussions of White Tiger Hall) and Ying Shao 應邵 (ca .
—————
16. See Zuo zhuan, Duke Xiang, 29th year / Chunqiu Zuo zhuan zhu, p. 1162–64. Ji Zha 季
札 was Prince of Wu 吳, and when he visited the state of Lu 魯, he requested to have the classical music of the Zhou states performed for his inspection. His comments on each of the performances correlate the cultural production of a state with its political health. In particular, Ji Zha notes that the music of Zheng 鄭 and Chen 陳 reveals how the two states are doomed. Also see the translation and extensive discussion in David Schaberg, A Patterned Past, pp. 86–95; and the discussion in DeWoskin, A Song for One or Two, pp. 22–24.
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The Reception of Literature in Tang Taizong’s Court
ad 140–ca . 206) in the Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義 ( Comprehensive Understanding of Popular Customs). Both Ban Gu and Ying Shao understand
the sage as one who knows how to connect the sound of things with their
true essence. A third, Xu Shen 許慎 (ca. ad 55–ca. 149), gives the defini-
tion of sage as tong 通 (“to connect”). DeWoskin notes that this may have
