The Cold Mountain Master Poetry Collection: Introduction (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Heterodox Buddhist Poetics of Hanshan Deqing.pdf
禪學, 2018
A distinctive feature of Chinese Buddhist literary theory was the development of the idea that non-Buddhist poetry can have religious value. Thisis commonly associated with the idea that the ‘pure and cool’ (清淨)scenes of some landscape/reclusive poems celebrated Buddhist eremitic ideals, and could even reflect the inner ‘coolness and purity’ of the enlightened author. However, especially in the late imperial period, less widely celebrated ways of understanding the Buddhist value of secular poems were proposed by monastic writers. Of these, the rubric advanced by the eminent late Ming cleric Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清) is particularly marked on account of itsstark contrast with more established conventions – he proposed that poems which depicted agitated emotions prompted by ‘steamy’ and defiled scenes were idealresourcesfor enlighteningBuddhist disciples. These ideas emerged after Hanshan was exiled to Lingnan (Guangdong), and were attributed to religious insights he developed as a result of this bitter experience – in particular, revelationsin relation to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. These ideas arguably exerted some influence on monastic writers – especially those who were similarly exposed to political violence as a result of the collapse of the Ming dynasty. Aiming foremost to contribute to a greater awareness of the diversity and sophistication of monastic discourses on the religious utility of poetry, this article discusses the formation and constitution, and tentatively explores the influence of, the post-exile writings on poetry-Chan of Hanshan Deqing. Its methodology issomewhat unconventional in that, in line with the approach to Hanshan’s thought of Sung-peng Hsu, it seeks to uncover both the doctrinal and experiential influencesthatshaped Hanshan’s unique approach to poetryChan. It begins by briefly discussing conventional ideas on the religious value of poetically depicting ‘pure and cool’ settings. It then discusses how, subsequent to Hanshan’s exile to the tropics ofsouthern Lingnan, he began to affirm the religious utility of poems which depict steamy, “hellish” settings, and analyzes how this transformation was related to Hanshan’s post-exile revelations regarding the Laṅkāvatāra. It explores, in particular, how the notions of “hell”, “dreamlike-ness” and “dream-speech” were drawn upon to construct new, Mind-only school-inspired theories on how genres such as frontier/exile poetry can be radically identified with Chan. The last section briefly exploresthe influence of Hanshan’s unorthodox emancipatory poetics in Qing dynasty southern Chinese monastic orders, and encourages further studies aimed at challenging the relatively narrow purview of conventional approachesto poetry-Chan
2. Uluslararası Dil ve Çeviribilim Kongresi, 2022
Reigned between 618 and 907, The Tang Dynasty had been a period of cultural and literary abundance in the history of China. The most important literary genre among other literary works of the time was poetry. The developments in literary remained under the control of the central government due to the military events, chaos and wars experienced in the periods before the establishment of the dynasty. After the collapse of the Tang dynasty, the development of Chinese poetry decreased since the emphasis was drawn to different literary genres. For this reason, Tang period has been a period of development, innovation, increment and enrichment in quality for Classical Chinese poetry. Thanks to the support given by the emperors and rulers to poetry, many schools were opened, and poets were trained. Taking part in the civil service, many poets and bureaucrats served at court. During the establishment and rise of the dynasty, the themes of Tang poems were livelier and more hopeful; The themes of the poems in the later Tang period, that was, during the period of collapse, were more gloomy, sad, and mournful. The philosophical meanings of the poems have turned into aphorisms in the next generations. This situation allows us to see how the frame of mind of the period was. Han Yu (韩愈) was one of the poets whose works had philosophical meanings. Han Yu was a famous thinker and writer who lived during the Tang Dynasty. He was among the most important intellectuals of China in the literary and philosophical field. His works had a significant impact on the literature and philosophy of his period and later. He produced works in the genres of prose, poetry, and criticism, and in these writings, he reflected the daily life and philosophy of his period. In an environment where Buddhism and Taoism were popular, he defended Confucian thought and reflected these thoughts in his literary works. Han Yu authored poems in distinctive styles, but the most well-known of these poems are the Seven Character Classical Poetry (七言古诗). In this system, there are seven characters in each line of the poems. The lengths of the poems vary according to the subject discussed. In this study, Han Yu‟s selected poem written in the style of Seven Character Classical Poetry was analyzed and the background of his philosophical views in this poem was examined.
For the Triratna and for Samyaksambodhi The Quasi Poetry of Tianran Hanshi.pdf
불교연구, 2018
This article discusses the eminent early Qing monastic leader Tianran Hanshi's 天然函昰 concept of “quasi poetry” 似詩, its relationship with contemporary debates on the relationship between Chan and poetry, and its impact on poetic ideas and practices in Buddhist monasteries in southern China. It begins by addressing how a shift in gentry-monastic relations in the late Ming / early Qing prompted some monastic writers, such as the renowned late Ming reformer Hanshan Deqing 山德清, to articulate a more radical identification of Chan with poetry. The article then introduces Tianran and the core principles he associated with his concept of “quasi poetry”, focusing on the ways in which this concept constituted an alternative – and possibly an implicit critique – of the radical identity theory. The third section shows examples of the application of Tianran’s “quasi poetry”, focusing on a response poem Tianran composed for the lay disciple Xie Jiu 謝揪. This is followed by a discussion on quasi poetry’s application and impact in and beyond Tianran’s Haiyun school. In a brief afterword I discuss how this concept was associated with new modes of literary interaction between gentry and clerical interlocutors that formed in the late Ming / early Qing period..
Of Monasteries and Monks: Mainstream Sinitic Buddhism in the Poetry of Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn
Acta Koreana 24, no. 1, 2021
Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn is one of the most important Confucian figures in early Korean history. After passing the civil service examination in Tang 唐 China in 874 and enjoying a successful career in Tang – gaining fame for his literary skills during the Huang Chao 黃巢 rebellion – he returned to Silla 新羅 in 885. Unable to make a mark in highly stratified Silla 新羅society due to his birth status, he retired to the countryside and spent the remainder of his life with monks in such famous mountain complexes as Haein Monastery 海印寺. His regulated verse poems (hansi 漢詩) preserved in his Plowing a Cassia Garden with a Writing Brush (Kyewŏn p’ilgyŏng 桂苑筆耕), which contains his early writings in Tang and the oldest extant collected works by a Korean, and the Anthology of Refined Korean Literature (Tongmunsŏn 東文選, compiled in 1478), are among the oldest extant poems from the late Silla period. Ch’oe’s “four mountain stele inscriptions” (sasan pimun 四山碑文) are key evidence of his positive evaluation of Buddhism, particularly the Sŏn 禪 Buddhist tradition. His poems on Buddhist monasteries and monks demonstrate personal ties to and a sympathetic attitude toward mainstream Sinitic Buddhism. These poems may best demonstrate the socio-religious predilections of an average to above-average scholar of the Tang Empire – not to mention the kingdom of Silla. His genre poetry on visiting monasteries not only shows a sensitivity to the poetic conventions of the time but also provides evidence of the broad influence of mainstream Sinitic Buddhism in his life, including the popular cult venerating Avalokiteśvara, increasingly in a demure female form, and the doctrines and lore of the Hwaŏm 華嚴 (Ch. Huayan) tradition.