Confronted by restive non-Chinese tribes that gave rise to political and social problems in the north, the Tsin imperial court was forced to flee south to Nanking in 318. For more than 200 years, China was to be split. Alien dynasties dominated the north and native ones reigned in the south. This is the period of the Southcrn and Northern dynasties.
Continuing the mythmaking, romantic tradition of the Wei-Tsin period, the poets of the Southern and Northern dynasties had a natural bent toward aestheticism. They rejected the utilitarian and moral character of poetry and held that beauty was the highest ideal of poetic composition. Poetry became a conscious, cultivated art devoted to the creation of pure beauty.
The causes for the development of aestheticism in poetry during the Southern and Northern dynasties were numerous:
1. The encouragement of kings and aristocrats - The sovereigns of the four southern dynasties, though politically mediocre, were all great patrons of literature and the last ruler of the Ch'en dynasty was himself a poet of great talent. In their attempt to please the aristocracy, men of letters of that period consequently became estranged from the common people and society as a whole. They used sumptuous language in praise of natural beauty, the gracefulness of the fair sex, the grandness of royal parks and the easy life of the aristocrats. Their poetry was elegant, harmonious and colorful but also frivolous and artificial.
2. The clarification of the notion of literature - In ancient China, "literature" designated all intellectual activities and all types of writings, be they political, philosophical or any other. Under the Southern dynasty, the idea of literature became well defined and precise. Since then, literature has meant writings of an imaginative character as distinguished from the classics. The clarification of the notion of literature and the importance attached to pure literature constituted a phenomena of significance during the Southern and Northern dynasties. It was natural for poets to incline toward a cult of art.
3. The rise of the study of phonetics - It was in the Southern dynasty that the differentiation of four tones was established. This gave rise to new forms of poetry. The poets of the period sought artistic value as well as musical effects in poetry and so attached importance to rhyme-schemes and tone-patterns.
These new poetic forms were created:
1. Modified poems in ancient style - Poems in ancient style underwent changes. Previously, the same rhyme was used throughout a poem. In the Southern and Northern dynasties, the poet changed his rhymes as often as he wished so as to render his verses more lively, more harmonious and less monotonous.
2. The creation of poems of unequal length - The intermingling of verses of unequal length in a poem was no novelty. The Shih Ching, the Ch'u Poetry and the Han Yueh Fu poems already employed irregular meters. But in those cases, the employment of lines of unequal length was not deliberate. Premeditated verses of unequal length first made their appearance in the Southern dynasty. The most notable example was the Song of the South River. This type of song is composed of three seven-syllable lines followed by four three-syllable lines. The fourth line of three characters should be a repetition of the last three words of the preceding seven-character line. The same rhyme is used in the fifth line which rhymes with the seventh, the sixth being rhymeless.
3. The rise of short poems - Quatrains composed of five-syllable or seven-syllable lines existed as early as the Han dynasty. But it was under the Southern dynasty that they attained their highest degree of maturity. Following are two examples:
Since You Were Away
Since you were away.
I never lit incense in the golden burner.
Pining for you, I am like a burning candle
Consuming itself by fire at midnight.
Complaint
In the eve I let fall my pearl screen,
The fireflies now fly, now remain still.
During the lengthy night, while sewing a silk robe,
How I pine for you!
4. The gradual formation of regulated verse - Although the regulated verse was the poetic form of the Tang dynasty, it had already come into being during the Southern and Northern dynasties. A regulated poem is composed of eight lines of five syllables or of seven syllables with a fixed rhyme-scheme and tone-pattern. The third and fourth lines as well as the fifth and sixth lines should be of parallel construction. Rhyme occurs at the end of the even numbered lines and the same rhyme is used throughout the poem.
In the Wei-Tsin period, the people no longer turned to Confucianism for guidance and Taoism had a great vogue. The Southern and Northern dynasties continued the Taoist tradition. Consequently, nature worship had a strong influence on poetry. Political corruption and social disorder fostered escapism. This found its highest expression in the idyllic poetry of Tao Yuan-Mingo. However, T' ao did not depict nature as would a realistic landscapist but rather interpreted his own state of mind on viewing scenery. As for the objective description of natural beauty, it started with Hsieh Lin-yun of the Southern dynasty. A purely aesthetic poet, he is noted for his elegant language and minute descriptions.
The so-called poetry in court style is devoted to description of the fair sex. Elegant language, harmonious rhymes and audacious expression are resorted to so as to enhance the physical beauty of the woman or stress the erotic aspect of love.
From the southward flight of the Tsin imperial court to the reunification of China under the Sui dynasty, the Southern and Northern dynasties have always afforded a sharp contrast of both geographical factors and economic conditions. Chinese of the north moved always south. Non-Chinese tribes beyond the frontier moved into the interior of China, leading to long periods of struggle. Chinese civilization at first reeled under the heavy blow, then gradually assimilated the non-Chinese tribes and gave them Chinese culture. Under North Wei, Tartar kings adopted Chinese names, married Chinese girls and abandoned their own language and costumes. Yet in spite of the apparent unification of civilization and institutions, southerners and northerners remained mentally apart. The southerners were emotional and tended toward epicureanism. The northerners were vigorous and hard working. These differences are reflected in southern and northern folk songs.
In the south, material abundance and the well-being of the people made sentimentalism and epicureanism possible. Consequently, most southern folk songs deal with love and pleasure. The most representative songs of the south are divided into two kinds: the Song of Wu and the Melody of the West. The former is characterized by elegance and tenderness, the latter by passion and violence. Here are some specimens of the southern folk songs:
A hundred flowers are in bloom.
Thinking of spring,
Who can bear to sleep alone under the silk bed curtains?
Kill the ever crowing cock!
Shoot the black bird!
So there will be endless nights,
So the day will dawn only once a year.
In spring, in the second or third moon,
Grass and water are of the same color.
On my way I come across a dandy
And regret not having met him earlier.
Southern folk songs are tender, effeminate and individualistic. Those of the north are vigorous, virile and social. Here are some examples of the folk songs of the alien tribes:
The Song of Le Le
Over the Le Le stream
At the foot of Mount Ying,
The sky is like a tent
Covering the wilderness.
Blue, blue is the sky,
Vast, vast the wilderness.
The wind blows, the grass bows, and cows and sheep appear.
The sword I bought is five feet long,
It hangs from the central beam.
I fondle it thrice a day
More passionately than I would a maiden of fifteen.
Full of woe,
Fain would I be a horse whip of my beloved.
It will then be held in his arms
And be close to his knees.
From afar I stare at the Meng Tsin river,
Thereby willow boughs dance gracefully in luxuriance.
I am a barbarian youth,
Unable to sing the songs of Han.
The great landscapist Hsieh Lin-yun (385-433) bas his weak points. His poems are too elaborate and artificial. He likes to show off his erudition by using allusions. He has only good lines; as a whole his poems are far from perfect. He succeeds only in painting the outward appearance of landscape but not the spirit. The following two lines are taken from one of his poems:
Spring is born in the pond,
Willows have become singing birds.
We do not know the exact dates of Pao Chao, a native of Kiangsu province. He was poor in childhood and died in his prime. He was counselor of the Prince of Linhai. Involved in the latter's unsuccessful intrigues, he was killed by rebels. In the face of deception, he wrote a series of 18 poems entitled The Road Is Difficult which well reflects his state of mind:
See you not the grass by the river?
It withers in winter and covers the road in spring.
See you not the sun above the city?
It sets in the evening
But rises again in the morn.
When can I be likened to them,
I who shall forever disappear in the yellow fountain?
Sorrow surpasses joy in human existence,
Will-power belongs only to the prime of life.
How I wish to be successful
In order to have enough money to buy wine.
Merit, glory or immortality depend not upon me,
Life or death, nobility or humbleness are consigned to heaven.
In another of his poems, life is compared to plum flowers.
In the courtyard various plants abound,
But I grieve only for the plum tree.
"Wherefore?" I am asked.
Because it blooms in the frost,
Bears fruits in the dew,
Swings gracefully in spring wind and is pretty in the spring sun.
But myself, withering in the cold wind,
I cannot brave the frost.
Contemplating the Capital from the Three Mountains in the Sunset
The poems of Hsieh T'iao (464-499) are characterized by freshness and harmony. A great landscapist, he excels in weaving his own soul into nature.
From Pa Szu I contemplate Ch'ang An,
From the south I look toward the capital.
Embellished by the sun,
The pointed roofs appear to me ondule.
The red clouds spread themselves like pieces of embroideries,
The limpid river is smooth like white silk.
The spring islets are covered with twittering birds,
The parks are adorned with variegated flowers.
While setting out I was already reluctant,
Nostalgically I now think of the joyous feasting.
When is a reunion expected?
My tears fall like rain.
Fondly I turn my eyes to my native land,
Who can prevent his hair from turning gray?
Poetry in court style deals with the physical beauty of the woman. Here is a good example:
Siesta
Near the north window lies she against her pillow,
The sun is not yet slanting over the south eaves.
Reaching for the hooks, she lets fall the silk bed curtain,
Lifting lip the guitar, she arranges the bow.
Smiling in dream, her lovely face opens like a flower,
A blossom is crumpled by her hair.
The bamboo mat wrinkled her jade-like wrist,
Her fragrant perspiration soaks her red silk dress.
Being always in the company of her spouse,
May she not be taken for a courtesan.
The following is another poem of the same inspiration:
Elegant pavilions, high chambers, green woods.
A beauty with fresh make-up capable of overthrowing a city.
Dazzled by her glamour I hesitate to enter,
Smiling, she comes from behind the curtains to meet me.
The bewitching damsel's face is like a flower covered with dew,
A jade tree that gleams in the backyard is she.