“Gentle Maiden, Pure and Fair”: Tradition and Innovation in Song Hymn Genre by the Example of “Hymn to the Tulip” by Zuo Feng (252-300)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the features of the poetics of the song hymn genre in the works of Zuo Fen (252-300) using the example of the “Hymn to the Tulip”. The scientific novelty is due to the fact that for the first time in Russian Sinology, we have performed an interlinear translation of Zuo Fen’s “Hymn to the Tulip” and carried out its literary analysis. Zuo Fen is one of the most prominent poetesses of early medieval China, who, thanks to her talent, managed to successfully “build a career” as a court writer. Like the vast majority of Zuo Fen’s poems, her song hymns are dedicated exclusively to women, which is a new development in this traditional genre. The article presents the characteristics of the song genre from the point of view of traditional Chinese poetics, a brief overview of the genre development, and also provides a detailed analysis of the “Hymn to the Tulip” by Zuo Fen. “Hymn to the Tulip” is carefully analysed in the context of the previous tradition, in particular by comparing it with “Hymn to the Tangerine Tree” by Qu Yuan - the first author’s work in this genre. The article studies in detail the imagery of “Hymn to the Tulip”, its lexical and stylistic features. The following results have been obtained: Zuo Fen creatively interpreted the tradition filling the song genre with new images and endowing it with the didactic function while continuing the tradition of the “Book of Songs” as well as “Chu stanzas” by Qu Yuan (339-278 BC).

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: October 27, 2022.
• Published: December 30, 2022.

Keywords

• классическая китайская поэзия
• женская поэзия
• эпоха Шести династий
• жанр «сун»
• Цзо Фэнь
• classical Chinese poetry
• women’s poetry
• era of the Six Dynasties
• song genre
• Zuo Fen

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