The Rules of Poetry

王昌龄Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJul 2024

3.8

Word count: 13K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Traditionally attributed to Wang Changling of the Tang dynasty. Wang Changling, courtesy name Shaobo, was a native of Wannian in Jingzhao (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi). In the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (727), he passed the imperial examination as a jinshi and was appointed Defender of Sishui. In the nineteenth year he passed the erudite and macro-word examination and was promoted to Collator. In the twenty-sixth year he was banished to Lingnan, and the following year was pardoned and returned north. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742) he was sent out as Assistant Magistrate of Jiangning, and in the seventh year was demoted to Defender of Longbiao. When the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, Wang Changling took refuge in the Jianghuai region and was killed by Lüqiu Xiao, prefect of Bozhou. Wang Changling enjoyed a high poetic reputation during his lifetime and was called "Wang Jiangning, the Poet Emperor." This book was long lost; the extant text can be roughly divided into three parts: first, the portion cited in the Bunkyō hifuron, which should come from Wang; second, the Wang Changling Poetry Form collected in volumes four and five of the Yinchuang zalu, which inevitably mixes genuine and spurious material; third, the content in volume six of the Yinchuang zalu titled Secret Essentials in Poetry, which was pieced together by a shallow person from miscellaneous excerpts of Yuan Jing's Poetic Marrow, Cui Rong's Newly Established Poetic Forms of the Tang Dynasty, and Jiaoran's Poetic Discussions and Poetic Modes, and for the most part is not Wang's discourse on literature. A compiled edition is Zhang Bowei's Critical Examination of Poetic Forms of the Entire Tang and Five Dynasties, Shaanxi People's Education Press, 1996 edition.

Editor's review

Poetry Form (Shi Ge), traditionally attributed to Wang Changling of the Tang dynasty, is important material for understanding Tang works on poetic form and the concepts of regulated verse. According to the source material, the book was long lost, and the extant content falls roughly into three parts: the portion cited in the Bunkyō hifuron should come from Wang; the Wang Changling Poetry Form collected in the Yinchuang zalu mixes genuine and spurious material; and the content titled Secret Essentials in Poetry was pieced together from miscellaneous excerpts of works by Yuan Jing, Cui Rong, Jiaoran, and others, and for the most part is not Wang's language. Thus the book's value for reading lies half in its content on poetics and half in textual discernment: readers can both encounter the basic appearance of Tang discussions of poetic form concerning tonal patterns, structural force, and conception, and see a typical case of genuine and spurious material mixing during the transmission of ancient books. The edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company is convenient for general reading; for specialized research, one may consult the compiled and collated results in Zhang Bowei's Critical Examination of Poetic Forms of the Entire Tang and Five Dynasties. When reading, one should maintain an awareness of editions and not take everything in the book directly as Wang Changling's poetics.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Tang works on poetic form, poetics documents, and regulated verse poetics
Students of classical literature and enthusiasts who need to understand works on poetic form
Researchers interested in the Bunkyō hifuron and the transmission of Tang poetics
Advanced readers who can accept textual discernment and are willing to read against compiled and collated editions

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for a complete and reliable collection of Wang Changling's poetics
Beginners lacking a foundation in classical Chinese who need line-by-line vernacular explanation
Readers who only want to appreciate Wang Changling's poetry and are not interested in documents on poetics

Reading tips

First read the source notes and distinguish the three parts—the citations in the Bunkyō hifuron, the material in the Yinchuang zalu, and Secret Essentials in Poetry—then treat them separately.
Compare the poetics in the book with the relevant passages of the Bunkyō hifuron, noting which content can be attributed to Wang.
For research, use it together with Zhang Bowei's Critical Examination of Poetic Forms of the Entire Tang and Five Dynasties, checking authenticity and sources item by item.
There is no need to finish it in one sitting; you can excerpt by themes such as tonal patterns, structural force, and conception, making your own research cards.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
序
卷上
调声
十七势
六义
论文意
诗有三境
诗有三思
诗有三不
起首入兴体十四
常用体十四
落句体七
诗有三宗旨
诗有五趣向
诗有语势三
势对例五
诗有六式
诗有六贵例
诗有五用例
卷下
诗有六病例
句有三例
诗有二格
犯病八格
诗有九格
诗有三得
诗有六义

FAQ

Is Poetry Form really all written by Wang Changling?

It cannot be said uniformly. According to the source material, the extant content falls into three parts: the portion cited in the Bunkyō hifuron should come from Wang; the Wang Changling Poetry Form collected in the Yinchuang zalu mixes genuine and spurious material; and the content titled Secret Essentials in Poetry was pieced together from miscellaneous excerpts of works by Yuan Jing, Cui Rong, Jiaoran, and others, and for the most part is not Wang's discourse on literature. Discernment is needed when reading.

Which compiled edition should I consult for research on this book?

The source material mentions the compiled edition Critical Examination of Poetic Forms of the Entire Tang and Five Dynasties by Zhang Bowei, Shaanxi People's Education Press, 1996 edition. For specialized research, one can use it to check the sources and authenticity of the entries; the edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company is suitable for general reading and should not be used directly as a reliable base text.

What is the relationship between Secret Essentials in Poetry and Poetry Form?

According to the source material, Secret Essentials in Poetry appears in volume six of the Yinchuang zalu and is attributed to Wang Changling, but its content was pieced together by a shallow person from miscellaneous excerpts of Yuan Jing's Poetic Marrow, Cui Rong's Newly Established Poetic Forms of the Tang Dynasty, and Jiaoran's Poetic Discussions and Poetic Modes, and for the most part is not Wang's discourse on literature. It can be read alongside Poetry Form but should not be treated as equivalent.

Can I read this book without a foundation in textual scholarship?

You can read it, but you need to adjust your expectations: first treat the book as material for understanding the appearance of Tang poetic form, and when encountering questions of authenticity, do not force a judgment—mark doubtful places for now; if you want to go deeper, then supplement with relevant explanations from the Bunkyō hifuron and Zhang Bowei's compiled edition. Readers who rely entirely on vernacular explanation are not well suited to it.

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About the author

王昌龄 Author

Wang Changling is a renowned poet in ancient China. Reliable public sources differ on his birthplace and the exact years of his birth and death, and the available information is limited, so these details cannot be described in full. The library currently holds nine of his works, including "Going beyond the Frontier," "Army Life," "Ancient Sentiments," "Seeing Off My Fifteenth Maternal Uncle," as well as The Complete Works of Wang Changling, The Collected Works of Wang Changling, The Rules of Poetry, and "Enjoying the Moon by the Eastern Stream." These works show that he excelled in frontier poetry and farewell verse, often dealing with garrison warfare, parting feelings, and personal reflections. His language is concise, his imagery broad, and his emotion sincere, giving his poetry a distinctive place in the classical tradition. "Going beyond the Frontier" and "Army Life" have long been regarded as important representatives of frontier poetry and have had a lasting influence, while The Rules of Poetry reflects his thinking on poetic creation. Because sources are limited, his biographical details are not elaborated here; readers may come to know his artistic style through his works.