No More Learning

_Liang and Minor Dynasties. _--This period is known as that of the
"Northern and Southern Courts. " The north of China was in the hands of
the Tungusie Tartars, who founded the Northern Wei dynasty--a name
particularly familiar, since it is the habit of European collectors to
attribute to this dynasty any sculpture which they believe to be earlier
than T'ang. Little poetry was produced in the conquered provinces; the
Tartar emperors, though they patronized Buddhist art, were incapable of
promoting literature. But at Nanking a series of emperors ruled, most of
whom distinguished themselves either in painting or poetry. The Chinese
have always (and rightly) despised the literature of this period, which
is "all flowers and moonlight. " A few individual writers, such as Pao
Chao, stand out as exceptions. The Emperor Yuan-ti--who hacked his way
to the throne by murdering all other claimants, including his own
brother--is typical of the period both as a man and as a poet. A
specimen of his sentimental poetry will be found on p. 90. When at last
forced to abdicate, he heaped together 200,000 books and pictures; and,
setting fire to them, exclaimed: "The culture of the Liang dynasty
perishes with me. "

_T'ang. _--I have already described the technical developments of poetry
during this dynasty. Form was at this time valued far above content.
"Poetry," says a critic, "should draw its materials from the Han and Wei
dynasties.
" With the exception of a few reformers, writers contented
themselves with clothing old themes in new forms. The extent to which
this is true can of course only be realized by one thoroughly familiar
with the earlier poetry.

In the main, T'ang confines itself to a narrow range of stock subjects.
The _mise-en-scene_ is borrowed from earlier times. If a battle-poem be
written, it deals with the campaigns of the Han dynasty, not with
contemporary events. The "deserted concubines" of conventional
love-poetry are those of the Han Court. Innumerable poems record
"Reflections on Visiting a Ruin," or on "The Site of an Old City," etc.
The details are ingeniously varied, but the sentiments are in each case
identical. Another feature is the excessive use of historical allusions.
This is usually not apparent in rhymed translations, which evade such
references by the substitution of generalities. Poetry became the medium
not for the expression of a poet's emotions, but for the display of his
classical attainments. The great Li Po is no exception to this rule.
Often where his translators would make us suppose he is expressing a
fancy of his own, he is in reality skilfully utilizing some poem by T'ao
Ch'ien or Hsieh Ti'ao. It is for his versification that he is admired,
and with justice. He represents a reaction against the formal prosody of
his immediate predecessors. It was in the irregular song-metres of his
_ku-shih_ that he excelled.