From The Serenity Dwelling Collection to The Tea Smoke Pavilion Collection: A New Discussion on the Guiding Principle behind Zhu Yizun's Object-Depicting Lyrics

Abstract

The Lyric Collection on Objects of the Tea Smoke Pavilion is an anthology that Zhu Yizun compiled in his later years by carefully selecting object-depicting lyrics he composed throughout his life. Approximately 70 percent of the works were created before he participated in the imperial examination in 1679. This indicates that this anthology does not fully reflect the characteristics of the lyrics he penned in his later years. The collection title “Tea Smoke Pavilion,” as revealed in The Lyric Collection of the Serenity Dwelling, reflects the poet’s distinctive approach to expressing emotions through depicting objects. A detailed examination of Zhu’s works from the perspectives of textual structure, language, tone pattern and rhyming demonstrates that Zhu has consistently adhered to the same guiding principle when composing object-depicting lyrics. He has elevated the technique of “objectification,” pioneered by the poets of the Southern Song Dynasty to a new realm, crafting a unique beauty in object-depicting lyrics, which is different from the beauty of Song lyrics. His success is rooted in his emotional experiences depicted in The Serenity Dwelling Collection. His relentless exploration in artistic forms has provided a source of inspiration for scholars of later generations to explore how to convey personal sentiments. It also offers an opportunity to reflect on the merits and demerits regarding the development of object-depicting lyrics during the Qing Dynasty.

Keywords

The Lyric Collection on Objects of the Tea Smoke Pavilion / Serenity Dwelling / expressing emotions through depicting objects / objectification / conveying personal sentiments

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2024 Higher Education Press