Chinese Poet Du Fu

Syllabus

This course presents a one-week introduction to the Chinese poet Du Fu. The course will open with a short summary of Du Fu's place in the history of Chinese poetry, the growth of his reputation, and the constitution of his corpus during the Song dynasty (960-1279). We will then proceed to consider the major features of Du Fu's verse, using Yoshikawa Kojiro's notions concerning Du Fu's "minuteness" and "transcendence." We will also consider the issue of the origins of Du Fu's poetic diction. Representative poems that highlight these issues have been selected for close reading on April 16-17.

The course will then proceed to consider Du Fu's construction of larger metaphorical systems and allegorical structures. Readings will focus on Du Fu's poems on paintings of hawks (April 18) and on horses (April 19). The course will conclude on April 20 with a consideration of "Autumn Incitations", a set of eight regulated verse poems, generally considered to be Du Fu's masterpiece.

The class will read as many of the poems as time permits. The editions and translated listed below are for reference only; students are encouraged to consult other editions as well.

The Prague CCK website will post five folders that contain copies of the readings for each of the five days of the course.

* Daily Syllabus

Day 1(April 16, 2007) -- An Introduction to Du Fu

Read articles by David Lattimore and Yoshikawa Kojiro

Taishan (Taishan) (DSXJ 1.3; Deng 2; Hung 30)

Jueju at Random #7 (Jueju manxing jiu shou) (DSXJ 9.791; Watson 90)

View over the Plains (Yewang) (DSXJ 8.619; Watson 60)

Jade Flower Palace (Yuhuagong) (DSXJ 5.389; Watson 40; Hung 114)

Thoughts While Travelling at Night (Lüye shu huainian) (DSXJ 14.1228; Deng 257; Watson 118; Hung 256)

Day 2 (April 17, 2007) -- Some Representative Poems (Genres, Themes, Diction)

Climbing the Pagoda of Mercy and Grace (Tong zhugong deng cien sita) (DSXJ 2.103; Deng 25; Hung 73)

Qiang Village (Qiangcun sanshou) (DSXJ 5.391; Deng 102; Hung 114)

Facing Snow (Dui xue) (DSXJ 4.318; Deng 80; Hung 103)

Lone Wild Goose (Guyan) (DSXJ 17.1530; Watson 148)

Day 3 (April 18, 2007) -- Systems of metaphor and allegory -- painted hawks

Painted Hawk (Hua ying) (DSXJ 1.19; Deng 4; Watson 3)

Poem on a Painting of a Horned Goshawk by Chiang [Chiao], Duke of Chu (Jiang Chu gong hua jiaoying ge) (DSXJ 11.924)

Director Yang Shows Me Another Painting, Hawks on a Twelve-Paneled Screen (Yang jian you chu hua ying shier shan) (DSXJ 15.1340)

Song of the Painted Falcon (Hua gu xing) (DSXJ 6.477)

Day 4 (April 19, 2007) -- Horses

Song of Protector-General Kao's Gray Dapple (Gao duhu congma xing) (DSXJ 2.86; Deng 20; Hung 62)

Sick Horse (Bing ma) (DSXJ 8.621; Deng 153; Hung 157)

Song of the Thin Horse (Shou ma xing) (DSXJ 6.472; Deng 124)

The White Horse (Bai ma) (DSXJ 23.2073; Deng 370; Hung 273)

Spring Nights Stay in the Left Office (Chun su zuosheng) (DSXJ 6.438; Deng 112; Watson 44; Hung 125)

Day 5 (April 20, 2007) -- Autumn Incitations

Read article by Kao Yu-kung and Mei Tsu-lin

Autumn Incitations (Qiu xing) (DSXJ 17.1484; Deng 296; Watson 129; Hung 233)

Focus on poems #1, 4, 7, 8.

Annotation

This course presents a one-week introduction to the Chinese poet Du Fu. The course will open with a short summary of Du Fu's place in the history of Chinese poetry, the growth of his reputation, and the constitution of his corpus during the Song dynasty (960-1279). We will then proceed to consider the major features of Du Fu's verse, using Yoshikawa Kojiro's notions concerning Du Fu's "minuteness" and "transcendence." We will also consider the issue of the origins of Du Fu's poetic diction. Representative poems that highlight these issues have been selected for close reading on April 16-17.

The course will then proceed to consider Du Fu's construction of larger metaphorical systems and allegorical structures. Readings will focus on Du Fu's poems on paintings of hawks (April 18) and on horses (April 19). The course will conclude on April 20 with a consideration of "Autumn Incitations", a set of eight regulated verse poems, generally considered to be Du Fu's masterpiece.

The class will read as many of the poems as time permits. The editions and translated listed below are for reference only; students are encouraged to consult other editions as well.

The Prague CCK website will post five folders that contain copies of the readings for each of the five days of the course.