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79-120

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Chinese

Key words

Song poetry, zhaiju rushi 摘句入詩, diantie chengjin 點鐵成金, yigu weixin 以故為新, jiju 集句

Abstract

The term zhaiju rushi 摘句入詩 refers to the selection of a single line or phrase from another writer’s poem or essay and incorporating it into one’s poetry. It also denotes the practice of taking four or more characters from an earlier poet’s lines and integrating them into one’s poetry. This writing style emerged in the Northern Song dynasty, and it emphasized the use of ancient expressions to create new works. This approach to poetic composition shares common ground with Huang Tingjian’s 黃庭堅 theory of diantie chengjin 點鐵成金, and it can be considered a means of observing the development of diantie chengjin in the Northern Song. With respect to the first stage in this development, I identify the original context of two types of early Northern Song zhaiju rushi, namely “continuation” and “departure.” I then illustrate the deepening awareness of this practice in the works of Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 and Mei Yaochen 梅堯臣. Concerning the second stage, I utilize examples from Wang Anshi 王安石, Guo Xiangzheng 郭祥正, and Su Shi 蘇軾 to shed light on the trend of selecting earlier lines to either transform old poems or create entirely new ones. Finally, I examine Huang Tingjian’s works that employ zhaiju rushi, and point out his innovation in using the classics, histories, and literary collections. I also discuss Huang’s achievement of antithesis through the technique of excerpting sentences, which transcended genres and utilized different poetic forms. In sum, zhaiju rushi became a practical way for Northern Song poets to embody the concept of diantie chengjin. Their inclination to create the new from the old was of pioneering significance to the idea of diantie chengjin.