Yue fu
Encyclopedia
Yue fu are Chinese poems
composed in a folk song style. The term literally means "Music Bureau
", a reference to the government organisation originally charged with collecting or writing the lyrics
.
The lines are often (although not necessarily) of uneven length, though five character
s is the most common. The term covers original folk songs, court
imitations and versions by known poet
s (the best known of the latter being those of Li Bai
).
(221 BC – 206 BC). Yue (乐) means music, Fu （府）means bureau, put together yuefu means music bureau. It laid its foundation in the Han Dynasty
(206 BC – 220 AD), and became a royal government music management for collecting, writing or performing folk songs and ballads in 112 BC. After then people called poems which were composed in this folk song style Yuefu.
are highly regarded in the history of Chinese poetry
. It inherited the realism traditions of Shi Jing
(The Book of Odes), "feeling of funeral music, causes behind the affairs". Folk Songs in Musical Department in Han Dynasty created all kinds of characters to mirror every part in the society at that time vividly and visually. The predominant characteristics among are the series of callipygas all with the character traits of beauties, diligence, kindness, adamancies while no effeminacies at all. However, they also have the lively thumbprints besides those common traits.
era, a form of yuefu using regular five-character quatrains (or paired couplets) similar to the jueju
appears in the Midnight Songs poetry
.
is an important era in the literary history
of China. The poets in Tang Dynasty wrote a series of new poems in great variety and profoundness with the old titles of yuefu of Han Dynasty. Many famous poets (Li Bai
, Du Fu
, Baiju Yi etc.) participated in the creation. Different from poems with five characters per line or the seven-character per line poems, the pattern of Yuefu is quite free though the topics are fixed.
Mulberry By Road (陌上桑)， Armed Escort (羽林郎), White Hair Intonation (白头吟), Thinking is Being (有所思), The Old Soldier's Return (十五从军征), The Peacocks Fly to the South and the East (孔雀东南飞),
In Tang Dynasty:
The moon at the fortified pass (关山月)， Songs of Fort （塞上曲）
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
composed in a folk song style. The term literally means "Music Bureau
Music Bureau
Music Bureau , also known as the "Imperial Music Bureau", discontinuously and in various incarnations was an organ of the imperial governmental bureaucracy of several Chinese dynasties...
", a reference to the government organisation originally charged with collecting or writing the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
.
The lines are often (although not necessarily) of uneven length, though five character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s is the most common. The term covers original folk songs, court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
imitations and versions by known poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s (the best known of the latter being those of Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
).
Origin
The word Yuefu came first into being in Qin DynastyQin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
(221 BC – 206 BC). Yue (乐) means music, Fu （府）means bureau, put together yuefu means music bureau. It laid its foundation in the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BC – 220 AD), and became a royal government music management for collecting, writing or performing folk songs and ballads in 112 BC. After then people called poems which were composed in this folk song style Yuefu.
Achievement of yuefu in Han dynasty
The yuefu of the Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
are highly regarded in the history of Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
. It inherited the realism traditions of Shi Jing
Shi Jing
The Classic of Poetry , translated variously as the Book of Songs, the Book of Odes, and often known simply as its original name The Odes, is the earliest existing collection of Chinese poems and songs. It comprises 305 poems and songs, with many range from the 10th to the 7th centuries BC...
(The Book of Odes), "feeling of funeral music, causes behind the affairs". Folk Songs in Musical Department in Han Dynasty created all kinds of characters to mirror every part in the society at that time vividly and visually. The predominant characteristics among are the series of callipygas all with the character traits of beauties, diligence, kindness, adamancies while no effeminacies at all. However, they also have the lively thumbprints besides those common traits.
Six Dynasties yuefu
During the Six DynastiesSix Dynasties
Six Dynasties is a collective noun for six Chinese dynasties during the periods of the Three Kingdoms , Jin Dynasty , and Southern and Northern Dynasties ....
era, a form of yuefu using regular five-character quatrains (or paired couplets) similar to the jueju
Jueju
Jueju is a style of jintishi, or "Modern form poetry", that grew popular among Chinese poets in the Tang Dynasty , although traceable to earlier origins...
appears in the Midnight Songs poetry
Midnight Songs poetry
Midnight Songs poetry , also Tzu-yeh Songs, refers both to a genre of poetry as well as to specifically collected poems under the same name, during the Fourth Century CE...
.
Development in Tang Dynasty
The Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
is an important era in the literary history
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
of China. The poets in Tang Dynasty wrote a series of new poems in great variety and profoundness with the old titles of yuefu of Han Dynasty. Many famous poets (Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
, Du Fu
Du Fu
Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty.Along with Li Bai , he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations...
, Baiju Yi etc.) participated in the creation. Different from poems with five characters per line or the seven-character per line poems, the pattern of Yuefu is quite free though the topics are fixed.
Main Compositions
In Han Dynasty:Mulberry By Road (陌上桑)， Armed Escort (羽林郎), White Hair Intonation (白头吟), Thinking is Being (有所思), The Old Soldier's Return (十五从军征), The Peacocks Fly to the South and the East (孔雀东南飞),
In Tang Dynasty:
The moon at the fortified pass (关山月)， Songs of Fort （塞上曲）