About Us

2022/23 School of Chinese Seminar

Not Just Nostalgia: Polyvocality in the Poetry of Yu Xin (513-581 CE)

不只是思鄉--庾信詩歌中的多重性

Dr. Yiyi LUO羅奕奕博士

Capital Normal University首都師範大學

Date: April 28, 2023 (Friday)

Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Venue: Room730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus

Language: English

Abstract:

Despite the vibrancy and complexity in the writings of Yu Xin (513-581 CE), the most celebrated poet of sixth-century China, he has traditionally been regarded as a poet of nostalgia. His works have primarily been read against the fall of the Liang dynasty (502-557) as verbal representations of a frustrated official who had lost his home state. This perspective has served as a powerful framework for interpreting Yu Xin's writings but has resulted in the suppression of other diverse voices in his work. The current study is part of a larger project to expand our horizons for reading this great poet by examining his poetry from new topical and disciplinary perspectives. During his twenty-seven years in the north, Yu Xin had to navigate a treacherous network of cultural, political, and military affairs of the Northern Zhou, and his writings present a panorama of its volatile and violent world. Situating Yu Xin's writings in a broader and more nuanced historical context of the time, this study focuses on three of his texts that respectively explore the topics of wars, reclusion, and religions. This approach aims to illustrate the breadth of diction, themes, voices, and styles in Yu Xin’s writings.

作為中國六世紀久負盛名的詩人，庾信的作品充滿了張力和複雜性，但他長期以來一直被視為一位思鄉詩人。他的作品常常被解讀為一個失去家園的亡國之臣的回憶錄，而其考察背景往往是南梁的覆滅。這種視角為解讀庾信的作品提供了有力的闡釋框架，但也壓制了他作品中其他多樣化的聲音。本講演是本人所從事的更大的項目的一部分。通過跨學科的角度和新的詩歌主題拓展，該項目重新審視庾信的詩文，並藉此增進我們對這位偉大詩人的理解。在北方度過27年時間中，庾信置身於北周錯綜複雜而險惡多變的文化、政治和軍事環境，其作品也因此呈現出這一時期動蕩不安、充滿暴力的世態全景。本講演將庾信的作品放置於更廣泛和更細緻入微的歴史背景之中，擷取他的三篇分別和戰爭、隱居和宗教主題相關的詩歌，以說明他的作品在用詞、主題、詩性人格和風格上的豐富性。

Biography:

Dr. Yiyi LUO earned degrees from the University of Colorado-Boulder (MA) and Princeton University (PhD). Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the School of Literature at Capital Normal University. She researches medieval Chinese literature, culture, and religion, with a primary focus on early medieval poetry. She is also interested in the interaction between the literary and religious communities during the medieval period. Her forthcoming book, tentatively titled Contesting Nostalgia: Polyvocality in the Poetry of Yu Xin (513-581 CE), explores the diverse poetic voices in the writings of Yu Xin, one of the most prominent poets of the sixth century.

羅奕奕博士畢業於美國科羅拉多大學博爾德分校（碩士）和普林斯頓大學（博士），現任教於首都師範大學文學院。她的研究領域涵蓋中國中古時期文學、文化和宗教，尤其關注魏晉南北朝詩文。羅奕奕博士目前正在撰寫一本名為《重議“思鄉”---- 庾信詩文中的多聲部》的書稿。該書考察庾信作為“鄉關之思”這一作者形象的建構過程，並探討其詩文中多樣化的詩性人格。

All are welcome