Basic Information
Summary
Subject: On “Geshi” in the Collected Works of Bai Juyi, Vol.2 (Baishi houji)
Presenter: Lu Xu (Kyoto University, Doctoral Program)
Language: Japanese
Host
Funded Research Project: “Towards a New Generation of East Asian Classical Studies via International Collaboration: From the Realm of Writing’s Frontier”
Reports
The event was attended by professors and graduate students of the University, and the presentation was given by Mr. Lu Xu, a doctoral student of Kyoto University.
Mr. Xu Lu presented on the “Geshi” section of the Collected Works of Bai Juyi, Vol.2. First, he mentioned that there exist two main ways of ordering the Collected Works of Bai Juyi. One is to order by genre, with poetry first, then prose (前詩後筆本); the other preserves the order in which they were first collated and published (前後集本). Then, performing a close reading on the relevant sources, Mr. Lu spoke about the opposition between “ge” (格, case) and “lu” (律, regulated verse), as well as the synthesization of the two. Moreover, he also discussed the various theories on the extension of "Geshi," including the “Qi-Liang style,” “non-regulated verse,” and the “five-character verse” (wuyan shi) theories. Lastly, he discussed Du Xiaoqing's question regarding “geshi” being identified as wuyan gushi (lit. five character old verse).
He also introduced the chapter headings of the Kanazawa edition of Collected Works of Bai Juyi, Vol.2, and discussed the differences in the catalogs of the editions, as well as the evolution of “Geshi” and “Gudiaoshi” (old style poems) in prosody.
In the free discussion, the panelists discussed points to note when citing Bunkyō hifūron in their discussion of “Geshi”; the criteria for judging regulated verses, couplets, and couplet expressions; and finally the value of old texts still remaining in Japan.
We would like to, again, express our gratitude to Mr. Lu Xu for his presentation, the professors for their valuable guidance, and all those who contributed to the stimulating discussions.
(Qiu Siyuan, Doctoral Program, Kyoto University)
