Lyric in an Antagonistic World: A Study on the Poetics from Late Qing to Early Republican China

The late Qing scholars, faced with an upheaval unparalleled in over three millennia, navigated the transition from the remnants of the Qing dynasty to the Republic of China. In this rapidly changing and antagonistic modern world, why did they continue to express their emotions through poetry? How did poetry retain its heartfelt passion and intensity during such a transformative period? This book examines the works of Chen Sanli, Fan Zengxiang, Shen Zengzhi, Yi Shunding, and Wang Guowei, whose lyrical expressions convey spiritual states such as grief, joy, anger, and sorrow. Their classical poetry reflects a "modern sensibility" imbued with an "unrestrained modernity," offering a fresh perspective on classical poetics during the late Qing and early Republican periods.

While the May Fourth New Literature Movement rejected traditional poetic forms in favor of modern ones, the late Qing poets, as heirs to a rich poetic legacy, used lyricism to capture the turmoil of their time and to sublimate their emotional and sensory experiences. Their works articulate suffering, bitterness, and lamentation, raising questions about how traditional poetry engaged with modernity—questions largely overlooked at the time. This book seeks to recover these neglected dimensions, highlighting the enduring significance and brilliance of their poetics within the broader trajectory of literary modernity in China.