The Significance of Birds in Early Chinese Poetry

This thesis looks at the use of avian imagery across a wide range of early Chinese poetry: the Shijing, the Chu ci, works from the Yuefu 樂府 (Music Bureau collection) and its related anthologies – Zuo Keming’s 左克明 (fl. 14th cent.), Gu Yuefu 古樂府 (‘Ancient Music Bureau collection’), Guo Maoqian’s 郭茂倩 (c.a. 1041–1099) Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集 (Anthology of Music Bureau Poetry), and some works collected in Yutai Xinyong 玉臺新詠 (‘New Songs from the Jade Terrace’), Gushi ji 古詩紀 (Record of Ancient Poetry) and Gushi yuan 古詩源 (Sources of Ancient Poetry). Some fu 賦 works are also cited. The key word ‘significance’ indicates a move away from identifying and prescribing the meaning of certain species of birds. Instead I ask other questions about how birds in general are important to the way that poetry achieves its effect. The focus therefore throughout is on poetry as communication, and poetry as performance. The thesis covers three iconic elements of avian behaviour: love, flight, and song. These three defining characteristics of birds and their resonances with the human experience lie at the heart of the poems discussed and their effect as tools of communication and performance.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Higher Doctorate

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Donegan-Cross, John

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sterckx, Roel

• Avian imagery
• Birds in Chinese poetry
• Classical Chinese literature
• Early Chinese poetry

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/75993a30-e246-4d45-aca4-56f6f0858e1a/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.124171

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/394086