Fu Xuan
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Fu Xuan | |
---|---|
Born | 217 |
Died | 278 (aged 61) |
Other names | Xiuyi ( |
Occupation(s) | Historian, poet, politician |
Children | Fu Xian |
Father | Fu Gan |
Relatives | Fu Xie (grandfather) |
Fu Xuan (217–278), courtesy name Xiuyi, was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician who lived in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period and later under the Jin dynasty. He was one of the most prolific authors of fu poetry of his time. He was a grandson of Fu Xie (
Life
[edit]Although he lost his father early and grew up poor, Fu Xuan eventually became famous in literature and music. Nominated as a civil service candidate by the local provincial government, he was appointed as a Gentleman (
Fu Xuan was recommended to the position of Palace Attendant (
Fu Xuan also once wrote an essay praising the Chinese mechanical engineers Ma Jun and Zhang Heng, where he lamented the fact that extraordinary talents of natural geniuses were often ignored or neglected by those in charge.
Writings
[edit]According to his biography in the Book of Jin, Fu Xuan wrote over a hundred volumes of the Wen Ji (
Poetry
[edit]Fu Xuan's poems, primarily in the yuefu style, are noted for their powerful and empathetic portrayals of women. Translations of several of his sixty-odd surviving poems can be found in the book New Songs from a Jade Terrace by Anne Birrell (ISBN 0-04-895026-2).
One of the more famous poems by Fu Xuan is "Woman":
How sad it is to be a woman!!
Nothing on earth is held so cheap.
Boys stand leaning at the door
Like Gods fallen out of Heaven.
Their hearts brave the Four Oceans,
The wind and dust of a thousand miles.
No one is glad when a girl is born:
By her the family sets no store.
When she grows up, she hides in her room
Afraid to look at a man in the face.
No one cries when she leaves her home—Sudden as clouds when the rain stops.
She bows her head and composes her face,
Her teeth are pressed on her red lips:
She bows and kneels countless times.
She must humble herself even to the servants.
His love is distant as the stars in Heaven,
Yet the sunflower bends towards the sun.
Their hearts are more sundered than water and fire—A hundred evils are heaped upon her.
Her face will follow the years changes:
Her lord will find new pleasures.
They that were once like the substance and shadow
Are now as far from Hu as from Ch'in [two distant places]
Yet Hu and Ch'in shall sooner meet
That they whose parting is like Ts'an and Ch'en [two stars]
See also
[edit]- Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
- Poetry
- Chinese poetry
- List of Chinese people
- Chinese poets
- Feminism
- Feminist movement
References
[edit]- ^ Matsuura et al. (1999), p. 36.
- ^ Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten article "Fu Xuan" (Fu Gen in Japanese). Shogakukan.
- ^ Kanjigen entry "Fu Xuan" (Fu Gen in Japanese). Gakken 2006.
- ^ Giles (1898), p. 240.
- Chen Shou (280s or 290s). Records of the Three Kingdoms. Pei Songzhi, annotation, 429. Hong Kong: Zhonghua Publishing, 1971. 5 vols. Cited as Sanguozhi.
- Fang Xuanling; et al., eds. (1974) [648]. Book of Jin
晉 書 . Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju. Cited as Jin shu. - Giles, Herbert Allen (1898). A Chinese Biographical Dictionary. Bernard Quaritch.
- Matsuura, Tomohiko; Ueki, Hisayuki; Uno, Naoto; Matsubara, Akira (1999). Kanshi no Jiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Taishukan. ISBN 4-469-03209-3.
- Chen Shou (1977) [429]. Pei Songzhi (ed.). Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms
三國志 注 . Taipei: Dingwen Printing.
- 217 births
- 278 deaths
- 3rd-century Chinese historians
- 3rd-century Chinese poets
- Cao Wei essayists
- Cao Wei historians
- Cao Wei poets
- Cao Wei government officials
- Historians from Shaanxi
- Jin dynasty (266–420) essayists
- Jin dynasty (266–420) historians
- Jin dynasty (266–420) poets
- Jin dynasty (266–420) government officials
- Politicians from Tongchuan
- Poets from Shaanxi
- Writers from Tongchuan
- Three Kingdoms philosophers