This article is devoted to daowang shi, or poems composed in memory of deceased wives, a so for largely neglected genre of medieval Chinese poetry which has been practiced continuous up to modern times. First, the relationship of the genre fo other threnodic genres of the early medieval period is introduced. Second, first examples of the daowang genre, namely poems by Pan Yue (247-300), are examined from the point of view of the establishment of the genre conventions and their impact on later daowang poetry. This is followed by examination of various daowang poems from late Six Dynasties through all of the Tang period. Attention is paid to conventionalized ways of expression and poetic forms, to the themes of love and of yongwu in connection with the daowang genre, to its deepening private dimension, as well to the daowang genre as social poetry. In these relations, compositions by both major and lesser poets of the Tang period are discussed.
This article examines the symbolism of the orange tree (ju, juyou, and also gan in later developments) in Chinese poetry from ancient times through the Tang dynasty. It will trace back its beginnings to Chuci and the Qu Yuan lore. The motif is examined as it appears in late Hun gushi, during its transformations in Six Dynasties "imitations of ancient verses" (nigu), as well as in the court "poems on things" (yongwu). Tang use and the further transformations of the motif are also touched upon, showing its development in the hands of such poets as Zhang Jiuling, Du Mu, and Du Fu. As a result, the flexibility of the symbolic meaning of the orange tree motif, its adaptation for new purposes, and the eventual transformation of the conventionalized motif into a poetic image endowed with unique personal symbolism of the poet are demonstrated.