The Southern Garden Poetry Society [electronic resource] : literary culture and social memory in Guangdong / David B. Honey.

Issued as part of UPCC book collections on Project MUSE.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-240) and index.

Preface -- Introduction -- Illustrations -- Part One. Literary culture in Guangdong -- The Southern muse -- Chinese poetry societies and the Southern Garden -- Sun Fen and socializing in the Southern Garden -- Li De and individual introspection in the Southern Garden -- Part Two. The transmission of social memory -- Southern Garden, mid-Ming to early Qing -- The Southern Garden during the late Qing -- The Southern Garden, Republican Period -- Notes -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Index.

What has traditionally been the main matter explored by Cantonese literati? Oceanic elements and riparian scenes contrasted with rock formations; a love for the exotic, especially local plants, products, and lore;Daoist transcendentalism; and a fierce pride in being culturally authentic Chinese. The Southern Garden Poetry Society in Guangzhou was the only major literary club in Chinese history to be periodically reconvened over the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras. Beginning with an examination of its five founding members during the Yuan/Ming period, in particular Sun Fen (1335-1393), the author traces the various elements of this Southern Muse that became embodied in later Cantonese poetry, further examining the issue of social memory through later reconvenings of the society.

Description based on print version record.