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Eight Poetic Portrayals of Taiwan's Famous Landscapes

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The Eight Poetic PortrayalsViews of Taiwan’s Famous Landscapes is a unique genre of classical Chinese poetry during the Qing period of Taiwan, primarily associated with the “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景). Most of these poems are written in the regulated verse (Chinese: 近體詩), with seven-character eight-line regulated verse (Chinese: 七言律詩) being the most common. Also, many authors of these poems did not personally visit the locations described, so these poems are not entirely factual and contain many imaginative elements.[1]

The first of these eight poems was initially appeared in the Records of Literature section of The Gazette of Taiwan Prefecture (《臺灣府志‧藝文志》), compiled by Kao Kung-Chien (Chinese: 高拱乾) during the Qing Dynasty. It included poems by five authors: Kao Kung-Chien , Chi Ti-Wu (Chinese: 齊體物), Wang Chang (Chinese: 王璋), Wang Shan-Tsung (Chinese: 王善宗), and Lin Ching-Wang (Chinese: 林慶旺). The main title of these poems is “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景), and includes “The Night Ferries of Anping Harbor (Chinese: 安平晚渡),” “Fishingboat Lights of Shakun (Chinese: 沙鯤漁火),” “Springtides at Luer (Chinese: 鹿耳春潮),” “Snow in Keelung (Chinese: 鷄籠積雪),” “Sunrise at Tungming (Chinese: 東溟曉日),” “Sunset at Hsiyu (Chinese: 西嶼落霞),” “Watch the Sea at Chengtai (Chinese: 澄臺觀海),” and “The Crashing Tides of Feiting (Chinese: 斐亭聽濤).” The geographical scope mainly covers Taiwan Prefecture (modern-day Tainan), so Taiwan actually means “Taiwanfu” (Taiwan Prefecture).[2]

The selection of the Eight Poetic Portrayals of Taiwan’s Famous Landscapes during Qing period started in Tainan, where “Eight LandscapesViews of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景) is located, and gradually moved north, and then east, eventually including government gardens. The naming and poem writing of the “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景) were mainly the work of literati and officials. The relationship between the “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景) and the Eight Poetic Portrayals of Taiwan’s Famous Landscapes is not absolute, and not every landscape had a corresponding poem.[3] Subsequently, many literati followed the tradition of “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景) for their creative works, which gradually evolved into Eight Poetic Portrayals of Taiwan’s Famous Landscapes in various parts of Taiwan.

Scholar Shih Yi-lin (Chinese: 施懿琳), when analyzing the image of Taiwan in both scholar-officials (Chinese: 遊宦) and local poets during the Qing period, mentioned that the naming of the “Eight Landscapes of Taiwan” (Chinese: 臺灣八景) originated with scholar-officials who were away from home. She also noted that "Local literati who were familiar with the environment extended and further elaborated on this naming tradition,” [4]making it more detailed and concrete.

References

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  1. ^ Liu, Li-ching (2002). 清代臺灣八景與八景詩 [Taiwan's Eight Scenic Views and Eight Scenic Poems in the Qing Dynasty]. Taipei: Wenjin Publishing.
  2. ^ Hsu, Hui-yu (2016). "臺灣地景的第一道虹彩─高拱乾《臺灣府志.藝文志》所載〈臺灣八景詩〉之詩意探討" [The First Rainbow in Taiwan's Landscape: An Analysis of the Poetic Meaning of 'Eight Poetic Views of Taiwan' in Gao Gongqian's 'Taiwan Fuzhi: Yiwenzhi]. 長庚人文社會學報(Chang Gung Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences) (9:2): 221-260.
  3. ^ Liu, Li-ching (2002). 清代臺灣八景與八景詩 [Taiwan's Eight Scenic Views and Eight Scenic Poems in the Qing Dynasty]. Taipei: Wenjin Publishing. p. 161-162.
  4. ^ Shih, Yi-lin (2000). 從沈光文到賴和──臺灣古典文學的發展與特色 [From Sím Kong-bûn to Loa Ho: Development and Characteristics of Classical Taiwanese Literature]. Kaohsiung: Chun Hui Publishing. p. 89.