Fromancienttimes,China’sremoteandexoticSouth—ashiftingandexpandingregionbeyondtheYangtzeRiver—hasbeenanenduringthemeinChineseliterature.Forpoetsandscholar-officialsinmedievalChina,theSouthwasabarbaricfrontierregionofalienationanddisease.Butitwasalsoaplaceofrichnessandfascination,andforsomeasiteofculturaltriumphoverexile.TheeightessaysinthiscollectionexplorehowtensionsbetweenprideinsoutherncultureandanxietyoverthealienqualitiesofthesouthernfrontierwerebehindmanyofthedistinctivefeaturesofmedievalChineseliterature.TheyexaminehowprominentwritersfromthisperioddepictedthemselvesandtheSouthinpoeticformthroughattitudesthatincludedpatrioticattachmentandbitterexile.BytheTangdynasty,poeticsymbolsandclichésabouttheexoticSouthhadbecomewellestablished,thoughmanywriterswerestillabletousetheseininnovativeways.
SouthernIdentityandSouthernEstrangementinMedievalChinesePoetryisthefirstworkinEnglishtoexaminetheculturalsouthinclassicalChinesepoetry.Thebookincorporatesoriginalresearchonkeypoets,suchasLuJi,JiangYan,WangBo,andLiBai.Italsooffersabroadsurveyofculturalandhistoricaltrendsduringthemedievalperiod,asdepictedinpoetry.ThebookwillbeofinteresttostudentsofChineseliteratureandculturalhistory.
