Introduction to Poet Yu Xin | Generated by AI
Question: Provide an introduction to 庾信 (Yu Xin).
Answer:
庾信 (513–581), courtesy name Zishan (子山), childhood name Lancheng (兰成), was a prominent Chinese poet, writer, and official during the late Southern and Northern Dynasties period. Born in Xinye, Nanyang (modern Xinye County, Henan Province), he came from a distinguished literary family — his ancestors produced scholars for seven generations, and his family had literary collections for five. His father, Yu Jianwu (庾肩吾), was a famous court poet and high official in the Liang dynasty.
Yu Xin was exceptionally talented from a young age, known for his intelligence and wide reading. At 15, he served as a reader-companion to Crown Prince Xiao Tong (萧统, compiler of Wenxuan). Later, at 19, he and Xu Ling (徐陵) became scholars in the Eastern Palace under Prince Xiao Gang (萧纲, later Emperor Jianwen of Liang). Together with Xu Ling and their fathers, they developed the ornate, sensual Xu-Yu style (徐庾体), a hallmark of palace-style (gongti) poetry — elegant, refined, and often focused on beauty, love, and courtly life.
During the Hou Jing Rebellion (548–552), Yu Xin served as Magistrate of Jiankang (Nanjing) and led defenses but was defeated. He fled to Jiangling and joined Emperor Yuan of Liang (Xiao Yi). In 554, at age 42, he was sent as an envoy to Western Wei. Shortly after his arrival in Chang’an, Western Wei conquered Jiangling and destroyed the Liang. Yu Xin was detained in the north and never allowed to return south, even after the Northern Zhou replaced Western Wei and later when the Chen dynasty negotiated repatriations (only he and Wang Bao were excluded).
In Northern Zhou, he held high positions, rising to General of Cavalry and Chariots and Grand Master for Splendid Happiness with the Same Honors as the Three Ministers (骠骑大将军、开府仪同三司), earning the title Yu Kaifu (庾开府). Despite honor and favor from northern rulers who admired southern literature, he lived with deep inner conflict — shame over serving “the enemy,” grief over his lost country, and longing for his homeland. He died in 581 during the early Sui dynasty.
Yu Xin’s literary career divides into two phases:
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Early period (in Liang): Palace-style works, ornate and sensual, with limited surviving pieces (many lost in war). Examples include courtly poems like Fenghe Shanchi (奉和山池).
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Later period (in the north): Marked by profound sorrow, homesickness, and a fusion of southern refinement with northern vigor. His style matured into “old and accomplished” (老成), as praised by Du Fu: “Yu Xin’s writing grew even finer with age, his bold brush soaring freely” (庾信文章老更成，凌云健笔意纵横).
Key representative works:
- Poetry: Ni Yonghuai (拟咏怀, 27 poems imitating Ruan Ji, expressing personal lament and exile), Yan Ge Xing (燕歌行), Yang Liu Ge (杨柳歌), small poignant poems like Ji Wang Lin (寄王琳) and Ji Xu Ling (寄徐陵).
- Fu (rhapsodies): Ai Jiangnan Fu (哀江南赋, Lament for the South — his masterpiece, a grand lament for the fallen Liang), Ku Shu Fu (枯树赋, Rhapsody on a Withered Tree), Xiao Yuan Fu (小园赋), Zhu Zhang Fu (竹杖赋), Shangxin Fu (伤心赋).
Yu Xin is widely regarded as the culmination of Southern and Northern Dynasties literature, blending southern elegance and northern strength. His works bridged palace-style poetry to Tang dynasty developments, influencing later poets through emotional depth, technical mastery (parallelism, allusions), and fusion of styles. His collected works survive as Yu Kaifu Ji or Yu Zishan Ji.
References:
- https://baike.baidu.com/item/庾信/543904
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/庾信
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Xin