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book: The Poetry of Cao Zhi
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The Poetry of Cao Zhi

  • Robert Joe Cutter
  • Edited by: Paul W. Kroll
  • Funded by: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Languages: English, Chinese
Published/Copyright: 2021
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Library of Chinese Humanities
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About this book

Open Access

This book provides a translation of the complete poems and fu of Cao Zhi (192–232), one of China’s most famous poets. Cao Zhi lived during a tumultuous age, a time of intrepid figures and of bold and violent acts that have captured the Chinese imagination across the centuries. His father Cao Cao (155–220) became the most powerful leader in a divided empire, and on his death, Cao Zhi’s elder brother Cao Pi (187–226) engineered the abdication of the last Han emperor, establishing himself as the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty (220–265). Although Cao Zhi wanted to play an active role in government and military matters, he was not allowed to do so, and he is remembered as a writer. The Poetry of Cao Zhi contains in its body one hundred twenty-eight pieces of poetry and fu. The extant editions of Cao Zhi’s writings differ in the number of pieces they contain and present many textual variants. The translations in this volume are based on a valuable edition of Cao’s works by Ding Yan (1794–1875), and are supplemented by robust annotations, a brief biography of Cao Zhi, and an introduction to the poetry by the translator.

  • First complete English translation of Cao’s poems and fu
  • Provides insight into the poetry and poetic practices of a formative age in classical Chinese poetry
  • Rich in information on early Chinese history and culture
  • Chinese texts on facing pages

Author / Editor information

Robert Joe Cutter, University of Nevada at Reno, USA.

Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
March 22, 2021
eBook ISBN:
9781501507038
Hardcover published on:
March 22, 2021
Hardcover ISBN:
9781501515637
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
40
Main content:
390
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