The Influence of Chinese Literature on Heian-Period Literature Written in Japanese and Chinese

2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21820046
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: Meiji University
• Principal Investigator: NAGASE Yumi Meiji University, 研究・知財戦略機構, 客員研究員 (20553324)
• Project Period (FY): 2009 – 2010
• Keywords: 漢詩文 / 平安朝 / 中国文学受容 / 白居易 / 文選

Research Abstract

This research investigates the influence of the Wen Xuan (Selections of Refined Literature) and prose verses by Bai Juyi on The Tale of Genji and other works written in classical Chinese in mid-Heian Japan. The study illuminates that literary courtiers during the Ichijo's reign favorably absorbed Bai Juyi's polished satirical style, critical depiction of the politics and society, and manner of constructing fictional verses. Contemporaneously, The Tale of Genji displays the author's absorption of Bai Juyi's literary techniques and approaches as well. My argument is that Bai Juyi's literature influenced the mid-Heian literature generally, both the tales written in Japanese and the poems written in Chinese.