Abstract

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Title:: Gu Chui Xin Bian and the Culture and Literature of the Ming Adherents in Early Qing Dynasty

Keywords:: Gu Chui Xin Bian; selected poems; adherents of Ming Dynasty; naming taboo

Abstract:: Gu Chui Xin Bian is an anthology of seven-character regulated verses compiled by Cheng Bing and Shi Yan in the early Qing Dynasty. Although Cheng and Shi did not appear in various records of the adherents of the Ming Dynasty, their reclusive status, their many friends among the Ming adherents, and their behaviors and mentality all conform to the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty's adherents, which strongly indicates that they were indeed adherents of the Ming Dynasty. The anthology regards the Ming Monarchy as the legitimate ruling authority in China and avoids mentioning the names of the Ming emperors(including the kings of the Southern Ming Dynasty)as taboos, thus serving as an example of the practice of naming taboo in the early Qing period, thereby enriching the forms of loyalist culture. The anthology predominantly features individuals known for their loyalty and integrity during the transition from the Ming to the Qing, with the selected poems focusing on themes of national and dynastic decline, the sorrow for the old empire and rulers, and the anguish of unpredictable fate. These emotions permeate the entire collection, making it a distinctive work with characteristics of a dynastic transition, more so than Zhuo Erkan's Yimin Shi(Poems of the Adherents).