On Yao He’s Ji Xuan Ji

For a long time, the important group of poets and literary school headed by Yao He and Jia Dao in the middle and late Tang Dynasty has been outshined by that headed by Han Yu and Meng Jiao, thus leading to the obscurity of its independence and significance. Ji Xuan Ji, an anthology compiled by Yao He, was one of the most important ones of Tang Dynasty still available today. Its significance lies in that it not only shows the compiler’s understanding of the literature of the previous generation, but tells the unique style of this group of poets as well, that is, the literary idea stressing the choice of diction, the experience with the composition of Wu Lu (an eight-line rhymes poem with five characters in each line), the focusing on reflection and nostalgia as poetic themes, as well as secluded and eccentric aesthetic standards.