Following the Tradition of Han and Wei Poetry, But Not Limited to Trend of His Time ——Bao Zhao′s Poems Modelled After Ancient Songs for Court Entertainment

Bao Zhao may be rated as a master of yuefu folk rhymes. The principle themes in the yuefu folk rhymes he wrote in the manner of yuefu songs are basically his heart felt feelings for man's unpredictable fate, his sorrows for man's short yet bitter life, his resentment at his unrecognized talents, his pain in not being able to meet an understanding friend and his homesickness while wandering aimlessly in strange places. In his imitative yuefu folk rhymes, Bao Zhao pursued a very individualistic poetic style, which was closely related to his unique personal experience and fate. A new form of imitative yuefu songs was certainly an inevitable outcome of logical development of poetry itself. Bao Zhao's imitative yuefu folk rhymes, which resulted from his bold learning from yuefu songs of the Han Dynasty, brought about a reform in the Chinese ancient poetry.