Xie Lingyun Style and the Fu Xian & Ying Qu Style:Antipoles in the Poetry of the Southern Qi Dynasty

In the "Biographia Literaria" section of the History of Southern Qi,Xiao Zixian classifies the poetical styles of this period into three categories:the Xie Lingyun Style,the Pu Xian Ying Qu Style and the Bao Zhao Style.An investigation of the literary background of this period shows that the Xie Style is characterized by elegance, cursiveness,grandeur,and enlightening messages,with slow-moving syntax and impassionate prosody as its major shortcomings.Xie Lingyun is its inaugurator and Xie Tiao the best representative practitioner.The major features of the Fu Xian Ying Qu Style are erudition,abundant allusions,natural allegory,and strict and elaborate prosody, but it is criticized for its lack of clarity.The beginners of the style are Fu Xian and Ying Qu and the best follower is Wang Jian.