Yuan Mei - Yuan Mei

A poet and writer of the Qing Dynasty in China. His pen name was Zicai, and his pen names were Jianzai and Suiyuan. He was born in Qiantang County, Zhejiang Province. He was a Jinshi in 1739 (the 4th year of the Qianlong era). He served as a prefectural governor and was highly acclaimed as a famous governor, but while he was in Jiangning (Nanjing), he built a large mansion on Xiao Cang Mountain in the west of the city, which he named Suiyuan. He resigned at the age of 38, and continued to work as an independent poet and writer until his death at the age of 83. He maintained a luxurious lifestyle mainly through his writing, and was surrounded by many male and female disciples, and was a hot topic during the Qianlong era as one of the two giants of poetry. In opposition to Shen Deqian's theory of style, he advocated the theory of nature and spirit, which was similar to the Gong'an school of Yuan Hongdao and others in the Ming Dynasty. He opposed the former's tendency toward restorationism, and argued that one should sing freely, as one's feelings express themselves, and not follow the example of the ancients or rely on technical skill. His simple style of poetry, which delights in lyric poetry and rejects the trend of creating poetry through academic ability, is reminiscent of Bai Juyi, but he himself denies this, and does not explicitly state his relationship with the Gong'an school of the late Ming Dynasty. In his debates with Shen Deqian, he also defended the love poems of Wang Jiji from the late Ming Dynasty.

His independent spirit is also reflected in his lifestyle. He liked wives and concubines who were talented writers, and gathered women together to teach them poetry, which was quite outside the ethical standards of the time. He excelled in both classical and literary literature, and was a famous gourmet, authoring the book "Suiyuan Shidan." His complete collection is called "Thirty Dishes of Suiyuan."

[Ichiro Sato]

"Aoki Masaji's translation and annotated version of "Zuiyuan Shidan" (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Nakayama Tokiko et al.'s translation of "Zuiyuan Shidan" (1975, Shibata Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)代の詩人、文人。字(あざな)は子才、号は簡斎・随園(ずいえん)。浙江(せっこう)省銭塘(せんとう)県の出身。1739年（乾隆4）の進士。県知事を歴任して名知事の誉(ほま)れ高かったが、江寧(こうねい)（南京(ナンキン)）在任中に城西の小倉山(しょうそうざん)に大邸宅を構え、これに随園と名づけた。38歳で辞職し、以降83歳の没年まで在野の詩人、文人として活躍した。彼は主として文筆活動により豪奢(ごうしゃ)な生活を維持し、大ぜいの男女の弟子に囲まれ詩壇の二大巨人の一人として乾隆(けんりゅう)年間に時めいた。沈徳潜(しんとくせん)の格調説に対して、明(みん)の袁宏道(えんこうどう)らの公安派と相通じる性霊(せいれい)説を唱えた。前者の復古主義的傾向に反対し、性情の流露するままに自由に歌うべきであり、古人の模倣や技巧のすえに走ってはならないと主張した。叙情詩を喜び、学力で詩をつくる時流を退けるその平明な詩風は白居易(はくきょい)を連想させるものがあるが、自分ではそれを否定し、また明末の公安派との関係も明言していない。沈徳潜との論争のなかで明末の王次回の恋愛詩も弁護している。

　その在野精神は、生活態度にも現れている。文才ある妻妾(さいしょう)を好み、女性を集めて詩を教えるなど当時の倫理観からかなりはみだしている。古文、駢文(べんぶん)ともに優れ、有名な食通でもあり、『随園食単』がある。全集は『随園三十種』とよばれている。

［佐藤一郎］

『青木正児訳註『随園食単』（岩波文庫）』▽『中山時子他訳『随園食単』（1975・柴田書店）』

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