Around the Clock: Time as Problem in the Poetry of Bao Zhao

Abstract

The Liu-Song writer and official Bao Zhao 鮑照 (414?–466) is perhaps best known as a superlative yuefu poet, but a broader view of his poetic oeuvre reveals an overarching concern that might be obscured were we to remain focused only on the vividly drawn personae of his yuefu poems, namely Bao’s profound anxiety over time. Bao’s poetry on topics of all kinds makes constant reference to personified days and years with whom he must contend, to the menacing predations of the clock, and to his own often-bewildering subjective experience of time’s steady advance. This paper offers an analysis of Bao Zhao’s handling of time as a problem in his poetry, and thereby asks what might be unique about his exploration of that problem—and whether he has a solution.

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publication Date

11-14-2024

Publication Title

Early Medieval China

Department

East Asian Studies

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2024.2389737

Keywords

Bao Zhao, Poetry, Time, Clocks, Anxiety

Language

English

Format

text

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