"Yan Ge Xing" was written by Yu Xin, a writer of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and his ancestral home in Xinye, Nanyang.
About the author
(513 AD to 581 AD), courtesy name Zishan, ancestral home in Xinye, Nanyang (now Xinye, Henan), was a writer in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In his early years, Yu Xin served as a regular servant of the Liang Xiangdong Kingdom, and accompanied the princes Xiao Tong and Xiao Gang (Emperor Jianwen of Liang Dynasty) to write some beautiful poems. At the end of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, Hou Jing rebelled. When Yu Xin was the Jiankang Order, he led his troops to fight against the enemy and was defeated. When Jiankang fell, he was forced to flee Jiangling and seek refuge with Emperor Xiao Yi of Liang Yuan Dynasty.
In 554 AD (the third year of Emperor Chengsheng of the Yuan Dynasty), he was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Wei Dynasty. Shortly after arriving in Chang'an, the Western Wei Dynasty captured Jiangling and killed Xiao Yi. He was left in Chang'an, and his official rank reached the level of General Kaifu of Hussars, Yitong Sansi, so he was also called "Yu Kaifu". Yu Xin was forced to stay in Chang'an and bid farewell to Jiangnan forever. He was very painful in his heart. Coupled with his wandering life, he experienced profound changes in his thinking and creation before and after his mission to the Western Wei Dynasty.
Not many of Yu Xin's works before his mission to the Western Wei Dynasty have survived, and they generally have not escaped the influence of "palace style poetry". Most of the poems and poems that have been recited so far were written after he went to the north. These works are based on ideological content. Even the artistic style is different from the early years.
His representative poems include the twenty-seven poems "Imitation of Ode to Huai". Although they are imitations of Ruan Ji, they are actually all about lamenting his own life experience. In his Yuefu songs, he often uses metaphorical techniques to express his sorrow for his life experience, such as "Song of Resentment", "Song of Willows", etc.
Yu Xin’s poems after arriving in the north are vigorous and melancholy, which is related to his experience of war and his deep feelings for the northern scenery. His excellent works include "Snow in the Suburbs", "Looking into the Wilderness", and "Yan Ge Xing" ”, “Joining the Army with Lu Jishi”.
Some short poems are affectionate and touching, with few allusions, such as "To Wang Lin", "To Xu Ling", "Three Wonders of Master He Kan", "Farewell to Two Zhou Shangshu", etc. , are all famous. Yu Xin's achievements in poetry are no less than those in poetry. His lyrical poems such as "Ode on the Dead Tree", "Ode on the Bamboo Stick", "Ode on the Small Garden" and "Ode on the Sadness" are all famous and recited masterpieces. "Ai Jiangnan Fu" is his masterpiece. Yu Xin was also a master of parallel prose in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. His writing style was characterized by his emphasis on antithesis and the use of allusions almost everywhere. Most of his articles were practical essays, but they often had lyrical and literary connotations.
The current version of "Yuzishan Collection" is the earliest copy of the Ming Dynasty Tu Long version of "Sibu Congkan". "The Annotation of the Supplementary Siku Concise Catalog" mentions that there was a Wang edition in the Ming Dynasty, with a total of twelve volumes; and a Zhu Yuefan edition, with only six volumes, containing poems but no text. In addition, there is a copy of "Collection of One Hundred and Three Families of Han, Wei and Six Dynasties" engraved by Zhang Pu of the Ming Dynasty, which is called "Collection of Yu Kaifu". The earlier annotated version of Yu Xin's Collection is a ten-volume version annotated by Wu Zhaoyi in the Qing Dynasty, while Ni Fan's annotated version is recognized as the best annotated version and is widely popular.