The longest narrative poem in ancient China is "The Peacock Flies Southeast".
"The Peacock Flying Southeast" is a long narrative poem in the Yuefu folk songs of the Han Dynasty. It is the pinnacle of the development history of Yuefu poetry.
"Peacock Flies Southeast" is based on a marriage tragedy that occurred in Lujiang County during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The original title was "Ancient Poetry Written by Jiao Zhongqing's Wife". Because the first line of the poem is about a peacock flying southeast, it was also named this. This poem has 357 lines and 1,785 words.
The story in the whole poem is appropriately complex and simple, and the characters are vividly depicted. It not only creates the image of the Jiao and Liu couple who are close to each other and unyielding, but also portrays the stubbornness of Jiao's mother and the arrogance of Brother Liu. At the end of the chapter, the myth of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing turning into mandarin ducks after their death is conceived, which expresses the people's strong desire to pursue freedom of love and a happy life.
The social background of "The Peacock Flies Southeast"
The story of "The Peacock Flies Southeast" takes place in the Jian'an period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The background at that time was that during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he deposed all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism. The Confucian ethical principles gradually took over the dominant position and developed to a fairly complete and rigorous level. In terms of the marriage system, there are clear rules and regulations such as having parents who are the best in the world.
Everyone in the world has parents, which is the main reason for Jiao Liu’s tragedy. In the atmosphere of this era, under the despotic power of Jiao's mother, Jiao Zhongqing dared to stand on Liu Lanzhi's side and showed his resolute attitude of being friends with Lanzhi and sleeping together, which is commendable.
If they succumb, then although their bodies are still alive, their souls and their ideals of love will no longer exist. However, their death shows their struggle to adhere to their ideal of love, which is in line with the inevitability of historical development and wins the sympathy and respect of them from the people of later generations.
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Peacock Flying Southeast