Jian’an Poetry
2 min readJian’an（196-220）is originally the era name of Emperor Xian（181-234）of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Jian’an Poetry refers to the poems created in the period from the year 196，when Emperor Xian was crowned，to the year 230，which was the fifth year of King Ming of the Wei Regime（204-239）.Jian’an poems were created by a group of poets who first drifted around and later submitted to Cao Cao and finally formed the literati at Ye Cheng，then the capital of Wei.The most famous representative writers are Cao Cao（155-220），Cao Pi（187-226），Cao Zhi（192-232），Kong Rong（153一208），Chen Lin（153-217），Wang Can（177-217），Xu Gan（170-217），Ruan Yu（165-212），Liu Zhen（186-217）and Ying Yang（177-217）.
Early Jian’an poems display great sadness and desolateness because writers in this period usually drifted around and experienced in person the sufferings of the masses caused by constant wars between several warlords.For example，“Dew on the Shallots”，“Overgrown with Brambles” and“Bitter March” by Cao Cao，and Poems of Seven Lamentations” by Wang Can.The Mid-Jian’an Period harvested many great poems，including poems conveying the happiness and bitterness of military marches like“On March” by Wang Can，poems communicating earnest friendship like“To Liu Zhen” by Xu Gan and“To Wang Can” by Cao Zhi，and poems expressing authors’ideals and ambitions like“A Short Song” by Cao Cao and“WhiteHorse” by Cao Zhi.Most members of the group passed away in the late period.Cao Zhi is the most famous one of the rest.His poems in this period express his adversity and ambition to fight for the country，which are shown in“Miscellaneous Poems” and “The Lark Snared”.
In sum，Jian’an poetry sustained the realism of Yuefu folk songs.It voiced the spirit of the times and invoked an ambience of heroism and sadness，characterized by its desolate and yehement feeling，bright and clear language，vigorous expressions and strong individuality.
