Abstract

The research on the poetry society of the Qing Dynasty consists mainly of two aspects，namely association and creation. The creation of poetry，as the focus of literary research，remains the principle of this research. On the basis of textual analysis，the research's main subject is poetry societies with poetry collections. In addition to association and creation，presidents and poet groups tend to establish associations consciously. Their political thoughts，poetic concepts and life styles also embody the society's objective. And thus，the collection of poetry，the creation of poetry，and the subject of association constitute three significant parts of studying poetry society. When the number of poetry society reaches a certain degree，special types such as the winter association and the elderly association，would appear. These types of poetry society have a long history，and came into their prime during the Qing Dynasty. Diachronically speaking，there is no striking difference in organizing poetry society at different stages. Yet the poetry society of the Qing Dynasty varies geographically，profoundly influencing the way of association and the text. Being subsidiary to the poetry society，the statutes and images serve as a certain basis for a comprehensive understanding of the occurrence and development of poetry societies. In this connection，the book is divided into six chapters and the main content and points are as following.

The first chapter，“the Collection of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，is based on the existing poetry collections，and comprehensively explores the diversity of the way of association. The Yuequan Societyas a famous poetry collection in the early Yuan Dynasty，had a profound impact on the compilation and format of poetry collection of the Qing Dynasty.The characteristics of poetry collections，in terms of content and form，reflect the diversity of association and responsory. For example，the poetry society might be self-sponsored or officially sponsored，activities could be agreed in textual or oral form，and could be carried out once or multiple times. This chapter takes the Hongxiguan Poetry Societyas the representative of poetry collections in the Qing Dynasty，to explore its textual form and functions in reflecting the process and the subject of association and the tendency of creation.Tongsheng Collection is an important type of poetry collection in the Qing Dynasty.Tongsheng Society and Tongsheng Collection complement each other，forming the phenomenon of creating poems with the same voice.Three Tongsheng collections compiled by Hu Fengdan，with rich content and complete form，symbolizes the heyday of Tongsheng society in the Qing Dynasty.The gradual compilation of poetry collections acted asa catalyst for the poetry responsory which was evolving into the poetry society.

The second chapter，“the Subject of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，is centered upon poet groups，to explore the specific types of the poetry society with different subjects，such as adherent poets，female poets，Eight Banners and scholar-bureaucrats. Adherent Poetry Society is usually politically resistant，with few existing works. They were gradually dying out as the stability of the Qing Dynasty grew. This chapter takes Jiaoyuan and Qingxi as important examples of Female Poetry Society to explore the female characteristics of association and creation. It then analyzes the internal and external motivations for the formation of Female Poetry Society. The phenomenon that several collections of female poems were merged and published also determines the form of collections of the poetry society.The Eight Banners Poetry Society is mainly active in the north，with a tradition of holding the winter association. The fate of these poet groups is related to the ruling class，for the association becomes a means of seeking official career.They often advocated the creation of Shitie poem. Xuannan poetry society is a typical example of Scholar-bureaucrat Poetry Society. The trend of Scholar-bureaucrat Poetry Society in Beijing，during Jiaqing and Daoguang period，influenced the development of poetry societies throughout the country.

The third chapter，“Special Types of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，mainly discusses how the winter association，the summer association and the elderly association are formed.Based on these collections，this chapter presents several winter associations initiated by specific poets and analyzes their ways of association and creation which are different from general poetry society.The summer association imitated and sometimes alternated with the winter association，but both influenced each other.Two elderly poetry societies，Xiangshan and Luoyang，had far-reaching influence on later generations.Their formsof association andcreation，as well as optimistic spirit，were models of the elderly poetry society of the Qing Dynasty to follow.Being dependent on various conditions such as tradition，experience and environment，the elderly poetry society advanced quickly in the Qing Dynasty while it also promoted the compilation of poetry collections.The poetry society held by the collectively named poet groups has their own origin and development.The combined force of collective name and poetry society are closely interactive.The elderly poetry societyinthe Qing Dynasty promoted the maturity of the collectively named poet groups and the continuation of regional literary tradition.

The fourth chapter，“the Geographical Distribution of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，includes poetry societies in Guangdong，Zhejiang，Jiangsu and other places. A large number of collections of poetry societies had emerged in Guangdong，where the poetry society series named South Park and West Park were formed，reflecting the overall influence of regional culture on the poetry society. The prosperity of poetry societies in various parts of Zhejiang depended on the advocacy of famous poets，such as Li E，Hang Shijun，Shang Pan，and Zhu Yizun. Poetry societies in Jiangsu were extremely rich，for example，societies in Suzhou，Changzhou，Nanjing and Yangzhou. Jiangsu led the nationwide ethos of the poetry society as early as the late Ming Dynasty. Activities at Canglang Pavilion and Red Bridge were based on the same space as the premise. The rise and fall of gardens，and the prosperity and decline of poetry societies，are in consistency to each other to a large degree.

The fifth chapter，“the Poetry Creation of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，mainly discusses the creative rules presented by the poems of the poetry society. Poetry responsory is made up of different topics，genres，rhymes and others. Indeed，these are also the common creative ways of poetry societies in the past dynasties，not the unique features of the Qing Dynasty. However，it is undeniable that the arrangement and application of these ways was especially flexible and active in the Qing Dynasty. The poemsin the collections of poetry societies can better reflect the regularity of the association. The Lianju is the product of collective cooperation，while the Shizhong is a time-limited game. The development of Shizhong from a creative way into a type of poetry society manifests elevation of appreciating the poetry society in the late Qing Dynasty. The collections of poetry societies and the poems in the Qing Dynasty have an obvious tendency for chanting about tangible objects，on which，chanting about autumn willows ledby Wang Shizhen exerts a far-reaching impact. Poetry reviews show the ranking system and commentary function of poetry societies. And the members of the poetry society attempt to improve their poetry creation through these reviews.

The sixth chapter，“the Cultural Interpretation of the Poetry Society in the Qing Dynasty”，mainly investigates the cultural and artistic connotation of poetry societies，and the function of the statutes and images of poetry societies. The existence of art and religious society，as well as the aforementioned political and literary society explains the diversification of categories and functions of the poetry society in the Qing Dynasty. The statutes of the poetry society are usually put in the front page of its poetry collection，which is a sign that general poetry collections do not own. They embodied the purpose of the poetry society，and to a large extent continued the spirit of the Zhenshuai association of the Song Dynasty. The images of poetry society and poems on the given images are clues to reappear the scene of association and to restore the reality of the poetry society. The portraits of poets or the scenes of association shown in the images are another presentation that is different from the poetry creations.The drawing of images of poetry societies in the Qing Dynasty，such as Qianyuan society and Dongxuan society，was influenced by the West Park Image of the Song Dynasty. Apart from the environment established by poet groups，policies by the royal court also influenced the poetry society in the Qing Dynasty. For example，the banon alliance and association in the early Qing Dynasty hindered the development of poetry societies over a period of time. Folk academies and official schools promoted the curriculum-based poetry society，demonstrating attention on both prose and poetry. Following the inherent rule of developing poetry and association，poetry societies in the Qing Dynasty were also impacted by politics and culture，and exhibited unprecedented vitality.

Key words：poetry society；Qing Dynasty；the collection of poetry society；the subject of poetry society；the winter association；geographical distribution