An Analysis on the Poems in North Dynasty Shown in 4 Collection Books of Ancient Poems Made in Ming and Qing Dynasties - Focusing on 『Gosigi』, 『Chaesukdanggosiseon』,『Gosiwon』, and 『Gosisangseok』

The Northern Dynasties represent one pillar of the history during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, and the poetry of the Northern Dynasties holds significant historical and literary value for understanding this era. Nevertheless, compared to the poetry of the Southern Dynasties, the Northern Dynasties’ poetry falls short in terms of the quantity and critical assessment of the works that have survived. The Qing dynasty, a period when classical literary studies flourished, saw the publication of anthologies of ancient poetry in line with the preferences of different literary circles. In examining the evaluations of Northern Dynasties’ poetry by later scholars, attention was directed toward poetry anthologies from the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular, to explore which Northern Dynasties’ poems were highly regarded during the Qing dynasty, selected anthologies from the Ming and Qing periods were used to lay the foundation for a comparative study between the poetry of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The selected anthologies include 〈Gosiwon〉, 〈Chaesukdanggosiseon〉, and 〈Gosisangseok〉, which represent different types of ancient poetry collections, along with 〈Gosigi〉, a comprehensive collection of ancient poetry compiled in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty. These collections were used to catalog the poetry of the Northern Dynasties, identify common works, and clarify their significance. Through the analysis of the overlapping works in these collections, it was found that, similar to earlier periods like the Han and Wei-Jin dynasties, the poems selected by Qing-era compilers also reflected the spirit of their time. However, despite the continuity between the selected collections, there were notable differences in the selection of works compared to the poetry of the Two Han Dynasties and Wei-Jin periods, especially in the differing perspectives on the evaluation of lyrical poetry. Moreover, the lower evaluation of Northern Dynasties’ poetry, as compared to that of the Southern Dynasties, persisted not only during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period but also among Qing scholars, a trend that continues to influence the research preferences of modern scholars.