Ch'in Chia (; courtesy name: Shih-hui),Anne Birrell Chinese Love Poetry: New Songs from a Jade Terrace (1995), p. 54 also known as Qin Jia (c. first century BCfirst century AD),Arthur Waley Translations from the Chinese (1941), p. 55 was a Chinese poet of the Eastern Han dynasty.
Name
The word "Ch'in Chia" means all relations who bear a different family name.Guido Vitale (barone.), Chinese folklore: Pekinese rhymes (1972), p. 54
Life
Ch'in Chia came from Lunghsi. He lived during the Eastern Han dynasty,Harriet T. Zurndorfer Chinese Women in the Imperial Past: New Perspectives (1999), p. 328 and was a civil servant.Chambers dictionary of quotations (1997), p. 248. Very little is known of his life.
Separation from his wife
He was married to Hsu Shu,Also spelt "Hs'u Shu" and "Xu Shu". who was also a poet. They had a very harmonious relationship.
When Ch'in Chia was promoted to the post of commandery supervisor at the capital (Luoyang),Per Anne Birrell Games poets play: readings in medieval Chinese poetry (2004), p. 240; Some sources state that the city was Beijing. and summoned to take up an appointment there, his wife fell ill and had to stay at home with her parents. He was therefore unable to say goodbye to her personally,The book Sunflower splendor: three thousand years of Chinese poetry (1975), by Wu-chi Liu and Irving Yucheng Lo, gives a contradictory account, stating: When Ch'in Chia parted from his wife, he gave her a mirror as a symbol of their union. (p. 199), but Ch'in Chia only sends her "The bright mirror [that] will reflect [her] face", a gift mentioned in one of his poem to his wife, after their separation. and sent her a series of three poems instead, entitled "Poems for My Wife"."Tseng fu shih"; Victor H. Mair The Columbia History of Chinese Literature (2012), p. 1317
Hsu Shu, in her turn, responded by sending him poems of her own,The poems are entitled "Ch'in Chia's Wife's Reply"; "A Further Reply to Qin Jia", "Poem in Reply to My Husband" (Qieshen xi buling; also translated as "Response to My Husband, Ch'in Chia"); see Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Agnes D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles, Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women (2007), p. 228 maintaining a loving correspondence, of which the following is a sample:
Poetry
Ch'in Chia's first poem to his wife expresses his sorrow at their separation, and longing for reunion:
Legacy and influence
A 1968 edition of China Today explains that "Ch'in Chia and his wife Hsui Shu are supposed to be a couple of constant and profound lovers and therefore have often been referred to as such in subsequent ages by people when they laud wedded bliss."Institute for Chinese Culture, Taipei (City), China today, Vol. 11 (1968), p. 43
Anne Birrell, in Games Poets Play, stated: "Ch'in Chia's expression of helpless melancholy and graceful, gallant compliments influenced the development of poems on conjugal love."Anne Birrell Games poets play: readings in medieval Chinese poetry (2004), pp. 240-241
References