| Abstract |
The heyday of parallel prose（駢文）was in the Six Dynasties period, and Kong Zhigui’s（孔稚珪） “North Mountain Proclamation”（〈北山移文〉）is a masterpiece. There are two reasons why this work of literature has been read widely throughout the ages: firstly, because of its elegant literary patterning, which provided a model for later literati, and secondly, because of its deep critical spirit in taunting fake hermits. Not only is the style romantic, magnificent and imaginative, the work also has real social meaning. In this paper, I avoid peripheral disputes and discuss the text from a different angle. Through the reception of this piece of writing, I discuss creative transformations in the re-creations and criticisms of this text by later literati. I begin by investigating the direct use of the topic of the “North Mountain Proclamation” by traditional literati, and discuss their works from the viewpoint of writer’s identity and critical direction. I then discuss formal aspects such as literary technique, etc., and investigate the literati’s acceptance of and partiality for this work in their own creative efforts. Finally, I focus on literati in past dynasties who wrote sequels, imitations and transformations, in order to highlight the “North Mountain Proclamation” phenomenon created by Kong Zhigui in the history of Chinese literature.
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