The Seven Masters of the Chien-an Era

Chien-an was the reign designation of the last emperor of the Eastern Han, Emperor Hsien (Liu Hsieh), which ran for twenty-five years (196-220 A.D.). but in terms of literary history the Chien-an Era should be longer, generally including the periods of Chien-an under Emperor Hsien of the Han, Huang-Ch'u (220-226 A.D.) under Emperor Wen of the Wei, and T'ai-ho (227-232 A.D.) under Emperor Ming of the Wei.

"The Seven Masters of the Chien-an" is the designation used to jointly refer to the seven authors of the Chien-an period: K'ung Jung, Ch'en Lin, Wang Ts'an, Hsu Kan, Juan Yu, Ying Yang and Liu Chen. The designation "Seven Masters" originated because Ts'ao P'i, Emperor Wen of the Wei, linked these seven men together in his "Essay on Literature" (part of his Classical Essays), and at the same time praised their literary work. Because their activities fell primarily in the Chien-an years, they later were referred to as "The Seven Masters of the Chien-an Era." Because they also all lived in Yeh (north of modern An-yang District in Henan Province), they are also called the "Seven Masters of Yeh"

In all aspects of Chien-an Era literature - poetry, prose, prose- poetry, and fiction - there were rather significant developments. In the flourishing scene which played on the literary stage, the accomplishments in poetry were the highest, the maturity of pentasyllabic poetry especially noteworthy. At that time many important writers appeared, the Seven Masters of the Chien-an being only the most typical figures. The Seven Masters attached themselves to Ts'ao Ts'ao and his sons, Ts'ao P'i and Ts'ao Chih, becoming their aides, often producing poems or prose-poems during the banquets held by the Ts'aos. Most of their literary works squarely depicted the realistic conditions of the chaos in the nation and the aimless wandering of its people. They were also able to express their own aspirations and limn their own urgent hopes to unify the country. Because of this, their literary works were characterized by an equal profusion of emotions and literary skill, altruism and sorrow.

The literary activities of the Seven Masters made great contributions to the splendor on the literary stage during the Chien-an Era, to the formation of the Chien-an "wind and bone" (i.e., the style and character of a literary piece), and to the establishment of the pentasyllabic poetic form. They hold an important place in the history of Chinese literature.

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