Ouyang Xiu - Prose

Prose

In his prose works, he followed the example of Han Yu, promoting the Classical Prose Movement. While posted in Luoyang, Ouyang founded a group who made his “ancient prose” style a public cause. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. He is said to be more responsible than any other single writer for developing a new expressiveness in expository prose in a variety of genres.

Among his most famous prose works is the Zuiweng Tingji (literally, An Account of the Old Toper's Pavilion). The Zuiweng Pavilion near Chuzhou is named in his honor whilst the poem is a description of his pastoral lifestyle among the mountains, rivers and people of Chuzhou. The work is lyrical in its quality and acclaimed as one of the highest achievements of Chinese travel writing. Chinese commentators in the centuries immediately following the work's composition focused on the nature of the writing. Huang Zhen said that the essay is an example of "using writing to play around," and Cui Xian was reminded of the spirit of the Jin Dynasty. It was agreed that the essay was about fengyue, the elegant enjoyment of leisure. During the Qing Dynasty, however, commentators began to see past the playfulness of the piece to the thorough and sincere joy that the author found in the joy of others.