This study has its significance as a fundamental research on Yuan-Haowen(元好問)’s critical viewpoints within the short biographies in “Zhong Zhou Ji(中州集)”. The study has been written by extracting Yuan-Haowen’s critical perspective and assessment on the creative achievement of poetry in the biographical script of “Zhong Zhou Ji” and analyzing its method of description. Moreover, it analyzes the writing process and composition to find its relation to the description method of the biographies.
To begin with, “Zhong Zhou Ji” has been primarily written based on the “國朝百家詩略” and has been completed with the secondary addition of Yuan-Haowen’s personal perspectives. Such process has influenced the overall structure of the “Zhong Zhou Ji” and especially the narrative methods of the section of the biographical sketch as a whole. Hence, the composition of the “Zhong Zhou Ji”, unlike other typical historical records, does not have a unified structure. Also, although the inclusion of both the brief biography and the poetry seems to portray a certain consistency in its method of documentation, the overall record of the biography varied greatly in its length, contents as well as the method of description depending on the subject individual.
Furthermore, the overall description method of the biographical section could be identified into three types : Type I (description by providing direct examples of poetry with the critical views and evaluations), Type II (description of the critical views and assessments without providing relevant examples of poems), and Type III (description by quoting perspectives of others).
Finally, Type I method was used to effectively propose each recorded individual’s characteristics in poetry composition on aspects such as overall personality, techniques, and area of writing through detailed explanations using examples of relevant poems. Type II method was mainly written by recording his mutual relationship, social intercourse, personality, and education process with the particular poet, which he used to either logically present his own critical views or write in a biographical format to allow in-depth understanding of the subject individual. Lastly, in using Type III method, he simply quoted the writings of others or added his own perspective to it. He especially cited many powerful individuals of that era, such as Zhao-Bingwen(趙秉文), and Li-Chunfu(李純甫), to strengthen the objectivity and legitimacy of his evaluations on the poems.
In sum, the results of this study will later become a meaningful reference for future research on Yuan-Haowen’s criticism theories within the brief biographies in the “Zhong Zhou Ji”.