“The spirit world is not a lie”: “The Daughter of Shaofu Cui Bestows a Poem upon Lu Chong” (from “In Search of the Supernatural”, chapter 16)

The article is devoted to the consideration of “The Daughter of Shaofu Cui Bestows a Poem upon Lu Chong”, a poem included into the anecdote “Lu Chong Marries a Deceased Woman” from the collection “In Search of the Supernatural” (the zhiguai xiaoshuo genre) by Gan Bao. The aim of the study is to identify the functional features, genre originality, and typological characteristics of this poem in the framework of the anecdote and the collection. The scientific novelty is determined by the fact that this poem has not been comprehensively analyzed yet. The line-by-line analysis of the poem, which constitutes the core of this article, is based on our own interlinear translation. By analyzing the poem, we have revealed its compositional features, commented on the images, outlined its motifs and types of connections between the motifs, formulated the themes, defined the idea. In addition, we have determined the genre of the poem, a series of typological features that unite this poem with other works of the same genre, and also the semantic and functional load of the poem in the context of the entire collection. The results have shown the following: first, “The Daughter of Shaofu Cui Bestows a Poem upon Lu Chong” is a literary message (epistle; letter) zeng, to be more precise – a literary appeal. Second, as it is not only one of the first messages, but also one of the first love messages in the history of Chinese literature, it allows us to make some generalizations on the specificity of the poetic love message in Chinese literature at the stage of its formation. Third, this small poem, an inserted element in fact, is subordinated to the general task, declared by the author in the preface, and it fully copes with this task.