Romanticizing the Enforced Freedom in Qiao Ji's "Songs of the Fisherman"

Qiao Ji's 喬吉 (c. 1280–1345) "Songs of the Fisherman" ( Yufuci 漁父詞) navigates the intricacies of literati identity within the specific sociopolitical context of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Through a comparative analysis of Qiao's work with Zhang Zhihe's 張志和 (fl. the eighth century) canonical model of the songs of the fisherman, I highlight the establishment of binary opposition and hierarchy between eremitism and government service in Qiao's songs, songs that in turn justify reclusion as the ideal mode of literati life. But while Qiao extolled reclusion he could not entirely sever his ties to the value system of the secular world. Thus his songs shed light on the complex and contradictory psychological experience of an intellectual attempting to legitimize eremitism as a path toward self-realization amidst the political and societal constraints in the early fourteenth century.