Pacing Predictably into the Unpredictable: The Promise and Precariousness of Wang Yangming’s Song Poems

This paper examines the evolution of the Ming philosopher Wang Yangming’s 王陽明 (1472–1529) poetry and his invention of “song poems” (歌詩 geshi).  Through examining the rhyming and stylistic features of Wang's invention of the “Singing Method Synchronizing the Nine Tones and the Four Seasons” (jiusheng siqi gefa 九聲四氣歌法), a compositional method that sacrificed literary refinement for musical consistency, the paper explores what it means for Wang Yangming to create poetic form without content, the implications of pursuing morality without a moral reference, and how Wang’s invention of the “song poem” aligns with, complicates, and potentially jeopardizes his philosophical vision.