Journey to Shu, Gexing Poems, and Travel Writings: Xue Xuan's Reception of Du Fu in the Early Ming Dynasty

Xue Xuan, a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar and poet of the early Ming Dynasty, traveled to Sichuan twice. During his second sojourn, he composed 128 poems that display distinctive features and value, continuing the modes and patterns of Du Fu's influence evident in his earlier works. Most remarkable are Xue's gexing (song-style) poems written in Sichuan, which not only adopt Du Fu's formal models but also creatively rework Du's poetic themes. His prose travel account Record of Visiting the Thatched Cottage written in 1450, the first year of the Jingtai reign, possesses both literary and historical significance: it stands out among writings about visits to Du Fu's Thatched Cottage and offers valuable materials for understanding the site's condition and reconstruction in the early Ming. As one of the earliest Ming poets to study and emulate Du Fu, Xue Xuan helped initiate the trend of Du Fu imitation later developed by the "Former Seven Masters", represented by Li Mengyang and He Jingming, during the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns (1488—1521)—a phenomenon of considerable importance in literary history.