Since a long period of time ago , the research on regions has been concerned by the academic circle. The academic circle remains to pay attention to the themes which relate to a certain region , ranging from the aspects of geographic territories, the political status in every dynasty , governmental reforms to cultural studies concerning developments and shifts on cities , customs , diets, and literature writings about the certain region.
Nanking had gradually become the crucial capital city of the South since King Ling of Zhou in Chu Kingdom established it. Yet the existence of Nanking was unlike that of Luoyang as well as Chang’an, both of which had been the political center since ancient times. Situated at the prosperous location in the southeast area along with the solitary water vein of the Changjiang River , Nanking has more humanistic atmosphere , and portrays regarding this city have been revealed repeatedly throughout every dynasty. The urban description of Nanking has become the main theme which is composed of unique and abundant imagery. Within the historic context generations after generations as well as cultural inheritance , Nanking has turned into the imagery created by literati , which contains specific symbols and meanings. Although Nanking used to be entitled differently such as Jinling, Jianye, Jiankang , and Jiangning, “ Jinling “ is often adopted in literature works, which is referred to Nanking. Therefore, this text also adopts the form of address in order to express the symbols and meanings properly.
After the declination in Yuan and Ming Dynasties , the lyric circle in Ching Dynasty revived again. The lyrics composers in the early stage of Ching Dynasty described Nanking in lyrics, which revealed distinct aspects from poems. Lyrics composers interpreted the literature metaphors as well as imagery portrays of Jinling in diverse angles, which not only reflected local culture of Jinling but also deepened the interpretation of the texts, and evolved into research domain with vast and diverse aspects. This thesis combines the specific symbols with the emotion-expression nature of the lyric body in Nanking as the main theme, ranging the early stage of Ching Dynasty . It explores how literati during the period recorded the memories regarding Nanking in the body of lyrics.