This paper applies a hermeneutic approach to analyze, and a comparative approach to examine, Bai Juyi’s poems referenced in Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, Tongguk Yi Sang-guk Chip by Yi Kyu-bo and Kyewŏn Pilgyŏngjip by Ch’oe Ch’i-wŏn. Through exploring Bai’s poetry in these texts, the author discovers how Murasaki, Sei, Ch’oe, and Yi contributed to transculturuation in Korea and Japan. Furthermore, the transculturation demonstrated by these literati shows a diversity of patterns: cultural mobilization from west to east; the emergence of overlapping histories in different eras and locations; a disappeared culture, recovered through being transmitted to other regions; cultural transplantation or transformation resulting from cultural contacts; and cultural products helped to stimulate economic growth. Subsequently, Bai Juyi’s works stand as a testament to the power of great poetry to improve and enhance cultures across a broad span of time and space.

This paper applies a hermeneutic approach to analyze, and a comparative approach to examine, Bai Juyi’s poems referenced in Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, Tongguk Yi Sang-guk Chip by Yi Kyu-bo and Kyewŏn Pilgyŏngjip by Ch’oe Ch’i-wŏn. Through exploring Bai’s poetry in these texts, the author discovers how Murasaki, Sei, Ch’oe, and Yi contributed to transculturuation in Korea and Japan. Furthermore, the transculturation demonstrated by these literati shows a diversity of patterns: cultural mobilization from west to east; the emergence of overlapping histories in different eras and locations; a disappeared culture, recovered through being transmitted to other regions; cultural transplantation or transformation resulting from cultural contacts; and cultural products helped to stimulate economic growth. Subsequently, Bai Juyi’s works stand as a testament to the power of great poetry to improve and enhance cultures across a broad span of time and space.