How to estimate the historical role and practical significance of Tang poetry is not clear in a few words. There is a view that the pattern of Tang poetry is regarded as an unchangeable moment, which requires the poetry creation of later generations to conform to it. Once it exceeds this pattern, it will be criticized as useless. It is obviously inappropriate to look at the status and function of Tang poetry in this way. We say that as a brilliant new trend in the history of classical poetry, the appearance of Tang poetry has its unique historical background. Because of this, with the migration and transformation of historical conditions, Tang poetry itself will inevitably undergo internal qualitative alternation and even overall qualitative change, and it is impossible to be as youthful and lifelong as people expect. Song poetry inherited Tang poetry, but brought forth the old and brought forth the new, forming another poetic tradition opposite to the style of Tang poetry. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some writers tried to return to Tangyin, but in vain, their appearance was lost. Historical practice strongly proves that the era of Tang poetry is indeed gone forever. Any attempt to "copy" or "copy" Tang poetry can only be attributed to "the spirit of poverty and waste"!
So, is the life of Tang poetry really gone, leaving no trace? This is a big mistake. This lofty peak in the history of poetry cannot be bypassed at will. Its majestic figure has been projected for thousands of years and extended to various fields. It can be said that its profound influence is felt all the time in the later literary process. In Song Dynasty, human resources stood free from vulgarity and paid the most attention to the innovative value of poetry. However, they were born out of familiarity and followed the path instead of the main road, which just reflected the radiation power of Tang poetry, not to mention their gadgets of "taking the fetus as the bone" and "turning the stone into gold" are full of Tang poetry. Down to the Yuan Dynasty, people in the late Tang Dynasty learned much, people in the Ming Dynasty learned much, and people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty learned much. Although the effect is not good, we have to admit that they touched an extremity of the Tang Dynasty. There are two schools of thought in Qing Dynasty, one is the school of worshipping Tang and the other is the school of worshipping Song. They are not belittling Tang, but trying to understand Tang and Song. Until the Revolution of 1911, among the poets of Nanshe, there was a revival of Tang Yin, which showed the prestige of Tang poetry. As for the theme, artistic conception, skills, style, diction, temperament, etc. of Tang poetry borrowed from ci, qu, novel, drama, prose and rap, it is even more difficult to describe, because it is so extensive that the whole nation is influenced by Tang poetry. The lofty position and far-reaching significance of Tang poetry in the history of literature is unparalleled except the tradition of poetry and Sao, which marks the beginning of China literature.
However, since the rise of the May 4th New Literature Movement, Tang poetry seems to have lost its former glory. After the May 4th Movement, all the new poems are written in vernacular Chinese, and there are many free poems, so the "five-seven-character archaism" with strict meter in the Tang Dynasty is no longer useful. After the May 4th Movement, poets are facing a new era of life, needing new themes, new singing methods and new ways of expression, which are far from the tradition of Tang poetry. At that time, learning from Whitman, Tagore, Goethe, Byron, Pushkin, Mayakovski and even Baudelaire and Wei Erlun became a trend in the poetry circle. However, few people pay attention to Tang and Song Ci, which is a historical necessity and cannot be simply attributed to people's forgetting their ancestors and seeking novelty and expelling differences. In this situation, the influence of Tang poetry has gradually shrunk. Although it has been read and discussed by some literature lovers, it has even been studied and imitated by a few addicts. Generally speaking, nature is no longer regarded as a model or mainstream of poetry creation in the new period.
Nevertheless, the significance of Tang poetry has not completely disappeared, and it will still attract people's attention in life at present and in the future, giving people many inspirations. As the essence of national poetry tradition, it embodies the national aesthetic experience, shows the temperament of national psychology and shows the silhouette of national life. And all this will not disappear as quickly as the era environment that produced it, but will be deeply accumulated in the national history and become an organic part of the social life and spiritual life of the whole nation. From the past to the present, it will continue to the future and will last forever with the survival of the nation. From this perspective, Tang poetry is not dead and will not die. It is a mirror of our nation's self-reflection and self-knowledge, and it is also an important mechanism of our nation's self-creation and self-development.
Let's take the creation of new poems after the May 4th Movement as an example. We have said that it is good for new poetry to rely more on the form of foreign poetry because it expresses the needs of life in the new era, but this does not mean that it has cut off its connection with the tradition of national poetry. The new poets grew up in the soil of national life and breathed the breath of national culture, so their poetry creation could not be induced. For example, Guo Moruo's enthusiasm for Li Bai, Wen Yiduo's enthusiasm for Meng Haoran, Li Jinfa's preference for Li He, Dai Wangshu's and Bian's closeness to Li Shangyin, and Bing Xin's and Zong Baihua's intake of quatrains in the Tang Dynasty are all full of signs. It should be an interesting topic to research the acceptance of the influence of the new poets on Tang poetry in cultural psychology, so as to explore the position and role of classical poetry in the new literature movement and summarize the experience of combining Chinese and Western in the process of new literature creation.
From another point of view, we may be able to understand the practical significance of studying Tang poetry on a broader basis, instead of sticking to the direct connection between Tang poetry and new literature creation. Taking the evolution of new poetry as an example, we can see that there have been contradictions in the new poetry movement since the May 4th Movement. On the one hand, the revolution of new poetry has been moving in the direction of breaking through the narrow realm and strict rules of classical poetry from the beginning, and the trend of expanding its connotation, liberalizing its style and liberalizing its language form is the concrete embodiment of this revolutionary spirit. However, the content of new poetry works is too complicated, the artistic conception is too realistic, the language is too sketchy and the rhythm is too scattered, which is often criticized and tried to be improved. From Wen Yiduo and Zhu Xiang's advocacy of "modern metrical poetry" to Li Jinfa and Dai Wangshu's introduction of symbolism, from the debate on "national form" in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War to the practice of using folk songs in Yan 'an period, to the call for "developing new poetry on the basis of folk songs and classical poems" after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and even to various discussions on "misty poetry" and "modernism" in recent years, although the trend is different. However, * * * embodies the aesthetic interest of expecting implicit, concise and rhythmic poetry art. This is the crystallization of our national psychological temperament and aesthetic experience, and it is also the dominant style of China classical poetry tradition represented by Tang poetry. Therefore, the two opposing tendencies that run through the new poetry movement can actually be summed up as a problem, that is, how to unify the needs of the times with the national tradition in the literary reform, so as to bring forth the new under the guidance of the spirit of the times, so that the new works can still fully maintain their own national style and style, and thus be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. After decades of exploration and various attempts, it seems that the creation of new poetry since the May 4th Movement has not found an ideal paradigm on this issue, which is probably an important reason why the readers of new poetry are less than novels, plays and other literary varieties. In order to solve this problem, I think it may be beneficial for us new poets to pay more attention to and study the national poetry traditions, including Tang poetry, while opening the window of the soul and absorbing nutrients from foreign cultures (not imitating its metrical form, but appreciating its charm and learning its methods). It is the unshirkable responsibility of Tang poetry researchers and even the whole classical literature researchers to sum up this tradition scientifically, combine its dross with the new situation, carry forward its essence and promote the construction of new national poetry, new literature and new culture.
Of course, the all-round development of Tang poetics has richer connotations. For example, the internal relationship between historical changes and literary innovation, the interaction between social thoughts, literati life, literary traditions, various cultures and artistic forms and poetry creation, the unity of opposites between content elements and formal elements of literary works, the mutual competition, mutual penetration, trade-offs and metabolism among different poetry genres, styles and styles, and the turn of aesthetic acceptance and the deepening of aesthetic experience in the evolution of Tang poetics in the past thousand years, which contain a lot of materials for study. The research and solution of this series of problems is not only of historical value. Because the theoretical generalization made from such a complex and vivid literary phenomenon inevitably involves some essential characteristics and operating rules of literature itself, which has certain universality, profundity and durability, and may provide reference for the development and prosperity of literature in the new period and guide the current creative practice and theoretical criticism. Such methodological enlightenment also constitutes an indispensable aspect for historical research to serve real life.
I remember an Italian historian Croce famously said, "Every real history is a modern history." (Theory and Practice of History) This understanding of the history of literature is also completely suitable. Not to mention the criticism of Tang poetry in the Tang Dynasty itself is a contemporary criticism. Even the study of Tang poetry in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties is just to establish norms for the poetry creation of their own times. After the May 4th Movement, the tradition of China literature has undergone a qualitative change. Classical poetry, represented by Tang poetry, no longer has a direct exemplary role, but it is precisely because of this that researchers have opened their eyes. They can explore the national psychology, aesthetic experience, cultural traditions and historical laws contained in the Tang poetry phenomenon with an objective and calm attitude, and seek and grasp the combination of classical poetics and contemporary poetics from a broader background and diversified perspective. This is the reason why the study of Tang poetry in the new era can transcend the past and create a new situation step by step.
Every era has its own literature, and every era also has its own scholarship. Based on the needs of today's times, it is our goal to study and apply scientific theories and methods and strive to promote the all-round construction, reform and innovation of Tang poetics.