The unprecedented prosperity of the economy, the unprecedented unification of the whole country, the perfection of the imperial examination system, the love and advocacy of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty for poetry, the social atmosphere of advocating poetry, the participation of the civilian landlord class and the accumulation of predecessors.
1. The unprecedented economic prosperity in the Tang Dynasty provided a material basis for the development and prosperity of poetry. At the end of Sui Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty, peasant uprisings were surging, social unrest, people's poverty and economic depression. After the Tang Dynasty unified the whole country, the government promulgated a series of policies to develop agriculture and laws and regulations to promote social stability, which promoted the development of agriculture. With the vigorous development of agriculture, commerce and transportation are also booming. The cities of the Tang Dynasty were also unprecedentedly prosperous. The national traffic is smooth, with Chang 'an as the center by land, five trunk lines leading to various places, Yangzhou as the center by waterway, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal connecting the north and south water systems. Economic prosperity, convenient transportation and social stability provided a solid material foundation and a good social environment for the development of poetry in the Tang Dynasty. These are the concrete material conditions for poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu to roam freely in the famous mountains and rivers of the motherland, and for poets such as Wang Changling and Wang Huanzhi to enjoy "singing with banners and pavilions".
Second, the unprecedented national unity provided a realistic foundation for the formation of Tang poetry. China has been a unified multi-ethnic country since ancient times, and the unification of multi-ethnic countries began to take shape in the Han Dynasty. Later, the corruption of the ruling class caused the temporary division of the motherland, and the Sui Dynasty ended the situation of the split between the North and the South. However, due to Yang Di's fatuity, the motherland was divided again, and the establishment of the Tang Dynasty unified the multi-ethnic motherland. After the end of the separatist regime, the Tang Dynasty stabilized the Central Plains, promoted agricultural development, and at the same time strengthened the management of the northwest minority areas, further strengthening the development and stability of the northwest region. In order to strengthen the management of the northwest region, the central government has also increased the rewards for soldiers guarding the border. These measures also indirectly promoted the enthusiasm of Central Plains people, especially some literati, to flock to the frontier. These literati lived in the frontier fortress for a long time and went deep into the life of soldiers, which enriched their knowledge, broadened their horizons, further stimulated their creative enthusiasm, promoted the development of frontier fortress poems in the Tang Dynasty and enriched the theme of poems in the Tang Dynasty.
Thirdly, the imperial examination system of selecting poets promoted the study of poetry by scholars and became the direct reason for the prosperity of poetry in Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system of selecting scholars by poems broke the nine-grade system since Cao Wei, broke the monopoly of the gentry on politics, and strengthened centralization. At the same time, for children in cloth clothes, poetry has become a shortcut to their career, and they have to embark on the road of poetry creation. Selecting scholars by poetry has made almost the whole intellectual class become the creator of poetry, and poetry has also become a major feature in the cultural field of the Tang Dynasty and a compulsory subject for intellectuals to study and study. In order to enter the official career, they must learn and train their own poetic skills, and they must inherit and develop the poetic skills of the previous generation, which enriches the artistic skills and continuity of Tang poetry.
Fourthly, the love and advocacy of the rulers in the Tang Dynasty provided a broad mass base for the prosperity of Tang poetry, shaped the situation of poetry creation and promoted the prosperity of poetry. Most emperors in the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to poetry, and all of them were capable of poetry. Emperor Taizong opened the Literature Museum and Hongwen Museum successively, seeking for a bachelor's degree, compiling documents, and singing and chanting with them. Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian often invent new words for fun. Xuanzong himself is a poet and musician, and Wenzong has a bachelor's degree in poetry. The love and support of the ruler. Nature attracts intellectuals to the road of poetry creation, forming a popular trend of poetry creation.
Fifth, the social atmosphere of advocating poetry has also created an unprecedented appreciation group. Bai Juyi's "Nine Books with the Same Yuan" vividly describes the scene that his poems were widely praised: "The rest of the poems are often in the population, but they are ashamed and don't believe it." When I came to Chang 'an again, I heard that an army had sent Gao Xia to live and wanted to recruit a prostitute. The prostitute boasted, "I have recited Bai Xueshi's Song of Eternal Sorrow. Can I be a prostitute with him? Therefore, the price has been raised. " It can be seen that Bai Juyi's appreciation of poetry has spread throughout the whole society. Spreading poetry to all walks of life, in addition to the direct presentation and gift of poets, mainly benefits from the role of three kinds of people: teachers directly teach disciples, booksellers copy and sell, and singers sing with songs. Among them, Geji plays the most important role in communication, and many people who can't read and appreciate can enjoy poetry by listening to songs and watching dances. The fame of poets is also directly related to the number of songs sung by singers.
6. The main social class foundation for the prosperity of poetry in the Tang Dynasty was the civilian landlord class. The imperial examination system made the landlord class in poor countries enter the political arena and formed a new political force. Although they were in the upper class of feudal rule, most of them abandoned their lives and experienced various ups and downs. They are closer to the lower classes, have a better understanding of their sufferings and have a more positive spirit. In literature, they became a new force against aristocratic literature, such as the Four Masters in the Early Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. It is these people with rich life experience who are often dissatisfied with the political status quo and demand change. They are good at absorbing the nutrition of poetry since ancient times, dare to expose social contradictions and express political ideals. It can be said that Tang poetry flourished in these hands.
7. Poetry in the Tang Dynasty did not rise from the ground, but was rooted in the soil with profound cultural accumulation and gradually acquired by absorbing the experience and skills of previous poems. Before the Tang Dynasty, we had a history of thousands of years, and we had considerable development and experience to learn from, whether it was the system of marking chapters or culture and art. For example, seven-character ancient poems developed in Bao Zhao and others on the basis of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, and reached a scale in the Six Dynasties. Similarly, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Tao Yuanming also developed pastoral poetry to an unprecedented height.
In a word, the peak of Tang poetry was caused by many reasons. If the development of Tang poetry is compared to a systematic project, perhaps the individual software or hardware of a certain dynasty will be better, but on the whole, no dynasty can compare with the Tang Dynasty. This is also the reason why the Tang Dynasty became the golden age of poetry.
Tang poetry is the highest achievement in the development of China's poetry. It inherited the essence of poetry since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Due to the open atmosphere, clear politics and the admiration of rulers in the Tang Dynasty, poetry in the Tang Dynasty developed greatly. For example, the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty required special examination of poetry. Moreover, most poets in the Tang Dynasty like roaming. For example, Li Bai and Du Fu traveled all over China, which broadened the poet's horizons, broadened the theme of poetry and enriched associations. In a word, the poems and songs of the Tang Dynasty are the epitome of China's ancient poems, reaching a position that is beyond the reach of later generations and the highest peak in the history of China's poetry. The poetry creation in Tang Dynasty is diverse and rich in themes, which provides a good template for later poetry creation. As the saying goes, you can recite 300 Tang poems by heart even if you can't write them. Similarly, due to the high achievements of Tang poetry, it is difficult for future generations to surpass it, so new literary fields have been developed, and the emergence and development of Song Ci is a good example.