The atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty was a technical term of literary criticism during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, referring to the overall style and characteristics of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, Yan Yu's "Canglang Poetry Talk" and other works most highly praised the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, pointing out that the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the most popular. The characteristic of Tang poetry is that it is "both powerful in writing and rich in atmosphere" ("Replying to the Book of Wu Jingxian in Lin'an, Lin'an"), and this was elaborated in many of his poems. Later, poetry commentators in the Ming and Qing Dynasties inherited Yan Yu's theory and often regarded it as Magnificent and vigorous (sometimes collectively referred to as vigorous) are the style characteristics of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and are called the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Majesty and magnanimity are indeed the style characteristics of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The poetry style of the Southern Dynasties and even the early Tang Dynasty, Most of them are delicate and weak, with sculpted words and sentences that lack majesty. They were abandoned by the poets of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Some of the poems in the middle and late Tang Dynasty after the prosperous Tang Dynasty tended to be simple and weak, such as the Ten Talents of Dali, Bai Juyi, Jia Dao, Yao He, etc. , lacks majesty; some tend to be majestic, such as Han Yu, but because they deliberately pursue strange dangers and lack naturalness, majesty is indeed a prominent feature of the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty that distinguishes it from the poetry of the early Tang Dynasty and the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Yan Yu admires the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty the most, Li Bai and Du Fu were the two most respected poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. "Canglang Poetry·Poetry Review" praised the poems of Li Du and other prosperous Tang poets as "like the golden eagle [鳷(zhī)]", the legendary exotic bird (big bird) breaking into the sea. ", the fragrance is like crossing the river", praising its majesty. Yan Yu also emphasized that poetry should be written completely and naturally, without showing any traces of diction, which is the so-called "like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace" ("Canglang Poetry Talk·Poetry Debate" ), and believes that the poetry of the Tang Dynasty is outstanding in this aspect. Yan Yu strongly advocates the poetry style of the Tang Dynasty, not only because the poetry of the Tang Dynasty is indeed well written, but also because of its historical background. The Jiangxi Poetry School with the greatest influence in the Song Dynasty, its works are partly based on Du Fu's later years. The chapters that deliberately refined the words and sentences were studied with the poems of Han Yu and Meng Jiao. They were written in a thin and strong style but lacked the beauty of natural integration. The Yongjia Four Spirits School of Poetry, which was popular in the late Southern Song Dynasty, took inspiration from Fa Jia Dao and Yao He, and was narrow in style and lacked majesty. The magnificent scene. Yan Yu strongly advocated that poetry should be based on the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which means to criticize the contemporary poetic style and remedy the shortcomings.
To say that the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is majestic and vigorous is based on its overall style, characteristics and main features. Generally speaking, the vast majority of poems in the Tang Dynasty are vigorous, but some poems, especially the pastoral poems of Wang Wei, Meng Haoran and others, have a diluted and leisurely style. Although they are natural and vigorous, they are not majestic. After all, this kind of poems only account for a minority in the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is a macro-generalization.
There are roughly two reasons for the formation of the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. One is the heroic ambition of the poets of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Facing the situation of a strong country and prosperous economy and culture at that time, poets were generally broad-minded and high-spirited, hoping to make great achievements. They liked to describe the magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland, the majestic scenery on the frontier, tense battles and their own heroic aspirations. They pursued "whales" "Blue Sea" (a phrase from Du Fu's "Six Quatrains for a Play"). This forms the majestic style of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The second is the inheritance and development of the excellent poetry tradition of the previous generation. The poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty tried their best to eliminate the legacy from the Southern Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty. The floating poetry style attaches great importance to learning from the ancient poetry of the Han, Wei and Yuefu poems, and pays attention to carrying forward the clear and vigorous poetry style of the late Han Dynasty and the Jian'an era. From the perspective of the inheritance relationship of the poetry itself, the vigorous characteristics of the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty are due to this.
Some poems of the prosperous Tang Dynasty fully reflect the appearance of the times when the Tang Empire was strong, but the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the appearance of the prosperous Tang Dynasty are not the same thing. The prosperous Tang Dynasty in the history of literature refers to the two dynasties of Tang Xuanzong and Suzong, about fifty years old. In the late Xuanzong period, political corruption began and the country began to decline. The Anshi Rebellion in the Middle Ages caused social turmoil and people's livelihood was in decline. However, the poems of the late Tang Dynasty represented by Du Fu were still full of powerful characteristics. For example, Du Fu's "Wang Yue" "The poem was written in the late prosperous Tang Dynasty, and it certainly reflects his grand ambition of "reaching the top of the mountain and seeing all the small mountains." His poem "Climbing the Ci'en Temple Tower with the Dukes" was written on the eve of the An-Shi Rebellion and reflected the precarious situation of the Tang Empire. The situation and the poet's worry are still majestic. The two seven-line poems "Climbing the Tower" and "Climbing the High" written by Du Fu in his later years express the decline of the Tang Dynasty due to foreign aggression and the poet's twilight mood. The realm is still majestic and broad. Such There are many examples. Such poems written by Du Fu in his later years are often praised by poetry critics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as masterpieces that express the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Many poems written by Li Bai in his later years after the Anshi Rebellion also have a majestic style. In the late Tang Dynasty, the era The face of the Tang Dynasty has changed drastically, but the mentality formed by Li, Du and others in the early period has not disappeared, nor has the clear and vigorous poetic style they pursued, so they can still write many powerful poems.
The Tang Dynasty is the The golden age in the history of Chinese poetry, the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is the peak in the history of Tang poetry. The poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is characterized by its majestic and vigorous style, which has high aesthetic value.
The sound of the prosperous Tang Dynasty
Refers to the Tang Dynasty The period from Kaiyuan to Dali was the heyday of Tang poetry. The period of Tang poetry is called the prosperous Tang. There are famous poets Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Li Bai, Du Fu, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, etc. During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, until the "Anshi Rebellion" "Before the outbreak, it was an era of highly prosperous society and a rich artistic atmosphere in the Tang Dynasty. After more than a hundred years of preparation and brewing, Tang poetry finally reached the peak of its heyday. Although, in the early, prosperous, middle and late stages of Tang poetry Among the four stages, the Tang Dynasty was the shortest, but its achievements were the most brilliant. During this period, not only the great poet Li Bai appeared, but also a large number of talented poets emerged. Many famous and widely recited poems have been popular for thousands of years. Poetry was produced during this period. Enthusiastic, bold and unrestrained, with a strong romantic temperament are the main characteristics of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty; even quiet and beautiful works are also full of vitality and brilliance. .This is the "sound of the prosperous Tang Dynasty" that is envied by future generations.