In addition to the introduction, this book is divided into four chapters in chronological order. The four chapters are the four stages of the early Tang Dynasty: Zhenguan, Longshuo, Wuzhou and Shenlong Jinglong. The introduction describes the author's purpose of writing this book, and points out that in the whole history of Tang poetry, the early Tang Dynasty was just a prelude, which opened the curtain of the prosperity of Tang poetry. However, in terms of its origin, the poems in the early Tang Dynasty are still in the same strain as those in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It can even be said that the poems in the early Tang Dynasty are different from the real modern poems, but it is in this period that the foundation for the prosperity of poems after the prosperous Tang Dynasty was laid. Generally speaking, the author thinks that there is a lack of good works in early Tang poetry, but to study the mystery, we should not only focus on Wang Ji, the Four Masters and Chen Ziang, but also study the experiences and works of court poets, study the real development of Tang poetry at that time, see the characteristics of poets in early Tang dynasty, and appreciate the ups and downs and joys of court literati in early Tang dynasty.
The first chapter mainly introduces the style of court poetry in Zhenguan period, focusing on the revival of Confucianism in the early Tang Dynasty after the turmoil in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the poetic style was influenced by Confucianism. Combined with the melody of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the author clearly points out that the palace style and poetic style at this time are mainly inherited from the Southern Dynasties, and the poetic style of the Northern Dynasties is integrated into it. At this time, the Confucian concept of poetry teaching was fulfilled, and the weather of the times rubbed against the melody of the Southern Dynasties, which in turn formed the atmosphere of court poetry of Zhenguan generation. At this time, the poet was magnificent, which pushed the court poems that began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the peak. At this time, the elements of the Tang Dynasty came into play, and the change of poetic style began, and the prosperity of Tang poetry began here. At this time, the graceful demeanor of the court poets ran through the whole Tang Dynasty.
The second chapter came to the Gaozong period. At this time, through the development of Zhenguan and Yonghui, the national situation in the Tang Dynasty was stable and the economy was prosperous. At this time, the ruler began to indulge in debauchery and gradually became extravagant. At this time, the court poets were closest to the power center and were most influenced, and their poetic style began to turn gorgeous. The "Longshuo variant" produced in Longshuo period was the best representative. The author starts with the cultural atmosphere of this period. Focusing on the styles of "Shangguan Style" and "Fu Style Poetry" respectively, this paper reveals their characteristics of seeking beauty in words, patchwork, charm and flattery, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of "Dragon Theory Variant", and reveals the omen of the change of poetic style.
The third chapter discusses the style of court poetry in Wu and Zhou Dynasties. At this time, the situation was stable, the politics was clear and the school was prosperous. However, Wu Zhao managed hard, so the glitz of poetry did not disappear, but it no longer grew. The policy of "selecting scholars by poetry" also made scholars begin to face up to poetry and explore the mystery of writing poetry, and entered the period of building poetry in an all-round way. "Four Friends of Articles", "Song Shen" and "Bachelor of Zhu Ying" all made their own explorations and contributions in the construction of poetic style. Modern poetry was shaped in the times of Shen Quanqi and Song Wenzhi. Therefore, in terms of poetic style, Tang poetry is different from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which is a key step in the formation and prosperity of Tang poetry. The prosperity of Tang poetry has been vividly portrayed.
The fourth chapter mainly introduces the works of "Minister of Dragon Chasing" and "Bachelor of Jinglong". In the post-Wu Zhao period, the political situation in the Tang Dynasty was turbulent, and there were many coups. The good days of court poets have come to an end. They ushered in the trough of their lives, and the poetry style of exiled ministers quietly changed from joy to sadness, which became the most important driving force for the transformation of poetry style in Tang Dynasty. The material of poetry has slowly left the court and moved to the south of the Saibei River. The life of "Bachelor of Jinglong" is still superior, but their poems have integrated pastoral elements. Therefore, all the schools of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty sprouted from this time. At this time, the emotion contained in the poem changed, the glitz and praise gradually disappeared, and the literati feelings became the main theme of the poem. The literati spirit gradually formed, the court literati gradually faded out of people's field of vision, and the poetry of the early Tang Dynasty has come to an end, but this is just a story. It can be seen that the role of early Tang poetry and the great contribution of court poetry.
Before reading this book again, I had a general understanding of the political trend and the development of poetry in the early Tang Dynasty. At this time, China had just finished the great division of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and had experienced the peasant war at the end of Sui Dynasty. The world has just stabilized and needs rest. Emperor Taizong made great efforts to govern, and the economy became more prosperous. There were signs of prosperity in the Tang Dynasty, and foreign wars were also victorious, and culture began to open up. However, from Emperor Gaozong's accession to the throne to Emperor Xuanzong's accession to the throne, the political situation quickly plunged into turmoil and coups continued. The ups and downs of the literati class have brought creative motivation to a large number of literati. By the time Xuanzong ascended the throne, China had entered the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the prosperous time came again, which also made poetry reach its peak and the era of poets came. On the other hand, the development of Tang poetry in the early hundred years can be said to be too little, and only Wang Ji, "Four Masters", Zhang, and "Song Shen" are worth mentioning. Therefore, the poetry of this period has always been in a low position, and the teaching of literary history is only a simple understanding. However, researchers generally know little about a group of important poets in this period. Shangguan Yi, "Song Shen", "Four Friends of Articles" and others generally don't give high comments, so there are too few related researchers in the early Tang Dynasty. At that time, it was thought that the development of Tang poetry reached its peak, and there must be signs of the early Tang Dynasty before it. Of course, the achievements of the "Four Masters" and others seem to have given us the answer. However, the unique theme of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, its openness and even the numerous reasons for the poetry schools are all worth thinking about, and the influence of the previous generation and the role of politics and economy are also worthy of in-depth discussion.
The original idea was that the political experience in the early Tang Dynasty was fluctuating, the political clarity and poetic style of Gaozu and Taizong dynasties were vigorous, the Gaozong dynasty tended to be flashy and the political struggle was fierce, and the literati seemed to float like an unsupported loose canopy. Therefore, if you want to survive, there will inevitably be poetic flattery, and then praise virtue, and flashy works that whitewash peace will emerge one after another. During the Wu and Zhou Dynasties, this glitz continued to exist, but Wu Zhao's greatness was slightly different from that of Gaozong. Therefore, the atmosphere of poetry will change. After Wu Zhao abdicated, poetry began to change and glitz gradually declined. The coup that followed implicated a large number of literati, who suddenly changed from the emperor's favorite to exile in a foreign land. At this time, the theme of poetry changed from praise to sorrow, and it was preserved in Kaiyuan Tianbao, which made poetry flourish again. Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling are both famous poets, and a large number of poets have emerged. At this time, after the transformation of the early Tang Dynasty, the genre of poetry has been broadened and poetry has moved towards it. The court poems in the early Tang Dynasty, represented by the official style, are naturally not respected. Although they have made contributions, they are hard to be praised by future generations, so they are easily overlooked. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on Wang Ji and the "Four Masters", whose poems have a far-reaching impact on later generations. But it is worth thinking that such poems for Wang Ji and others were literati at that time, although they had lofty pursuit and spiritual quality. Many people praised it. At this time, the influence of court poetry is bound to be great, and the most important thing is that court poetry is recognized by the emperor. It is conceivable that although there are many shortcomings in court poetry, it must be the mainstream at that time. Although it declined in later generations, the reality that poets concentrated in the DPRK at this time doomed the popularity of court poems. At this time, Chen Ziang was different from others, which caused his tragic fate. With regard to the inheritance of the previous generation, we can know that the poems of the early Tang Dynasty borrowed from the poems of the Southern and Northern Dynasties in terms of form, rhythm and theme, but how to learn from them is rather vague. The return of Confucianism is also doomed. We can know that the study of Hefen, represented by Wang Tong, was very influential in the early Tang Dynasty. Kong, Wang Jihe and Wang Tong, a great scholar, are related to each other. Therefore, the Confucian literary concept will inevitably have a far-reaching impact on poetry. However, how Confucianism was written into poetry by literati and how it played a role in the romantic changes of poetry is in urgent need of in-depth understanding. This book combs and answers these questions.
Let's further understand the evolution and status of early Tang poetry, and further explore the value of early Tang court poetry. This book explores deeply, combines four poems of the early Tang Dynasty with the background of the times, and explores the experiences of court poets, discusses their contributions to the poetry prosperity of later generations, and focuses on the gains and losses of Shangguan Yi, "Four Friends of Articles", Shen Quanqi, Song and other outstanding court poets. Among them, the viewpoint is refreshing, which was put forward by the author when discussing the poems in Zhenguan period. At this time, the court poets devoted themselves to the reconstruction of Confucian literary view in response to the obscene and inferior "palace poetry" It can also be seen that the contribution of court poets to the return of Confucian culture is no less than that of the "Four Masters" and Chen Ziang, and even greater than that of the "Four Masters" and others to mainstream poetry. At this time, the court poets combined the poetic style of the Southern and Northern Dynasties with the weather of the times, and turned from north to south, which made the development of poetry in the early Tang Dynasty begin to go out of the framework of poetry in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and made contributions to the development of poetic style. The author's textual research shows that at this time, the court poets wrote poems for the utilitarian purpose of ritual and music education, fulfilled the Confucian concept of poetry education and inherited the northern flavor, but they mainly focused on the weather of southern poetry and gradually integrated the northern flavor into the southern melody. However, the author also pointed out that it is a simple matter to turn from north to south, and sometimes there will be a state of harmony and difference, which needs to be changed urgently. By the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the situation in the country had stabilized. At this time, the rulers gradually began to like lewdness, and the court poets began to pay attention to literary talent. At this time, the Jinshi tried to make the literati all over the country respect poetry creation through "selecting scholars by poetry" and began to be keen on discussing the art of poetry. The author told us that the hardships of starting a business were gone, and the court poets at this time gradually faded away and began to respect literature and despise Confucianism. Shangguan Yi's poems are characterized by "strangeness and charm", and Li Yifu and Xu's "Fu Poetry" is even more amazing. In contrast, Shangguan has actively explored the aesthetic form and artistic conception of poetry, but after all, the weather is insufficient, and poetry will be sung. Generally speaking, the main feature of these two poetic styles is "verve", so the positive role of poetry in this period is less, and the demand for new changes in poetry is getting stronger and stronger. Therefore, in the Wuhou period, the court poets who gradually faded away from glitz began to write poems in a down-to-earth manner. Of course, this is also due to The Selected Poets, which has a stereotyped style, elegant poetic style and flexible chapter structure. In short, during this period, Tang poetry entered a period of comprehensive construction, and "Bachelor of Zhu Ying", "Four Friends of Articles", Shen Quanqi and Song all made great contributions and made great achievements at this time, and their fate also doomed them. Before the prosperous Tang dynasty, a wave of coups followed, and almost none of these ministers were spared. They were relegated to exile in a sinister environment and suffered a great blow, which made them full of resentment. At this time, their artistic skills forged in the court are naturally combined with the coquetry spirit, and in the self-expression of wandering and wandering, they express their sad and worried life feelings, and to some extent. At this time, the group of "Jinglong Bachelor" poets, while praising virtues, added images of mountains and rivers and countryside to their poems, which was similar to that in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Poetry schools such as landscape, pastoral and frontier fortress have already taken shape, and the themes of poetry expression are becoming wider and wider. Poetry has completely gone out of the door and become a literati literature, and the art of poetry has entered a new realm, which indicates that the climax of poetry is coming soon. In this book, the author cites a large number of historical materials, combines poetry criticism and literary theory works in various periods, and makes textual research on the court poems in the early Tang Dynasty, which combs out a clear clue for us to understand the court poems in the early Tang Dynasty, the court poems in the early Tang Dynasty and even the whole Tang Dynasty. This style of the book makes our understanding of these achievements more intuitive and convincing.
The original texts of various historical materials are quoted in many places in the book, which is intuitive, credible and clear at a glance. Taking time as the main line, this book enables readers to better combine the changes of poetic styles with the background of the times, which is conducive to clearly introducing the characteristics of poetic styles in different periods, and being able to see the differences of poetic styles in different periods, make a good comparison, clearly see where poetry is developing, and then look at the background of the times, so as to deeply explore the subtle relationship between poetic changes and the times and realize the changes of poetry. Take the representative poets in different periods as examples to study, so that readers can have a preliminary understanding of the structure and status of poets in the early Tang Dynasty, know the identity of these poets and how they embarked on the road of creation, and see the changes of society through their ups and downs, so as to reflect on the development of poetry and let readers understand the inevitability of poetry development.
Of course, when reading this book, we can also find that the number of works listed by the author is small, focusing on the introduction of the poet's life and poetic style. However, the number of works introduced is too small, which makes readers somewhat confused, making readers' understanding of the poet's poetic style too theoretical, too abstract, not intuitive enough, lacking the support of works, and the few works introduced are very convincing, but the overall number is still too small. In chronological order, the development of different schools will also be disorderly. When reading the development of various schools, readers will not adapt to this leap of thinking, and it is even difficult to understand the origin and demise of some schools. This may have weakened the literary value of this book.
Generally speaking, this book gives us a brand-new perspective, briefly combs the development dilemma of court poetry in the early Tang Dynasty, repositions it, deeply digs its artistic and literary value, shows the gains and losses of court poets in this exploration process, puts the development of poetry in a broad historical background, and explores its deep relationship with politics and culture. Let readers have a new understanding of poetry in this period. Most importantly, he explained with his own research results that the early Tang poetry was only a prelude to the prosperity of Tang poetry, but the prelude played a vital role, which could be regarded as a preparation before the peak of China ancient poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It laid a solid foundation for this climax era and made the final prosperity of poetry a strong support. It can be said that without the great exploration of court poets in the early Tang Dynasty, there would be no poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It can be said that the palace poetry in the early Tang Dynasty is a great precursor to the prosperity of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. After reading this book, I have a new view on the court poetry in the early Tang Dynasty, and I have a strong interest in rereading the poems of Shangguan Yi, Du Fu, Shen Quanqi and Song, and look at the great impetus to the development of Tang poetry accumulated under their words. Therefore, I also hope that more people can read this book and pay more attention to the court poems in the early Tang Dynasty.