The Literary Study On Memorial Of Tang Dynasty

As a kind of official document in ancient china, memorial could date back to theestablishment of ancient country, which was applied to monarch dictatorship.Memorial was widely used in official operation system and had a close relationshipwith the state affairs as well as the weal and woe of the people. This dissertationdiscusses the literature feature and signification on memorial of Tang dynastycomprehensively for the first time.This dissertation consists of seven parts.The Introduction points out that the study on memorial of Tang dynasty can helpus understand the literature history better and conforms to the trend of the grandliterature research. What’s more, this study provides a new and typical sample foranalysis of two main traditions in Chinese literature.Chapter One shows the characters of memorial in different time before Tangdynasty. Memorial was mainly used in a simple oral way before Qin dynasty, and thenit became a kind of profound written official document in Han dynasty. Finally, itformed an independent literary style during the Six dynasties.Chapter Two expounds the memorial’s stylistic features and its genres in detail.Memorial of Tang dynasty was a parallel official works presented to emperor andconcentrated on the government affairs. It had a fixed format and terms. Theseanthology of Tang dynasty usually contained memorial and some of them weremonographic series.Chapter Three and Four focus on evolution of memorial and analysis of works.The representative writers in Zhenguan period were Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou, CenWen-ben and Yu Shi-nan, their works gave suggestion or dissuasion sincerely andexplicitly. The memorials written by Chen Zi-ang were full of strength, and used proseform without ornamentation, which initiated a new kind of creation. In the flourishingperiod of Tang dynasty, Zhang Yue and Su ting were famous for official writing; theirworks were good at language skill and revealed the vigor and passion of the great time. Zhang Jiu-ling was also an important writer at this time, his works were not so elegantbut very suitable for utility. Besides, they often showed temperament between thelines. When it came to mid-Tang period, memorial experienced a great change. Lu Zhiimproved the parallel official writing level with consummate skill. The purpose of hisworks was bright while conclusion demonstrated fully. His works also read fluentlyfor vivid expressions. Though His works took parallel prose, they could freely argue,narrate or express emotion. His works had a far-reaching influence on memorialwriting in the future. Han Yu and Liu Zong-yuan advocated the ancient prosemovement and their works had characteristic of classic style, combining practicabilitywith artistry. Yuan Zhen and Bai Ju-yi wrote many plain and sincere works whichmade a great contribution to change of official writing. During the late period of TangDynasty, the memorial revived as parallel prose. The works written by Linghu Chuand Li Shang-yin had something in common; they displayed the affection with elegantform. Li De-yu was a man of character, and his works were distinctive also.Chapter Five mainly discusses the memorial’s significant meaning in Chineseancient literature. The memorials of Tang dynasty were rich in content and varied inlanguage performance. They were good at persuasiveness and recommendation. Whendiscussing about affair or applying for something, it showed a strong feelings, strictlogic, and deep perspective. However, the memorial of later dynasty didn’t take theseadvantages for the lack of artistic pursuit.The last part is epilogue. It summarizes the main ideas of this dissertation andpoints out the shortcomings.Generally speaking, memorial of Tang dynasty inherited the advantages ofpre-Tang’s works and had its own characteristics. It owned both utility value andaesthetic function. It mixed Chinese two basic literary traditions together and set up agood example for practical writing in ancient literature.