A study of group compositions in early Tang China (618--713)

This study examines group compositions, typically poetry, in the early Tang dynasty (618-713). Group compositions took place quite often in the early Tang, but only three collections have survived, partially or completely: the Gaoshi sanyan shiji (Collection of Poems Written at Mr. Gao's Three Banquets; late seventh century), the seventeen poems written in Shicong mountain (700 A.D.) and the Jinglong wenguan ji (An Account of the Literary Institute in the Spectacular Dragon Period; 707-710). As I describe and discuss the textual histories, the poets and the poems of these three collections, I want to bring to attention the social function of poetry, which is best represented in group compositions.;The first chapter provides the background information of the three collections. It first of all provides a comprehensive survey of virtually all the group compositions from the Six Dynasties to the beginning of the High Tang. By presenting evidence acquired by combing through historical data, I hope the importance of the three collections will naturally emerge. The second half of this chapter tries to answer the questions such as how were collections of group compositions compiled and handed down, who compiled, circulated and preserved these collections, and who were the readers.;Chapters two, four and five discuss the Gaoshi sanyan shiji, the seventeen poems written in Shicong mountain and the Jinglong wenguan ji respectively. My two major focuses are poets and poems. In the process of discussing, I aim to answer questions such as what kind of people gathered together under what circumstance, and how did they write poems.;Chapter three, putting right after the chapter about the Gaoshi sanyan shiji, briefly discusses the poetic prosody in poetry of the early Tang. By tracing the prosodic rules to the Qi-Liang period, I argue that the prosodic rules had not been completely established until the end of the early Tang, or even later, and therefore we should not measure pre-High Tang poetry with the rules.