Writing in the Tang: Literature and society in 7--10th century China

The study of the social contexts and implications of traditional Chinese literature in the Tang period (618–907) is not a new trend. However, most scholarly attention has heretofore exclusively focused on the works of best known Tang writers. Little effort has been made to explain how literary writings became an inherent component of the basic structure of Tang society and contributed to the legitimization and consolidation of a certain social order. Using a variety of primary sources such as dynastic histories, anecdotes, epitaphs, literary compositions in various genres, and excavated medieval Chinese manuscripts, this dissertation attempts to systematically reconstruct the changing social contexts in which Tang literati grew, learned, communicated, and wrote to fulfill their social duties and to achieve social success. After observing the development of relevant industries and institutions, I propose that there was a cultural augmentation in the Tang period which was characterized by the significantly increasing availability and accessibility of writing materials, the expansion of educational institutions of various types cross the country, and the rising level of public literacy. Meanwhile the format, language, and techniques of literary writing (wenzhang) in medieval Chinese terminology, had matured and been accepted by the entire elite class. As the demand for literary texts from every level of Tang society, including the family, local community, and state, was fast growing, literary writing became the most official and orthodox medium of textual communication. This in turn brought about a widespread obsession with literature among Tang literati and greatly influenced the invention and evolution of the Civil Service Examinations, including both keju and quanxuan. By the end of the Tang dynasty, literary writing had finally replaced social pedigree as the most important means and measure of social success. In addition to providing an infrastructure of dealing with the relationship between literature and society, this dissertation investigates a number of related issues critical to a better understanding of medieval Chinese culture, such as the dichotomy of Confucian learning and literary writing, the curriculum of Tang schools, and the literary nature of government documents.