Studies On The Literature Of "Er-miao" In The Late Jin Dynasty

At the end of the Jin Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty,the Duan brothers, namely Duan Kesi and Duan Chengsi, were both famous for their writing talents and gained an appellation of "Er-miao" which means "two talents". Aiming at studying "Er-miao" and their literature in a comprehensive way, this thesis includes two parts. The first part focuses on the study of their life experience and thoughts, including their family's social standing, their life experience, their thoughts and the origin of the appellation. Furthermore, it makes an exploration of some questions such as when "Er-miao" took the imperial examinations, whether they passed the examinations, and whether they took up an official post, and so on. The second part mainly studies their literary works from the aspects of poems, ci, and essays. The contents of their poems and ci are rather similar, mainly depicting the feelings and emotions of the adherents of the former dynasty: the sufferings of wars, the sorrow of the loss of the country, the complaints and sighs of being born at the wrong time and letting time slip by accomplishing nothing, the desire for being away from the world. The artistic achievements of their poems and ci show different features. The poems, which are marked by variety, gain outstanding achievements in the aspects of subjects, forms, and ways of expression. The ci, however, are characterized by the artistic style of clear, fresh, and force. Their essays, though onlya few are left, have historical values to a certain degree. On the basis of this, this thesis explores the reasons for the forming of the writing style of "Er-miao", analyses the influence of Yuan Haowen on "Er-miao", and appraises the position of "Er-miao" in the literary history of China.