A Study Of Pan Lang

Pan Lang was a famous poet of the Early Song Dynasty.However,today there are many unanswered questions about his life.One area of interest is Pan Lang's involvement in the imperial power struggle of the Northern Song Dynasty.His participation in this struggle greatly effected his life and poetry.This paper addresses Pan Lang role in the imperial power struggle of the Northern Song Dynasty and the meaning behind this struggle.In the Early Song Dynasty,due to the lack of education and Confucianism,the ruling elite of the Northern Song Dynasty were often characterized as secluded,unscrupulous,and arrogant.But there was a reform movement at the time that made strides to implement traditional Confucius values and good conduct.The reforms taking place in society were also reflected in contemporary poetry.The poetry of stable official poets,hermit poets,and unstable official poets,often resembled the style of Late Tang and Middle Song poetry. However,in Early Song,there were still many scholars who's work did not reflect the reformist developments in society.Pan Lang was one such poet.Pan Lang wanted to lead a life of a recluse,he was keen on politics,and he was wildly arrogant.Pan Lang pursued a position in the government through eunuch Wang Ji'en and became involved in the imperial power struggle.The Song government finally drove Pan Lang away from government citing his "arrogant behavior".These experiences were representative of a scholar who were not conforming to Early Song societal reforms.Pan Lang consciously inherited the poetic tradition of the Late Tang and Five Dynasties period.His work did not reflected the new era of politics and the new style of poetry.In this case,Pan Lang can be considered as a "poetry laggard" of the Early Song.In the poetry of the Early Song,there was no "Wan Tang Ti" nor was there a poetic school of "Wan Tang Ti".Nevertheless,in this period,the poetry had the tradition of Late Tang,such as the worship of Jia Dao,and the hard work of poem creation.Pan Lang was a poet of this tradition.Pan Lang also had a lot in common with the famous poet Jia Dao in both his thoughts and experiences.Pan Lang learned deeply from Jia Dao and created many good works.Pan Lang was famous for his work in the Early Song,and was praised by successful poets in the capital and by the poetic groups south of the Long River and in northwest China. He continued to be well know into the Middle Song period.