The Altar Of The Goddess

Love between human and deity has been a traditional theme of poems in the classic Chinese poetry. Described first in Qu Yuan's work as Shangui( ghost in mountains), then appearing in Han Dynasty's literature in the form of forklores of Hangao Jiepei and Liu Ruan Tiantai, By creating the image of Wushan Shennv (deity of Wu Mountain), Song Yu's landmark masterpieces of GaotangFu and Shennv Fu contributed new vitality and meaning to this traditional theme. and finally flourishing in Tang Dynasty' poems , the image of Wushan Shennv had experienced constant changes in its symbolic meaning. Transcending the original image connected with the fairy tale of Wushan, Shennv was attached to a strong sense of humanity and thus constituted a meaningful and profound theme in poetry in the works Tang Dynasty Poets. The image and story of Shennv had appeared repeatedly at different stages of Tang Dynasty in various poets' works with diverse characteristics. The spiritual content of the poems on love between human and deity had also transformed significantly during this period. After Song Dynasty, the theme of love between human and deity had been applied to Ci and Qu, and its influence on Yanke Ci were especially great. With the spread of Tang Poetry and Song Ci, the theme of love between human and deity gradually extended to other forms of literature and left great impact on the subsequent development of novel and drama.This thesis begins from a review of the stereotype meaning of the image of Shennv in historical tradition. First sketching the sequences of Gongti Poetry from Han to Six Dynasties, and then analyzing and generalizing different types of poems about love between human and deity at different stages of Tang dynasty, the thesis focuses on a individual-group comparative study between such poems in the works of Li Bai, Du Fu, Li He, Li Shangyin and those of Nvguan poems. It explores the similarities and dissimilarities of the images of Shennv and the themes of those works in the early, middle, and late Tang Dynasty. The author analyzes the social and cultural context of human-deity love poems and lays special emphasis on the influence of religious pursuit and aesthetic sentiment in late Tang Dynasty poems on female self-consciousness in love.