The Study Of The Letters Of Tangxianzu

Tang Xianzu is a famous literary man of the late Ming dynasty, his drama Four dreams of LinChuan, which makes him achieve great reputation in the altar Opera field. However, people always pay great attention to his dramas, other works are rarely visited. In fact his letters also have unique artistic charm. Tang Xianzu was educated by Confucianism as a child, according to his letters, we can find ideological character of a traditional intellectual, including his naturally occurred commendable Confucian style. Confucianism is a thought that regards the people with noble character as "the gentleman", influenced by Confucianism, Tang Xianzu pursues gentleman personality in his ideal life. As an official, he is very incorruptible and loyal to the sovereign. As the political system decays, he advocates for sincere and pursues the ideal politics with heavy responsibility. That is to say, as a traditional literati of ancient society, his works were deeply influenced by Taoism and Buddhism, from which the emotion of hermit can be reflected apparently. In his letters, Tang Xianzu is tired of officialdom, and keeps away from the faction. Advocating Tao Yuanming’s character and the way of life, he finally chooses to hermitage though with some wanderings and tries to obtain the spiritual comfort and peaceful mind from the pastoral life and his writings. As the greatest writer and dramatist of Ming dynasty, Tang Xianzu is prolific, whereas rare works have been focused on his idea of literary creation, as can be revealed from the study of his letters. On the one hand, Tang Xianzu opposes ancient systems and advocates innovation as well as "The ideological content and the form of unity, take content as a fundamental". On the other hand, in terms of the dramatic creation, he puts forward the famous "love and dream" thought that is "because of love change to dream, because of the dream become the drama" as well as the idea of "purposive/taste,/charm, and grace", also with "melody of nature" in drama promoted.Generally speaking, the language of his letter is clear and graceful, presenting the otherworldly poetic temperament. Focusing on current affairs and politics, as well as literature and academic research, he often has one’s words at hand, but with the effect of natural beauty achieved. Therefore, exploring the spiritual resources of Tang Xianzu’s letters is still an important issue for the study of literature in Ming dynasty and further researches on ancient literature.