| This thesis discusses the connection between the emergence of Chen Zi’ang’s thought and composition, the zeitgeist during Emperor Wu Zetian’s reign and the emergence of High-Tang poetry. It focusses on the interaction between the transformation of Chen’s thought and his literary work.Firstly, this thesis takes Chen as case study and’embeds him in the specific context of the Wu Zetian period. From his experiences of the imperial examination system reform, his interaction with the officials responsible for personnel appointment, his contact with contemporary literati, his own official career, the poetic genre and the "mainstream" ideology, it tries to reconstruct the historical background and ideological atmosphere during his life. It aims to understand the transformation of Chen’s inner world through the different stages of life experiences and to further discuss how this kind of transformation is given expression to through literary works of different times, varying in poetic genres, topics and intentions.Secondly, with reference to Chen, this theses attempts to break up the conventional recognition of literary history, such as "Si Jie" or "Shen Song". Court poetry is no longer focalized here neither. Through the literati’s preference of topics and genres as well as the expression of affection and ambition, it examines the spiritual condition and overall style of literary creation in Chen’s contemporary literati circles, outlining the literary atmosphere during the Wu Zetian period.Thirdly, from the poetry of the Wu Zetian period to high Tang, this thesis focuses on the emergence of high Tang poetry from two perspectives:First, discussing the influence brought to the literati from the collision of southern and northern Zen Buddhism through thought alternation, and second, discussing the age distribution of two generations.Being a case study on the interaction between "action-thought-social environment", this thesis methodologically employs the concepts of "All history is the history of thought" by historian Collingwood and the concept of "Field" by sociologist and historian Bourdieu, in order to place Chen in a specific historical, social and interpersonal network and his work in a context of his thoughts and life experiences. It approaches historical sources dialectically, mostly referring to primary resources and constructing a reasonable historical image to explain the emergence of the transformation of text.Based on the methodology mentioned above, this examination offers the following conclusion:the literary style and intention of Chen’s poetry rather distinguishes from that of his contemporary literati. It shows a visible aging and its rhythms correspond with Chen’s official career. During the late stage of his official career, his ultimate concern for life and his outer personal fulfillment led to tension, reflecting the blending of life phases and literary creation.The literati of this epoch rarely became aware of the core issue of life, Chen accounts to a tiny minority, but that had little to do with the prosperous buddhistic atmosphere. One important reason for the emergence of high Tang poetry is the northwards movement of Shen Hui of southern Zen Buddhism, bringing along fresh thoughts for the literati. Another factor for the emergence of high Tang poetry is age. The death year of Chen was the birth year of Li Bai and Wang Wei, the literati of high Tang were a new generation, who were less influenced by the thought of the Wu Zetian period. Meng Haoran was born between them, he grew up in Wu Zhou dynasty and his thoughts were influenced by that time, but when he applied for an appointment as official under the reign of Xuan Zong, he was no match for the new generation in age and vigor. However, his demeanor was highly respected by his fellow literati. The awkwardness of Meng as "fifth wheel" also exactly points out that the emergence of high Tang poetry is due to the renewal of thought of the new generation, instead of merely succeeding the thought of the Wu Zetian period.How from the time of the Rui Zong period to Kai Yuan, Tian Bao and Da Li the religious influence on the thoughts and mindsets of literati and officials deepened from an early interest in Buddhism to philosophical argumentation about life itself, and accordingly through what kind of transformation the inner world of the people of Tang dynasty went, will be question to further academic researches in this area.. |
