Research On The Acceptance Of Wen Xuan In Wang Changling’s Literary Creation

The Wen Xuan had a wide audience in the Tang dynasty,with Li Bai,Du Fu and Han Yu all being influenced by it.Wang Changling was a great poet of the Tang Dynasty at the same time as Li and Du,and was admitted to the imperial scholarship in the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era(727).This article examines Wang Changling’s extant literary works,including two editions of the Shi Ge,181 poems and six essays,to examine the reception of the Wen Xuan in his literary output.The first chapter discusses the reasons and conditions for Wang Changling’s acceptance of the Wen Xuan,which is the theoretical basis of this article.The reasons for Wang Changling’s acceptance of the Wen Xuan are,firstly,the background of the times,when selective learning flourished and the Wen Xuan became the ’textbook’ for the imperial examinations;secondly,subjectively,he had a need to study the literature of previous generations,and he shared the literary ideology of Xiao Tong,while at the same time he was trapped by the poverty of his family;thirdly,the objective conditions limited the role of other means,such as writer’s collections,in Wang Changling’s learning of previous generations of literature.The second chapter explores the relationship between Wang Changling’s the Shi Ge and the Wen Xuan.Through an analysis of the poems and poetic treatises quoted in the Shi Ge,it is found that both two versions of the Shi Ge are closely related to the Wen Xuan: Wang Changling used the Wen Xuan as a reference book when writing the Shi Ge,and the Wen Xuan was an important way for Wang Changling to study the literature of his predecessors.The third chapter discusses the phenomenon of the reception of the Wen Xuan in Wang Changling’s poetic writing.In terms of different dimensions,such as phraseology,syntax and meaning,thematic structure,imagery and context,and allusions to language and events.The conclusions are as follows.(a)Wang Changling’s poetry is accepted to a high degree by the Wen Xuan,with104 verses in 67 poems influenced by the Wen Xuan,a proportion of 37%,or an average of 0.57 verses per poem.(b)Wang Changling often accepted the Wen Xuan at the level of phraseology,diction and meaning,while deeper acceptance,such as syntax,thematic structure and imagery and context,was concentrated on the poems of some famous poets.(c)A list of the six kinds of poems from the Wen Xuan that Wang Changling focused on accepting: Miscellaneous Poems,Leifu,Winged History,Miscellaneous Pieces,Travelling and Excursions;a list of the six poets from the Wen Xuan that Wang Changling focused on accepting: Xie Lingyun,Bao Zhao,Tao Yuanming,Lu Ji,Xie Tiao and Cao Zhi;a list of the 33 works from the Wen Xuan that Wang Changling focused on accepting: A Visit to Tiantai Mountain,Wu Cheng Fu,Thirty Miscellaneous Poems-Liu Kun,Eight Winged History,and Nineteen Old Poems","The Chapter of the White Horse","Two Poems of Seven Lamentations",and"Dong Wu Yin".(d)Wang Changling’s acceptance of Li Shan’s commentary on Wen Xuan reflects the fact that the version of Wen Xuan he read and studied in his early years was probably Li Shan’s commentary.The fourth chapter explores the acceptance of the Wen Xuan in Wang Changling’s writing.Among the six surviving essays of Wang Changling,except for two essays written during the Li ministry’s civil service examinations,which were less influenced by the Wen xuan,the rest of the essays of veneration,the works of visitation,and the rhythmic assignments for the examinations all show the acceptance and importance attached to the Wen xuan.The fact that the rhythmic rituals of the examinations were accepted by the Wen Xuan is even more consistent with its reputation as a ’textbook’for the imperial examinations.