Poems In Tang Novels And The Social Life In The Tang Dynasty

The content of novels in the Tang Dynasty covers all aspects of people’s life in the Tang Dynasty.These chapters not only describe beautiful,fantastic and unique stories,but also integrate into poems,which appear to be highly literary and poetic.According to statistics,there are more than 600 poems in the novels of the Tang Dynasty,most of which have been included in the Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty(《全唐诗》),while a few are scattered in various novels.These poems have a variety of systems,including ancient style and modern style,like Yuefu or Lisao style,and a flexible syntax,long or short.Poetry shows different characteristics and plays different roles in the text:literati novels are mostly lyrical and expressive,adding literary flair;Dunhuang novels are mostly used to preach the truth,which is conducive to oral transmission.This paper takes poems in Tang novels as the theme,counts the number of poems,appraises poems in articles,analyzes the interaction between poems and novels,and explores the relationship between society,politics and literature in Tang Dynasty as well as the spirit of the times displayed by such literary works.The first chapter divides Tang novels into three categories:legend novels,miscellaneous notes and Dunhuang novels.Each category is subdivided according to the theme of poems,and the situation of using poems is sorted out respectively.The poems in the legendary novels are more lyrical and reflect the taste and aesthetics of the literati in the Tang Dynasty.In the miscellaneous notes,the poems and plots in the strange stories supplement each other,adding to the literary quality of the works;The poems of historical anecdotes are mostly quoted,reflecting many details of social and emotional life of the Tang people.The poems in Dunhuang novels are mostly related to Buddhist teachings and good reasoning,reflecting the daily life of the Tang Dynasty people.The second chapter expounds the political life reflected in the poems in the novels of the Tang Dynasty,including three categories:taking the imperial examinations,contacting with friends and political events,and explores their pursuit in political life from the aspects of the journey to take the examinations,mental state and living environment.The third chapter describes the love and marriage life reflected in the poems in the novels of the Tang Dynasty.These poems represent the yearning of the Tang people for love and marriage,including the love of literati,women’s life and love ideal.The literati in the Tang Dynasty pay attention to marriage.Marriage and official career are the two major themes in their life.Many novels revolve around these two themes,showing the Tang people’s views on marriage and values.In the Tang Dynasty,the literati were also fond of romance.The literati hanging out in brothels,and officials had the luxury life of raising prostitutes.Under the open social atmosphere,prostitutes,court ladies and other women would also pursue love.Although the Tang Dynasty people’s view of marriage is open,but the faithful love is still sung by the writers.The sincere love poems in the novel reflect the Tang people’s yearning for love.The fourth chapter elaborates the leisure life reflected by poems in the novels of the Tang Dynasty,such as the gathering of literati,the picnic in seasons,and the gathering in temples.The entertainment life of Tang Dynasty people cannot be separated from banquets.People like to get together to enjoy flowers and the moon,drink,write poems,and guess riddles.Poetry is not only the creation of the literati,but also the entertainment of chatting and laughing.The entertainment activities of Tang Dynasty people are colorful,which are related to seasons and religions,showing their elegant life and tolerance to different cultures.In addition,temples also play an important role in the life of the Tang people.In addition to lecturing,temples are also places for the Tang people to travel,stay and gather for leisure.The fifth chapter expounds the spirit of the times embodied in the novels and poems of the Tang Dynasty.In the Tang Dynasty,there are three religions mainly,people were influenced by Buddhism and Taoism,free and detached,curious and eccentric,and full of romantic spirit.Generally speaking,the Tang Dynasty was a time of openness,tolerance and self-respect.Novels and poems outline the vivid life of the Tang Dynasty people,and convey the power of life to future generations.The literature of an era reflects the spirit of this era.The novels and poems of the Tang Dynasty are the bright pearl in the long history of Chinese literature,with high research value and appreciation value.Sorting out the poems in Tang novels is conducive to exploring the interactive relationship between the novel text and poetry and discovering the social style and spirit of The Times reflected in them,which has the great significance to edify Chinese aesthetic sentiment and cultivate national cultural confidence.