Research On Li Yi’s Travels To The Imperial Court And His Poetry Creation

As a renowned frontier poet in the middle Tang Dynasty,Li Yi had a unique life experience and poetic creation.Starting from the first year of Tang Dezong’s Jianzhong reign(780),Li Yi had a long career in the imperial court,serving under five different masters,namely Cui Ning,Fan Ze,Lun Weiming,Zhang Xianfu,and Liu Ji.His travels took him to various places such as Shaanxi,Gansu,Inner Mongolia,Ningxia,Shanxi,Hebei,and Hubei,making his time in the court rare among his contemporaries.During this period,Li Yi had the opportunity to meet various people and witness the majestic scenery of the northern frontier,diverse local customs,and rich cultural heritage in Hedong and Hebei.His twenty years on the imperial court played a crucial role in his life experience and greatly influenced his poetic style and content.By studying Li Yi’s travels to the imperial court and his poetry creation,this paper aims to supplement the details of his travels during his time in the court,provide a better understanding of the literary and cultural life of intellectuals in the Tang Dynasty’s provincial governments,and shed light on the study of Li Yi’s life and work.The paper consists of four chapters,with the first chapter focusing on Li Yi’s life before entering the court.It examines his life from Emperor Xuanzong’s fifth year of Tianbao(746)to Tang Dezong’s Jianzhong reign.It is known that the Li family had been living in Zhengzhou for generations since Li Chengju’s time,Li Yi’s ninth ancestor,although Li Yi’s ancestral home was in Didi,Longxi.Li Yi spent his youth in Xingyang,Zhengzhou,before moving to Luoyang in Henan province.Li Yi passed the imperial examinations in the fourth year of the Dali reign(769),but his career as an official was full of ups and downs,and he was demoted three times before he entered the imperial court.These experiences in Li Yi’s early life were closely related to his later decision to join the court.The second chapter examines Li Yi’s entire career in the imperial court and his travels.It is divided into three sections.The first section explores the origins of Li Yi’s entry into the imperial court.The second section examines in detail the time,location,and reasons for Li Yi’s entry and exit from the imperial court based on previous research by scholars.It is found that Li Yi served five masters from the fall of 780 to the age of 62 in the second year of Emperor Xianzong’s Yuanhe reign(807),traveling to Lingzhou,Xiangzhou,Fangzhou,Binzhou,Youzhou,and other places,a total of 20 years.The third section investigates Li Yi’s travels during his time in the court,which took him to Shaanxi,Gansu,Inner Mongolia,Ningxia,Shanxi,Hebei,and other places.Li Yi’s main travel experiences during this period included inspecting border troops,serving as an envoy to Hezhou,and traveling to the northern frontier.The paper also examines the place names mentioned in Li Yi’s poetry collection,combines them with relevant literature and local records,and draws specific travel routes.The third chapter explores Li Yi’s social circle during his time in the imperial court.It examines Li Yi’s relationship with his contemporaries,including his colleagues,friends,and mentors,and how these relationships influenced his poetry.The chapter also discusses Li Yi’s poetic style and content and how they evolved during his time in the court.The fourth chapter explores study on Li Yi’s Poetic Creation during his Tenure in the Imperial Court.This chapter mainly analyzes and studies Li Yi’s poetic creation during his tenure in the imperial court,focusing on two aspects: the content and artistic style changes of imperial court poetry.During his tenure,Li Yi’s poetry covered a wide range of topics with rich content,and his creative style underwent frequent changes,reflecting the influence of the imperial court’s experiences on the mentality and literary creation of imperial court literati.