A Study On The Rhyme Division Of Poetry And Prose Of The Middle Tang Dynasty Based On The Comprehensive Evaluation Method Of The Spatial Distribution Of Rhymes

This study used Mid-Tang poetry and prose collected from "The Complete Tang Poetry","The Complete Ci of Tang and Five Dynasties","The Complete Tang Prose","The Supplement to the Complete Tang Prose","The Comprehensive Collection of Ci and Fu in All Dynasties(Tang Volume)","Compilation of Tang Dynasty Tomb Inscriptions" and its sequel as research materials.The comprehensive evaluation method of spatial distribution of rhymes was used to comprehensively describe and statistically analyze the spatial distribution of different rhymes in Mid-Tang poetry and prose,.This research consists of seven chapters.Chapter 1 begins with an introduction explaining the research background,materials and the methodology.Chapters 2 and 3 extract the Mid-Tang poetry and prose rhyme system by utilizing the comprehensive evaluation method of rhyme space distribution.Chapter 4 evaluates the independence or dependence of the relative use of other rhymes on the extracted rhyme categories based on the spatial distribution data that shows the universality of different rhymes.Chapter 5 compares the rhyme systems with other related ones,explaining how the differences among these systems come into being and clarifying the historical positioning of Mid-Tang poetry and prose within Middle Chinese research.Chapter 6combines spatial distribution data with interpretation to analyze the phenomena of near rhymes during middle Tang.Chapter 7 is the conclusion and the postscript.This study has made breakthroughs in several aspects such as materials,methods,and conclusions.In terms of materials,it extensively uses rhyme materials from several important types of poetry and prose in the mid-Tang Dynasty.In terms of methods,it employs the concept of "spatial distribution" and combines it with a comprehensive evaluation method in statistics to conduct a new examination of the rhyme materials in the mid-Tang Dynasty.As for conclusions,based on the data of the rhyme spatial distribution,it is clear that the mid-Tang Dynasty was a period of significant turning point where both "formality" and "colloquialism" coexisted.Moreover,various types of near-rhyme phenomena cannot reveal definite,systematic regional phonetic features.These phenomena are generally related to the historical phonetic evolution,writers’ preferences or imitating ancient styles.