Poetry of the six poets in the late Tang = Wan Tang liu jia shi yan jiu

Abstract

Late Tang dynasty, the historical background of my research object, refers to the period between 836 A.D. and 907 A.D., from the beginning of Emperor Tang Wenzong’s Kaicheng period to the beginning of Five Dynasties. Six poets for this duration are discussed, namely Cao Ye, Liu Gia (822-?), Nie Yizhong, Yu Fen, Shao Ye and Su Zheng. Cao Ye was born in Yangshuo, Guilin. After passing the Imperial Examination, he worked in various governmental institutions. Similarly Liu Gia worked in National Academy after passing the Imperial Examination. Born in Hedong, Nie Yizhong worked for the local government of Huayin. Yu Fen, born in Wugong, worked as Jiedushi in Sizhou. Shao Ye, born in Qingyuan, admitted into National Academy. Su Zheng, born in Wugong, had worked as an official in the local government of Rongguan.

There are records from the Late Tang period which argue Cao Ye and Liu Giawere equally important. During Ming Dynasty, Tang Yin Gui Qian discussed the six poets together. The poets had written a considerable amount of satire poems to criticize the government, which are quite different from the dominant poetics in Late Tang. They are regarded as important poets of Wu Yan GuShi in that time.

The first chapter of this thesis is about the biography of the six poets, including their lineage, career and social connection. In summary, the conclusions of this chapter are: (1) My research suggests that Cao Ye received recommendations from Wei Ao, given that he wrotea few satire poems during Emperor Tang Xuanzong’s sovereignty. (2) It is Xue Neng who is referred in Liu Gia’s Xia Di Hou Bing Ju Chang'an Shu Huai Ji Taiyuan Cong Shi.

Chapter two is about publication, anothology and missing of poems from the six poets. The main contribution is that this thesis covers six poems from Nie Yizhong and one line from Shao Ye, which have not addressed by existing scholarship as they usually focus on QuanTangshi.

Chapter three examines the satire poems from the six poets. Historical documents are cited to prove the content of these poems.

Chapter four discusses the artistic style of the poems from the six poets. They inherited the poetic style from Meng Jiao. While reviving the traditions from the past, their style departs from those of poems written during the previous dynasty. Poems from the six poets are compared and contrasted so that the style between the six poets could be differentiated from each other.

Chapter five discusses about the influence of the six poets. The discussion has three focuses: (1) the importance of the six poets during Tang Dynasty; (2) the status of the six poetsin regional societies and their respective influence, especially the influence casted by Cao Ye and Shao Ye in Guangzhou; (3) the influence of the poets’ well-known works.