Aesthetic Freedom: On the Tang Dynasty's Strange and Unconventional Poetry School

Author: Jiang Jianyun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-10-01
Features: "The Strange and Grotesque Poetry School" refers to a group of poets in the mid-Tang Dynasty, led by figures such as Meng Jiao, Han Yu, Lu Tong, Li He, and Jia Dao. The author argues from the perspective of mid-Tang poetry and the entire Tang poetry, analyzing the rise and decline of the Strange and Grotesque Poetry School from social, political, cultural, and literary aspects, and offers an aesthetic evaluation of this school. It is a rare poetic history centered on the strange and grotesque. In the Pan Ming of Tang Bo, it is said, "If one seeks renewal every day, they must renew every day, and renew again every day." The pursuit of "newness" is highly valued in life, and the same applies to literary creation. However, this "newness" can sometimes be utterly shocking. During the mid-Tang period of our poetic realm, there was a group of poets like Han Yu, Meng Jiao, and Li He, who sought newness to the extreme, achieving astonishing and extraordinary results. Their works and creations became a peculiar landscape in literary history. Professor Jiang Jianyun's Aesthetic Detachment—On the Tang Dynasty's Strange and Grotesque Poetry School provides a dynamic and vivid discussion of these poets, offering fresh insights and provoking reflection. Naming them "strange and grotesque" clearly highlights their stylistic features. Compared to the traditional labels of the "Han-Meng Poetry School" or the "Hard-Working Poetry School," this term better reveals their life and creative realms, as well as their unique pursuit of "newness." The author presents a "diverse and colorful" poetic world filled with strangeness. From a differentiated perspective, Meng Jiao used hard, soaring language; Han Yu created powerful imagery; Lu Tong blurred the lines between poetry and prose; Li He captured bizarre visions; and Jia Dao crafted secluded and mystical settings. From a common perspective, they all showed a tendency to value ancient styles over contemporary regulated verse, loved fantasy, valued the extraordinary, and even reversed beauty into ugliness, sometimes even finding beauty in ugliness. They deliberately aimed to shock and provoke, and their expectation was that their readers would be astonished—so much so that in poetic collaborations, there were instances of mutual competition to outdo each other in strangeness. In the vast garden of Tang poetry, they indeed created a unique and extraordinary world. Looking back at the specific circumstances of life and creation during that particular era, it is not difficult to see the reasons for the emergence of strange and grotesque poets. The book provides a comprehensive description of this. The author points out that in the mid-Tang, there were three main poetic schools: the Popular Poetry School, the Strange and Grotesque Poetry School, and the Elegant and Proper Poetry School. The Elegant and Proper Poetry School refers to the poetic school led by figures such as Quan Deyou, Wu Yuancheng, Pei Du, and Linghu Chu. They advocated the Confucian literary philosophy of "gentleness and kindness," emphasizing the formal beauty of poetry. The discussion of the Elegant and Proper Poetry School is a unique contribution of this book, which also recreates a richer and more complex literary background for the strange and grotesque poets than previous literary histories, bringing them closer to the original state of this literary period. All three schools were products of that specific era, and the creative works of the strange and grotesque poets reflected the awkward and helpless situation of some scholars who aspired to change the world but found themselves unable to do so. Overall, their lives were too ordinary and insignificant (they could not compare to the popular poets in terms of career, let alone the elegant and proper poets), which created a stark contrast with their lofty ambitions. While they did use poetry as a means to advance in life, they also regarded it as an immortal pursuit. The author particularly emphasizes: "They were too passionate and devoted to poetry; they intertwined their spiritual lives with poetic creation, reaching a near-mad pursuit of art." This might be a great fortune in misfortune! Like the Popular Poetry School and the Elegant and Proper Poetry School, the life force of the Strange and Grotesque Poetry School did not last long. In the later years of Yuanhe, Meng Jiao, Lu Tong, and Li He passed away. Li He died at the young age of 27, his demise caused by a combination of unfortunate life circumstances and his unwavering dedication to poetry. On one hand, the deceased were gone, but on the other hand, the living, such as Han Yu and Jia Dao, faced criticism or persuasion, leading to a tendency toward alienation in their creative works—popular poets no longer remained popular, and strange and grotesque poets no longer remained strange and grotesque. The author pays special attention to examining the three schools in combination, showing the trajectory of change through their interactive influences. The three schools flourished in the hope of the mid-Tang revival but perished in the disappointment of its disillusioned dream. They arrived in grandeur and departed in helplessness. The strange and grotesque eventually returned to normalcy. Several centuries later, the style of strange and grotesque poetry reappeared in the Jin Dynasty, which the author calls the "Post-Strange and Grotesque Poetry School." These poets either fully followed the style of Bo, or merged Li He and Lu Tong, seeking renewal through retrogression. It can be seen as the afterglow of the mid-Tang's strange and grotesque poetry. At this point, the discussion might seem concluded, but the author shifts focus to the early 19th century in France, concentrating on Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal and the subsequent Western modernist poetry. Through comparison, the author argues that these poets shared many similarities with the mid-Tang's strange and grotesque poets, delving into philosophical questions about the blooming of "sick flowers" and the emergence of "the aesthetics of ugliness," analyzing their losses and gains. The author vividly compares "sick flowers" to "beauty spots." For Tang poetry, the strange and grotesque poetry school is like a perfectly placed beauty spot on a woman's face. It not only does not diminish the beauty of Tang poetry but also adds to its splendor. In terms of content, the book is interconnected and innovative, like ascending higher and higher with each step. The language flows like clouds and water, smooth and effortless, appealing to both the refined and the popular. The book also includes dozens of exquisite illustrations of Tang poetry, calligraphy, and poet portraits, offering a moment of pause and reflection.