The End of China's "Middle Ages": A Collection of Essays on Literature and Culture of the Middle Tang Dynasty

Author: Yu Wen An (USA), Chen Yinchi, Chen Lei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The End of the "Medieval" in China—Essays on Middle-Tang Literature and Culture is a work published by Professor Yu Wen An in 1996, consisting of an introduction and seven essays, with three translations of classical poems and legendary works appended. In terms of the chronological scope it explores, it seems to continue the themes of Early Tang Poetry and High Tang Poetry, though its focus differs significantly. Compared to Professor Yu's previous two works, this one is much shorter in length, yet it covers a broader and more extensive range of topics. As for the essence of each essay, Professor Yu has already elucidated it in the introduction, so there is no need for further elaboration here.
The essay Uniqueness and Exclusivity views the representation of identity in Middle-Tang literature as a form of exclusion from or being excluded by others. At the level of individual identity, such uniqueness manifests as a claim of superiority over others, but it can also be an alienation that leads to others' exclusion of oneself. In Middle-Tang works, uniqueness is expressed as a distinctive and recognizable style, which can be imitated by others but is always associated with a particular individual writer. The next essay, Interpretation of Natural Landscapes, discusses various ways of representing landscapes, showing how the potential order of nature became a subject of inquiry in Middle-Tang times. On one hand, there is the orderly representation and evaluation of nature in texts; such landscapes possess a structural quality, which was rare in earlier poetry. On the other hand, there is the representation of landscapes lacking potential order, which are merely of beautiful but disjointed details. The second essay is limited to the issue of representing the order of the physical world, but the same problem also arises in the events of the human world.
The third essay, Interpretation, explores a tendency in Middle-Tang times to offer speculative interpretations of phenomena that either contradict common sense or provide interpretations for situations generally considered to require no explanation. Such unique interpretations, lacking any evidence or textual support, often carry a tone of irony or even madness. The third essay, Wit and Private Life, examines the exaggerated interpretation of the playfulness of private space and leisure activities as a discourse of private values resisting conventional norms. The fourth essay, Early Ninth-Century Poetry and the Concept of Writing, explores certain fundamental changes in the representation of writing, particularly poetry writing, during the Middle-Tang period. The last two essays discuss the new romantic culture that took shape in the late eighth century.