Tang and Song Poetry Aesthetics and Art Theory

Author: Tao Wenpeng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-05-01
Features: This book is a collection of essays on the aesthetics and art of Tang and Song poetry. The author has dedicated years to researching Tang and Song poetry, achieving significant results. It approaches the subject from the perspectives of aesthetics and art, focusing on the aesthetic views, aesthetic values, artistic styles, artistic expression techniques, and artistic impact of Tang and Song poetry. Some articles discuss the relationship between imagery and artistic conception, while others explore the mutual influence and integration between Tang and Song poetry and painting and music. Some outline the development of Tang and Song landscape poetry, while others review the achievements of Tang poetry research in the first half of the last century. There are also studies on the individuality of Tang and Song poetic creation. The content is rich, the perspectives are fresh and insightful, and it strives to integrate concrete thinking with logical thinking, as well as historical judgment with aesthetic judgment. The author is a renowned scholar in the study of Tang and Song literature. His academic approach is rooted in the literary tradition, focusing on ancient writers and works, and extracting and summarizing from an aesthetic and artistic perspective to explain the evolution of ancient literature. He strives to discover and reveal some issues. In recent years, he has published several monographs such as Gathering Famous Lines of Ancient Poetry (Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, 2000), Art of Su Shi’s Poetry and Lyrics (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2001), and Aesthetics and Art of Tang and Song Poetry (Nankai University Press, 2003), all of which reflect this academic inclination. Especially Aesthetics and Art of Tang and Song Poetry includes 20 essays the author wrote over more than 20 years on Tang and Song poetry. The essays vary in length and topic, but all approach the subject from an aesthetic and artistic perspective, clearly demonstrating his academic style. In the article Current State and Reflections on the Artistic Research of Tang Poetry, the author states that the study of poetic art must start from aesthetic emotional experience, allowing one’s mind to resonate with that of ancient poets, creating a sense of harmony, and thereby imagination and creativity to enter the realm of poetry and appreciate its emotional nuances. Without this aesthetic insight, purely rational judgment and cold analysis cannot capture the subtle inner thoughts and complex emotional journeys of the poets, nor can it convey the emotional essence of the poetry, making artistic research impossible. This "aesthetic insight" is somewhat akin to the "sublime enlightenment" described by the Song Dynasty scholar Yan Yu in his Lianglang Poetic Talks. Tao’s works are filled with brilliant insights. Most of his essays offer original perspectives and innovative ideas. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Meng Haoran is known only for his poetry, with no other writings. Yet, the author meticulously analyzes Meng’s poetry and discovers a distinct and coherent aesthetic view centered around "purity and simplicity," which serves as a bridge between Chen Zi’ang’s aesthetic views and those of Li Bai. On Wang Wei’s Aesthetic Thought is one of the earliest and most comprehensive discussions of Wang Wei’s aesthetic ideas. When discussing Wang Wei, most people focus on his "poetry with painting," but as early as the 1980s, Tao broke through this limitation, writing essays such as On the Art of Creating Sensory Imagery in Wang Wei’s Poetry and Transmitting the Clear Sound of Nature, Painting the Soundful Picture—On the Art of Depicting Natural Sounds in Wang Wei’s Poetry, where he meticulously explores the creation of various sensory imagery in Wang Wei’s poetry and his artistic expression of natural sounds, offering insightful analyses. His studies on the poetic art of Chang Jian, Zhang Xu, Mi Fu, Dao Qian, Zhong Shu, Hui Hong, and Xiao Dezao also show a certain pioneering spirit. In Lianglang Poetic Talks, Yan Yu pointed out that the prerequisite for "sublime enlightenment" is "extensive study" and "familiar study." Tao’s ability to achieve such profound insights in poetic art is inseparable from his diverse learning and broad understanding. He has a solid foundation in both Chinese and Western aesthetics, rich experience in writing both old and new poetry, and a passion for calligraphy, painting, music, and film. Therefore, he is not confined to ancient Chinese poetry alone but strives to bridge the ancient and modern, the Chinese and Western, absorbing and integrating the achievements of aesthetics, artology, philosophy, history, sociology, theology, psychology, and other disciplines. As a result, his essays have a broad perspective, flexible angles, and often reveal new issues and offer unique interpretations. Especially when he combines poetry with other arts such as painting, music, calligraphy, and film, his insights are often "divinely inspired." He describes Zhang Xu as having "calligraphy in poetry," and Wang Wei and Chang Jian’s poetry as having a "musical realm," which already surprises many. He connects Chang Jian’s musical poetry Jiang Shang Qin Xing and Sending Li Yi to the Stream to the contemporary Japanese landscape painter Tatsuo Yamaguchi; when discussing Li Shangyin’s use of illusions and dreamscapes to construct the high and multiple layers of his poetry, he links him to the American Imagist master Ezra Pound; and when analyzing the color expression in Li He’s poetry, he connects him to the French Impressionist master Claude Monet, offering fresh and delightful insights. Tao’s essays emphasize the construction of academic theory. He opposes the flatness of academic papers, where points are listed in a linear fashion (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4 or A, B, C, D) followed by one or two examples. He stresses that essays should be well-structured, logically clear, progressively in-depth, and coherent, with theoretical elevation and generalization. He explores Li He’s poetry in terms of hue, brightness, and saturation, not only examining the color characteristics and coloring techniques but also deepening the analysis into the imagery and artistic conception. He unravels the heterochronic isomorphism between Song Dynasty landscape poetry and painting, summarizing the artistic features and creative experiences of integrating painting into poetry, and further uncovering the era’s psychology and aesthetic tastes embedded in this integration, making the academic depth of his essays quite profound. Tao believes that academic papers on literature should be a combination of logical and imaginative thinking. He greatly admires the poetic and artistic expressions of Lu Xun, Wen Yiduo, Zhu Ziqing, Zong Baihua, Liang Zongdai, Zhu Guangqian, Qian Zhongshu, and his teachers Wu Shichang, Lin Geng, and Yuan Xingpei, all of whom wrote with a poetic and painterly flair. He often says, "Poetry is the singing of the soul," and without emotion, how can one connect with the ancients in the depths of their souls? Poetry is the literature of literature, and lyric poetry is the poetry of poetry—without literary skill, how can one convey the beauty of poetic meaning and artistic realm? His articles are filled with passages that are eloquent, emotionally rich, and brimming with literary talent. Witness his analysis of Chang Jian’s Evening Mist over the Lake: "The first eight lines of the poem dance with the melody of light. They