From itinerant scholar to Confucian scholar

Author: Zha Pingqiu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book primarily studies the relationship between the scholar culture and literary style from the Han to the Tang dynasties, revealing the reasons behind the changes in literary trends and literary concepts in each stage through the historical background of the evolution of scholar culture. The book is divided into five parts. The preface reflects on the issue of integrating ancient and modern perspectives in literary history research and the modernization of ancient literary history studies by analyzing a debate in the history of modern academia. Chapter 1 analyzes the impact of the shift in scholar culture during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty on the mindset of literati, emphasizing the relationship between the academic and literary styles of scholars at that time through the characteristics of bamboo and silk texts. Chapter 2, set against the backdrop of the scholar culture of the Jiangdong region, examines the relationship between the elite culture centered on metaphysics and the Confucian-consciousness-focused scholar culture, as well as their manifestations in contemporary literary theory. Chapter 3, based on the continuation and transformation of the elite culture of the Wei and Jin dynasties in the early and mid-Tang period, explains the characteristics of mid-Tang literature and analyzes the cultural factors that constitute the "voice of the mid-Tang." Chapter 4, centered on the activities of the Confucian scholar group before and after the An Lushan Rebellion, illustrates the role of Confucian spirit in the development of literature. Chapter 5, set against the backdrop of the revival of Confucianism in the mid-Tang period, analyzes the literary styles of the mid-to-late Tang, with a focus on discussing the historical inevitability of the Tang poetic tradition evolving into the Song poetic tradition from the perspective of changes in academic style. The postscript examines several documentary issues in the transition of Tang literature.