High Tang Research Articles

Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

Visualizing Dunhuang: The Lo Archive Photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves

Visualizing Dunhuang: The Lo Archive Photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves

On the Shared Structure of the Early to High Tang Gexing and the Seven-Character Short Poem with a Discussion of “Kayō Jūei” as a Japanese Seven-Character Short Poem Sequence

Abstract The seven-character short poem [duan ge 短歌] is a distinct poetic form that originated in Han dynasty ballads and peaked during the Liang dynasty. It is closely related to the gexing 歌行 [song or song poem], a poetic form that also flourished during the Qi and Liang dynasties. The two forms differ in substance, with the former tending towards brevity and, the latter, length; however, they share fundamental principles of compositional method. At the start of the Tang dynasty, the seven-character short poem had not yet been eclipsed by the seven-character quatrain [jueju 絕句]; rather, it maintained its place among Early and High Tang poetic forms and continued to develop on its own terms. The “Ten Songs on Kayō [Kayō jūei 河陽十詠]” is a seven-character short poem sequence from the Heian period in Japan. Its formal elements are similar to those of the Chinese seven-character short poem, and it shares structural qualities with Qi-Liang style gexing composed by Heian poets. At the same, it also shares characteristics of the Heian topic poem. Its unique existence prompts us to look back to old poetic forms as precious source materials from which we may excavate long-overlooked stylistic phenomenon in poetry.

Poems on Painting from the High Tang to Later Tang Periods

That the practice of inscribing poems on paintings was brought to new prominence during the High Tang period is a well-known aspect of literary history. That poets’ ways of treating paintings in poems changed again in the late eighth and ninth centuries is a less well-known development. This article looks at that change and analyzes several of its manifestations, including new treatments of the “illusion” of painting, the relationship of the painter to his art, and the relationship of painting to poetry. Also briefly discussed is the new closeness between the poets of the later period and the painters they wrote about. Several of these changes anticipate the emergence of “literati painting” in the Northern Song period and allow us to see the later Tang period as an important transitional bridge between poetic treatments of painting before and after it.

Periodizations of Tang Poetry and Choices of Models in the Late Southern Song


 
 
 This study investigates the literary-historical context of the attempts by late Southern Song critics to periodize Tang poetry. It demonstrates that the primary agenda of these critics was to establish High Tang poetry as the sole correct model. The insistence on the supremacy of the High Tang went in tandem with, and formed part of, the rebuke of contemporary poets for choosing Late Tang poetry as the object of emulation. The focal point of contention was whether Late Tang poetry could or should serve as a useful model, at least for some in the initial stage of their poetic training. In this context, periodizations of Tang poetry functioned as an auxiliary to the discourse on choices of models in the late Southern Song.
 
 

S1771 Right Lower Quadrant Abdominal Pain: Time to Think Beyond Acute Appendicitis

INTRODUCTION: Incidence of primary appendiceal carcinoma is less than 1% amongst all gastrointestinal malignancies. Goblet cell carcinoma (GCC) accounts for less than 14% of all the appendiceal tumor, with an annual incidence rate of 0.05/100,000 per year. We present a case of goblet cell carcinoma who presented with lower abdominal pain. CASE DESCRIPTION/METHODS: 75-year-old lady with a PMH of frequent diverticulitis presented to ED for left lower quadrant (LLQ) abdominal pain that later migrated to right lower quadrant (RLQ). Physical examination revealed tenderness over the RLQ. Lab work revealed leukocytosis. CT abdomen showed inflammatory stranding in the right paracolic gutter and mildly dilated appendix, extensive left colon diverticulosis. Diagnostic laparoscopy revealed sigmoid diverticulitis, purulent fluid in right paracolic gutter and inflamed appendix. Appendectomy was done and biopsy revealed goblet cell carcinoma with TANG B histology. Final staging was pT3pNx with Ki67 of 40%. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for CK-7, synaptophysin and weakly positive for CD-56. CA 125 was high. Further imaging and colonoscopy ruled out metastasis or synchronous disease. Within 3 weeks she relapsed at trocher site. Repeat PET CT showed LLQ nodularity, RLQ fluid collection and activity in the liver indicating possible carcinomatosis. Patient was started on Folfox. DISCUSSION: GCC shares common histological characteristics of both adenocarcinoma and carcinoid tumor with intermediate aggressive behavior. Initial presentation is usually abdominal pain but can present with pelvic mass, abdominal distension, bleeding and genitourinary complications. GCC are usually weakly positive or negative for Chromogranin A and synaptophysin so somatostatin scintigraphy scan is usually not helpful. CEA, CA-125, and Ca19-9 are recommended as the markers for diagnosis and follow up. Surgery is the ultimate treatment, but debate persists between appendectomy vs right hemicolectomy. Right hemicolectomy is recommended for high grade TANG group B and C disease. Since metastatic disease mostly resembles adenocarcinoma 5-FU and leucovorin are usually advised. Prognosis is poor with average survival rate being 4.6 years. Diagnosis and management of GCC is challenging due to unpredictable biological behavior and scarcity of data. Guidelines about extent of surgical resection, role of chemotherapy, follow up protocol and role of aggressive peritoneal management need to be elucidated with prospective trial studies.

Self-Display and Farewell Counsel: The Occasional Preface in the Early and High Tang

Abstract: In traditional Chinese literature, prefaces (xu 序) were written not just for books but also for works produced at various social occasions, as well as for sets of poems composed by a group on particular occasions: the "occasional preface." The occasional preface, known from earlier times, became more widespread and underwent important changes in the Tang. This paper explores its development in the early and high Tang periods, seeking to understand better its function and purpose. It is suggested that the occasional preface, whose earlier function was mainly to describe the setting and provide background information for a proper reading of the poems composed on a certain occasion, now grew to share two important functions of poetry itself: it became a means of self-display for the author and/or played the role of a farewell gift. It also was recognized as a genre of writing that could be appreciated on its own as a self-standing form of literary craft.

Self-Display and Farewell Counsel: The Occasional Preface in the Early and High Tang

In traditional Chinese literature, prefaces (xu 序) were written not just for books but also for works produced at various social occasions, as well as for sets of poems composed by a group on parti...

The Drinking culture and Wild Cursive Script in the High Tang, the Calligraphy Cultural Significance

The Drinking culture and Wild Cursive Script in the High Tang, the Calligraphy Cultural Significance

Hu Dance and Music for Lighting the Lantern to Pray for Blessings: New Artistic Insight on the Buddhist “Praise of the Stone Lantern Stand” Inscription of the High Tang Period Collected in the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City

Hu Dance and Music for Lighting the Lantern to Pray for Blessings: New Artistic Insight on the Buddhist “Praise of the Stone Lantern Stand” Inscription of the High Tang Period Collected in the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City

Lighting Lamps to Pray for Blessings While Western Music Plays: New Insight Into the Art of the High Tang Buddhist “Praise of a Stone Lamp Stand” in the Collection of the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an

Lighting Lamps to Pray for Blessings While Western Music Plays: New Insight Into the Art of the High Tang Buddhist “Praise of a Stone Lamp Stand” in the Collection of the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an

The Birth of Artistic Conception in China

Zong Baihua has been called “the father of modern Chinese aesthetics”: his essay is a work of great erudition, quoting widely from the writings of classical Chinese poets, philosophers, and painters from the Daoist adept Wang Xizhi (303–61), via the High Tang (712–61) and Northern Song (960–1127) dynasties, to the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The breadth of his knowledge is extraordinary and embraces Daoism, Confucianism, the Chan Buddhism that was dominant in the Tang and Song dynasties, and even the poetry of Hölderlin, Goethe, and William Blake. This rich collection of sources is used to explore universal questions such as the essential nature of poetry and art; artistic creation and the artistic realm; the meditative state and human emotions; music and rhythm; dance and order; and the techniques of Chinese painting.

Tōdai no bungaku riron: “fukko” to “sōshin” 唐代の文 学理論: 「復古」七「倉U新」 by Nagata Tomoyuki 永田知之

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTOR Lucas Klein is assistant professor of translation in the School of Chinese of the University of Hong Kong, where he is an executive editor of the Journal of Oriental Studies. Correspondence to: Rm. 851, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Email: LKlein@hku.hk NICHOLAS MORROW WILLIAMS University of Hong Kong NAGATA TOMOYUKI 永田知之, Tōdai no bungaku riron: “fukko” to “sōshin” 唐代の文 学理論：「復古」と「創新」 . Kyoto: Kyōto daigaku gakujutsu shuppankai, 2015. viii + 552 pp. Serious research on Tang poetics has barely begun. The traditional scholarship of imperial China placed the rise of Tang poetry in a moralizing framework that obscured the distinction between spiritual orthodoxy and literary technique. In the 20th century, this mode was widely rejected, yet research was instead inhibited by recourse to conceptions of Chinese exceptionalism, reducing Tang poetics to one phase in a monolithic narrative of literary tradition continuous with the Book of Songs. Yet the finest scholarship of our time has already shown that the highest achievements of Tang poetry must be understood first of all in light of contingent and singular facets of that extraordinary epoch, such as its burgeoning cultural influences from Central Asia, the requirements and biases of the civil service examinations, the ongoing transformation of the Buddhist and Daoist religions, specific innovations in tonal prosody, the interregnum of Empress Wu, and the texture of Lady Yang’s stockings. The task that remains for us must be to continue exploring the specific ideological factors that inspired the flourishing of Tang poetics in its own time. In this unusually well-researched and well-documented new study, Nagata Tomoyuki of the Institute for Research in Humanities at Kyoto University has made a major contribution to the historical interpretation of Tang poetics. This is one of the most thorough treatments so far of the simple question: what did Tang people think of their own poetry? The difficulty of answering this previously has been that so little literary theory per se seems to have been written in the Tang, in striking contrast to the Six Dynasties. Professor Nagata’s solution has been to focus singlemindedly on the authentic discussions of literary values in the Tang that do remain extant. Thus the riron / lilun 理論 of the title does not really mean “theory” but should probably be understood literally as “ordered discourses” about literature. According to Nagata’s research, these texts consist essentially of two kinds: firstly, discourse evaluating the legacy of Chen Ziang 陳子昂 (659–700)1 and upholding archaicist (fugu 復古) ideals; and secondly, the poetry manuals (shige 詩格), foremost 1 Nagata’s dating of Chen’s life follows the chronology of Xu Wenmao 徐文茂, Chen Ziang lunkao 陳子昂論考 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), 129–34. 128 BOOK REVIEWS among them the writings of monk-poet Jiaoran 皎然 (720–ca. 795), which advocate originality and transformation. Whereas a good deal of English-language scholarship has treated Chen Ziang already,2 the poetry manuals and Jiaoran have been relatively slighted.3 Professor Nagata follows his mentor Zhang Bowei 張伯偉 in taking the latter seriously, and his book demonstrates convincingly that there existed in the Tang an estimable alternative to archaicist views of literature. The first few chapters of the book examine the discourse that developed surrounding Chen Ziang. These proceed chronologically, treating first the compiler of his collection , Lu Cangyong 盧藏用 (n.d.), then the views of later Tang writers, particularly in the High Tang and Mid-Tang, and thirdly the codification of these views in the reception of Chen’s work in the Song dynasty. Throughout this trajectory Nagata emphasizes the formative role of Lu’s preface to Chen’s collected works, essentially arguing that this was primary text in Chen Ziang’s canonization, surpassing Chen’s own works. Through careful documentation of sources including the Dunhuang manuscript P. 3590, Nagata shows that Chen’s collection circulated widely together with Lu’s preface and biography (“Biezhuan” 別傳). Tang readers interpreted his poems in light of the archaicist principles enunciated in Lu’s preface, as well as in terms of Chen’s career frustration described in the biography (p. 26). Views of Chen Ziang later in the Tang continued to recapitulate the same points, particularly the assertion that...

Vitality and Cohesiveness in the Poetry of Shangguan Wan'er (664–710)

This essay examines two major characteristics of Shangguan Wan'er's poetry by placing them in the context of the development of poetry and poetics from the Southern Dynasties through the early Tang. Shangguan responded to the challenge of poetry writing in the early Tang with vitality and cohesiveness, which several poets had advocated since the 670′s. She also paid equal attention to literary embellishment and craft that she inherited from earlier traditions. The synthesis of traditions and new aesthetics shown in her poetry is part of an important literary current at the turn of the eighth century when the styles of poetry transitioned to those later known as the High Tang. Shangguan's strong influence on Emperor Zhongzong's court literary salon helped promote her taste and directed the literary currents of her time. This essay also presents a textual history of Shangguan's collected works and discusses some authorship issues related to poems that have been attributed to her since the Song dynasty.

Naively Perfect: A Note on the Image of the Boat in Zhang Jiuling’s Poems

By means of close readings of several poems written by the High Tang official Zhang Jiuling 張九齡 (678—740), a discussion of the image of the boat is offered. The boat is an image so prevalent and varied in Tang poetry as to defy attempts at studying it directly. Here, though, it is suggested that paying attention at the primary level of poetic imagery—specifically to the boat with its particular functions in the physical world—can provide a fruitful inroad to just such a project, and might lead to inter­pretive discoveries otherwise overlooked.

Naively Perfect: A Note on the Image of the Boat in Zhang Jiuling's Poems

By means of close readings of several poems written by the High Tang official Zhang Jiuling 張九齡 (678–740), a discussion of the image of the boat is offered. The boat is an image so prevalent and varied in Tang poetry as to defy attempts at studying it directly. Here, though, it is suggested that paying attention at the primary level of poetic imagery—specifically to the boat with its particular functions in the physical world—can provide a fruitful inroad to just such a project, and might lead to interpretive discoveries otherwise overlooked.

“Prose within the Poem” (Shi Zhong You Wen): Du Fu's Creative Breakthrough in the Light ofWuguNarrative Rhythm

AbstractIn the High Tang 盛唐 (roughly from 713 to 755), just as the pentasyllabic-line poetic form lay firmly under the sway of the Song-Qi 宋齊 (420–502) style, Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770) arrived at a solution to the problem of restoring to the mid-to-long wugu 五古 (ancient-style pentasyllabic) poem the old tenor of the Han 漢 (202 BCE–220 CE) and Wei 魏 (220–65) periods. However, Du Fu did not merely imitate his Han-Wei predecessors in terms of form and style. Instead, with his efforts at recovery of the creative principles driving the Han-Wei ancient form, Du Fu succeeded in distilling a novel wugu rhythm from the life and language of his own time. By its exploitation of the potential of the wugu form to narrate by single prose lines, by its enhancement of both the density of narrative sequences and the compactness of the rhythm of lines and passages, and by its exploration of the use of various modes of narration within a poem, Du Fu's work shows a key distinguishing feature we might term shi zhong you wen 詩中有文, or “prose within poem.” At the same time, in his mid-to-long poems, Du Fu was able both to bend the inherent capacity of the wugu for narration to its greatest expressive potential and also, by the use of expressive rhythm as a guiding force, to strictly maintain the fundamental distinction between poetry and prose. In considering why Du Fu's work is considered shishi 詩史 (history in poetry), we must recognize the critical formal expedient provided by this important creative breakthrough in the wugu form.

Re-evaluating the Silk Road's Qinghai Route using dendrochronology

The opening of the Silk Road vigorously promoted economic and cultural exchanges between Central Asia, Europe, northern India and China. The easternmost section of the ancient trade route was established during the Qin-Han period (221 BC to 220 AD). Previous research has shown that there were three routes: the first is known as the “Hexi Route”, the second is known as the “Juyan Route” or “Prairie Route”, and the third is known as the “Qinghai Route”. The Qinghai Route has long been viewed as merely an auxiliary line of the Hexi Route which was used when the main Hexi Route was blocked by warfare. Others believe that the Qinghai Route was used during the 5th to 6th century when it was controlled by Tuyuhun Kingdom. Yet, by the 7th to 8th century, after the Tibetan occupation of the region, it was no longer a main trade route. Dendrochronology, the study of tree-rings, is a precise dating method that can be accurate to the year. In this study, wood remains excavated from tombs along the ancient Qinghai Route were studied by the means of dendrochronology in order to determine the date and better understand when Qinghai Route was used. In the tombs a lot of commercial goods such as silk products, pottery, lacquer carpentry were found. The date of the tombs determined by dendrochronology when viewed together with other archaeological data, showed that from the early Tang Dynasty to the High Tang Dynasty (early 7th century to late 8th century), the Qinghai Route was one of the routes of communication between the West and China. This disproves the hypothesis that this route was only used during the 5th to 6th century.

明中後期對白居易詩接受向度的承接和轉變

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 明中後期150餘年間對白詩接受的發展歷程，大致表現出先抑後揚、抑揚遞變的否定之否定的特點。承接高棅的唐詩觀，前後七子等詩人群體崇盛唐而抑中晚，對白居易詩採取鄙夷的態度，影響所及，蔚然成風。與此同時，唐寅等吳中詩人則以其對白詩的熱情讚賞和創作效法，與七子派抗衡。稍後何良俊、胡應麟等人之稱道白詩，顯示出由否定到認肯的顯著轉變。而至萬曆以後，袁宗道等公安派詩人力崇白詩，展示出對七子派等主流思潮的强力反撥和接受向度的大的轉變。明末許學夷、陸時雍等人承前再轉，或從詩史角度評白詩之“大變”、“啓宋人門戶”，或以神韻爲宗，直斥元白“以潦倒成家”、“練皆降格爲之”，從而既爲明代白詩之詮評畫了一個句號，又給予清人葉燮、王士禛等人的唐詩觀以直接的啓迪和影響。
 Over 150 years, the Mid to Late Ming period (early 16th to mid 17th century) witnessed a change from criticism to high praise in the appraisal of Bai Juyi’s (772-846) poetry. The early attitude was the result of a trend initiated by the Former Seven Masters and Later Seven Masters of the Ming, who in turns continued Gao Bing's (1350-1423) accolade of High Tang poetry and his contempt for Mid and Late Tang poetry. In this fashion, Bai Juyi’s poetry was widely demeaned. In the same period there was some opposition from intellectuals such as Tang Yin (1470-1523) and others from the region of Wu (modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces). They gave considerable credit to Bai's poetry and emulated Bai's style in their own compositions. Later, He Liangjun (1506-1573) and Hu Yinglin (1551-1602)'s praise of Bai Juyi’s poetry marked a turning point from criticism to admiration. After the Wanli reign period (1573-1620), some poets of the Gong'an school, such as Yuan Zongdao (1560-1600), wholeheartedly promoted Bai’s poetry. This was in stark opposition to the mainstream thought and poetic taste advocated by the school of the Seven Masters. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, critics such as Xu Xueyi and Lu Shiyong carried on the polemics by expressing different views on Bai's poetry. Some of them defined Bai as a “poet-historian” who initiated a “big change” that “opened up a new gateway for Song Dynasty poets.” In their doctrinal pursuit for “divine aesthetic effect” (shenyun), some harshly criticized Yuan Zhen (119-831) and Bai Juyi's poetry for its simple, coarse style, which represented poor treatment of poetry composition. On the one hand, these opinions marked the end of Ming dynasty critique of vernacular poetry; on the other hand, they had a direct influence on and gave rise to a new view of Tang poetry advocated by Qing critics such as Ye Xie (1627-1702) and Wang Shizhen (1637-1711).

元德秀的時代意義及文學影響

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 元德秀是列於《新唐書ᆞ卓行傳》首位的人物，也是唐代文人的道德典範。他和盛唐後期到中唐前期的文儒房琯、李華、蕭穎士以及其從弟元結等人關係密切，并成爲建中、貞元年間具備復古觀念的大詩人孟郊的精神偶像。元德秀極大影響了中唐文學的精神和實踐，以前學界對元德秀研究甚少，本論文擬對元德秀生平、作品及其精神内涵進行詳細考證，並揭示元德秀對中唐詩人的精神影響及其在文學復古方面的作用和意義。Yuan Dexiu, a moral example during Tang poetry, was an important Cultural Confucians in High Tang, and had a strong connection with some transitional authors from late High Tang to early Mid Tang, such as Yuan Jie (元結), Fang Guan (房甫), Li Hua (李華) and Xiao Yinshi (蕭穎士). After the An-Shi Revolt, more people paid attention to moral problems, and Yuan Dexiu became the moral idol of many poets such as Meng Jiao (孟郊). But till now, Yuan Dexiu is seriously neglected for a long time by scholars, and this dissertation gives a detailed examination to his life, works and thoughts, analyzing his influence to Mid Tang poets, both in thought and style.