A Research Of CaiYong's Thoughts And His Poetry & Epigraphy

Cai Yong was a rather controversial figure toward the end of East Han Dynasty. In his late years, he was mocked as "having no personal integrity" for his political alliance with Dong Zhuo. Upon Dong Zhuo's death, he was further mocked as "having no pre-sight". What was worse, he was given a bad name of "Snobbish Epigrapher" for his fondness in epigraphic writings (see the 13th chapter of "Ri Zhi Records"). Not only was his personality castigated by later generations as "rich in writings but poor in moral integrity", but his literary works have been unjustifiablely neglected by scholars. It has to be admitted that it is a pity that Cai Yong's poetry and epigraphic writings are underestimated in the history of literary research.Taking Cai Yong's ideological pursuit and life style as the research juncture, this thesis makes a specific analysis of his works on the basis of an accurate appreciation of the living atmosphere in his age and on the comprehensive study of his ideological status as well. Not only can the case study of Cai Yong mirror the drastic ideological and philosophical changes took place in officials in the transition from the Han Dynasty to Wei, but it can indicate the new trend of the literature development between the two dynasties.This thesis is divided into three chapters as follows:Chapter One: The study of Cai Yong's ideological pursuit. This chapter is subdivided into three sections as: section one, To present Cai Yong's pronounced Confucianism ideal by the concrete analysis of Cai Yong's practical action in his life; section two, Cai Yong has deeply...