Wang Yucheng’s Mentality Towards Official Career And His Literary Creation Under The Influence Of It

Wang Yucheng is a famous politician and litterateur in the early period of the Song Dynasty. He camefrom a humble origin, but was well-known throughout the nation at that time and once promoted toZhizhigao(imperial edict drafter). Therefore, Wang was delegated three times and seriously traumatizedphysically and spiritually. Finally he died in his residence at less than fifty years old. He is, as it were,ill-fated. However, he always keeps integrity and benevolence which extremely highlights the indomitablespirit of the ancient Chinese Scholar officials.He sticks to the political ideals of enlightened emperor,worthy officials and officers, peace and prosperity; He is full of enthusiasm and sincerity to serve thepeople; He enjoys landscape, yearns for nature and is pursuit of hermit. His literature is rich and diverse,which fully reveals the ups and downs in career and noble personality. His creation theories and practicesplayed an important role in the poetry innovation movement of the Song dynasty. Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi andothers song high praises to him, and inherited and carried forward his literary thoughts in their theories andpractices. This thesis mainly makes a research about Wang Yucheng‘s attitude towards official career andhis literary creation under the influence of it.In introduction,I mainly sorted and summarized the academic’s study ofWang Yucheng,it mademy paper’s significance and method clear.And I pointed out its value in academy.The first chapter mainly discusses the growing experience of Wang Yucheng and his attitude towardsofficial career. Wang Yucheng was born in poverty. In his young age, he went through political chaos inthe period of Five Dynasties, after being an official, because of his integrity, uprightness and frankness,abhorrence of sin, and bluntness in appraising people and the world, offended lots of dignitaries, and alsowas repulsed by the emperor Taizong. Deposed three times in eight year, Wang finally died in Huangzhou.It may be called an ill-fated life. However, he always adhered to the political aspiration of “the emperorlearning from Yao and Shunking” and the political character of “no diginitaries standing in the way ofdoing right”, and with deep sympathy to the people, maintained the official principle “surrendering tojustice rather than ranks, which all extremely highlights the unyielding spirit of the Chinese scholarbureaucrats. The second chapter mainly discusses Wang’s poetic creation under the influence of his attitudetowards official career, which was directly controlled by the ups and downs of his political life, and thiskind of attitude naturally affected his poetic creation. He was relegated again and again, making himpsychological enough to suffer and chew life hardships, and put it into beauty to write life psalms. Basedon the poems by Wang Yucheng in the whole Song Poetry, this thesis classifies the poems, gives examplesand statistical analysis of various types of poems, and then compares the analysis results with Wang’scareer course in order to interpret the relation between his poetic creation and career course.The third chapter mainly discusses Wang Yucheng’s prose creation under the influence of his attitudetowards official career. As a carrier, his proses recorded his rough official career of “deposed three times ineight years” and the changes of his attitude towards official career. Strong sense of social responsibilitymade him keep no silence in face of all kinds of social problems and imperial corrupt practices. Then, inpolitical essays, he put forward to the political reforms of strengthening frontier defense, putting warriors inimportant positions, cutting official positions, and cleaning monks and nuns out. In historical essays, herejudged historical events and figures to give warning to social reality. His preface euphemisticallyconveyed his political ideal to his friends and juniors. His essays, on the basis of the story, express ed hisfeelings and stated political affairs, which showed his dissatisfaction with social ills. Because of the twistsand turns of official career, Wang Yucheng could not change the situation of the society at that time; he hadto build his own xanadu in the proses.The fourth chapter mainly discusses Wang Yucheng’s poetic prose creation under the influence of hisattitude towards official career. In the existing26poetic proses,the political ones were created before orafter he became an official, in which were full of idealism, such as monarch-subject relationship ofmonarchs putting people in the first place, proper way of governing a nation and correct way of employingable and virtuous persons. His poetic poems of chanting subjects expressed his loyal patriotic ideas, and hisdisdain for the powerful. His lyrical poetic proses reflected his thoughts alteration on entering politicalstratum in face of adversity and yearning for happy family life.The fifth chapter mainly discusses Wang Yucheng’s artistic views under the influence of his attitudetowards official caree.Facing the vulgar and shallow ethos of poetic circles in the early period of the SongDynasty, Wang Yucheng became aware of poetry’s social function, opened the prologue of emphasizing indoctrination, made efforts to restore traditional poetry standards, began to look to the social reality andreflected people’s sufferings. In proses, in view of the poor content, Wang Yucheng thought that the realistictraditions should be inherited. He also advocated simple writing style rather than obscure one.The conclusion summarizes Wang Yucheng ’s official career history, official mentality and poetrycreation and theory, further points out the special important position of Wang Yucheng’s poetry in theliterature of Song Dynasty. Although in practice Wang Yucheng does not reverse weak style in Tang andFive Dynasties poetry, his works of art has injected a new spirit to Song Dynasty’s literature, beyond thelimitations of the times, guides Ouyan Xiu and other descendants to continue to explore in the literature andmakes an indelible contribution to the Song Dynasty’s literature.