Bai Ju Yi And The Mid-Tang Dynasty

This thesis.which is based on Bai Ju Yi's poems and literary works as the primary sources of information.attempts to explore various aspects of the Mid-Tang dynasty with emphasis on its social economy. It deals with four main areas,namely: (i)The Dual Tax System;(ii)The diversification of revenue and taxation;(iii)The development of agriculture.industry and commerce of the Mid-Tang dynasty;(iv)The shifting of the economic key area to Southern China and the development of the southern provinces. This is followed by an overall review on the researches of Bai Ju Yi's poems and literary works done by.among others,Chen Yin Que(陈寅恪), Zhu Jin Cheng(朱金城), Luo Lian Tian(罗联添),Luo Zong Qiang(罗宗强). Bai Ju Yi was familiar with rural life.His poems clearly reflected the plight of the peoplewhich was caused by numerous.heavy taxes and compulsory donations exacted by corruptofficials and by the corrupt eunuchs who refused to pay or underpaid for the commodities theybought for the palace(宫市).There were also portrayals of wet rice farming, Yu Tian Farming(畲田耕作) and rotational cultivation of wheat and rice.(稻麦轮作)Bai Ju Yi was a practitioner,not a theoretician.His Ce Lin <<策林>> was a famous work on strategies for running a country. It focused on the social problems of the Tang dynasty and was used as model answers for the candidates who took the Imperial Examinations(科举). The strategies were,however,perceived by Bai Ju Yi before he was involved in politics. Owing to his lack of experience in administrative matters and the influence of moralistic idealism.his assertions seem to be impracticable.Few scholars.if any,have hitherto researched into Bai Ju Yi's '101 Judgments'(判文). There is therefore a sort of virgin wilderness waiting to be explored. In the circumstances, I have attempted to classify the judgments into three categories:(i) Verdicts made according to the law(依法)/respecting the law (遵法 )/abiding the law(守法)/obeying the law(从法).(ii)Verdicts with respect to cases which were against the law (违法)/unjust to the law(枉法)/breaking the law (犯法). (iii)Civilian lawsuits. Detailed analysis of the judgments reveal that Bai Ju Yi made his verdicts with due respect for the law and compassion for the accused. Bai was firm in passing sentences yet he would allow mitigation whoever merited it. Moreover,considerateness,beneficeance and protection for the parties involved were the main elements of his approach. While the bureaucrats attached great importance to Yong(用) rather than Ti(体),Bai,the poet,repudiated particularity in favour of universality. And instead of boasting about his wisdom and intelligence,he used common sense.humanism and compassion to make his judgments. Thus Bai's verdicts were generally fair and more relevant. His verdictswritten in Pianti(骈体)were expressed in extremely splendid and elegant language that tends to give a deep impression. I wonder if this could be considered as a discovery in the research of Bai Ju Yi's literary works.I have a rather immature proposition that Bai Ju Yi's devotion to alchemy,a vegetarian diet and observing both Buddhist and Taoist teachings should not be regarc4ed as a fad as it was possibly related to his health. Bai indulged,on the one hand.in sensual enjoyments and on the other hand he tried to pursue spiritual cleanliness of the other world. He was fully aware that he could not be immortal.yet he hoped that alchemy could provide him with a magic pill that would enable him to live forever. Buddhism and Taoism.which were his two main pillars of spiritual support,became his tranquillizer as well as his anaesthetic. Bai Ju Yi was thus in an existential dilemma as he could not be,simultaneously,a saint and a worldly man. From the point of neuropsychology(神经心理功能学),there is an intimate relation between guqin(古琴)and qigong yangshengshu(气功养生学). Hence,playing the guqin is not only a performing art but also a means to promote one's health and longevity. And Bai Ju Yi's long life could...