A Literature Study Of The Imperial Clan Of Song Dynasty

As a socially privileged group, the imperial clan of Song Dynasty has achieved rather high in the literature world; however, there hasn't been any systematical and comprehensive study of their literature achievements. Exploring the history of different Song periods and the major literature characteristics of the Song imperial clan, this dissertation aims to reveal the unique value of the Song imperial clan as a literature group and their contributions to the Song literature, based on extensive research of their works and personal lives.This dissertation consists of three parts. The first part is mainly about the literature review of the conceptions, range and the history of imperial clans in China before Song Dynasty and their literature achievements. The objective, the current study and the significance of this research are also discussed in this part.The second part consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on the political background of the literature development of the Song imperial clan. Due to the different imperial clan management systems during Song dynasty, the life styles, mentalities and personal feelings of the Song imperial clan vary at the different periods through the whole Song dynasty, which unavoidably have affected their literature creation. Chapter 2 discusses the traditional family values of the Song imperial clan and their unique culture. As a privileged group, the Song imperial clan has a strong sense of family values and there is never a shortage of talented men in the field of calligraphy and painting, which contributes to the formation of the artistic tradition among the Song imperial clan.Chapter 3 summarizes the personal lives of the Song imperial clan and their works. There are 256 people in the Song imperial clan whose works are still known and 45 among them have published their own poetry books which vary in 61 different categories and 29 categories have passed on to today.Chapter 4 elaborates on the trend and characteristics of the literature of the Song imperial clan, which features in the transition from the aristocratic literature to intellectual literature and Zhao lingzhi is the leading role. The South Song period is the peak time of the literature development of the Song imperial clan when the theme of their literature works is mainly about the political vicissitudes of Song dynasty. Among the famous Poetic School of Rivers and Lakes, there are 12 members who belong to the Song imperial clan and Zhao mengfu is the most outstanding one.Chapter 5 talks about Zhao lingzhi's works and his relations with the literature circle during the Yuan You period. Zhao lingzhi is known for his smooth and light writing style and his friendships with the celebrities then. Zhao is quite a prolific writer but unfortunately , most of his works are lost; however, Zhao is still regarded as the founder of the literature of the Song imperial clan.Chapter 6 analysizes the relations between the Song imperial clan and the Poetic School of Rivers and Lakes. Although a born noble, Zhao shixiu's works embodies the feelings of the commoners, thus he is seen as the typical writer of the trend among the Song imperial clan that the imperial clan's life is becoming more and more like that of the commoners. The majority of the 12 clan members in the Poetic School of the Rivers and Lakes are dreaming of returing to the north after the emperor is forced to move to the south and they put great emphasis on moral integrity.Chapter 7 analysizes the relations between the lettermen in the Song imperial clan and the literature of the adherents of the Song Dynasty during the transitional period from Song to Yuan. Most of the Song imperial clan serve their government wholeheartedly even when it goes down abruptly. After the South Song is replaced by Yuan Dynasty, they choose to live in obscurity as a way to protest the new power and express their sorrow by poetry. Among these people, Zhao bixiang is the leading figure.Chapter 8 is devoted to Zhao mengfu. As a talented artist, Zhao mengfu is famous for his achievements in the field of poetry, calligraphy and painting. His literature theories are alse received high esteem for their own distinctiveness.The final part of this dissertation analysizes the reasons why the Song imperial clan acheives more in literature during the South Song than they do in the North Song.