Study Ⅰ On Lu Tong Notes To Lu Tong's Poetry

This paper falls into two parts: the first part is about the notes to Lu Tong's poetry; the second part is a comprehensive study on Lu Tong. The first part, the notes to Lu Tong's poetry, is checked against the text from the silk scroll of Ming Dynasty, the earliest and best edition of Collection of Lu Tong's Poems available so far, and proofread against the notes, poetry criticisms and selected works concerning collected poems by Lu Tong, on the basis of the noted edition Anthology of Yu Chuanzi by Sun Zhilu. In addition to the notes, this part also compiles some comments and reviews on Lu Tong's poems. The process of annotating Lu Tong's poems facilitates the textual research on the historic background, family background, the art of making friend of Lu Tong, which can render a relatively better and more reliable comprehension of Lu Tong, and thereby a good grasp of the theoretical depth concerning the research on Lu Tong..The second part consists of six chapters, besides the introduction and conclusion. The introduction gives reasons for selecting the subject, making an account of the present situation of the study on Lu Tong, the research method and its feasibility, as wall as the research project. The author points out that: firstly, Lu Tong occupies an important position in the history of Chinese poetry from Tang Dynasty till the modern times. However, what is out of people's expectation is that such a poet not to be ignored has always been belittled and neglected; secondly, quite a lot of attentions have been paid to Lu Tong, yet compared with the other members of the Han-Meng Poetic School, such as Han Yu, Meng Jiao, Jia Dao, etc, the concerns seem to be rather limited. It is as if Lu Tong was a foil to Han Meng School which can be easily overlooked; thirdly, the reason for such a prospect can be attributed to the characteristics of Lu Tong's poetry. His works do not underline the utilitarity of poetry with plain language, as what Bai Juyi is doing. In the days when literature and art were made to serve the reality and politics, no much stress is put on his writing; fourthly, there is a close tie existing between Lu Tong's poetry and the reality, which can be illustrated in two aspects: one is the literary influence, which finds expression in the writing techniques of Lines on the Lunar Eclipse, alluding to the political situation of the time with peculiar subjects. The other is the cultural influence, owing to the author's fantastic description on drinking tea in Composing a Poem to Show Appreciations for Meng Jian Who Suggests a Delivery of Fresh Tea, Lu Tong, together with the "Tea Sage" Lu Yu, is regarded as the symbol of Chinese tea culture. Therefore, this paper attempts to comb through Lu long's life, assess the ideological significance and artistic style of his poetry, as well as the profound influence it has exerted on later writers, thereby a proper literary evaluation corresponding to his achievements in poetry can be obtained.Chapter One draws conclusions from a brief account of Lu Tong's life, which includes his birthplace, cause of his death, years of his birth and death, his residence and way of making friends, etc. One, Ji yuan is the birthplace of Lu Tong, Fan yang a county he once lived in and Luo yang the place he stayed for a long time. Two, whether Lu Tong died in the "Sweet Dew Conspiracy" the ninth year in Da he (835), during the reign of Wen Zong of Tang Dynasty, is an unsettled case, yet it does not affect the study on Lu Tong's poetry, nor does it prevent the comprehension of the poet's political attitudes of opposing the eunuch in the court. The two theories can coexist. Three, proposals for the year of Lu Tong's birth diverge, which mainly fall into the following versions: one opinion advocates the year around 795, one around the year 790, others around 775, 778, 770 or 769, and one claims it to be unidentified. The conclusions on the year of Lu Tong's birth differ, except for that the different understandings of the poems involving the poet's life should be considered, the reason primarily lies in the different opinions on the poet's death. Four, through the investigation on Lu Tong's residence, we are convinced that Lu Tong once lived in Yang zhou in his earlier years, and he possessed a little fortune. Then he moved away to Ji yuan to study in seclusion, during which time, he occasionally paid formal visits to Chang'an, but in vain. He had once been to the area beyond the Great Wall, in the hope of making great contributions to the country. Later, he settled down in Li ren Lane in Luo yang of He nan Province, during which time he visited Tian zhen Temple and other places with the great poets such as Han Yu, etc. On the winter of the sixth year of Yuan he (811), he headed for south to Yang zhou from Luo yang to sell his old residence, in order to pay off the debts he owed when he bought the house in Luo yang. On his way to the south, he was confined to bed for being infected with miasma, which did great harm to his bodily health. The proposal which insisted that Lu Tong was not killed in the "Sweet Dew Conspiracy" takes this as the cause of his death. Five, except for the various poets from the Han-Meng Poetic School and some Buddhists, Lu Tong does not keep a large circle of acquaintances. This, in a sense, is due to his personality as an unsociable and eccentric person. What's more, he always takes pride in his own intelligence, and holds himself aloof from others, which have a direct impact on shaping his style of writing.Chapter Two focuses on the ideological content of Lu Tong's poetry, which can be divided into five sections: "the learned person's wish to be accomplished in the world", "the Confucian scholar's theories on humanity", "the cynical thinking of the Foolish Old Man", "the hermit's fondness of seclusion" and "to have a masterpiece which can embody all his talents". Among them the desire "to be accomplished in the world" of the Confucian scholar forms an internal motive to Lu Tong's cynicism. Being not able to achieve his goal, one tends to become a cynical Foolish Old Man or an alienated hermit. In the abandon and dissolution rendered by cynicism and seclusion, Lu Tong conveys his loneliness in politics and his sentiments on the frustrating life with his elegant and tactful verses.Chapter Three concentrates on the aesthetic characteristics of "Lu Tong Style". Though the formation of such a style is closely connected with the age the poet lives in, yet this chapter takes as its subject matter the factors with the biggest proportion of perceptual touch and substance to make a relatively more concentrated analysis on the manifest characters, aesthetic connotations and taste of "Lu Tong Style". The conclusion from the above analysis argues that various aesthetic appeals and connotations lie behind the "peculiarity" of Lu Tong, who, with his wild and unrestrained personality follows his own inclinations while writing.Chapter Four is a diachronic comb through Lu Tong's influences. It investigates his influence in Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties respectively, pointing out that the strong individualized feature serves as the basis of the existence of Lu Tong's poetry and the far-reaching influence it exerts. However, this does not mean that his poetry is an isolated insulator to the society; on the contrary, there is a profound and complicated relationship between Lu Tong's writing and the development of literature. The history of Chinese literature is as vast as an ocean, so this kind of study is undoubtedly a drop in the ocean, yet from the perspective such a study provides, we can gain an approach to the enormous impact Lu Tong has on the later ages.Chapter Five gives an account on the origin and development of the editions of Lu Tong's poems, making it clear that Lu Tong's works had been spread far and wide among people and even been circulated and block-printed for many times in early Song Dynasty. Yet it is a pity that the Song Edition was lost to the world. The anthology of Lu Tong's poems is made up of three independent systems: the first volume, the second volume and the third volume. The first volume is irretrievably lost, the second volume was spread and printed during the year of Zheng de of Ming Dynasty, and the third one is the most widespread. During Qing Dynasty, the plain learning—textual study of the Chinese classics was prosperous, so Lu Tong's poetry was able to spread far and wide.Chapter Six is a brief account on the records of the past dynasties on Notes To the Spring and Autumn Period, a representative work of Lu Tong's "Study on the Spring and Autumn Period", on whose basis, the general picture of its content and style is discussed.The conclusion briefly summarizes the common qualities of the poems composed by Lu Tong which belong to the Han-Meng Poetic School, integrated with the historic background, social environment, etc. In this way, it constitutes a complementary part with the previous chapters. That is to say, as an important member of the Han-Meng Poetic School, Lu Tong's writing not only shares some common qualities with the other members of this school, but also possesses a distinctive individuality. This is what the author's research is aiming at.