Research On Xiaoyan's Literature Activities And His Poetry And Prose

Xiao Yan was the first emperor in Liang Dynasty. In his lifetime, he lived through three dynasties including Song, Qi and Liang, thus he was one of the most important writers in the Qi-Liang Period. He cherished great enthusiasm for literature. In the year of Yongming, Qi Dynasty, he became one of the eight members in the Jingling Literary Group and ever took part in the literary activities organized by Xiao Ziliang and his fellow scholars. After his enthronement, due to his guidance and practice, Liang Dynasty became a dynasty with great devotion towards literature. He praised and promoted those intelligent people; he led and partook the feasts during which the literary members would compose various poems; he even composed Yuefu and music of songs like that; he organized the literary members to edit several literary works and complete collections; finally he paid much attention to cultivate the Xiaos' interest in literature, which became an impetus towards the literary prosperity in Liang Dynasty. The first chapter focuses on the arrangement of the literary activities held and attended by Xiao Yan and discusses their influence upon the literary circle in Liang Dynasty. In the second chapter, the author first explores the existence of Xiao Yan's poetry and prose, making a preliminary conclusion of over 90 poems and four pieces of prose. Secondly, the author attempts to analyze the contents and artistic characteristics of Xiao Yan's works, and discusses the relationship between his complex thought and his literary creation. Finally, the author analyzes the impact of his literary creation upon his time and the later ages, focusing on the instructive functions of his literary creation upon the blend of those doctrines and anecdotes about Buddhism in literature, upon the formation of the style of both Gexing and Ci in Tang Dynasty as well as the maturity of the poetry about frontier fortress.