A Critical Survey Of Liyi's Frontier Poem

Liyi is a crackajack poet in middle Tang dynasty. Among his 166 poems those in actual existence,there are 50 frontier poems sorting by content and 51 seven words quatrains sorting by types of literature. Both frontier poems and seven words quatrains composed third of his total poems. Liyi's frontier poems preserve the fashion of Tang dynasty in flourish period and musicians bribe to seek his seven words quatrains. His poems spread like wildfire and are greeted by common people with rapturous applause. Reviewer of Tang dynasty's music in afterworld also value Liyi's poems highly. This paper try to grasp the correlate information and documentation about Liyi, based on the unscramble of his frontier poems, explore and analyze all his life, his produce of poesy, content of frontier poems, characteristic of art, connotation of culture, achievement of seven words quatrains and give objective and fair evaluation to Liyi's poems.This paper contain five parts. Chapter one"Liyi's life and poesy"based on Tan You Xue's《Liyi xing nian kao》, sorting Liyi's life in 4 period : young period, Ambition winged his spirit; trail a pike in frontier fortress; feel depressed and travel in south China; ease in official career and lack of excellent poems. As a offspring of general, he was born in well-known family and grow up in Guzang which is a town of military importance located in west China. Edification of family and frontier ambience contribute his great ambition, he long for establishing great achievement for Country. Because of failure in official career, he join the army in frontier in despite of his famous literary talent. In the period of trailing a pike, Liyi produced a great deal of frontier poems. As a bridge between flourish Tang and Middle Tang period, his frontier poems have heroic spirit of flourish Tang period and grieve of Dali's poesy fashion, impress people with the deepness and massiness of affection. When he travel in Changjiang River and Huaihe River basin, he write poems to give a picture of south China, the historic site along with the river also raise his deep and remote emotion, his literature in this period are excellent poems: sigh with regret to now day by gentle and flexural plaint to ancient, describe the scene of nature in clear style of writing. In the period of living in Changan as a officer, because of politic contend between Niu and LI, his spirits were broken. Although he is ease in official career after that, he begin to yearn towards immortal being and hold intercourse with a shaman named GuangXuan, his literature became third-class. Liyi's experience in his life plays important role to the style of his poem.Chapter two focus on discussion of Liyi's frontier poem. First are background of his frontier poem, which was divide into three parts: background of age,status of frontier fortress,regime of government. Liyi lived in prophase of Middle Tang dynasty, after Anshi's coup were hold down. Generals set up a separatist regime by force of arms; eunuch's despotism makes people lived difficult. The poet not only look back the brilliance of flourish Tang period but also distress to the actual situation. Embodiment of his frontier poems are: make a blazon of patriotism or construct achievement for country, reflect the civil war as well as decline of national power; rendering the frontier sight and military life, also express the emotion that soldiers miss their hometown. About the art characteristic, not only have imposing content and bread pattern but also have sorrow emotion and feelings. As a poet who have highly craft of writing, Liyi's poem be good at integration between music and picture, and be proficient in compact word and appropriate artistic conception, use different combination of sentence to present his lofty sentiments and nostalgia.Chapter three focus on the seven words quatrains in Liyi's frontier poem. Liyi's seven words quatrains always are praised by scholars, also are the distillate of his art achievement. This paper unscramble Liyi's seven words quatrains special in"emotion word","wisdom word","music word"aspects. Liyi is adept at present emotion in poem not open out but graceful and gentle; Liyi is also adept in using wisdom word to promote step-up sublimation of feelings; he is good at using music word, the swing is harmonious and exquisite, the syllable is fluent and pleasant to listening. Liyi wrote excellent seven words quatrains for us, by his transcendent artistic talent.Chapter four"culture intension of Liyi's frontier poem"sum up and abstract culture intension form Liyi's frontier poems in three aspects: complex feeling of Han dynasty,hero consciousness,hardship and misery consciousness and human caring. Adoration to the Han dynasty's hero carry forward of Han's spirit; strong hero consciousness induced his fight for country; decline of national power and exotic enemy's aggression bring agony and anxious to him. No more heroic feeling, more sober thinking, he paid attention to soldiers and common people instead of thinking about his own feelings and official career. It incarnates his dense consciousness of human caring.Chapter five scan Liyi's poems overall, develop new understanding of his position in Tang poesy's history after give a objective evaluation to him: he bring the resurgence of frontier poem in Middle and Late Tang dynasty, he is the cross of Dali and Yuanhe, he is the continuator of Tang poesy's elegant aesthetic tradition, he is the bridge of flourish and Midele Tang dynasty's poem, he is a excellent poet as connecting link.Appendix of this paper is commentary of Liyi's poem. This part review Liyi's poems comprehensively in five parts: study of his life,study of his poem,collation of poetry anthology and the study on versions,textual criticism of writing,Liyi's image in novel and drama. We sum up and analyze the compare in complete text,distinguish of other scholar's achievement especially for some problems under dispute, finally we point out the shortage of present study, wish be helpful to study of Liyi's poem.