| The dissertation consists of three parts.The connotation of the sentiment in Tang' s poems is the main idea of the first part. Everybody has his understanding about sentiment because of its subjectivity, and even the same person has different opinions of it in his different literary forms. As Tang Xian-zu to be concerned, his understanding of sentiment was embodied as sexual affections in his traditional operas, while in his poems it was the yearning and pursuit of his dream, belief and self-realization. The difference was caused by his philosophy of Benevolence of Living and the traditional Expression of Willingness of the classical Chinese poems.Since the middle of Ming Dynasty, people' s rational desire had been affirmed, with the breakthrough from the bandage of the Confucian feudal ethical code. Under such circumstances. Tang' s theory of humanity had been closed as a result of the traditional Confucianism, which also embodied that time. There was nearly no difference between Tang and the Confucianists of Song Dynasty on some theories, such as the goodness of the natural instincts and the resuming of them. Meanwhile, under the influence of Yangming School of Mind, Tang had also accepted the philosophy of Benevolence of Living, and affirmed people' s rational desire, which consisted of both the sexual affections and the need of self-realization. The connection of such philosophy to the traditional Expression of Willingness improved the sentiment of Tang' s pomes to combine with his ideals and opinions of values. So Tang' s poems were stylized by refinement, reason, calmness and profundity. Tang insisted the inducement of poems by sentiment, and seldom mentioned Expression of Willingness, but through his poems ,we can see the sentiment in his poems was in perfect harmony with reason and willingness, which was the characteristic of classical Chinese poems.The second pail of this paper is the analysis of different sentiments in Tang' s poems, which is expounded in four aspects. All of them complied to the code of feudal intellectuals that Confucius advanced.First of all. Tang expressed his deep love for his relatives, such as his grandma, parents, brothers, wives, and children. Such portraits of daily life routines and common sense showed readers the picture of a harmonious extended family, and Tang' s heavy obligations as the eldest son was manifested. Secondly, with the decline of the domination of late Ming Dynasty, Tang cherished the allegiance to the monarch and was deeply concerned with the country and its people. So all kinds of political corruption were uncovered in his poems, such as the monarch' s slack rein, the mineral taxes, the secret agents in the remote parts of the country and so on. Thirdly, as a talented and learned scholar. Tang was anxious to make use of his talentto benefit the country, which was denied by the current chaotic political situation. Then his bemoaning of the circumstances and die bad fate sought outlet in his poems, which epitomized die resentfulness or downheaitedness in different periods of his life. In the fourth place. Tang kept company with a variety of people, thus his many poems were dedicated to his mentors. In these poems, he described the invaluable friendship with Dai Xun. Shuai Ji, Ding Ci-lv, Da Guan, Li Zhi, etc.The third part is to expound the function of Tang' s poems in Ming Dynasty. Restoring the ancient ways was the main trend in the development of poetry in Ming Dynasty, but many poets and critics were not satisfied with the simulation and plagiarism of the back-to-the-ancients school' s creation, among whom the three brothers of Yuans in Gong' an school were typical characters. Tang was regarded as a ally of the Yuans and an opposition to the back-to-the-ancients school throughout the ages. But as a consequence of the analysis of Tang' s poems, he should be considered the transition of the two schools, in respect of the following reasons:Firstly, in Tang' s literary theories as well as his practices, there was an apparent relations... |
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