Yu Xin Epitaphs Study

In domestic epigraph development history, Yu Xin has been recognized as a epigraph writer of milestone significance following Cai Yong. As a writer in a official position transferring from the South Dynasty to the North, Yu Xin created epigraph works on the foundation of those in Han and Wei Dynasty and exerted great influence on both the development of Tang Dynasty's epigraph works and the formation of other writing styles. Since the 21st century, Yu's epigraph works have received increasing concerns of researchers and related writings have also been successively published. However, these studies, either appearing in the form of single papers or scattered in a few monographs or master theses and doctoral dissertations, are not in a whole integrated system and hence not enough to provide a panorama of Yu epigraph creation. Based on the previous studies of Yu Xin's works, this thesis is aimed to analyze and elaborate Yu Xin's works and serve as a case study for the research of the whole epigraph development history.This thesis consists of four chapters as follows:Introduction describes the achievements and impacts of Yu Xin in the literary history, and explains the current situation of epigraph study in the academic world. By analyzing the previous research results, the thesis points out the purpose and significance of this study, in the meanwhile, introduces the research objectives and scopes of this thesis.The first chapter mainly discusses Yu's life experience and its relationship with the epigraph creation. The first section explains the meaning of epigraph and its development through Six Dynasties, which provides supportive materials of backgrounds for the study of Yu's epigraph; Section two traces Yu's life experiences in much detail, including introducing Yu's several significant life events and their influences on his epigraph creation.Chapter two elaborates and verifies Yu Xin's epigraph works. It firstly tells the creation and circulation situation of Yu's works. Based on the historical records and such collected literary works as"The Cream of Literary World"and"Collected Writings of Yu Zishan With Notes", the study verifies the number and the names of his epigraph works and analyzes the possible reasons for different descriptions in records. Finally, errors having occurred in nine epigraph works are proofread and corrected from the perspective of version.Chapter three analyzes the content of Yu Xin's epigraph works. First, Yu's epigraph works are divided into two types by styles on the classification standards listed in the dictionarys of "Wen Xin Diao Long" and "Article Discernment", namely, monuments and epitaphs Then, the thesis follows to subdivide his epigraph works, according to the contents of epigraphs and the identities of the tombs'owners. Second, by deep-reading the texts, the study seeks to grasp the ideological contents reflected in Yu epigraph works and probe into people's political, social and cultural situations in Northern and Southern Dynasties.Chapter four analyzes artistic characteristics of Yu Xin's epigraph works. First, the study summarizes the basic structure of epigraph creation since Cai Yong and describes Yu's inheritance and innovation of the structure as reflected in his works. Second, elaborations of Yu's narrative methods are made from the perspectives of narrative angles and detailedness of his works ; In addition, the study generates the main characteristics of Yu's epigraph language, namely, allegorical description, word richness, regular sentence patterns, combination of parallel prose with free prose.The conclusion part summarizes the value of Yu's epigraph works in historiography, literature, stylistics and aesthetics, and analyzes its effects on the atmosphere formation in the primary stage of Tang Dynasty and the development of later epigraph creation. For the convenience of research, the main text has been appendixed.