Mao Kun Origin And Spread Of The Tang And Song Wen Chao Dynasty

After South Song Dynasty, to shape the style of essay, which was represented by the eight great literary masters in Tang and Song Dynasty, had been an increasingly evident trend from "Gu Wen Guan Jian" by Lv Zuqian, "Wen Zhang Gui Fan" by Xie Fangde, "Tang Song Liu Jia Wen Heng" by Zhu You, "Wen Bian" and "Liu Jia Wen Lue" by Tang Shunzhi, "Si Da Jia Wen Xuan" by Gui Youguang to "Tang Song Si Da Jia Wen Xuan" by Lu Can, and finally established by the publishment of "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun. Mao Yigui edited and published the first edition of "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun in Hangzhou in 1759. Then Fang Yingxiang, the Education Secretary of Shandong Province, collated and published the second edition of the book with his colleagues of Hangzhou Xiaozhu Literary Group for the purpose of refreshing the social atmosphere in 1628. Fang Yingxiang's good reputation in officialdom and the imperial examination field made "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun the most popular essay anthology in both Ming and Qing Dynasty. Mao Zhu, the grandchildren of Mao Kun, collated the manuscript of "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun as one of the Mao's descendants, and made Yongwantang Publishing House at Jinchang in Suzhou publish the third edition. The popularity of the third edition made "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun the most classical anthology of essays of Tang and Song Dynasty. After that, the anthologies of the eight great literary masters'essays had formed an internal system and led a new trend of development of the anthologies of essays. In Qing Dynasty, the trend was carried on by"Tang Song Ba Da Jia Lei Xuan" by Chu Xin and "Tang Song Ba Jia Wen Du Ben" by Shen Deqian. In conclusion, the spread of the eight great literary masters'essays in Ming and Qing Dynasty was mainly based on the publication of "Tang Song Ba Da Jia Wen Chao" by Mao Kun, secondarily assisted by the anthologies of Chu Xin and Shen Deqian and other anthologies in Japan and Korea at the same time during the period of Chong Zhen in Ming Dynasty, and the periods of Kang Xi and Qian Long in Qing Dynasty.