A Study On The Aesthetic Variations Of Poetry Theories In Song Dynasty

The poetry of Song Dynasty is unparalleled in the development of Chinese classical poems, which is closely connected with the development and creation of poetry theories in Song Dynasty. It is the creative theories of poems that lead the writing of poems to a new way of creation that is different from the poems of prosperous period in Tang Dynasty.During the domination of Northern Song Emperor Zhaozhen, the reforming movement of poems followed along with the National Administration and Political Reform thought. Inspired by OuYangxiu, many famous poets such as Mei Yaochen, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian created "the Poetry of Song Dynasty" which was beyond the aesthetic paradigm of Tang Dynasty. The development is divided into three periods called "the period of respecting of Han Yu" and "the period of modeling Du Fu" and "the period of admiring of Tao Yuanming". "Plain style" by Mei YaoChen was treated as starting-point of "the Poetry of Song Dynasty", and in the end, it reached the peak of poems represented by the works of some great poets such as Su Shi and Huang Tingjian, and were typical of metrical pattern of Chinese poetry. Poetry is the; art of language, and the variation of the style would lead to the corresponding variation of the language. The coexisting poetic styles since the beginning of Song Dynasty provided abundant nourishment as well as the difficulty of reformation. The famous poets such as Mei Yaochen and Huang Tingjian were devoted to seeking new developing ways of poetry, and they paid more attention to the language patterns of poetry for exploring the developing laws of poetic language, which was theorized systematically by them, and the result of their creation instructed the creative practice of poetry besides filling up a gap of literary theory, and this therefore laid the foundation of the linguistic techniques of poems in Song Dynasty, which exerted great influence on the formation of " Jiang Xi School of Poetry"."Jiang Xi School of Poetry" named after the the Family Tree of JiangXi School of Poetry by Lu Benzhong, and it influenced the poetry of the beginning of Northern Song and the end of Southern Song. But its precedents ignored the innovation of syntax by Huang Tingjian and on the contrary they obeyed the rules stubbornly and these conditions led to its lifelessness. Lu Benzhong was the first person who enunciated the theories of Huang Tingjian thoroughly in order to put the subsequent theories right, and then the devoted members of "Jiang Xi School of Poetry" such as Lu You and Yang Wanli enriched and reformed the flexible theory of poetry by Lu Benzhong, and made great achievements in creative practice and ultimately formed the poetic model presented by "Cheng Zhai Style" (styled by Yang Wanli). In the later part of Southern Song, it was so difficult to get rid of so many abuses that these chaotic conditions evoked the beginning of "the Style of Late Tang" which is praised by the backbone characters presented by the later theorists especially "the Four Great Poets in Yong Jia"(the four disciples of Ye Shi) and "the Group of Wandering poets". Yan Yu advocated that the creation of poetry should follow the style of prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the poetry critic Fang Hui living between the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty laid stress on the value of the theories of "Jiang Xi School of Poetry" based on the support for Yan Yu. They tried to fuse varied poetic paradigm of several kinds of aesthetic standards and then brought forward an ideal poetic aesthetic space.The revival and development of Confucianism as well as the consciousness of inheriting cultural heritages are the two important conditions for the creation of poetic theories in Song Dynasty. Firstly, the innovation of Song poetry was different from the emotional foundation of the poetry of Tang Dynasty, and it was based on personality for political education; secondly, the consciousness of inheriting cultural heritages promoted the formation and perfection of poets'artistic personality and formed the artistic character of Song poetry. The typical poetry by Su and Huang ranged from linguistic techniques to character accomplishments, and these poets created ideal works based on the reflection of inner heart.By general description and intensive study of the four major variations in the development of poetry theories in Song Dynasty, the deep-seated laws can be disclosed:first, the Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism integrated in Song Dynasty but they influenced the poetic theories of Song Dynasty differently; second, the consciousness of inheriting cultural heritages of the poets in Song Dynasty made them assimilate the knowledge and writing techniques of the ancestors and then reformed the poetic language of Song Dynasty thoroughly; third, the poetic theorists of Song Dynasty paid more attention to reasonable spirit than emotional description, while both of which were mixed in the poetic theories of Song Dynasty; fourth, the theory of bringing the new through the old is the essence not only of "Jiang Xi School of Poetry "but also of the poetry theories of Song Dynasty, in both of which revivalism is the most important.The dissertation is to explore the poetic theory from the standpoint of aesthetic variation, and it is divided into four parts:chapter1 the variation of plain style; chpater2 the variation of rhetorical linguistic techniques; chapter3 the variation of agile creative conception; chapter 4 the variation of exquisite aesthetic space. The four variations were both independent and related to each other, and formed a clear and complete theory system of the poetry in Song Dynasty which indicates obvious character of poetry theory of Song Dynasty.