Poetry, Literary And Social Culture Mentality

This thesis attempts to have a profound analysis of the descriptive poetry of Zhongnan Mountain so as to study the society, culture, and the cultural mentality of the scholars and poets in Tang dynasty. As the saying goes,"you can see a world in a grain of sand ", so that through the Tang poets’description of Zhongnan Mountain, the cultural mentality of the poets and the cultural significance of Zhongnan Mountain can be known. Hence, from a certain perspective, poetry on Zhongnan Mountain can reflect the entaire culture of the Tang dynasty.Many poets of Tang dynasty have written about Zhongnan Mountain, so do many scholars. The scenery of the mountain is so remarkable, which makes the poets and scholars linger, leaving many works behind. Besides, because of its beautiful view, many noble lords and high-ranking officials have built villas and gardens there. Meanwhile, Zhongnan Mountain is rich in religious culture, where there are many temples around. This thesis intends to analyze the poems writing about the natural landscape, villas and gardens, and temples respectively. There are mainly six parts in this thesis:The introduction part first gives a statement about the reasons for the choice of this topic and the studying perspective of this thesis. Then, it introduces how poetry on Zhongnan Mountain appeared, the present research status in this area and the studying scope of this thesis as well. This thesis analyzes the poetry on Zhongnan Mountain from the perspective of the cultural mentality of the poets and scholars, hoping that much more can be draw from this.Chapter Ⅰ focuses on the analysis of the natural landscape of Zhongnan Mountain and discusses the cultural mentality expressed by the scholars. While enjoying the natural view, the scholars captured its beauty, expressed their thoughts about seclusion, and showed their reluctance to leave Chang’an, the capital of Tang dynasty.Chapter Ⅱ selects the poetry on the personal villas and gardens on Zhongnan Mountain, among which the famous poet Wang Wei’s garden is a typical one. The leisurely mentality shown by the scholars is explored by studying the poems writing about the villas and gardens. Also, the aesthetic taste of the Tang people can be learned from the landscape architecture.Chapter Ⅲ analyzes the poetry that have a description on the Buddhist temples, Taoist abbey and the intercourse between the scholars and the monks, from which the influence of Buddhism and Taoism on the cultural mentality of the scholars can be seen.Chapter Ⅳ focuses on the relationship between the cultural mentality of the scholars shown in their poetry on Zhongnan Mountain and the entire society and culture of Tang dynasty. This chapter also discusses the status of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism which are quite popular at that time. The thoughts of scholars must have been influenced by Buddhism and Taoism then. However, Confucianism still held the dominant position. The temperament shown by the scholars corresponds to the free and inclusive cultural atmosphere of Tang dynasty.The conclusion part further discusses the relationship between Zhongnan and Chang’an, and summarizes the relationship between the scholars’cultural mentality shown in the poetry on Zhongnan Mountain and the society and culture of Tang dynasty.From the descriptive poems on Zhongnan Mountain, the thoughts and cultural mentality of the scholars can be seen and the culture of Tang dynasty reflected by them is the studying focus of this thesis.