A Study On Yuan Yishan's Epitaphs

Yuan Haowen,the literary leader between Jin and Yuan,experienced the four dynasties of Zhang,Wei,Xuan and Ai,and witnessed the whole process of Jin from prosperity to fall.After the demise of the Jin Dynasties,Yishan could no longer serve as a historian,thus he preserved history with gravestones.The epitaphs in the collection of Yishan,which have changeable narrative rhythm and meandering narrative order,are grand and magnificent,from which the history of the late Jin Dynasty can be examined.The introduction part summarizes the studies of ancient and modern.The studies related to Yishan are mostly concentrated in the two aspects of poetry and theory,and the studies of prose are relatively desolate.As the largest proportion in the collection of Yishan,the way of epithphs intersect literature and history needs further systematic study.The first chapter analyzes the system of Yishan's epitaphs on the basis of the definition,origin,characteristics of parallel and scattered epitaphs.Yishan continued Han Yu and Liu ZongYuan's tradition of using scattered prose,and the system of his essays is more flexible.His epitaphs contain prefaces and inscriptions.The prefaces integrate narration,discussion and lyricism,and the inscriptions are stately and refined.The second chapter divides the author's writing experience into three stages,marked by "Zhenyou Nandu","the fall of Bianjing" and "returning home in old age".This paper examines the transformation of Yuan Hao-wen's life experience and the shift of his creative focus,in order to better understand the author's article and the environment in which he is located.In the early years,his epitaphs mainly showed characters,merits and achievements.After the year of 1232,Jin gradually weakened,and Yishan put forward the theory of “preserving history with the monument”,which increased the content of historical writing in epitaphs.In his later years,people across the country asked him to write epitaphs.His works has deep and solemn long stories,as well as legendary short stories,reaching the highest peak of his epitaphs.The third chapter studies the relationship between the historical biographies and Yishan's epitaphs.On the one hand,Yi Shan applies the historical biographical methods of "praise and criticism","character classification by category","recording people's speech" and "combination of overall and detail description" to his epitaphs,differently from the original articles that was used to decorate the life.On the other hand,Yishan used epitaphs to present historical materials.Withdeep feelings for the country,he reconstructed the reasons for the decline of the Jin Dynasty by reproducing the political,cultural and military situations.The fourth chapter researches the inheritance and innovation of Yishan's epitaphs.Yishan absorbed the achievements of predecessors in epigraphic theory and practice,thus attached great importance to personal characters,vivid narration,individualized language,and profound discussion.Then,along the way of Han Yu and OuYang Xiu,he further expanded the expression of the epitaphs,giving his passages a character of “Historical Biography”.In summary,Yuan Yishan is talent and his epitaphs are outstanding.In the Southern Song Dynasty,Jin Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty,Yuan Hao-wen was the most accomplished writer in the field of inscription.