Research On The Antithesis In Early Tang Dynasty Poetry

Antithetical parallelism is a traditional and characteristic rhetoric figure of Chinese language which has a unique charm.In classical poetry,antithesis plays a very important role and occupies a unique position,which become the main format standard of one of the most important Chinese Classical Poetry— “modern style”poetry,a kind of innovations in classical poetry during the Tang Dynasty(618--907),marked by strict tonal patterns and rhyme schemes and also named metrical verse.Early Tang dynasty is the period during which the rules and forms of metrical verse shaped,and it is also the period that antithesis theory rising and becoming prosperity.Studying the antithesis theory and creation practice in early period of the Tang Dynasty not only helps to understand the aesthetic value of antithesis in the classical poetry but also helps to understand the unique development of antithesis in the shaping process of metrical verse,so that the division of pre-Tang poetry and “modern style” poetry shows more clearly.Specifically,the first chapter explores the creation foundations and aesthetic principles of antithesis in theory,and also provides a measure for the following discussion of antithesis theory and practice.The second chapter studys the division of antithesis types and makes analysis and induction to those types in the poetic theory works appeared in the early Tang Dynasty,then points out the cognitive deepen of people in the early Tang Dynasty to the antithesis theory.The third chapter discusses the creation practice of antithesis in poetry in early Tang Dynasty Systematically and introduces the overall situation of the antithesis use and even artistic level in the early Tang poetry.The fourth chapter discusses the relationship between development of antithesis in poetry in early Tang Dynasty and the formation of “modern style” poetry,finded that there were some tendencies,like ellipsis,inversion and complex,of the early Tang Dynasty poetry to become metrical.Meanwhile,it researchs the relations between antithesis and tonal patterns such as level and oblique tones in five-word-eight-sentence-verses and proves that antithesisand rhythms in classical Chinese poetry are two relatively independent systems.In summary,this paper explored the artistic charm of antithesis in poetry,and discussed the evolution and value of creation and theory of antithesis in poetry during this specific period of the early Tang Dynasty.