A Study On Zhang Heng's Poetry And Prose Creation

It is generally believed that the Chinese classical literature has entered into an era of literary consciousness from pre-Qin Dynasty to Wei and Jin dynasties.However,the formation of literary consciousness is not accomplished overnight,but experiencing a long period of historical trials and endless attempts by literati.Limited by the special social and ideological atmosphere in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty,the literary creation in this period presents many novel aspects.Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation embodies the trans-formative characteristics of the literature in the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty.The study attempts to make a concrete analysis of the background,characteristics and significance of Zhang Heng's poetry creation from the perspective of history and studies the position and value of Zhang Heng's poems and his works in the literature history of the Eastern Han Dynasty as well as the whole period from pre-Qin dynasty to Wei and Jin dynasties.Hopefully,the author will have a deeper understanding of the historical development of literature in this period.The first chapter of the study explores the blending characteristics of Confucianism and Taoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty through the analysis of the social,political and ideological atmosphere in the Eastern Han Dynasty especially the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty,which paves the way to better understand the ideological characteristics contained in Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation and his ideal pursuit.Based on Zhang Heng's life experiences and writing process,the second chapter analyzes the different ideological tendencies embodied in Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation in different periods under the influence of Confucianism and Taoism.On the whole,Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation can be divided into three periods: from emphasizing on Confucian practical thought in the early period,changing the Confucian practical thought and increasing the Zhuang Sao's ideological composition in the middle period and to the hiding of Sao resentful spirit and the bleeding of Confucianism and Taoism in the late period.Such a transformation isinseparable from the social,political and ideological atmosphere of the Eastern Han Dynasty and Zhang Heng's personal pursuit of personality.After combing Zhang Heng's life experience and change of thoughts,the third chapter analyzes the new features embodied in Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation.These features mainly include the purpose to express personal feelings and ambitions,the fresh and reader-thoughtful writing style,the literal characteristics of the gradual separation from the political and religious classics and the gradual emphasis of aesthetic intention through literature.Then,the study detailedly analyzes the new changes in Fu and poetry in Zhang Heng's poetry and prose creation,in which Zhang Heng's shows unique writing style by learning the tradition of literary creation from Qin and Han dynasties and being influenced by the blending of Confucianism and Taoism.It is the emphasis of the aesthetic value of literature itself and has an important influence on the literary characteristics of antithesis in the Wei and Jin dynasties.