A Study On Literary Sketches In The Early And Middle Period Of The Northern Song Dynasty And On The Formation Of Song Style In Literary Sketches

In the early and middle period of the Northern Song Dynasty,the style of the literary sketches has changed from Tang and Five Dynasties to Song Dynasty.There are three stages in the process : inheritance period(960-989),development period(990-1022)and formation period(1023-1067).In the early period of the Northern Song Dynasty,literary sketches which were characterized by diversity and regionality mainly focus on Zhiguai Fiction.However,after more than 100 years of writing practice,more and more attention has been paid to miscellaneous fiction.There were more items about the court affairs,laws and regulations in the literary sketches.Much discussion,concise language and historic value were praised in this period.A distinctive feature,song style,has gradually formed in literary sketches,which was similar to poetry in pursuit of knowledge and discussion.The main reason for this kind of change is the influence of the times and writer status.The increase of officials' free time and their attention to amusement,the joining of the prime minister group,the subjectivity of scholars and their strong sense of responsibility,the compilation of official books,the revision of official and private catalogues and the development of historiography in Song Dynasty all promoted the prosperity of literary sketches and the formation of Song Style.