| This study focuses on the "court poetry" and other verse of the Early Tang (618--712), traditionally one of the most celebrated eras of decadent court poetry in China, and aims to present a more accurate and complicated picture of the literary arena of this period than has been given heretofore. The thesis contains ten chapters, divided into three parts, and three appendices.;The first part deals with textual material and technical matters, focusing on the collecting of Early Tang poetry. Surveys of the extant poetry of this period are normally limited to "court poetry," which is traditionally viewed as the period style of the Early Tang. However, we must extend our view beyond these assumptions. Although the loss of Early Tang works cannot be redressed, tracing the procedure for collecting poems in other ages can lead us to a more reliable picture of the Early Tang literary arena.;The second part focuses on the "Four Elites of the Early Tang." This part begins with a discussion of the "ethics of poetry," a traditional Chinese view of literary criticism, that resulted in a denigration of these four writers. The discussion next concentrates on the notable lyricism of the standard ornate style. Autobiographical or egocentric poetry marks a significant discrepancy between "court poetry" and lyricism, two apparently antithetical concepts. Another focus of discussion is on the different modes of capital poetry, a genre in which these four writers excelled.;The third part is a reevaluation of the role of Chen Ziang in the development of Early Tang poetry. Chen has long been considered an innovator, because he maintained that poetry should transmit Confucian morality. His thirty-eight "Ganyu." poems and the preface to his "Lyric on the Long Bamboo" are the foci for reexamining his contribution to the renovation of Early Tang poetry.;Appendices one through three include annotated translations of three capital poems by Luo Binwang and Wang Bo. |
