The Research On Family Literature Of Lu Clan In Fanyang Area During Tang Dynasty

Lu Clan in Fanyang area was an important aristocratic family in the Middle Ages of our country.‘When somebody says coming from Fan Yang,that means he has the top Clan of Beizhou’.Passing through various dynasties from Han to Tang,the Lu Clan has inherited and developed its tradition,and has remained intact auind profound,demonstrating its tremendous vitality as one of the most prestigious families.The name Lu is derived from the name Jiang,and the family proved to be descendants of Jiang Ziya.The grandson of Prince Gao from Kingdom Qi,whose name is Xi,was granted the territory of Lu.After the people of Tian took over Kingdom Qi,the people of Gao fled and lived in exile between Kingdom Qin and Kingdom Yan.The family renamed themselves after their ancestor’s territory,thus forming the name Lu.The Lu Clan in Fanyang prepared to germinate during the Eastern Han Dynasty.Lu Zhi,a renowned Confucianist,composed Shangshuzhangju and Sanlijiegu.During the Wei and Jin Dynasties,Lu Yu hold a position up to Sikong.Lu Qin devoted himself to the history of the classics,wrote Xiaodao.And Lu Chen wrote Zajifa in six volumes,annotated Zhuangzi and wrote his own collected works.The effort of those generations formed the bases for the tradition of the family,which is to regard ‘the Confucianism’ as the foremost,and the Lu Clan in Fanyang started the first chapter of their magnificent family history.During the Northern Dynasties,Lu Clan in Fanyang area placed itself among the top-ranked families of the North as Lu Xuan answered to the calling of the lord and served the government for the first time.Lu Daoyu,Lu Daoqian,and Lu Yuanyu successively married the princesses,making the strength of the family peak.Like the Northern Wei Dynasty,the family members of the Lu were split into two groups and were accommodated separately by the governments of Northern Qi and Zhou.By the time of the Tang Dynasty,the members of the Lu,who had previously served in the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty,re-entered the court to serve.The first,second,third and the fourth branch of Beizu became the main stem of the family and together they created the great achievements of Fan Yang Lu Clan in the Tang Dynasty,each having its own separate developmental history and cultural performance.The eldest branch of Beizu had the most family members and gained its fame and fortune relatively early.Since it had a huge number of family members,the eldest branch had the most government officers,about the sum of those from all the other three branches.The branch also had the most diverse literature performance.All of these can reflect the characteristics of Beizu Dafang,an official and literature.The second branch of Beizu was more dedicated to official career.From the early period of Tang dynasty to the late period,nine generations had members served in the court,almost throughout the entire Tang Dynasty.The branch had three prime ministers,the most of all branches.Compared to official performance,the branch’s literary achievement was neglectable.There were only scattered works,and no presentable scholars.This branch was good at quoting classics and studying Confucianism,and therefore its members gained reputation for being ethic.They have the highest prestige among all.The third branch of Beizu was also prominent on career: Lu Huaishen was the prime minister of the Xuanzong dynasty,and Lu Qi was the prime minister of the Dezong dynasty.This clan made its fortune in the early days,but declined soon,and had not been given important positions after the Shunzong dynasty,and the family’s prestige were not continued.In terms of literary performance,similar to the second branch,the branch had relatively identical works,mainly focusing on Confucian classics and putting them into pratices.The fourth branch of Beizu rose up notably late.It was the only branch without a prime minister in the Tang Dynasty.The overall strength in the early stage was relatively weak.The family had the fewest officers members were the fewest members of the officialdom,most of whom belonged to middle and lower-level bureaucrats.It wasn’t until the Dali period that Lu Lun was named the head of the ‘Ten Talented Scholars in Dali’ and was promoted to ‘Lu Hubu’for his poetry this house thence had a turning point.In the Late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties,the four houses of the Lu family began to rise to the top of the regime,and this advantage was preserved and continued.In addition,apart from the four main branches,there are people whose family branches and ancestry are still unclear.Some of them,such as Lu Zhaolin,Lu Hong,and Lu Tong,had outstanding literary achievements.Their family originated from Fanyang,constituted the whole existence of the family literature of Lu Clan in Fanyang together with the four major branches.The family culture of Lu Clan in Fanyang is profound.It is based on rituals,thrifty,morality,art,and inheritance.It was the literature that made Lu Clan in Fanyang last and advance over thousands of years and dozens of dynasties.It deserves to be treated as the wisdom of self-cultivation and family governance.The strong cultural inertia of Confucianism reflected in literature can be shown by the transformation from studying Confucian classics to literature.At the same time,the imperial examination system of poems and odes promoted the creation of a large number of outstanding literary works by the lower class children of Lu Clan in Fanyang,while the alliances achieved through marriages and clans ensured the inheritance of family literary power and helped to cultivate many outstanding individuals.The literature works of Lu Clan in Fanyang are vast in number,comprehensive in theme and varied in style.They should be forever memorized along with the other literary masterpieces of the Tang dynasty.