北方有佳人,绝世而独立一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国宁不

Poem

used

as

the

theme

of

“Flying

Dagger

北方有佳人，絕世而獨立。一顧傾人城，再顧傾人國。寧不知，傾城與傾國？佳人難再得！

In

the

North,

there

was

a

smashing

beauty,Absolutely

matchless

and

unsurpassable

in

human

realm.When

casting

a

glance

at

you,

she

could

bring

down

a

city;When

casting

another

glance

at

you,

she

could

ruin

a

state.Notwithstanding

one’s

knowledge

of

her

rare

beauty,

She

is

nowhere

to

find

now.北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不

OtherFormsofWritingThe

criticalessay—theclassicalproseessay(guwen古文)—was

the

most

importantEpitomizes

Tang

scholar’s

achievement

in

prose

writingResulted

from

a

“Return

to

Antiquity”

(fu

gu)

movement

which

called

for

an

“Ancient/Classical

Style

Prose”

movement

to

reform

the

writing

of

prose.Intellectuals

joining

this

movement

are

referred

to

as

“restorationists”

by

Lewis,

but

would

better

be

viewed

as

“classicists.”Han

Yu

was

the

leader

of

this

movementAdvocated

that

literature,

in

any

forms

but

particularly

in

prose,

should

“convey

the

Dao/Way”

and

is

for

the

sake

of

the

Dao/Way—the

Confucian

Dao/Way.北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不They

saw

literature

as

a

fundamental

and

guiding

aspect

of

culture

and

literary

men

as

ones

who

could

help

reorder

Tang

politics

and

society

with

their

literary

skills

and

classical

knowledge.Literary

writings

should

put

a

premium

on

moral

seriousness

as

well

as

political

and

social

obligationsLiterarymenshouldpresent

the

situation

of

the

people

to

the

emperor,

in

memorials,

political

poetry,

and

folk

songsTheyshoulduse

their

persuasive

powers

to

advise

and

guide

the

emperor

in

his

decision-making北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不HanYu’snotionof“scholar-officials”(shi,

士)Understand

that

self-cultivation

is

of

fundamental

importance

because

it

prepares

one

to

help

create

social

order

or

restore

social

and

political

order

to

a

society

long

acclimated

to

Buddhist

and

Daoist

teachings.Understand

that

only

a

sage

king,

who

adheres

to

the

Confucian

Way,

can

rule

the

state

effectivelyUnderstand

the

historical

trends

that

have

led

to

the

demise

of

Confucian

teaching—the

rise

of

Buddhism

and

DaoismUnderstand

that

the

economic

problems

were

caused

by

nonproductive,

parasite-like

population—the

clergy

北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不Han

Yu’s

“Finding

the

Origin

of

the

Way”“In

antiquity

there

were

four

classes

of

subjects;

now

there

are

six.

In

antiquity

only

one

class

were

teachers;

now

there

are

three.

For

each

farmer

there

are

six

people

that

consume

his

produce.

For

each

craftsman,six

use

his

products.

For

each

merchant,

there

are

six

people

who

must

live

off

his

profits.

Under

such

conditions,

is

it

any

wonder

the

people

are

impoverished

and

driven

to

brigandage?”北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不“In

ancient

times

men

confronted

many

dangers.

But

sages

arose

who

taught

them

the

way

to

live

and

to

grow

together.

They

served

as

rulers

and

as

teachers.

They

drove

out

reptiles

and

wild

beasts

and

had

the

people

settle

the

central

lands.

[When]

the

people

were

cold,

they

clothed

them;

[when]

the

people

were

hungry,

they

fed

them.

Because

the

people

dwelt

in

trees

and

fell

to

ground,

dwelt

in

caves

and

became

ill,

the

sages

built

houses

for

them….”北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不“But

now

Buddhist

doctrines

maintain

that

one

must

reject

the

relationship

between

ruler

and

minister,

do

away

with

father

and

son

and

forbid

the

Way

that

enables

us

to

live

and

to

grow

together---all

this

in

order

to

seek

what

they

call

purity

and

nirvana.

It

is

fortunate

for

them

that

these

doctrines

emerged

after

the

Xia,

Shang,

and

Zhou

dynasties

and

so

were

not

discredited

by

the

ancient

sages

and

by

Confucius.

It

is

equally

unfortunate

for

us

that

they

did

not

emerge

before

that

time

and

so

could

have

been

corrected

by

the

same

sage.”北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不“The

titles

of

emperor

and

of

king

are

different,

yet

they

are

sages

for

the

same

reason…..What

is

the

teaching

of

the

former

kings?

To

love

largely

is

called

a

sense

of

humaneness

(ren

仁);

to

act

according

to

what

should

be

done

is

called

righteousness

(yi

義);

to

proceed

from

these

principles

is

called

the

moral

Way

(dao道);

to

be

sufficient

unto

oneself

without

relying

on

externals

is

called

inner

power

(de德)…[These

are]

what

I

call

the

Way,

not

what

the

Daoists

and

Buddhists

have

called

the

Way”北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不“…what

can

be

done

about

them

[Buddhists

and

Daoists]?

Block

them

or

nothing

will

flow;

stop

them

or

nothing

will

move.

Turn

them

into

commoners,

burn

their

books,

turn

their

residences

into

huts.

Illuminate

the

way

of

the

Former

Kings

to

guide

them.

Then

those

widowers,

the

widows,

the

orphans,

the

childless,

the

crippled,

and

the

diseased

will

be

cared

for.

This,

indeed,

seems

possible.”北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不EmpressWu’sreign,BuddhaflankedbytwoBodhisattvasBodhisattvaManjusriridingthelion,AD.777,Daozong’sreign北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不TangFiction:ShortStoriesTangshortstoriesmadeimportantstridesinthedevelopmentofChinesefictionWritersintroducedthenewformofstory-tellingcalledchuanqi,“talesofthemarvelous,”

or

“transmissionsoftheremarkable,”writteninliterarystyleSourcesofstoriesweredrawnfromtheprosperous,brilliant,andvolatilemetropolitanlifeinChang’an北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不TangArtofStoryTellingThecraftedliteraryformsandconsciousartistryinthecreationofaliterarytextisexpressedinatleastfourways:Writersusedarangeofliterarytechniquestoreworkonpreviousstoriesorallytold,makingthestoriesanewandmoreinteresting.Writersportrayeddreamsandmadethemacentralroleintheirnarrativestoreflecttheirinsightintorealityandtheiryearningforthefantastic.

北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不Writersmanipulatedreceivednarrativeconventionstocreatenewnarratives;theyskillfully

expandedthe

elements

of

romanticliaisonsbetweenmenandspirits,particularlyhumanizedfox-spirits,blurringtheboundarybetweenhumanandanimalworlds.Theyincludedotherliterarymodesintheirnarratives:poems,letters,popularsongs,anecdotes,historiographical

techniques,andquotationsfromreceivedworks.北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不TypesofStoriesThreemajortypesofstories:Lovestories,

fox

romance

(pseudo-historical)Knighterrantry/Chivalry(oftenhistorical)Supernatural(purelyfictional)MosteasilyidentifiedfeaturesUseofincidentalpoemsCapitalcitywasthesettingDidacticcommentariesmadeinconclusion;MorallessonstaughtintheformofsatireNarratoralsoawitnesstothenarratedeventMorerealistichumanelementswereused北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不CharacteristicsoftheStoriesLovestories,

fox

romance:TendedtoportrayunrequitedloveresultedfromtheheartlessloverorthemischievouscourtesanKnighterrantry/ChivalryprotagonistsareoftenhistoricalpersonagesStoriesarebasedonthemixofhistoricalfactsandunofficialhistories北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不TheSupernaturaltellthelovebetweenamanandawomanwhoisthespiritoftheanimal,usuallyfoxTheanimal,afterattainingtheWayandpossessingsupernaturalpower,isabletotransformitselfintohumanform,usuallyawomanOnrareoccasions,storiesmayhaveahappyendingandthesuperhumanisallowedtorunitshappycourse北方有佳人,绝世而独立。一顾倾人城,再顾倾人国。宁不RealitiesReflectedinTangStoriesSomeaspectsofthestoriesreflectrealitiesofTangculturenumerousactivitiesoftheTangcitydwellers,suchasschol