史学意识与中唐文章观念的新变

The literary concept of the early and high Tang belongs to the idea of prosperous age. Basing on the tradition of Yi Chuan and The Book of Songs, the literary function to polish the great achievement of the empire was emphasized. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, such a literary idea lost its basis of reality, and was replaced by the concept of renewal. Basing on the idea of praise and blame from the tradition of The Book of Songs and Springs and Autumns Annals, the literary function to improve politics and morality was underlined. Yuan, Bai and Han and Liu are the representatives of poetry and literature in the Mid Tang Dynasty. Literary historians often regard them as two literary trends and discuss them separately. However, Yuan and Bai reconstructed poetics and emphasized the literary function of critical assessments from the tradition of The Book of Songs; Han and Liu advocated ancient prose and giving full play to the function of praise and blame form the tradition of Springs and Autumns Annals. Although their words are different, the spirit is the same, demonstrating a clear historical sense. Changes in the literary idea have brought new literary themes. On the one hand, there is the great rise of satirical texts in the mid-Tang Dynasty, and on the other hand, literati highlighted the good words and benevolent deeds of the lower classes to achieve the purpose of rebuilding morality and reforming politics.