Abstract:
During the Kaiyuan era, Cultural Confucians revered a personality model that combined literary grace with political affairs, allowing the term "literati", which had been closely associated with "men of letters" since the Southern Dynasties, to once again achieve the unity of "literature" and "Confucian conduct". During the Kaiyuan era, individuals like XIAO Yingshi, LI Hua and YAN Zhenqing, who were selected and began to stand out during the Tianbao years, formed the core of the Literati Scholars of the Tianbao period, which consisted of successful candidates in the imperial examinations. They continued the understanding of the elegant ways of rites and music, the revival of the Han and Wei dynasties, and established a theory that pursued Confucian classics from afar and took CHEN Zi'ang and others as models; they formed a like-minded group with YUAN Dexiu and YUAN Jie in the revival of antiquity, imitating elegance in their literary creation, using prose sentences, simple language, and emphasizing the expression of intentions. The Tianbao Literati Scholars emphasized the expression of emotions and aspirations in their literary concepts, promoting the educational function of literature. They revitalized the ancient aristocratic tradition of showcasing ancestral virtues by re-elaborating the concept of "Wen Xing"(Writing), expanding the notion of "Wen-Dao"(Writing and Truth) with the idea of "Yun-De" (nurturing virtue), thereby seeking ways to revitalize ethical norms and reform society. Their roots in the classics and their concern for education form an important link in the evolution of poetry and literature during the "Kaiyuan-Tianbao" period, and they become a model and prelude for the transformation of poetry and prose in the middle Tang Dynasty.