Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.8, 2013

An Overview of Yuefu Theory of the Tang Dynasty

(Abstract)

Qian Zhixi

The so-called yuefu as referred to by the Tang dynasty actually falls into two major types: contemporary musical movements and lyrics, and various forms of imitated yuefu poetry. The yuefu scholars as termed by the Tang dynasty are actually dedicated to the latter type of work. The yuefu theory of the Tang dynasty is characterized by a symbiotic development of theory and creation. Earlier Tang retained the recent style of yuefu on a given topic inherited from Qi and Liang dynasties and showed a preference for rhetoric. And with the establishment of ancient yuefu theory by Li Bai, prime Tang identified the restoration of archaic ways as a fundamental characteristic of the Tang yuefu theory. Later on, toward the mid-Tang dynasty, poets such as Yuan Jie, Gu Kuang, Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi advocated new topics of yuefu, laying an emphasis on meaning. Other poets represented by Han Yu and Meng Jiao mingled poetry with imitated yuefu ballads, and showed a tendency toward traditional ways. There are generally three kinds of Tang yuefu: preference for rhetoric, preference for meaning and preference for music. The imitated yuefu creation of the Tang dynasty was meant to contend against both popularity and contemporary music. In this regard, traditional poetry provides the most important theoretical support.