外研社选修八 module6原文

The Golden Age Of Chinese Poetry

1_______________________________

The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was one of the great dynasties in Chinese history. It was a time of ex pansion. At its high point, the country reached as far as Siberia (now part of Russia) in the north, Korea in the east and Vietnam in the south. The Tang rulers also controlled the trade route known as the Silk Road well into present-day Afghanistan.

2_______________________________

Trade with foreign countries created a tolerant and cosmopolitan culture. Persians, Arabs and Jews came to live in Chinese towns, bringing with them their own religions and customs. They were all owed to live in communities governed by their own laws, and to keep their traditional forms of ent ertainment such as music and dance, which influenced the development of Tang culture. But perha ps the biggest foreign influence came from Buddhism, whose origins were in India. At the same ti me foreigners who were educated at the Tang court took the Chinese culture home with them. Soo n Japan and Korea were organised on the Tang model, while Chinese influence extended througho ut Southeast Asia.

3_______________________________

Cultural development went hand in hand with technological progress. New discoveries were made in astronomy, geography and medicine. In 724 Seng Yixing measured the length of the sun’s shadow and the altitude of the North Pole. Under Emperor Taizong (627～649) the government opened medical schools where specialist subjects were studied. The inventio n of printing about this time meant that knowledge could be recorded and shared as never before. But it was not just scientific knowledge that could now reach a wider audience. Printing also mark ed the beginning of the golden age of literature－and literature, in the Tang Dynasty, meant poetry.

4_______________________________

In the beauty of its images and the range of topics, Tang poetry was better than everything that had come before it. But how did this happen? There is no single answer to the question. An explosion of talent, and the appearance of new forms were both important. In the “New Style Verse" which appeared during the Tang period, each line has five or seven syllables, and there are lots of rules which govern the tones.

But being able to write poetry was also an important qualification for people who wanted to beco me government officials. A good poet had a better chance of getting a good job. So lots of people became interested in poetry.

5______________________________

One of the greatest of the Tang poets was Du Fu (712～770). As a young man he travelled a lot and enjoyed painting and music, as well as writing poetry. But during his lifetime he never became famous; in fact, he thought of himself as a failure. It was only in the 11th century that his poetic genius was recognised. Sometimes he is called the “poet o f history” or “the mirror of his time” because he paints a realistic picture of the problems of t he age in which he lived These include the sufferings of the poor, and the corruption of the rich. H e also writes about his own problems, including his son's death. Du Fu is also known for his friend ship with Li Bai (701～762), another great poet of the age. The two men met in 744, and although very different, they bec ame friends. They each wrote poems to the other.