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Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature
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Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature

A special issue of Literature (ISSN 2410-9789).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 9914

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jianjun He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
Interests: Tang literature; Chinese historiography and late-imperial vernacular literature

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although the erasing of the private space and the encouragement of social engagement have been the dominant concerns in Confucian teachings since early China, individual experience, private feelings and personal relationships are still important parts of Tang literati’s life, often intertwined with ambition or frustration in political pursuit and governmental post. This entanglement between the private life and public service is highlighted in critical moments, such as political success or failure, as well as the time when they face death and the loss of family members or friends. This Special Issue aims to examine these moments when death and dying are complicated, with the affection and emotion for family and friends and how they are expressed in Tang writings. We are pleased to invite you to join us in a Special Issue investigating how death and dying are conceptualized and expressed with the thoughts of one’s family and friendships in Tang poetry, essays and epitaphs. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. The themes include, for example, what is death/dying in Tang literature? Are there any differences between death and dying? How are family and friends involved in the writings of death and dying? Are there different approaches and expressions of death and dying between poetry and essays? How are death and dying related with the sense of commemoration?

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jianjun He
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • death
  • dying
  • family
  • friendship
  • Tang
  • poetry
  • essay
  • epitaphs
  • private feeling
  • commemoration

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 360 KiB  
Article
The “Yao” in Li Bai’s Poetry and Its Emotional Implications
by Yanxin Lu
Literature 2024, 4(2), 75-86; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature4020006 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1223
Abstract
In Li Bai’s poems, the term yao or medicine is frequently employed as an idea-image. The meaning of yao can be further divided into four distinct types, each corresponding to its functions in different contexts. It represents the elixir found on Penglai Island, [...] Read more.
In Li Bai’s poems, the term yao or medicine is frequently employed as an idea-image. The meaning of yao can be further divided into four distinct types, each corresponding to its functions in different contexts. It represents the elixir found on Penglai Island, having the power to elevate a person to immortality; the elixir stolen from the Queen Mother of the West by Heng’E; the immortal herbs pounded by the Jade Rabbit; and the medicine used for treating diseases. In addition, Li Bai’s poems also contain elixir liquid (danye 丹液), potable gold (jinye 金液), and other substances referred to as yao. Unlike specific terms like “cinnabar”, these names are more general in nature. The medicines, their names, and the general terms in poems carry different emotional implications, e.g., his admiration for immortality, and a means to criticize his own time, to express his aspirations and lamentation over the passage of time. The “Yao” also serves as a symbol of healing and nourishment, especially in the context of friendship. All these points deserve to be meticulously explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
14 pages, 445 KiB  
Article
A Discussion on Life Consciousness in Du Fu’s Poems
by Shuchu Liu
Literature 2024, 4(1), 31-44; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature4010003 - 17 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1575
Abstract
Respecting life and protecting life are the core values of Chinese culture. As the greatest poet nurtured by Chinese culture, Du Fu showed a distinct consciousness of life in his poems. With the passage of time and the changes in his physical body, [...] Read more.
Respecting life and protecting life are the core values of Chinese culture. As the greatest poet nurtured by Chinese culture, Du Fu showed a distinct consciousness of life in his poems. With the passage of time and the changes in his physical body, Du Fu became sensitively aware of the existence of life. Government service was the main way to realize the value of life for scholars of Tang, and this way was frustrated by reality for a long time, particularly for the poet Du Fu, who faced the crisis of settling his life. Although Du Fu wanted to find a place to settle his life in the other dimensions of the human world, in the real and imaginary drunken world and the natural world, he could not overcome the frustration concerning the relationship between the ruler and the minister, and he often felt the pain of nowhere to settle his life and the insignificance of life when its meaning becomes absent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
9 pages, 19017 KiB  
Article
Taoist Death Care in Medieval China—An Examination of Wu Tong’s (吳通) Epitaph
by Lianlong Wang
Literature 2023, 3(4), 473-481; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature3040032 - 28 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1239
Abstract
Survival and death are the two most important things in life. The ancient Chinese people attached great importance to death, so the funeral ceremonies were very complete. Since its inception, Taoism has actively participated in funeral activities, so the combination of epitaphs and [...] Read more.
Survival and death are the two most important things in life. The ancient Chinese people attached great importance to death, so the funeral ceremonies were very complete. Since its inception, Taoism has actively participated in funeral activities, so the combination of epitaphs and tomb inscriptions has a historical origin. The establishment of a unified dynasty in the Sui Dynasty provided an opportunity for the integration and development of Taoism in the north and south. The Mao Shanzong (茅山宗) in the southern region began to spread to the north, gradually integrating Lou Guan Dao (樓觀道) and becoming the mainstream of Northern Taoism. The epitaph of Wu Tong in the Sui Dynasty is engraved with rich Taoist symbols, and the epitaph text adopts the language content of “Zhen Gao” (真誥), which is a typical representative of the integration of Northern and Southern Taoism and reflects Taoism’s concern for death. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
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14 pages, 956 KiB  
Article
Interactivity and Influence: A Research on the Relationship between Epitaph (muzhi 墓志) and Mourning Poetry for Deceased Wives in Ancient China
by Qiong Yang
Literature 2023, 3(4), 402-415; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature3040027 - 30 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1279
Abstract
Epitaph and poetry are two different literary genres in ancient China. However, when they collectively address the theme of “mourning the deceased”, they demonstrate an evident phenomenon of permeation and interaction. Pan Yue, as the pioneer of mourning poetry, his personal expressions as [...] Read more.
Epitaph and poetry are two different literary genres in ancient China. However, when they collectively address the theme of “mourning the deceased”, they demonstrate an evident phenomenon of permeation and interaction. Pan Yue, as the pioneer of mourning poetry, his personal expressions as well as the scenes and objects in his mourning poems have become fixed imageries of mourning, which have been applied to the epitaphs written by later literati for their deceased wives, enhancing the mourning attributes of these inscriptions. Some renowned poets such as Wei Yingwu 韦应物 (737–791) from the Tang 唐 Dynasty (618–907), and Li Mengyang 李梦阳 (1473–1530), from the Ming 明 Dynasty (1368–1644) would personally write tomb inscriptions while creating mourning poems for their deceased wives. Reading these two kinds of texts from the same author side by side not only deepens our understanding of both types of text, but also helps to examine the intertextual interactions between these two literary forms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
9 pages, 871 KiB  
Article
The Last Entrustment: Funeral Concepts and Arrangements of for the Afterlife in the Tang Dynasty
by Guodong Meng
Literature 2023, 3(3), 376-384; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature3030025 - 19 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1851
Abstract
Arrangements for the afterlife were important matters to the Tang 唐 (618–907) people. The newly unearthed epitaphs of the Tang Dynasty contain a large number of dialogues and words of the deceased before their death, as well as their instructions concerning the arrangements [...] Read more.
Arrangements for the afterlife were important matters to the Tang 唐 (618–907) people. The newly unearthed epitaphs of the Tang Dynasty contain a large number of dialogues and words of the deceased before their death, as well as their instructions concerning the arrangements for funerals and the inheritance of family traditions. These instructions not only reflect Tang funeral concepts and the importance of arrangements for the afterlife, but they also allow us to perceive the characters and personalities of the deceased, which are valuable new materials for the study of ancient Chinese biographical literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
19 pages, 1004 KiB  
Article
Serving the Dead as Serving the Living: Examining the Concept of Burial and Life Consciousness in Medieval China
by Wei Wang
Literature 2023, 3(3), 357-375; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature3030024 - 18 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1856
Abstract
In the minds of ancient people, tombs and burials were where the lives of this world ended and another type of life began. By incorporating the concepts of life found in Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and the widespread belief in ghosts and immortals, burial [...] Read more.
In the minds of ancient people, tombs and burials were where the lives of this world ended and another type of life began. By incorporating the concepts of life found in Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and the widespread belief in ghosts and immortals, burial ceremonies evolved during the Wei and Jin 魏晋 dynasties (220–420) into an integrated and unified notion of burial. The funeral ritual’s imaginative and fanciful depictions of the hereafter express sentimental devotion to life and contemplation of death. The burial ceremony and tomb architecture change in accordance with how the concepts of sacrifice and ghosts develop. The features of people’s belief in ghosts and immortality are reflected in particular burial practices. The popularity of necromancy burials and ghost marriages during the Middle Ages (third to sixth centuries) bring to light the binary antagonism between the soul and the body in burial, as well as the emphasis on spiritual freedom and physical immortality in the life philosophy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Death, Dying, Family and Friendship in Tang Literature)
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