中唐詩人の樂府

Abstract

During the thirty-five years from 785 to 820, which correspond to the eras chen-yüan 貞元, yung-chen 永貞, and yüan-ho 元和 of the Middle T'ang, many poets wrote works in the yüeh-fu form. Of these, eight may be singled out for the excellence of their works in this form. Li Ho 李賀, whose works enjoyed popularity at court, utilized themes from the earlier yüeh-fu of Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties times and wrote in a romantic style. Li Yi 李盆, who had had military experience himself, specialized in martial themes. Po Chü-yi 白居易 and his friend Yüan Chen 元稹 composed works on the same themes, producing collections known respectively as the Hsin-yüeh-fu 新樂府 and Ku-t'i-yüeh-fu 古題樂府. Liu Tsung-yüan 柳宗元 wrote songs in praise of the founders of the T'ang, entitled T'ang nao-ko-ku-ch'ui-ch'ü 唐鐃歌鼓吹曲, which he hoped would gain popularity among the military. Han Yü 韓愈 wrote ten ch'in-ts'ao 琴操 or "Lute Pieces" to replace a body of older lute pieces that had been lost over the centuries; his works remained popular until recent times. Chang Chi 張籍 and Wang Chien 王建 wrote works dealing with themes from everyday life. But unlike other poets such as Po Chü-yi, their intent was not to express social criticism so much as to portray in detail the lives of the common people.