In what ways was Tang poetry influenced by the Classic of Poetry?

The Poetry of the Book of Songs, reflecting the hardships of the working people, the heavy burden imposed on them by heavy corvée and military service, and reflecting love as well as satirizing the ruling class for their rapacity and shamelessness, had a far-reaching influence on Tang poetry; the Poetry of the Book of Songs had a high degree of artistic achievement, and its realist method of composition, the expressive technique of fugue and simile, the scenic depiction of scenes in a blending of circumstances, and its use of language all had a great influence on Tang poetry. had a great influence on Tang poetry.

The Book of Poetry, after the Spring and Autumn Period and through the efforts of Confucianism, became a sacred classic of Chinese culture, and had a profound influence on the political character, human cultivation, and life sentiment of Chinese scholars for more than 2,000 years. Therefore, it has a very important position in the history of Chinese culture. As far as literature is concerned, the Book of Songs has a positive and broad spirit of reality, which contributes to and cultivates the great characteristic of Chinese literature of caring for life and society, and is the founding father of realism in Chinese literature. The Book of Songs has made rich and exquisite achievements in terms of aesthetic style, creative techniques and artistic skills, and has become a source of living water for poets to learn the art of poetry for generations to come. The Book of Songs is a product of the combination of ancient culture and national spirit, a crystallization of the rich wisdom and true feelings of the ancient people, and a great model in the history of Chinese literature. The influence of the Book of Songs on the literature of later generations is far-reaching and multifaceted. In general, there are several reasons:

First of all, The Book of Songs created the tradition of "style and elegance" in the history of Chinese literature. The so-called "style and elegance" refers to both the content of poetry, which is devoted to life and based on reality, and the style of poetry, which is euphemistic and gentle. Sima Qian said, "The state wind is lustful but not obscene, and the small elegance is spiteful and slanderous but not chaotic" (The Records of the Grand Historian). (Shiji? Qu Yuan Jia Sheng Liezhuan") explains the content of "Poetry Classic", which expresses emotions, as well as the state of mind that is both persistent and unremitting, but not overly indulging in emotions. It encourages poets to use the world positively, "to feel sadness and happiness and to express them in the light of events", while opposing indulgence in the world of the absolute individual. This coincided with the ethical style advocated by Confucianism, and was therefore regarded as a classic by Confucianism, thus y infecting the poetic concepts and poetic sentiments of later generations of scholars. Under the influence of the Classic of Poetry, poetry became, to a large extent, a major way for traditional Chinese literati to express their political attitudes and social sentiments. This is the main idea of Confucius, who said, "Poetry is a way to express oneself and one's political attitudes, a way to observe, a way to group, and a way to complain" (Lunyu? Yangguo"). This made the traditional Chinese literati all poets in essence, and made poetry an indispensable part of their lives, thus greatly promoting the development of poetry and leading it to pay deep attention to the reality of life. Under the influence of the realistic spirit of the Book of Songs, later generations of literati often consciously resisted personal interests and formalistic tendencies in poetry in theory and practice. Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been poetic innovations aiming at "style and elegance", and they have had a great social impact. In traditional culture, "elegance" has become the highest standard for evaluating poetry. For example, Li Bai and Du Fu, two of the greatest poets in the history of ancient Chinese literature, both expressed their yearning for "elegance". Li Bai said, "The great elegance has not been made for a long time, and I am in a state of decline, who is going to show it." （Du Fu said, "I'm not going to cut out the pseudo-fashion to favor elegance and style" ("Playing Six Absolutes," No. 6). Moreover, the reason why Du Fu was called the greatest poet, in the view of the ancients, was that his poems most typically embodied the poetic ideal of "elegance and style".

Secondly, as the most prominent artistic device of the Classic of Poetry, "Bixing" has had a great influence on Chinese poetic techniques. The poets pursued the realm of "speech within the ears and eyes, feelings sent to the surface of the eight wastelands", and thus developed the poetic technique of pi xing in many ways. In addition, "Bixing" is also associated with "Sending", which is called "Xingzai", and is given a special meaning. In addition to rhetorical or artistic techniques, "xing yi" also refers to the ironic real-political connotations contained in these artistic techniques. Poetry that pursues poetic technique to the exclusion of its ideological content will be criticized. For example, Chen Zi'ang of the Tang Dynasty said, "Poetry among the Qi and Liang dynasties is full of colorful and beautiful competitions, but all of them are extinct" ("Preface to the Bamboo Piece by Qiu Xiuzhu with Zuoshi Dongfang"). "Bixing" requires and encourages poets to be conscious of political criticism and to express their political attitudes through euphemistic and generous means. Similarly, in understanding the poem, the reader is also required to be able to understand the political irony contained in the poem by analogizing the imagery. This method of comparing and contrasting has greatly influenced traditional Chinese poetic thinking, especially on political lyric poetry and poetic theory.

Once again, the system and rhetorical techniques of the Book of Songs were inherited and developed by later poets. The system of collecting poems during the formation of the Book of Songs was also reintroduced many times in later times. For example, during the Han Dynasty, a musical organization was set up to collect and produce "songs and poems" that were harmonized with music and used for court rituals and music, as well as for the purpose of observing and understanding the people's customs. The Han musical poems were preserved under this system, and of course, the spirit of facing the reality in folk songs was also preserved at the same time. The new music movement of the Tang poets at least expressed trust in and expectation of this ideal system. The four-character form of the Shijing no longer predominates in later poetry, but the four-character system was developed to some extent in the suburban temple songs of the early Han dynasty, as well as in the poetry of Cao Cao, Jikang, and many of the poets of the Eastern Jin dynasty. Cao Cao, in particular, gave new life to the quatrains with his simple but elegant language and his generous and sad true emotions. Cao Cao also frequently quoted lines from the Classic of Poetry in his poems, showing his intentional study and inheritance of the Classic. We can also see traces of the Classic in later poems, such as rhyming forms and rhetorical techniques.