Abstract
This thesis sheds light on the historical tenets and political ambitions of Wang An-shih, as well as his views on both ruler-ministers relationships and Confucianism. This work combine all his poems blanketly for the “Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Narrative Poems” while also pondering over Wang's lifetime background in historical context and analyzing these poems that were mostly composed during Wang's prime as a highest-ranking career politician (since Xi-Ning second year to fifth year). Naturally, Wang's Figure-Name-themed Poems were ways of expressing his aspiration and emotions through epic events of ancients. Additionally, those poems often bear particular responsive purposes, for example, in order to clarify misunderstandings on the “New Fiat” promoted by his best endeavors; to argue for himself against mudslingings; or according to the code of ethics and good deeds to serve a stance hold as a Confucianist to provide both the interpellations and henceforth the creative interpretations on those epic events; or to shake off his depression for failing to be empowered from the emperor, etc. These literary works surely featured his points of view, and henceforth bear importance in the chronic transforms of Narrative Poems. Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Poems considerably abounds with commentative characteristics, he occasionally coalesced the prose texts into his poems, made evaluations on those ancients’ epic events, and asserted his advocation by way of argumentative writings through rebuttal commentary, and disparaging the contemporary by use of anecdotes. Although these literary works received many appraisals, some criticisms about their lack of artistic images had also prompted. Actually, Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Poems had already conformed to the standards of “Emotionalism”, although these poems did not intend to give prominence to the key point. However, the lack of graceful and sympathetic manners that should have been promoted by poems in its mandate- educational functions, and the simplicity without discernment in its artistic skills, altogether it's still not deemed as appropriate to abruptly negate their values just based on those above-mentioned comments. These poems deserve further study because of their well-featured commentative characteristics. To certify the theory that Song Dynasty pays more concern on argumentative reasoning poetry, Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Poems perfectly provides the sound evidence. In the context of situation in Song era, his poems bear the value of: “the heir to ancient sages and the teacher of posterity”, and thus asserts himself to be able to “plowing into new dimensions”. Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Poems are not just dedicated to aspiration-chanting in order to responding to rebuttals. They differ from traditional narrative poems by their emphases upon the connections between the poetry and biographical literature. For instance, when choosing the poetic style to compose the Figure-Name-themed Poems, Wang often adopted Four-line-rhyme (poetic form consisting of four lines, with rhymes on first, second and fourth line) style in order to bearing the commentary effects of “limited-words-with-never-ending-sense”; in order to conforming to the definition of “biographical commentaries” made by the ancients. These poems thus composed can produce such effects as: straighten out confusing points and clear up doubts; abridge expressions; glorify virtue and to censure evil; and declare himself, etc. When writing articles in Ancient-verses, Wang emphasized on analyzing moral principles; or by taking advantage of the relatively more free style of Ancient-verses, to write literary works which bears the narrative functions. Besides, Wang’s Figure-Name-themed Poems can chant the very same historical figure iteratively in different literary styles, whether it’s Ancient-verses or Four-line-rhymes. Every poem makes perfect paragraph of its own accord, and what appears if we collectively review them all. These Ancient-verses describes mostly the memoirs of the Figure’s epic events, while the Four-line-rhymes play the role on both commentary and criticism. These Figure-Name-themed Poems, when compared with the historical biography of the same person’s account, the way Wang to choose certain event to be coalesced into the poems can be further clarified, and his evaluation on that person can also be well acknowledged. His evaluation on the ancients normally followed the example of the historians prior to him, however he put more emphases on the innovation and breakthrough of the commentaries, in order to demonstrating his political as well as historical tenets, and based on Confucianist’s stance also with demonstrating his spirit on pursuing reality of epic events through deliberation and discernment.