View/Open - University of Victoria
View/Open - University of Victoria
View/Open - University of Victoria
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5<br />
recognition through martial employment as an <strong>of</strong>ficer or <strong>of</strong>ficial's assistant simultaneously rose; by<br />
rendering meritorious service on the frontier, <strong>of</strong>ten as clerks or secretaries to generals or other military<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficials based beyond central China, those who had not advanced their position in society through<br />
more conventional means could possibly attain their long sought success. This route to <strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
advancement led many literarily capable men to express a concern for the situation on the Tang<br />
borders, which in verse was <strong>of</strong>ten articulated, though by no means exclusively, as an enthusiasm for<br />
heading to the frontier with the hope <strong>of</strong> engaging in military work. 8<br />
The Tang period witnessed numerous men <strong>of</strong> literary inclinations committing themselves to<br />
military campaigns in far <strong>of</strong>f northern regions. Aside from patriotic fervour, a Confucian concern for<br />
implementing one's studies 9 as well as an attitude <strong>of</strong> self sacrifice 10 and sense <strong>of</strong> responsibility to take<br />
up public <strong>of</strong>fice 11 were major motivating factors propelling poets and literati to the frontier. 12 From the<br />
founding <strong>of</strong> the Tang, numerous prime ministers had risen through the political ranks at court by way <strong>of</strong><br />
victories they had acquired while serving in a military capacity on the country's frontier 13 . With martial<br />
matters having gained in importance, a significant number <strong>of</strong> poetically gifted men also sought to<br />
devote their talents to military efforts 14 by casting <strong>of</strong>f strict scholarly pursuits in order to have their<br />
abilities revealed before a politically relevant and influential audience who could bestow <strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
government positions, and consequently fame, as a reward for contributing to the defence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
8 Hong Zan, Tangdai zhanzhenengshi yanjiu, pp. 39-41.<br />
9 See the opening <strong>of</strong> the Analects (Lunyu 论 语 ): “The Master stated: Is it not a pleasure at times to put into practice what<br />
one has learned?” 子 曰 : 学 而 时 习 之 , 不 亦 说 乎 . See Li Jie 李 捷 ed., Lunyu 论 语 (Hohhot: Yuanfang chufanshe 远 方<br />
出 版 社 , 2007), p. 1.<br />
10 See opening <strong>of</strong> chapter 19 <strong>of</strong> the Analects: “The scholar, seeing danger, will sacrifice his life” 士 见 危 致 命 . Ibid., p.<br />
191.<br />
11 “After completing his learning, the student should become an <strong>of</strong>ficer” 学 而 友 则 仕 . Ibid., p. 194.<br />
12 Many thanks to Dr. Tsung-Cheng Lin for drawing my attention to the influence <strong>of</strong> Confucian thought on learned men as<br />
an impetus fuelling their desire to serve on the frontier. See also Tsung-Cheng Lin, “Knight-Errantry: Tang Frontier<br />
Poems” (Chapter 11), in Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Zong-Qi Cai, ed. Stories <strong>of</strong> Chinese Poetic Culture: Earliest Times through the Tang<br />
(New York: Columbia <strong>University</strong> Press), in press.<br />
13 As revealed by the concept “ 出 将 入 相 ”(chu jiang ru xiang: be as good a general as a minister; possess military and<br />
civil abilities). See Ren Wenjing 任 文 京 Tangdai biansaishi de wenhua chanshi 唐 代 边 塞 诗 的 文 化 阐 释 (Beijing:<br />
Renmin chubanshe 人 民 出 版 社 , 2005), p. 13.<br />
14 As summed up by the expression “ 投 笔 从 戎 ”(tou bi cong rong: cast aside the pen to join the army), Ibid., p. 13