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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Supervisory Committee ............................................................................................................................ii
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................iii
Table of contents.......................................................................................................................................iv
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................................vi
Part One: Overview of High Tang Frontier Poetry
Introductory Remarks................................................................................................................................1
Chapter One: General Introduction
1.1. A Brief Historical Sketch.........................................................................................................3
1.2. Etymological Explanation of “Frontier” (biansai 边 塞 ) ........................................................8
1.3. Key Locales Forming the Poetic Tang Frontier .....................................................................9
Chapter Two: Basic Anatomy of a Subgenre: Key Traits of Frontier Poetry.......................................... 16
2.1. The First Facet: Frontier War............................................................................................... 18
2.2. The Second Facet: Frontier Peoples and Customs................................................................29
2.3. The Third Facet: The Frontier Landscape............................................................................ 34
Chapter Three: High Tang Accomplishments in Frontier Poetry
3.1. Frontier Poetry: A Subgenre Challenged .............................................................................46
3.2. High Tang Frontier Poetry: Elements of Distinction
3.2.1. An Array of Martial Responses .............................................................................54
3.2.2. Forays into Frontier Responses: The Landscape ...................................................73
3.2.3. Forays into Frontier Responses: Local Peoples and Customs................................86
Part Two: Focalization in Cen Shen's Frontier Landscapes
Introductory Remarks............................................................................................................................105
Chapter Four: Critical Overview and Theoretical Framework
4.1. 奇 (qi) and Cen Shen's Frontier Landscape: A Common Reading.....................................108