英文摘要
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In this paper I adopt the perspective of the sociology of literature to investigate the narrative function of the short stories of "Wang Wei" (王維)in relation to the power structure and culture of the imperial examination system during the Tang dynasty. I also compare the attitudes of the scholarly class during the height of the Tang with those of the later Tang. Although "Wang Wei" (王維) strove to give his writings an air of historicity, his narratives tend towards realism. The force of his narratives comes from their close association with the culture of the imperial examination system, and Wang Wei (王維) himself has come to symbolize the poetic and official aspirations which characterized the literati of the middle Tang. Indeed, as Xue Yung-ruo (薛用弱) has pointed out, this is the very narrative which became a predicament for the literati of the middle and later Tang as they sought accommodation between the dictates of ceremony and their official duties. Although official duties never posed a great obstacle for Wang Wei (王維), during the middle and later Tang the concept of official duties narrowed considerably and scholars became subject to increased restraints. Thus the tension between freedom and ceremony only came to be keenly felt during the middle and late Tang. Through his use of realism to form his narrative style, "Wang Wei" (王維) laid bare the complex tensions inherent in his cultural and linguistic environment, and this is one of the key functions of narrative.
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