Who is Writing on Landscape Exploration of the Inscription and Dialogue of Song’s Topographical Writings From the Stele of “Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity”

Author: Shu-Hui Chang(Department of Chinese Language and Literature, National Dong Hwa University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 55, No. 2
Date：September 2010
Pages：29-76
DOI：10.3966/207451922010095502002

Abstract：

The lake of Wu’s “Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity” is an inscription on the plain stony wall of a mountain cliff. It is also an ancient method of stone inscription which intertwines the scenery and the viewer’s emotions together. Nevertheless, the content of the appraisal is not about the poet’s intimate topographical memory, instead it is the appraisal for the peaceful period of Tang after the political chaos. Even to the time of Two Songs, the inscriptions on the stony cliffs of the lake of Wu have been maintained. Oo Yang Xiou and Huang Ting Jian’s opinions on reading “Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity” have elevated Song people’s reading of this text and which is also the focal point of this essay. Especially touching is Huang Ting Jian’s “After the Inscription on the Stele of Plain Cliff”. Valleys situate on the lake of Wu with the broken cliff and grey mosses in oppositional longevity. Initially Huang Ting Jian wanted to visit Yan Zhen Qing’s authentic inscription but now he was called upon by the cliffs of the lake of Wu as which connected his intimate relationship with Yuan Jie and Yan Zhen Qing. Before and after the Song people’s southern transference, the number of visitors to the lake of Wu increases and it has become a trend to ponder upon the national prosperity when one looks at the “Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity.” When Song people read the stele of “Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity,” they are concerned with the text’s history and literal reading, demonstrating the stele is a successful landscape inscription. From this concrete example, the essay thus examines closely the focal point of reading Song’s topographical writings.

Keywords：Appraisal for Tang’s Prosperity, Yuan Jie, topography, Huang Ting Jian, Oo Yang Xiou

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