This dissertation aims at exploring the progress of compiling of several anthologies of Tang poetry in late Ming period (around 1500-1644) and discussing their characteristics from two approaches: the history of literary criticism and the history of books. And furthermore, this thesis investigates the conflicts and compromises existed in the literary anthologies between different directions, which includes the new thoughts developed by the contemporary critics, and the traditional poetic knowledge introduced by critics of the past. The participants include the literati-officials, the literary men who did not succeed in the imperial examinations, merchants....[ Read more ]

This dissertation aims at exploring the progress of compiling of several anthologies of Tang poetry in late Ming period (around 1500-1644) and discussing their characteristics from two approaches: the history of literary criticism and the history of books. And furthermore, this thesis investigates the conflicts and compromises existed in the literary anthologies between different directions, which includes the new thoughts developed by the contemporary critics, and the traditional poetic knowledge introduced by critics of the past. The participants include the literati-officials, the literary men who did not succeed in the imperial examinations, merchants.

This dissertation contains five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces objectives and methodology of this study, a literature review is also presented in this chapter. Chapter 2 analyses typical collectors and publishers, who can be put in three different categories in terms of their identities: official, literati with or without lower scholarly ranks, and merchant. This chapter could be read as a special collective biography of the master of the anthologists whoes comlilations will be discussed in later chapters. Chapter 3 studies the case of “Twelve Tang Masters’ ” under the background of imprint development during that period, referring to its origin, effect, spread, and transformation, etc. Chapter 4 focuses on Tangshi Leiyuan of Zhang Zhixiang（1507-1587） and Zhuo Mingqing（16^th century）, and explores how this 200-volume anthology was compiled in a structure of traditional encyclopedia (leishu), also discusses the interactions between its special structure and its poetic content. Chapter 5 studies several mini anthologies broadly used in primary education in Ming period, such as Qianjia Shi, Shentong Shi and Tangshi Qiyan Jueju annotated by Xie Fangde (1226-1289), with a particular concern on how these texts are used to introduce the Tang poetry and teach young students to write poetry in education institutions.