Tushuguanxue yu Zixun Kexue (Apr 2014)
Maps of Relocation and Poems of Tang Dynasty Poets: Li Bai, Du Fu, and Han Yu
Abstract
Geographic environments affect literary contents and genre and thus, since ancient times, geographical area has been used to classify Chinese literature. In 1936 Liang Qichao was keenly aware of the relationship between literature and geography and brought up the idea of “literarygeography”. In 1979 Professor Chen Zhengxiang produced maps of birthplaces of Tang and Song poets to show the shift of Chinese cultural center from north to south. Furthermore, in the pastdecade, the attention to research in literary geography and geographical distribution of writersgradually increased. However, most studies focused on geographical distribution of birthplaces of writers and very few focused on the relationship between poets’ journey and the contents of their writings and their geographic environment. Meanwhile, geographic information system and aerialphotography have developed quickly and have become useful tools for the study of literary geography.Since then, the academic circles in Taiwan have built a solid foundation in this area. While Li Baiand Du Fu were called poetic immortal and poetic sage of the middle and end periods of the heydayof Tang Dynasty, respectively, Han Yu advocated the classical Chinese movement and becameone of the eight great authors of Tang and Song dynasties. Han Yu was also the best representative of Middle Tang poets. While the styles of these three poets differed from each other, they held key positions in the development and evolution of Tang poetry. Their footprints spread all over the countryand greatly affected later developments and contemporary of poetry. This project makes use of the digital Tang Dynasty maps by Tan Qixiang, Tang Dynasty transportation route maps by Yan Gengwang,aerial maps, the All Tang Poems, and chronicles of the poets to build the three poets’ relocation maps and study their poetic literature, language, geography, and interactions with others, in hopesof opening a new research direction and build research tools in the cross-disciplinary study of language,literature, and geography. On the basis of their poems, we will identify their journal routes and placenames, study in great detail the locations so as to enhance the maps done by Yan Gengwang, TanQixiang, and the digital maps in the historical geographic information system established by scholarsat Academia Sinica. As the literary works and maps are compared, they should be able to complementone another. The website built can then be used for research and teaching so as to improve pastmodes of research and teaching by emphasizing on not only language, but also spatial information. pp. 4-28
