UNIVERSITY OF LONDON See over for Abstract of Thesis notes on completion Author (full names) , ......................................................................... Title of thesis ..... ...S sM d A le....^ ..... i.l.Vf<t. S.. O.jt. X.lLk .. Q rij. I Degree J__________________________J 'tf/S- L/UA^/X^t, Qa*A P - OIa IlM, tkM-ck. XtA V&Y 4 ^ , U^L This thesis is concerned with moulc shi In poetry within the context of the political, intellectual and literary history focusing on the Middle and Late Tang. Buddhist monies engaged in non-Buddhist studies as external learning (waixue f f lp ) to assist their interactions with non-Buddhists. Shi poetry was one of these non- Buddhist studies. This thesis introduces the rise of poet-monks from the Middle Tang period (from 785 onwards) as a literary and social phenomenon. One focus is to investigate why the Buddhist clergy tolerated the poet-monks’ prolific unreligious poetry writing. The monastic code Shis on g lit ~ (Sarvastivada-vinaya ) as well as the teachings of Southern Chan Buddhism are examined as Buddhist teachings relevant to the monies’ shi poetry writing. It is argued that these teachings facilitated the monies’ external learning, however, without directly inspiring the rise of poet- monks. The function of external learning is examined in the context of the clergy’s position in the socio-political environment and their political relationship with Confucian scholar-officials. It is concluded that the rise of poet-monks was mainly inspired by the Buddhist monies’ political desire to maintain a peaceful relationship with non-Buddhists. Furthermore, the poet-monks wrote poetry to advance their personal career prospect and as an artistic self-expression. The lives and poems of two poet-monks, Guanxiu JtT'fjc (832-912) and Q iji^ c i (864-c. 943) are examined as a case study. It is demonstrated that their religious careers and the stylistic characteristics of their poetry were shaped by the function of external learning. Their poetry is analysed and compared to their contemporary literati poetry. It is concluded that, although the motivation for monks to write shi poetry may have been pragmatic, their distinct background allowed them to nevertheless make an independent contribution to the greater shi poetry tradition in its own right. ProQuest Number: 10731739 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731739 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. 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Date of Acceptance Bound By Blissett Bookbinders 020 8992 3965 www.biissetts.com Monk Poetry as External Learning in the Middle and Late Tang exemplified by the poetry and lives of Guanxiu and Oiji Yun-Chung Li The School of Oriental and African Studies PhD in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia Thesis Abstract This thesis is concerned with monk shi f# poetry within the context of the political, intellectual and literary history focusing on the Middle and Late Tang. Buddhist monies engaged in non-Buddhist studies as external learning (waixue to assist their interactions with non-Buddhists. Shi poetry was one of these non- Buddhist studies. This thesis introduces the rise of poet-monks from the Middle Tang period (from 785 onwards) as a literary and social phenomenon. One focus is to investigate why the Buddhist clergy tolerated the poet-monks’ prolific unreligious poetry writing. The monastic code Shisong Hi -pfjijfijt (Sarvastivdda-vinaya) as well as the teachings of Southern Chan Buddhism are examined as Buddhist teachings relevant to the monks’ shi poetry wilting. It is argued that these teachings facilitated the monks’ external learning, however, without directly inspiring the rise of poet- monks. The function of external learning is examined in the context of the clergy’s position in the socio-political environment and their political relationship with Confucian orientated scholar-officials. It is concluded that the rise of poet-monks was mainly inspired by the Buddhist monies’ political desire to maintain a peaceful relationship with non-Buddhists. Furthermore, the poet-monks wrote poetry to advance their personal career prospect and as an artistic self-expression. The lives and poems of two poet-monks, Guanxiu (832-912) and Qiji (864-c. 943) are examined as a case study. It is demonstrated that their religious careers and the stylistic characteristics of their poetry were shaped by the function of external learning. Their poetry is analysed and compared to their contemporary literati poetry. It is concluded that, although the motivation for monies to write shi poetry may have been pragmatic, their distinct background allowed them to nevertheless make an independent contribution to the greater shi poetry tradition in its own right. Dedication To my Parents, Mei-Ling, And my personal Faith. Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to the many people who helped me to complete this thesis and without whose support this study would not have been possible. I would like to acknowledge my parents and my husband Gert Westermann for their selfless support all these years for my education and life in the UK. Their love for me has always been the prime force to pull me through all the difficult times along my studies. I would like to thank Gert in particular for his patience and time to discuss my research with me and for proof-reading my thesis. His academic insights and open mind have been a great inspiration for my studies. I am also deeply grateful to my supervisors. Dr. Andrew Lo had the patience to train my chaotic mind to receive and appreciate knowledge systematically and analytically. Throughout my studies he tirelessly read my thesis drafts of massive quantity and discussed them with me in great detail. Without his hard drill as well as kind encouragement this thesis would not have been possible to complete. Dr. Bernli rd Fuehrer has been a fantastic mentor to my studies and research. His honest criticism as well as his positive attitude was of the greatest help to improve the scholarly quality of my thesis. I am also immensely grateful to Prof. Michel Hockx, whose enduring encouragement and kind words have always motivated me to plod on in this academic journey. Indeed, sometimes a few gentle words can help one a long way. I am also very thankful to Prof. Tzi- Cheng Wang, who coached my studies in the early stages and nurtured my interest in textual studies and Chinese poetry. I would also like to thank my fellow PhD student Pei-Ying Lin and Dr. Wolfgang Schwabe for assisting me in finding research materials. The encouragement from my fellow PhD students—Pei-Ying, Kiriko Tokura, Maid Komori, and the late Mei-Ling Chen—were also crucial to lift me up from the downs. I am enormously indebted to their friendship. I am truly thankful to all other people who helped my studies in various ways and feel sorry that I cannot list them here. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange whose scholarship was a great help for my writing up stage. For all the love, friendship and generous help I have received, I shall always remember that any success of this study is a production of collective force rather than one woman’s lonely struggle. 5 Table of Contents Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................8 Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................................................9 1.1. The Rise of Poet-Monks from the Middle Tang ................................................................14 1.2. Literature Review: A Construction of Two Conventional Readings ................................ 21 1.2.1. Reading one: monk poetry to promote Buddhism ................................................... 22 1.2.2. Reading two: monk poetry to promote the poets ..................................................... 33 1.2.3. Uncertainty of the religious role in monk poetry ..................................................... 40 1.2.4. Research Materials and Thesis Structure..................................................................44 Chapter Two: Monk Poetry as External Learning ...................................................... 50 2.1. Monastic Codes,