Understanding “Slandering”: A Study of Luo Yin’s Writings of Slandering Shiwei Zhou A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts University of Washington 2020 Committee: Ping Wang William G. Boltz Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Asian Languages and Literature ©Copyright 2020 Shiwei Zhou 2 University of Washington Abstract Understanding “Slandering”: A Study of Luo Yin’s Writings of Slandering Shiwei Zhou Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Ping Wang Department of Asian Languages and Literature This thesis is an attempt to study a collection of fifty-eight short essays-Writings of Slandering- written and compiled by the late Tang scholar Luo Yin. The research questions are who are slandered, why are the targets slandered, and how. The answering of the questions will primarily rely on textual studies, accompanied by an exploration of the tradition of “slandering” in the literati’s world, as well as a look at Luo Yin’s career and experience as a persistent imperial exam taker. The project will advance accordingly: In the introduction, I will examine the concept of “slandering” in terms of how the Chinese literati associate themselves with it and the implications of slandering or being slandered. Also, I will try to explain how Luo Yin fits into the picture. Chapter two will focus on the studies of the historical background of the mid-to-late Tang period and the themes of the essays. Specifically, it will spell out the individuals, the group of people, and the political and social phenomenon slandered in the essays. Then, it will analyze the significance of the targets and Luo’s sentiments towards them. Chapter three will tackle the problem of “How did Luo slander?” from two perspectives. It will discuss the great variety of the prose genres Luo adopted in the fifty-eight essays, with special attention to his efforts to model the ancient-style literary genres and make innovative adaptations. Also, I will study the literary styles and metaphors that the author took to display his erudition and writing skills. Finally, the project will conclude with the answers to the research questions raised around “slandering” and shed light on the literary status and significance of the Writings of Slandering as well as Luo Yin. 3 Acknowledgement I am grateful to Professor WANG Ping and Professor William G. BOLTZ at the University of Washington, for their invaluable advice and patient guidance, and Dr. Ian CHAPMAN from the East Asia Library, for providing valuable information and resource for my research during the time of semi-quarantine. Also, it would not be possible for me to complete the thesis without the support of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature as well as Maurice D. and Lois M. Schwartz, who generously granted me the fellowship. I am truly blessed to have parents who have always encouraged me to pursue my career. My gratitude goes to friends as well. At dawns and dusks, my sister-like friend HU Xi accompanied me through writer’s blocks and personal ups and downs. HE Ling, whose friendship I have cherished for the last sixteen years, searched for rare-edition books for me from my faraway homeland. It has been a time of hardships, for me and all. Still, dark days pass. To the ones who care for me, I am much obliged. 4 Table of Contents I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................6 II. On “The Slandered”-Analyses of Themes ...............................................................................30 II.1 An Overview of the Political and Social Environment during the Mid-to-late Tang Dynasty............30 II.2 On the Authorities......................................................................................................................46 II.3 On Society and Time..................................................................................................................64 III. On the Slandering Devices-Analyses of Prose Genres and Rhetorical Devices......................76 III.1 On the Prose Genres..................................................................................................................76 III.2 One the Rhetorical Devices......................................................................................................103 Ⅳ. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................119 Bibliography................................................................................................................................131 5 INTRODUCTION The Classical Chinese literature of over two thousand years has primarily represented a history of the ups and downs of the Chinese literati, as a group as well as individuals. Since the Spring and Autumn period, the emergence of the shi ⼠ group had introduced opportunities to establish oneself and one’s words for those who were socially less privileged, those who fell out of the high aristocracy. For thousands of years, the Chinese literati, though often respected, were deprived of almost all means but fortunately endowed with the most potent tool-writing-to express themselves. The writings were by no means merely personal; instead, the messages to be and being delivered revealed so much. If we venture to understand the politics, the society, the well-being of all people, from the emperor to a peasant, one of the most effective ways, if not the only way, is to read the writings of the literati. That said, one can never expect the reading to be an easy task. The intentional and unintentional abstruseness consisted of the beauty and elegance of the writings. More importantly, the Chinese literati, as one of the most sophisticated groups of people, had no simple minds. The deciphering of the texts thus requires a careful reading of the minds of the literati. It calls for the understanding of their experience, mindset, value system, collectively and individually. Moreover, we should never ignore the tradition they inherited and followed as writers. One universal tradition had been set up since the official establishment of the Confucian school in the Han 漢 dynasty. The fundamental moral principles in Confucianism-the Five Relationships (wu lun 五倫) had penetrated deep into every aspect of the lives of the Han Chinese. For the literati, the first and foremost concern was the appropriate handling of the relationship between the lord (jun 君) and the vassal (chen 臣). The scope, after Confucius’s time, extended to apply to the ruler and the officials broadly. Whether one was holding a position at court as high as the Grand Councilor or as low as a clerk, he was to submit himself to the ruler with no resistance or even a slight hesitance. The golden rule in the Analects (Lun yu 論語) that “a lord should behave like a lord; a vassal should behave like a vassal” applied not only to those who fortunately held a 6 government post but also those who ambitiously pursued a career as a government official.1 When the imperial examination was set up, millions of exam takers, although not yet employed, consciously behaved as officials-to-be. The most efficient tool for them to speak to the authorities, or even the “Son of Heaven” (Tianzi 天⼦), as part of their duties, was no other than writing. The protagonist of this thesis-Luo Yin 羅隱 (833-910 C.E.) fell into the category of traditional Chinese scholars. His masterwork Writings of Slandering (Chan shu 讒書) was an excellent reflection and representation of an exam taker’s efforts to be a future chen. The prominent late Tang 唐 scholar Luo Yin, style-named Zhaojian 昭諫, was a native of Xindeng 新登 County of Yuhang 餘杭 Prefecture, located in what is now modern Hangzhou 杭州 of Zhejiang 浙江 Province. He was born in the seventh year of Dahe ⼤和 reign and lived through the end of the Tang dynasty.2 Luo passed away in the third year of the Kaiyuan 開元 reign of the Later Liang 後 梁 dynasty, at seventy-seven years old. As a passionate young scholar, Luo started his challenging and frustrating career as an imperial exam taker at the age of twenty-eight. Though talented and persistent, he failed the exam six times.3 Despite that he was excellent in composing poetry, Luo 1The famous quote comes from the chapter “Yan Yuan” 顏淵: 齊景公問政於孔⼦。孔⼦對曰：“君君，臣臣，⽗⽗，⼦⼦。” Lord Jing of Qi inquired of Confucius about the government. Confucius replied, saying: “A lord should behave like a lord; a vassal should behave like a vassal; a father should behave like a father; a son should behave like a son.” See He Yan 何晏 (d. 249 C.E.) comm., Lun yu ji jie 論語集解, Sibu congkan 四部叢刊, 6.17a-b 2 Dahe was the name of Emperor Wenzong’s ⽂宗 (809-840 C.E.) reign. The seventh year was 833. The Tang dynasty ended in 907. 3 There have been debates on how many times Luo Yin failed the imperial exams. In The Supplements to the History of the Five Dynasties (Wudai shi bu 五代史補), the account was six times: 羅隱在科場恃才傲物，尤為公卿所惡，故六舉不第。 Luo Yin was arrogant and insolent because of his talents. He was especially hated by the aristocrats. Therefore, he failed the imperial examination six times. In The Complete History of Wuyue (Wuyue bei shi 吳越備史), the account was ten times: 凡⼗上不中第。 For the ten times that he took the imperial exam, he did not pass for one single time. 7 failed to attain an official post at the Tang government. The cause of the failure was probably more complicated than his unsuccessful attempts at the exams. It was a time of discord and corruption, where people suffered from wars and starvation. “The juniors of the powerful families made toasts and got drunk incessantly, while six or seven out of ten of the talented young scholars from the humble families were deprecated.”4 Hence, “when the result came out, the names on the list were all the juniors from the powerful and wealthy families.” 5 He was, like many others who lacked aristocratic backgrounds, “pushed aside by the young nobles.”6 More likely, he was disliked or might even have been banned by the authorities for his acrimonious writings. In a time of peace and order, one expects lauds, while in a time of turmoil, the writings could be pungent and bitter.