Abstract：The political and literary activities of the early Tang Dynasty literati contributed to the evolution of political career advance via literature, which in turn influenced the composition and turnover of the elite political groups of the Tang dynasty.Firstly, Li Shimin’s group and Li Tai’s group were engaged in the activities of the crown prince’s disputes in the name of literary talent, and those political disputes led to a special road of political career advance via literature. Both groups carried out their political struggles under the cover of their literary fame, which ultimately led to the different fates of the members. Due to the defeat of Li Tai’s group, its members were caught in a severe political crisis, which led to anxiety about the literati identity, and the value of literature that they boasted was self-deconstructed.Secondly, the literary community centered on the noble relatives and court officials held the expectations of literary scholars in the capital for career advancement, and its complex facets reflected the conflicting views of the courtiers on the state’s personnel policies. Li Shimin and Li Tai attached importance to literature, which aroused the literati’s political enthusiasm. The literary community of Yang Shidao’s Banquet showed the double face of “colleague” and “clique” in the relationship, and expressed the contradictory mentality of “advancement” and “seclusion”. The core of the conflict between the two sides was not only about their own political situation, but also reflected their political ambiguity over human resources.Thirdly, the operation mechanism of the transfer of literary power manifested itself as a two-way linkage between literature and career advancement, and the compatibility of the two gradually became the ideal situation for the literati. In the context of the revival of Confucianism in the early Tang Dynasty, the value of literature was often deconstructed and stigmatized, while the dynasty’s high-ranking officials were divided by the struggle for discourse power. As a victor in the struggle for the position of queen, Xu Jingzong merged literary and political power, promoting the transformation of literary ideology from northern to southern systems. Along with the deepening of the Wuzhou revolution, more literary scholars were able to participate in politics and attach themselves to the ruling power, and the interaction between the literature power and political power was particularly intense and varied.The early Tang Dynasty literati was an important force in the evolution of political career advance via literature. From the crown prince’s disputes to the struggle for the position of the queen, and to the revolution of Wuzhou, lurked behind the frequent political struggles in the early Tang Dynasty was the history of the struggle for political power between the literati and the old. The intensification of the conflict between the two sides eventually led to a leap in the political status of the literati, which not only opened up space for political career advance via literature, but also laid the foundation for the literary prosperity and the cultural transformation of the Tang Dynasty.
徐焕. 初唐文士与文学仕进的演进[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2024, 54(5): 147-160.
Xu Huan. Early Tang Dynasty Literati and the Evolution of Political Career Advance via Literature. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2024, 54(5): 147-160.
2024, Vol. 54 
