The Art of Tu Mu's Prose

Author: Wu-Jyh Lyu(Department of Chinese, National Taiwan Normal University)

Abstract：

This paper examines the art of Tu Mu's prose in the late T'ang peri-od. Tu's prose is distinguished by the following features : 1. remarkable insights : Tu's works demonsturte his unique insights--both political and military--in his critiques on contemporary affairs; 2. loaded emotions: both in expressing his love for his country or in reflecting upon his personal life, Tu's works are loaded with powerful emotions; 3. artistic compositions: Tu's prose is well-organized, punctuated with variations and full of aesthet-ic beauty; 4. full of allusions: Tu used allusions of various kinds profusely to strengthen his arguments; 5. vivid descriptions: Tu's portrays of people from all walks of life are brilliantly executed and full of flesh and blood; 6. melodious rhythm: an euphonious effect is achieved through dexterous orchestration of syntactic as well as tonal variations; 7. idiosyncratic diction: the choice of Tu's words has been pithy precise and imagery unconvention-al. All these features exemplify the artistic achievement of Tu's prose, ac-count ofr his reputation and certainly will guarantee the immortality of his works.

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