From Immortality to Mortality： Images of Tang Courtesans in Verse, Painting, and Anecdote  

作　　者：Jing Wang 

机构地区：[1]Department of Languages and Culture Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28227, USA

出　　处：《Frontiers of Literary Studies in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities》2012年第2期277-293,共17页中国高等学校学术文摘·文学研究（英文版）

摘　　要：This paper examines different modes of representation of the courtesan in the poetry, painting and anecdotes of the Tang dynasty, and the implications of the disparities between these genres. Examples of courtesan poems idolized these entertaining girls and featured a poetic approach that drew on early romantic depictions of goddesses. The courtesan was presented as an immortal woman, given a transcendental dimension. These elements were echoed and reinforced in visual depictions in grotto or mausoleum murals. Stories from the Beili zhi （Records of the northern quarter）, a collection of anecdotes about courtesans in Chang＇an by a contemporary Tang scholar, show a different set of criteria for immortality. The author held up to his readers a more realistic and faithful mirror of the courtesan＇s manners and life.This paper examines different modes of representation of the courtesan in the poetry, painting and anecdotes of the Tang dynasty, and the implications of the disparities between these genres. Examples of courtesan poems idolized these entertaining girls and featured a poetic approach that drew on early romantic depictions of goddesses. The courtesan was presented as an immortal woman, given a transcendental dimension. These elements were echoed and reinforced in visual depictions in grotto or mausoleum murals. Stories from the Beili zhi （Records of the northern quarter）, a collection of anecdotes about courtesans in Chang＇an by a contemporary Tang scholar, show a different set of criteria for immortality. The author held up to his readers a more realistic and faithful mirror of the courtesan＇s manners and life.

关 键 词：courtesan scholar official TRANSCENDENCE Beili zhi （Records of thenorthern quarter） MURAL 

分 类 号：I227[文学—中国文学] J212.05[艺术—美术]