| Summary: | 碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 中國文學系 === 104 === Li Shen(772~846) , courtesy name Gongchui (公垂), who claimed ancestry from a prominent clan of Zhao Commandery(趙郡, in modern Hebei), came from Bozhou (亳州, in modern Anhui), then moved to Changzhou (常州, in modern Jiangsu). A mid-Tang (中唐) poet, Li Shen lived in the times when “defense commands” (藩鎮), Niu-Li Factional Fight (牛李黨爭), and eunuchs in turn caused disorder, and when the political situation was starting to get worse. He lost his father as a child, and was raised and taught by his mother. He studied in Changzhou as a teenager, then traveled nationwide as an adult. During the trip nationwide, he wrote poems reflecting on the society. At the age of 35, he obtained the Jinshi (進士) degree and later was dubbed Duke Wensu of Zhao (趙文肅公). There is Collected Works of Reminiscence (追昔遊集) compiled by Li Shen himself for us to read nowadays. There are 147 poems and 14 pieces of prose available.
There were three achievements Li Shen made in literature：First, the poems Pity the Peasants (Ancient Air)(〈憫農〉). Second, twenty “newly titled” yueh-fu (〈樂府新題〉). Li Shen was one of the initiators of the new yueh-fu movement (新樂府運動). Third, Dong Jieyuan's (董解元) version of the Story of the Western Wing (西廂記諸宮調) in the Jin dynasty was based on both Li Shen’s Song of Ying-ying (鶯鶯歌) and Yuan Zhen’s (元稹, 779~831) The Story of Ying-ying (鶯鶯傳).
This thesis consists of seven chapters and appendix Ⅰ-Ⅲ. The first chapter “Introduction” deals with the main objectives of the author, methodology, literature on Li Shen’s poetry and the scope of the thesis. The second chapter “The life and times of Li Shen” covers a lot of topics on Li Shen’s background. The third chapter “The connections between Li Shen and the new yueh-fu movement in the mid-Tang period” traces the history of yueh-fu and talks about the role Li Shen played in the new yueh-fu movement. The fourth chapter “The topics of Li Shen’s poetry” sorts Li Shen’s poetry into six groups. The fifth chapter “The writing skills of Li Shen’s poetry” talks about the skills such as Qilu (七律)(an eight-line poem with seven characters to a line and a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme). The sixth chapter “The characteristics, influences, and evaluation of Li Shen’s poetry” talks about the appraisals of Li Shen’s poetry done by his contemporary and later critics. The seventh chapter “Conclusion” is divided in two parts：the summary and prospects. The appendices contains tables about Li Shen’s poetry etc.
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