Zen Poetry and Chinese Zen Literature of the Tang and Song Dynasties

the theory and expression of the Dharma, the impression of emptiness in the illusion of the scene, the opacity of the image, the restraint of emotions and the utmost laconicism, etc.

1.1.2. Zen poetry and Chinese Zen literature of the Tang and Song dynasties

1.1.2.1. Chinese society during the Tang and Song dynasties

In 618, Li Yuan, an official of the Sui Dynasty, raised an army to attack Chang'an, declared himself emperor, took the title Gaozu, and named the country Tang. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was born, opening the most beautiful era of poetry in the development of Chinese poetry. As a dynasty that flourished in culture and art, the Tang Dynasty, with more than 200 years of existence, also left behind for posterity indelible tragic marks in history, through events such as: the An Lushan Rebellion, Wu Zetian's tyranny, Emperor Xuanzong's passionate love for Yang Guifei, the Huang Chao uprising... The academic and creative atmosphere that filled China during its prosperous period (associated with reign names such as Zhenguan, Kaiyuan, and Tianbao) was suddenly drowned in the storms of the times. The bitter aftertaste of that special "sea of vicissitudes" was deeply engraved in the literature of this period, producing poets with proud and tragic tones that are among the most wonderful in the world such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei,...

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Under the profound and profound influence of Buddhism and Lao-Zhuang thought, under the development of Confucian classics 11 , Tang society was known as the pinnacle of the combination of Buddhism-Lao-Confucianism. This combined thought appeared in the 3rd century with the name of Ge Hong (284-364), a Taoist influenced by Buddhism. Later, Tao Huang Jing of the Qi Dynasty also stated: "Hundreds of different ways of speaking cannot go beyond the scope of the Three Teachings" [254, 12]. During the Tang Dynasty, Zong Mi (of the Huayan sect) also advocated Confucianism and Buddhism.

11According to Pham The Ngu in The main periods of Chinese literary history, Lu Duc Minh (living in the early Tang Dynasty), the author of the Classic of Poetry and Literature, annotated many ways of reading Confucian classics. Later, during the reign of Tang Thai Tong, Khong Dinh Dat and many other scholars inherited and supplemented them, later called the Five Classics Annotated. [150; 54-55].

from the same source. Of course, an idea that becomes a trend of the whole society, deeply permeates every stroke of a painting, flows naturally from works of language art... is not the result of random compatibility between poets and thinkers. In terms of community behavior culture, the fusion of the three religions is an inevitable product of countries with a special "tradition of tolerance" towards spiritual values - a tradition that "has been historical realities" [290; 67] in countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan. In terms of maintaining political order, the principle of the three religions is a wonderful "invention" of the Chinese people about the confluence of ideological streams in the vehicle of the destiny of society and people. In that “three-legged” situation, for the first time, Eastern man was richly interpreted from his own philosophical source, fully participating in existential life: behaving socially like a Confucian, living a natural Taoist spirit, and freely cultivating a Buddhist-style liberating spirituality. Man was interpreted in such a way as to ensure class compatibility in the feudal dynasty order. And therefore, to ensure the safety of social relations that China, like any medieval country, wished to hold and control. This entire basic spirit pervaded the works of the Tang and Song dynasties, although each dynasty had its own characteristics of harmony. During the Tang Dynasty, with the translation of Buddhist scriptures and the famous pilgrimage of Xuanzang, with the belief of the Tang kings that they were descendants of Li Er, or Laozi, with the wisdom of liberal kings who loved literature and art, the Three Teachings ideology was encouraged and became the "spirit" in many creative fields. During the Song Dynasty, the expansion of philosophy, the need to interpret books and Confucianism, and the desire to reform the economic and political structure were important factors that influenced the harmonization of the Three Teachings at a richer level. During this period, scholars

often focused on interpreting Confucianism, tending to reduce the value of Buddhist thought, but in reality, they were still secretly and deeply influenced by Buddhism. Even Wang Anshi, a prime minister who was an active reformer, but towards the end of his life, he quietly wrote Zen poetry and lived a leisurely life. If in the Tang Dynasty, statements and creations with elements of the three religions were a natural flow from the consciousness and spirit of the times, then in the Song Dynasty, present in the general cultural life was a strong philosophical atmosphere; and therefore, the harmony of the three elements of Confucianism-Buddhism-Taoism was deeply compressed into philosophical layers, not tending to become aesthetic explanations of literature (except in the case of Nghiem Vu's Zen poetry commentary) but rather explaining the logic of combination, the logic of experience.

There is one point worth noting when it comes to the formation of the Song Dynasty. After

The Tang Dynasty lost its throne, followed by turmoil throughout China, and finally, in 960, Zhao Kuangyin usurped the throne of the Later Zhou Dynasty and established the Song Dynasty. Thus, the transition between the Tang and Song Dynasties belonged to a series of continuous political upheavals in the Chinese empire. Between the Tang and Song was the Five Dynasties period (lasting more than 50 years). For more than half a century, China was severely divided, with five dynasties and up to ten countries, and the people were in misery and misery. History books recorded: "In areas where wars took place, corpses filled the streets, fields were abandoned, and for thousands of miles there was not a single person" [158; 212]. The Song Dynasty was established from the blood and tears of wars, so the need for long-term stability, the need to build a

building a philosophical height, the need to improve, change, create... is the inspiration of the time

very strong. In addition, the literature and art of the Song Dynasty was born after the great shadow of the poetry of the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps, this is also the reason why the writers and poets of the Song Dynasty continuously searched and experimented with the aim of escaping the situation of being affected or not being able to inherit (the values and creative styles of the Tang Dynasty) that the literary destiny had given them. This anxious search has

recorded in the history of Chinese literature by the event of the debate on poetry using Zen proposed by Nghiem Vu, by the names of Hoang Dinh Kien, To Thuc, Giang Tay poetry school... It was during that "experimental" period that Song Dynasty Zen literature was presented with many different appearances. Even, Zen was reflected in the genre of words with satirical content, full of secularity 12 .

The Song Dynasty itself was also divided into two periods: Northern Song and Southern Song. In which, the Northern Song period was associated with the royal life, endless pleasures of the upper class of landlords and mandarins as well as the princes and nobles in the court; the country's economy was stable, industry and commerce developed extremely strongly. However, during this time, Northern Song had to continuously deal with the Liao and Western Xia invaders to the point of being destroyed. Southern Song came to power. After the chaotic battles with the Jin and Mongol armies, Southern Song was destroyed again. Mixed in the poetry and literature of this period was the inspiration about the prosperity of the urban class in the new cities and the feeling of resentment of intellectuals and literati before the humiliating and impotent peace-seeking situation of generations of Song Dynasty kings and mandarins. If the collapse of the Tang Dynasty after the An Shi Rebellion was like a painful stab in the soul of sentimental poets (who had experienced the previous elegant and poetic atmosphere), then the continuous instability of the Song Dynasty, although marked by many feats of preserving the classics and many erudite philosophical works, was still a dynasty burdened with many national and ethnic problems, and was still a dynasty that could not produce the generation of "wandering poets" who existed throughout the Tang Dynasty.

1.1.2.2. Chinese Zen Buddhist Literature of the Tang and Song Dynasties

12According to Do Tung Bach in his treatise on Tang and Song Zen Poetry [10; pp. 46-54], Su Dongpo and Huang Shanguo wrote many articles with Zen implications with many satirical, "prankish" features, which were "temporary literary games", such as Su Dongpo's article questioning Zen master Dai Thong with the details "the stream girl peeked", "the Zen master, don't blink"...

Buddhism was transmitted to China via the northern route of India. Regarding the date of transmission, although there are many hypotheses such as the Western saint theory of Confucius, the theory of Thich Loi Phong bringing Buddhism, the theory of Truong Khien listening to Buddhism, the theory of worshiping the golden human image of King Vo De, the theory of Liu Huong speaking Buddhist scriptures, the theory of the oral transmission of Buddhism by Y Ton, the theory of the 10th year of the Yongping era of the Later Han Dynasty..., most researchers are quite unified in their point of view: choosing the year 65-67 as the official period of Buddhism's introduction to China. From this assumed time until the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (587), Buddhism was still in a quiet "competition" with Taoism, even with Confucianism. Through the "mystical" period of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism gradually had a profound influence on Chinese spiritual life, and began to be recognized as a philosophical system.

The event of Bodhidharma coming to preach in China is a special highlight of Zen Buddhism. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Buddhism flourished. Esoteric Buddhism also emerged during this period.

During the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279), Buddhism was revived under a new light; that is the spirit of integrating sects within Buddhism itself and the close combination of Buddhism with Confucianism and Taoism in terms of “reason”. This characteristic was discussed by Thich Thanh Kiem as follows: “Most of the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty were deeply influenced by Buddhism, so contemporary Confucianism was very closely related to Buddhism. If one studies contemporary Confucianism without understanding Buddhism, it would be difficult to understand Confucianism, which is a special feature of Song Confucianism” [101; 250-251]. The work of translating the Tripitaka was also a great achievement of the Song Dynasty kings.

With more than half a millennium of development in the "Mahayana land" of China, Buddhism has built a unique collection of classic thought and language that is unparalleled during the Tang and Song dynasties.

In terms of genre, Chinese Buddhist literature includes the Mahayana sutra system, bien van (a famous Buddhist literary genre discovered in Dunhuang cave), stories of eminent monks, sayings, poems, repentance texts, stele inscriptions, etc.

During the Tang Dynasty, the career of translating Buddhist scriptures (a tradition that dates back to the previous Six Dynasties) with names of holy monks such as Xuanzang, Yi Jing, Bu Kong, Shan Wu Wei, De Wen Prajna... left behind a huge and valuable treasure trove of scriptures. Nguyen Hien Le quoted Liang Qichao's assessment that: "Chinese vocabulary has been enriched by over 35,000 words. That number is based on the number of nouns in the "Great Buddhist Dictionary" (...). And adding 35,000 words means adding 35,000 concepts" [116; 62]. A notable genre such as "inspirational stories written in the style of literary discourse" such as the Continuation of Stories of Eminent Monks by

Dao Tuyen, Tinh do ru phan chu truyen by Thieu Khang... also flourished during that time.

This. Qian Zhonglian in Outline of Chinese Literature History (Volume 1) wrote: “Among the large number of Buddhist scriptures translated during the Tang Dynasty, none had more profound literary value and widespread influence in literature than the Great Expanse Avatamsaka Sutra and the Great Buddha Summit Tathagata's Secret Mantra of Cultivation and Attainment of the Ultimate Meaning of the Bodhisattvas of Ten Thousand Practices and the Shurangama Sutra. The latter sutra was composed by Fang Rong, and its literature is very beautiful. There are also many travelogues and biographies composed by Tang people related to Buddhism, such as the 12-volume Great Tang Records of the Western Regions by Bian Ji, the 10-volume Tripitaka Dharma Master Biographies by Hui Li and Yan Zong, of which the majority are

has literary value. Buddhism influenced Tang Dynasty literature. Many works by many authors such as Wang Bo, Wang Wei, Liang Su, Liu Zongyuan, and Li Shangyin all contain Buddhist literature…” [98; 279].

The history of Zen's transmission from Bodhidharma to Hui Neng also lies entirely in the Sui-Tang period. Du Songbai commented: "Zen started from the Sixth Patriarch to use poetry to express Zen. Of course, there were also influences from the circumstances, because in the Tang Dynasty, Zen was at its peak and the Tang Dynasty was also the golden age of Chinese poetry, at that time Zen masters often used literature to express their enlightenment, this was a great context for the combination of poetry and Zen" [10; 26]. The Zen work that needs attention is the Proof

The song of Yongjia Xuanjue, who was considered the "handsome disciple" of Lu.

Patriarch Hui Neng. With the appearance of Hui Neng, the 6th patriarch of Chinese Zen, along with the strange story of the Zen poem on the wall of the Hoang Mai mountain temple and the birth of the collection of Enlightenment Songs by Huyen Giac of the Tang Dynasty, Zen poetry began its very long life not only in the Zen gate but also echoed throughout the mountains and rivers. The Chinese also mentioned the classic Zen works such as Tham Dong Khe, Thao Am Ca (Thach Dau Hy Thien, Tang Dynasty), Linh Khe Ca (Phan Duong Thien Chieu, Song Dynasty), Son Cu Bach Vinh (Vien Chieu Tong Ban, Song Dynasty), etc.

From the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty, despite experiencing many anti-Buddhist incidents, through many feudal dynasties with different views on Buddhism, Zen poetry still rose continuously when the "five-petaled flower" of Zen blossomed with the names of great Zen masters leading the five sects such as Lam Te, Cao Dong, Phap Nhan, Van Mon, Qui Nguong. Although the Zen activities and principles of each sect were not the same, Zen poetry in the form of "speaking verses" was used skillfully and expertly by Zen masters, especially in the Lam Te sect. During the Song Huy Tong period (1111-1114), under the Chinh Hoa reign, Zen master Vien Ngo compiled 100 koans of Zen master Tuyet Dau, called Bich Nham Luc . This great work containing many excellent Zen poems followed the path of dissemination

Zen Buddhism of Zen master Thao Duong came to Vietnam during the Ly dynasty. Therefore, the history of Zen poetry cannot fail to note the great impact of Bich Nham Luc .

Zen poetry in China is a value belonging to the system of Zen aesthetic values. Chinese poetry, as well as painting and music, have constantly nurtured the “Zen flavor” in their open and strangely mixed nature. A special feature of Chinese literature is the appearance of a number of Zen poetry critics since the Middle Ages. According to the theory of ancient Chinese literature, researchers are quite unanimous in evaluating Nghiem Vu as an outstanding Zen poetry critic with the book Thuong Lang Thi Thoai . Most of the ideas that Nghiem Vu put forward can be found in the philosophical roots of the Zen literature and Buddhist classics. That is “Consciousness” (one of the very profound concepts of Buddhism, especially when it is related to Buddhist psychology such as the theory of the Vijñāptimātratā school), “wonderful enlightenment” (a concept originating from the wordless Zen school of Hui Neng), “moon at the bottom of the water”, “image in the mirror”, “diamond eyes” or diamond eyes (related to the intuition of Prajna in the journey of cultivation and perception of the world)... Before Nghiem Thuong Lang, Liu Xie (465-520) wrote Van tam dia long . Although he did not declare “to discuss poetry with Zen”, Liu Xie, who was deeply influenced by Buddhism, discreetly outlined a subtle perspective on poetry and literature under the light of the “wonderful dharma” of the source of Buddhist studies13 . That speaks to the fact that: there is a tendency to theorize and comment on poetic issues from the Buddhist perspective (and later Zen Buddhism) in China. It is possible that this trend has been brewing since the 10th century.

13Phan Ngoc in the introduction to Liu Xie's book Wenxin Diaolong said: Liu Xie was well-versed in Buddhist scriptures, knew Sanskrit, "absorbed Buddhism very deeply, so he used the theoretical mechanism of Buddhism", "The most important part of Wenxin Diaolong is part III, that is, from chapter 26 to chapter 49, in which he talked about old learning issues such as energy, bones, thoughts... After all, these are all Buddhist terms. Without Buddhism, there would be no Chinese culture in the Tang and Song dynasties". See Aristotle - The art of poetry, Liu Xie - Wenxin Diaolong, Literature Publishing House, Hanoi, 1999, pages 115 - 123.

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