“文章四友”及其政治、文学考论

An Investigation of the“Four Literary Friends”and Their Politics and Literature

"文章四友"是初唐后期一个很有影响的文学群体,形成于武周天授元年九月到天授三年正月。虽然他们诗文兼善,但这个称号主要还是来自文的成就。崔李苏杜的排名,源于一种与声律相关的语言习惯,而非年辈、地位及文学成就等其他因素。"文章四友"主要凭借文学才华,在武周时期仕途大盛,忠于武则天在他们看来是天经地义之事,并因之而与"二张"、武三思等过从甚密,他们的政治倾向事实上已经背离了李唐政权。"文章四友"很大程度上属于御用文人,在庙堂文学的创作方面颇有成就,他们主导的宫廷诗风,对近体诗格律的最终形成有相当重要的影响,李峤、杜审言在这方面的实际作用,甚至超过"沈宋"。"文章四友"绝非浪得虚名,都有足以奠定自己文学地位的经典作品,但长期的台阁生涯及侍从身份,导致他们日渐缺乏文学创作的源头活水,不少作品内容苍白,思想贫乏,这是他们不为后世所重的重要原因。

The"Four Literary Friends"were an influential literary group in the later part of the Early Tang Period;they came into existence from the ninth month of the first year to the first month of the third year of the Tianshou reign of the Zhou Dynasty.Although they were all well-versed in poetry and prose,the title largely resulted from their achievements in prose.The ranking of Cui,Li,Su and Du(Cui Rong,Li Qiao,Su Weidao and Du Shenyan)was derived from a linguistic habit related to rhyme,rather than other factors such as age,status,and literary achievement.During the Zhou Dynasty,the"Four Literary Friends"embarked on highly successful official careers thanks to their extraordinary literary talents.Convinced that loyalty to Empress Wu Zetian was a matter of course,they developed close connections with the"two Zhangs"(Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong)and Wu Sansi.Their political tendency had actually deviated from the regime of Li’s clan.They belonged to the imperial literati to a large degree and achieved significant success in the creation of noble literature.The court poetry they dominated had a profound influence on the final formation of metrical poetry.The achievements of Li Qiao and Du Shenyan in this genre even surpassed those of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen.The reputation of the"Four Literary Friends"was by no means unearned,as evidenced by their classic works that were sufficient to establish their literary status.However,their long-term official careers and attendant status had taken a toll on their literary creativity.Many of their works were pale in content and weak in thinking,which was an important reason why they were not valued by later generations.