唐詩의 방위사 연구

Abstract

This paper studies the directional words, especially east, west, south, and north, appearing in Tang Poetry. To begin with, it examines traditional meanings assigned to the four directional words that are frequently used in poetry. These meanings are related to the Five Elements, human emotions, four seasons, and high and low. On top of this, it analyzes in a literary perspective how poets creatively put these meanings into their own poems and how these meanings serve to deliver poets' feelings and thoughts. Moreover, this study also adopts the space and identity theory introduced in cultural geography to explore poetry containing directional words. There were two kinds of people among poets who were banished from the northern China: one whose identity didn't change and the other whose did. Some poets still considered themselves as literati whose goals were assuming a key position, and they dreamed of returning to northern China. In comparison, other poets were accustomed to their new lives and said good bye to secular world by praising the pleasure of living in rural areas. Their introspection on identity was shown through their acceptance or rejection on human or natural environment and their usage of directional words. This analysis on poets' identity enables a deep understanding about the main idea of the poem and its writer's thoughts from a conceptual aspect.