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Study of China Tang literature have shown that the service examinations system significantly affect literati, yet there was not a viewpoint about the relationship between system and literature. Thus, this study concerned about a kind of intellectuals stucked in service examinations system, so called “underprivileged literati,” by investigated how did the system intervened the literature-production, literary notion and even values to revealed a clue of Tang-Song transform of literary changes, which started from mid-late Tang period. After many chaos, the service examinations system still kept stable. According to the record, there were only four times for stop the examination during 860 to 907 A.C. In this difficult situation, when many nobility family almost falled into disintegration, the “underprivileged literati” seized the chance to raise up, they rush around from hometown to local government and examination venue to got the official qualification and tried to earn society reputation by poems. There were three theme by study underprivileged literati’s poems: seeking ruler favors, meditation and seclusion. The research results were: (1) About theme of seeking seeking ruler favors, the relationship in poems between ruler and literati did not base on power but resemble confidant, if the ruler willing to. Moreover, the poems demonstrated that the reason why underprivileged literati persist with traveling around was that aim to getting support from powerful men or so-called confidants. (2) Meditation study always have been valued and point out Jia Dao was the keyman formed the notion of meditation, however in terminal Tang the meditation was a literary phenomenon affected by service examinations system. Thus the consequence of participated both meditation and examinations was that the life situation of literati combined examinee and semi-professional poet, and most generally in underprivileged literati. (3) For literati, the quandary about official or seclusion was more difficult due to the official candidate(Jinshi) became a main gate for royal court, replace the direct recruitment from ruler (“Zhongnan shortcut” 終南捷徑). By investigated the key words of the quandary: “trend,” “opportunity” and “destiny,” despite underprivileged literati withdrawned from chaos, the seclusion was temporary and they was ready for service examinations at any time. After all, for underprivileged literati, the the regular operation of system was the foundation of the principle of action and thought, as a result to sustained the belief of ideals.
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