From Political Uncertainty to Poetic Mastery: A Study of the Imperial Poems Composed by the Scholars of the Jinglong Literary Academy

The group of scholars at the Jinglong Literary Academy were active in the period following the Wu Zhou era and during Emperor Zhongzong’s restoration to the throne; their imperial commission poetry marked a pivotal transition from the court literature of the early Tang to the poetic style of the High Tang. Whilst existing research has largely emphasised the praise-of-the-sovereign function and courtly nature of such poetry, the imperial commission poetry of the Jinglong era—within its highly institutionalised stylistic conventions—also reveals a complex interplay between political expression, emotional regulation and poetic craftsmanship.On the one hand, Jinglong poets were required to adhere to the fundamental demands of composing poetry on command to extol the sovereign and embellish the imperial legacy; on the other hand, they found themselves in a state of political ambivalence and uncertainty due to the complex power dynamics arising from the restoration of the Li Tang dynasty, the lingering legacy of the Wu Zhou era, and Empress Wei’s interference in state affairs.This sense of unease prompted the poets to shift the focus of their expression towards imagery, syntax and linguistic craftsmanship, endowing imperial commission poetry with richer layers of meaning beyond the conventional formulaic praise of the sovereign. The significance of the Jinglong Literary Academy scholars lies not merely in their documentation of court poetic exchanges, but also in the fact that their works demonstrate a deepening of meaning and aesthetic self-awareness within the institutionalised poetic form; they represent an indispensable transitional phase in the evolution of early Tang poetry towards the High Tang period.