Chang'an on My Mind: A Reading of Lu Zhaolin's "Chang'an, Thoughts on Antiquity"

Lu Zhaolin’s (634-ca. 684) “Chang’an gu yi” :&3F�8u (Chang’an, Thoughts on Antiquity) is among the best-known early Tang poems, part of a group of works by contemporary poets on this theme. Lu’s poem reveals five different Chang’ans: (1) Chang’an itself during the late seventh century depicted through parallels to the Han capital city; (2) the demimonde of the Tang again told as if it were the Han pleasure districts; (3) the corrupt politics of the early Tang; (4) Lu Zhaolin’s assessment of how he failed to fit in any of these three previous worlds; and (5) the Chang’an of Lu’s literary experience as revealed in the allusions and resonances of the poem. This paper reveals many of these allusive layers, arguing that “Chang’an gu yi” is best understood in this context.