Cultural Mentality of Scholars of the Tang Dynasty as Viewed from Poetry Written after their Failure in Imperial Exams

Poetry written by scholars of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 709) after they failed in imperial civil examinations have unique cultural values in that it has exemplified their cultural morals, self-evaluation and interior life. The paper mainly analyses the cultural mentality of such scholars: their frustration and sense of shame, their homesickness as vagrants, their eagerness to be recognized, and their being caught in a dilemma whether to keep forging ahead or to retire from public life.