Literary Allusion and the Spread of Chinese ClassicalNovels in the Tang Dynasty

Since the spread of Chinese classical novels in the Tang Dynasty is carried out in a single media,the writers of that time made use of poetry to get them spread.The most prominent method was the application of allusions.By applying allusions,the essences of novels were conveyed,and more importantly,it broke a stagnate attitude that the traditional orthodox writers held toward novels,they believed that novels were not to be read by the literati.The existence of literary allusion in poetry signified an emerging state that novels were deserving more attentions from poets of the Tang Dynasty,which helped improve the status of novels,to accelerate the formation of novel's features,and to make the novels independent.It also promoted the transition that the novels were popularized instead of being monopolized by the group of literati.In addition, literary allusions enriched the contents of poetry, and added to its interest,and vivified the poetical language.