The Formation of The Tang Estate Poem

T HE Tang estate poem, although not without precedents, first took on its characteristic features during the second reign of Zhongzong 4 (705-710),' when notices of literary occasions increasingly made reference to estates as such (zhuang XI, shu W, or bieye NIJJ). A new interest was taken in exurban nature, sometimes around Luoyang but primarily in the Chengnan XM region south of Chang'an, and with that interest came a set of values that was to linger on into later estate and garden poetry. Such heightened interest was clearly related to the formation of vast Chengnan estates by the imperial princesses-Taiping JT-4, Anle , and Changning JAlv,who, together with Empress Wei, dominated both the era and the emperor. The estates of the three princesses were all sites of imperial visits mentioned in the