Duan Chengshi, a writer in the Late Tang , compiled an a nthology of ten volumes containing poetry and
prose, named
《 Han Shang Ti Jin Ji 》. It re corded the poetical communications during the tenth to fourteenth year of the Age of Dazh ong of Empe ror Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty (856-860) between
Duan Chengshi, Wen Tingyun, Wen Tinghao, Wei Chan, Yuan Yao, Yu Zhigu, Wang Chuan and Xu Shang e tc, who worke d then in the Secretariat of Xiangyang's Prefecture. The poems of this anthology has long been scattered and lost. Quite a lot of scholars have men tioned and paid attention to it, since The Chronology of Wen Feiqing written by Xia Cheng tao was published, but no specialised study has been seen till now. This text, b ased on the studies of those scholars, tests and recollects a large number of th e scattered works, obtaining forty-eight poems, ten couplets and a hal f, one rh ythmical prose (Fu), two continuous poems (Lianzhu), nineteen letters a nd three broken sentences.The text examines as well the activities of the gro up of Xiang yang's poets concerning this anthology, and makes an appr aisal on their creativ e works of poetry and prose. It points out that the poems of singing praise of prostitutes written by the Xiangyang's poets, especially t hose for making fun of each other by Duan Chengshi and Wen Tingyun, are most attractive a nd appealing. Some of those poems describe the true love story of Wen Tingyun and a singer prostitute, rendering a knowledge background for Wen's life and works as well as the love poetry and Ci-poetry in the Late Tang Dynasty.