Mentality and Works of Scholars from ZHANG Zhuo's Family of Shenzhou in Tang Dynasty

The ZHANGs, in Shenzhou (current Hengshui, Hebei Province) during Tang Dynasty, were a famous family of scholars represented by ZHANG Zhuo, ZHANG Jian, and ZHANG Du. They were not only government officials but also literary figures. ZHANG Zhuo was a representative scholar in the heyday of Tang Dynasty, and his work Travel to Caves of the Immortals demonstrated the positive and confident spirit of literati in the heyday of Tang Dynasty. During the mid-Tang, ZHANG Jian, on the other hand, changed his grandfather's literary style. The style in A Collection of Supernatural Beings by ZHANG Jian was deep and steady, with elegant and graceful writing, revealing his concerns and feelings about the current situation, and reflecting the nostalgia and illusionary mentality among common literati in mid-Tang. ZHANG Du lived in late Tang Dynasty, by which the Dynasty had shown signs of decline. His work Strange Tales revealed a distinct sense of depression and despair, the mentality of resigning from office and seeking refuge to avoid being entrapped. The changes in the mental state of the three scholars from the ZHANGs reflect the changing political situation of Tang Dynasty at different times.