Abstract: There are various reasons for the narrative turn in the development of traditional literature after the Middle Tang Dynasty. The internal reasons are the accumulation of narrative traditions in the Chinese literary tradition since the mythology of the pre-Qin Dynasty,The Book of Poetry and history and biography literature. The most important external reasons are the influence of the narrative nature of civic literature on elegant literature that flourished after the Middle Tang Dynasty with the marketization and commercialization of literature, resulting in the legendaryization of ancient literature, the intensification of the narrative nature of words, and the narrative turn of poetry. The narrative nature of poetry has turned into a literary phenomenon.

Key words: Tang and Song literature, narrative tradition, citizen literature, legendization of classic literature, narrative of poetry