Li Sixun, “Sailboat and Pavilion” Li Daozhao, “Minghuang fled To Shu”

Li Sixun, “Sailboat andPavilion”

Li Daozhao, “Minghuang fled

To Shu”

Zhou Fang, “Palace Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses,” mid-Tang

Wu Daozi, “Heavenly King Delivers Child,” High Tang

Tang Poetry: New trend and ancient tradition

Changed from the courtly, aesthetic tradition of the southern dynasties to the “ancient style” poetic tradition of the pre-Qin period of Zhou.

Courtly, aesthetic tradition: Form, diction, structure: rigid, Vocabulary: elegant, ornate, indirect Rigidity: required a fixed number of syllables (words), the

use of parallelism, the set patterns of tones (level vs. oblique).

• The rigid formula developed into so-called “regulated verse” ( 律詩 lǜ shī)

Ancient style: Form, diction, structure: free and flexible Language: simple, plain, direct

Four periods of Tang poetry: Early Tang (before Xuanzong)

• Wang Ji, Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaoling, Luo Bingwang

High Tang: (Xuanzong’s Period)• Chen Ziang, Li Bo (Bai), Du Fu, Wang Wei

Mid Tang: (Post -An Lushan Rebellion) Late Tang: (Post-Yuanhe Period)

Tang Poetry—High Tang

The civil service examination system yielded many talented scholar-officials, who were also talented poets

Leading poets of the High Tang (713-765)Wang Wei (699?-761)Li Bai (Li Po) (701-762)Du Fu (Tu Fu) (712-770)

Wang Wei (699-761)

Holder of the jinshi degree; spent most of his time in Chang’an during his official career

A devout Buddhist Styled himself Vimalakirti, or Mojie

Also a musician and a master of Chinese painting

Known for many of his short poems describing the time he lived in his country retreat surrounded by natural landscape

Wang Wei’s poems express personal view of the world and demonstrate calm and detachment apparently influenced by Buddhism

His poems tend to convey Buddhist doctrines of tranquility, emptiness, and the sentiment concerning personal enlightenment

Wang Wei’s poems express personal view of the world and demonstrate calm and detachment apparently influenced by Buddhism

His poems tend to convey Buddhist doctrines of tranquility, emptiness, and the sentiment concerning personal enlightenment

Wang Wang WeiWei’’s s PoemsPoems

Most popular: “Deer fence” “Bamboo Mile

Lodge” “See Someone

Off” “At My Country

Home in Chung-nan”

“Visiting the Temple of Accumulated Fragrance”

“Wang Stream Collection”

Wang WeiSnowed River

Bamboo Bamboo Mile Mile

LodgeLodge

Deer Deer FenceFence

Alone I sit in dark bamboo, Strumming the lute, whistling away; Deep woods that no one knows, Where a bright moon comes to

shine on me

Empty hills, no one in sight, Only the sound of someone talking; Late sunlight enters the deep woods, Shinning over the green moss again.

ClimbClimb upup thethe HebeiHebeicitycity

towertower

…. Fire on shore, a lone boat spends

the night, Fisherman’s houses, here evening

birds return. Vast and empty, Heaven and Earth

grow dark, The heart calm as the broad

stream.

Seeing Seeing someone someone

offoff

We dismount; I give you wine And ask, where are you off to? You answer, nothing goes right!--- Back home to lie down by Southern

Mountain. Go then—I’ll ask no more— There’s no end to white clouds there.

Li Bai (Li Bo, 701-762) Li Bai (Li Bo, 701-762)

Probably the greatest poet in Chinese Probably the greatest poet in Chinese history, capable of gaining immediate history, capable of gaining immediate recognition in his timerecognition in his time

Never took examination but was appointed Never took examination but was appointed to a post in the Hanlin academy by to a post in the Hanlin academy by Emperor XuanzongEmperor Xuanzong

CalledCalled himselfhimself thethe “banished“banished immortal”,immortal”, hehe isis known for his fondness for wine and his known for his fondness for wine and his ability to improvise poems after drinkingability to improvise poems after drinking

BornBorn toto whatwhat maymay havehave beenbeen aa TurkishTurkish familyfamily inin SichuanSichuan

WroteWrote thethe genius’genius’ poemspoems whichwhich areare inimitableinimitable

Characteristics of his Characteristics of his poemspoems– Creative use of earlier Creative use of earlier

styles and reworking of styles and reworking of traditional themestraditional themes

– Demonstrate an air of Demonstrate an air of playfulness, hyperbole, playfulness, hyperbole, fantasy, all in an fantasy, all in an effortless and effortless and spontaneous spontaneous employment of the art of employment of the art of versificationversification

Many poems

satirize the world

of fawning and

hypocrisy, show

his rapport with

nature and his

love of wine

Many in woman’s

voice express

women’s

loneliness,

solitude, and

helplessness

caused by being

abandoned

Li Li BaiBai’’s s

PoemsPoems

Most popular “Ziye Song” “Bring the Wine” “Viewing the

Waterfall at Mt. Lu”

“Still Night Thoughts”

“At Yellow Crane Tower”

“Seeing a Friend Off”

“Drinking Alone under the Moon.” Jing Hao

“Mt. Lu Scroll”

DrinkingDrinking alonealone underunder

thethe moon moon

(1)(1)

Here among the flowers a single jug of wine,

No close friends here, I pour alone

And lifting cup to bright moon, ask it to join me,

Then face my shadow, and we become three.

….

Drinking Drinking alonealoneunder under

the the moon moon

(2)(2)

If Heaven itself did not love wine, Then no wine star would shine in the

sky. And if Earth also did not have wine, Earth would have no such place as

Wine Fountain. …. If wise men and sages are already

drinkers, What is the use of seeking gods and

fairies? With three cups, I understand the great

Way. With one jar, I am at one with Nature. ….

PoemsPoems inin

AncientAncient StyleStyle

Westward I climbed to Lotus Blossom Peak,

Far in the distance I saw the bright star: In her pale hand she held a lotus Stepping in emptiness, pacing pure

ether. Her rainbow robes trailed broad sashes Then fluttering in wind, she rose up to

Heaven. She invited me to climb Cloud Terrace

Peak On high to salute Wei Shuqing, the

immortal. ….

Viewing Viewing the the

waterfall waterfall at at

Mountain Mountain LuLu

Sunglight streaming on Incense Stone kindles violet smoke;

Far off I watch the waterfall plunge to the long river.

Flying water descending straight tree thousand feet

Till I think the Milky Way has tumbled from the ninth height of Heaven

Still Still Night Night

ThoughtsThoughts

At At Yellow Yellow Crane Crane TowerTower

Moonlight in front of my bed— I took it for frost on the ground! I lift my head, gaze at the bright moon Lower it and dream of home.

My old friend takes leave of the west at Yellow Crane Tower

In misty third-month blossoms goes downstream to Yangzhou

The far-off of his lone sail disappears in the blue-green void,

And all I see is the long river flowing to the edge of the sky.

• Have you never seen The Yellow River waters descending from the sky,• Racing restless toward the ocean, never to return?• Have you never seen Bright mirrors in high halls, the white-haired ones

lamenting,• Their black silk of morning by evening turned to snow?• If life is to have meaning, seize every joy you can;• Do not let the golden cask sit idle in the moonlight!

Guan Tong,“Evening Green on

Autumn Mountain”

• Heaven gave me talents and meant them to be used;• Gold scattered by the thousand comes home to me

again.• Boil the mutton, roast the ox—we will be merry,• At one bout no less than three hundred cups• Master Cen! Scholar Danqiu• Bring wine and no delay!• For you I’ll sing a song—• Be pleased to bend your ears and hear• Bells and drums, food rare as jade---these aren’t worth

prizing;• All I ask is to be drunk forever, never to sober up!

• Sages and worthies from antiquity—all gone into silence;

• Only the great drinkers have left a name behind.• The prince of Chen once feasted in the Hall of Calm Delight;• Wine, then thousand coins a cask,

flowed for his revelers’ joy.• Why does my host tell me the money has run out?• Buy more wine at once—my friends have cups to be

refilled!• My dappled mount, my furs worth a thousand—• Call the boy, have him take them

and barter for fine wine!• Together we’ll wash away ten

thousand years of sorrow.

Chinese poems and their English translations appear in London Subway as a part of the

"China in London" season.Feb. 2006. This one is by Li Bai. Also displayed are

Du Fu’s and Bai Juyi’s poems

Du Fu (712-770)Du Fu (712-770) Born in a distinguished Born in a distinguished

literary family but never literary family but never passed the civil service passed the civil service examination after examination after repeated attempts.repeated attempts.

Recommended to hold Recommended to hold minor official posts; not minor official posts; not successful in official successful in official careercareer ““He was imbued with He was imbued with

strong Confucian sense of strong Confucian sense of duty that kept him striving duty that kept him striving to serve the dynastyto serve the dynasty…”…”

Zhang Xuan, “Court Ladies Preparing Newly-woven Silk” Copied in 12th by Song Huizong

Du Du FuFu’’s s

Poems Poems

Full of sincere and compassionate tone, which led to the epithet of “Sage of Poetry” bestowed on him in his honor.

Most popular:“Song of Beautiful Ladies”; “Spring Prospect” “Lovely Lady” ; “Presented to Wei Pa,” “Facing Snow,” “Dreaming of Li Bai” ; “A Guest Arrives,” “A Traveler at Night Writes His Thoughts”

FacingFacing thethe

snowsnow

Weeping over battle, many new ghosts, In sorrow reciting poems, an old man

alone. A tumult of clouds sinks downward in

sunset, Hard-pressed, the snow dances in

whirlwinds. Ladle cast down, no green lees in the cup, The brazier lingers, fire seems crimson. From several provinces, now news has

ceased, I sit here in sorrow tracing words in the

air.

My Thatched Roof Is Ruined by the

Autumn Wind

tr. B. Watson

…. If I could get a mansion with a

thousand, ten thousand rooms, [It would be] A great shelter for

all the world’s scholars, together in joy.

Solid as a mountain, the elements could not move it.

Oh! If I could see this house before me,

I'd happily freeze to death in my broken hut!

Thinking of Li Bai

at the End of the Sky

tr. D. Hawkes

Cold wind rises at the end of the sky, What thoughts occupy the gentleman's

mind? What time will the wild goose come? The rivers and lakes are full of

autumn’s waters. Literature and worldly success are

opposed, Demons exult in human failure. Talk together with the hated poet, Throw a poem into Miluo river.

Presented to Wei Ba Presented to Wei Ba (by Du Fu)(by Du Fu)

• Life is not made for meetings;Life is not made for meetings;• like stars at opposite ends of the sky we move.like stars at opposite ends of the sky we move.• What night is it, then, tonight,What night is it, then, tonight,• When we can share the light of this lamp?When we can share the light of this lamp?• Youth—how long did it last?Youth—how long did it last?• The two of us grey-headed now,The two of us grey-headed now,• We ask about old friends—half are ghosts;We ask about old friends—half are ghosts;• Cries of unbelief stab the heart.Cries of unbelief stab the heart.• Who would have thought?—twenty yearsWho would have thought?—twenty years• And once again I enter your house.And once again I enter your house.

• You weren’t married when I left you;• Now suddenly a whole row of boys and girls• Merrily greeting their father’s friend,• Asking me what places I’ve been.• Before I finished answering,• You send the boys to set out wine and a meal,• Spring scallions cut in night rain,• New cooked rice mixed with yellow millet.• Meetings are rare enough, you say;• Pour the wine till we’ve downed ten cups!• But ten cups do not make me drunk;• Your steadfast love is what moves me now.• Tomorrow hills and ranges will part us,• The wide world coming between us again.

Du Fu’s poem decorating London’s underground

Yan Liben“The Audience,”

Early TangTaizong gave an

audience to Tibetan envoys

Han Gan, “Night-shining White,”

High Tang

Pure Land Transformation,Dunhuang, Tang

Paradise of Amitabha, Buddha, Late 9th century,

cave 17, Dunhuang,

Huang Quan, “Sketch of Rare Bird Scroll”Five Dynasties

Han Huang (mid-Tang), “Five Oxen,” NPM, Beijing

Poets and Poetry

• Many poets were scholars, courtiers or statesmen.

• emperors and minister could be poets.

• Women wrote poems and some became eminent poetesses—Xue Tao (768-832), Li Jilan (high Tang), Yu Xuanji (late Tang)

• Poetry enriched intellectual discourse

• Poetry writing was regarded as the most important communication skill

• Poetry became a vocation worthy of devoting one’s life time to it

• Poetic style of a poet is identified with the poet’s personality

• “The poet suffers making poems” became celebrated

• Poets dedicated to this vocation in the way that ascetic monks devoted to austerity• “Bitter chanting,” ( 苦吟 kŭ yín), which celebrated

“painstaking composition,” became their greatest virtue.

• “Poetry as a learned craft” found its expression in the poet’s obsession, or even addiction, to the art of versification

Going out East Gate

byMengJiao

…. During my life I’ve woven A thousand poems in the diction

of the Great Odes. My road is as though spun from a

silkworm, Round and round as my twisted,

knotted guts.

Poets and Poetry Anthologies

• Poets “exchanged” poems to “sing harmony with” ( 唱和 chàng hè ) one another.

• Their poems were put together into anthologies

• Collection of an individual poet’s verses emerged, often can be used to study the poet’s career and literary accomplishment.

Writing on the

Bookcase of my

Collected

Works

Bai Juyi(Bo Juyi)

I broke up a cypress to make a bookcase, The case sturdy, the cypress strong. Whose collection is stored there? The heading says Bo Letian [Juyi] My lifetime’s capital/inheritance in in writing From childhood to old age. Seventy scrolls from beginning to end, In size, three thousand pieces. I know well that at last they will be scattered, But I cannot bear to rashly throw them away… … I can only entrust it to my daughter To keep and pass on to my grandchild.

…. Eyes deeper than the Xiang rivers, A nose higher than the Hua

mountain.

Page 168. By Lu Yanmeng ( 陸巖夢 )

Presented to Huyu’s Daughter in A Banquet