Tang Dynasty Poetry

The Peak of Chinese Literary Achievement

In the Tang Dynasty, the composition of poetry came to be used in the examination by which intellectuals entered government service. Because of this, poetry became an integral part of social life, a medium of basic social exchange. Perhaps nowhere else in the world has lyric poetry ever occupied such a central position.

All of the surviving Tang poetry is the product of the literati or scholar-bureaucrats.

Two Primary Purposes•Tang poetry addressed important social and ethical issues. This is what the poets considered to be the primary function of poetry.

•Tang poetry spoke of personal matters—for some it was almost like a diary

•Nature

•Philosophy

•Occasions

Three Main Subjects

Three Major Poets

•Wang Wei—699-761

•Li Po—701-762

•Tu Fu—712-770

Wang Wei 699-761

The Austere Artist

A painter as well as a poet, Wang Wei is best known for his short poems which are noted for their simplicity and which celebrate nature and reflect the Buddhist notion of “emptiness.”

Deer Fence/EnclosureTwo Translations

Translation One

I see no one in the deserted hillsHear only the echo of men’s speech.Sunlight cast back comes deep in the woodsAnd shines once again upon the green mossTranslated by Stephen Owen

Translation Two

On the empty mountain, seeing no one,Only hearing the echoes of someone’s voice;Returning light enters the deep forest,Again shining upon the green moss.Translated by Richard W. Bodman and Victor H. Mair

Li Po 701-762

The Romantic Eccentric

Called the “banished Immortal” by his contemporaries, Li Po wrote poems that are known for their unrestrained emotion, deep appreciation of people, and love of nature.His poetry reflects Taoist tendencies.

DRINKING ALONE WITH THE MOON

From a pot of wine among the flowers I drank alone. There was no one with me -- Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon To bring me my shadow and make us three. Alas, the moon was unable to drink And my shadow tagged me vacantly; But still for a while I had these friends To cheer me through the end of spring.... I sang. The moon encouraged me. I danced. My shadow tumbled after. As long as I knew, we were boon companions. And then I was drunk, and we lost one another. ...Shall goodwill ever be secure? I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

Translated by Witter Brynner

Drinking Alone by MoonlightHere among flowers a single jug of wine,No close friends here, I pour aloneAnd lift cup to bright moon, ask it to join me,Then face my shadow and we become three,The moon never has known how to drink,All my shadow does is follow my body,But with moon and shadow as companions a while,This joy I find must catch spring while it’s here.I sing, the moon just lingers on,I dance, and my shadow scatters wildly.When still sober we share friendship and pleasure,Then entirely drunk each goes his own way—Let us join in travels beyond human feelingsAnd plan to meet far in the river of stars.

Translation by Stephen Owen

To Send to Tu Fu as a Joke

I ran into Tu Fu by a Rice Grain Mountain,In a bamboo hat with the sun at high noonHasn’t he got awfully thin since our parting?It must be the struggle of writing his poems.Translated by Elling Eide

Dialogue in the Mountains

You ask me why I lodge in these emerald hills;I laugh, don’t answer—my heart is at peace.Peach blossoms and flowing waters

go off to mysterious dark, And there is another world

not of mortal men.Translated by Stephen Owen

Tu Fu 712-770

the Confucian Moralist

Often called China’s greatest poet, Tu Fu wrote poems reflecting his political commitment, his social concerns, and his love

of family.

Spending the Night in a Tower by the River

A visible darkness grows up mountain paths, I lodge by river gate high in a study, Frail cloud on cliff edge passing the night, The lonely moon topples amid the waves. Steady, one after another, a line of cranes in flight; Howling over the kill, wild dogs and wolves. No sleep for me. I worry over battles. I have no strength to right the universe

Translated by Stephen Owen

Spring View

The nation is ruined, but mountains and rivers remain. This spring the city is deep in weeds and brush. Touched by the times even flowers weep tears. Fearing leaving the birds tangled hearts. Watch-tower fires have been burning for three months To get a note from home would cost ten thousand gold. Scratching my white hair thinner Seething hopes all in a trembling hairpin.

Translated by Gary Snyder

Moonlit Night

Tonight my wife must watch alone    the full moon over Fu-zhou;I think sadly of my sons and daughters far away,too young to understand this separationor remember our life in Chang'an.In fragrant mist, her flowing hair is damp;In clear moonlight, her jade-white arms are cold.When will we lean at the open casement togetherwhile the moonlight dries our shining tears?

Translated by David Lunde

The Tang poets . . . Employ [ed] poetry to record their deepest and most intimate feelings, crying out for the alleviation of social ills, noting with wry candor the waning of their physical powers, longing for absent friends, or dreaming of the last journey home. And because they dealt with the basic impulses of the human being, their works easily survive the transition into another language and milieu.

Burton Watson, “Tang Poetry: A Return to the Basics”

Some Good Web Sites

http://www.chinese-poems.com/index.htmlGood to study translationshttp://afe.easia.columbia.edu/Columbia web sitehttp://fish-hw.fotopic.net/Beautiful pictures with poemshttp://bystander.homestead.com/intro_tang.htmlFun with Tang Poetrypictures and explanationshttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/frame.htmUniversity of Virginia Web site—300 Tang Poemshttp://www.regenttour.com/chinaplanner/ctu/ctu-sights-dufu.htmThatched cottage of Tu Fu