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
Three Main Subjects
•Nature
•Philosophy
•Occasions
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/Enclosure
Two Translations
Translation One
I see no one in the deserted hills
Hear only the echo of men’s speech.
Sunlight cast back comes deep in the woods
And shines once again upon the green moss
Translated 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 Moonlight
Here among flowers a single jug of wine,
No close friends here, I pour alone
And 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 feelings
And 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 noon
Hasn’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 separation
or 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 together
while 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.html
Good to study translations
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/
Columbia web site
http://fish-hw.fotopic.net/
Beautiful pictures with poems
http://bystander.homestead.com/intro_tang.html
Fun with Tang Poetry
pictures and explanations
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/frame.htm
University of Virginia Web site—300 Tang Poems
http://www.regenttour.com/chinaplanner/ctu/ctu-sightsdufu.htm
Thatched cottage of Tu Fu