Tang poetry

Tang

poetry

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Contents

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An overview of Tang poetry

The development of Tang poetry

ing Tang

shing Tang

Tang

Tang

Poetry After the Fall of the Tang Dynasty

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Tang poetry

refers to poetry written in or about China's Tang dynasty, (June 18, 618 - June 4, 907,

including the 690-705 reign of Wu Zetian) and follows a certain style, often considered as the Golden Age

of Chinese poetry. According to a compilation, the Quantangshi, created under the Kangxi emperor of the

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Characteristics of Tang Poetry

The importance of Tang Poetry

Qing Dynasty, there were almost 50,000 Tang poems written by over 2,200 authors. During the Tang

Dynasty, poetry continued to be an important part of social life at all levels of society. Scholars were

required to master poetry for the civil service examinations, but the art was theoretically available to

everyone. This led to a large record of poetry and poets, a partial record of which survives today. Two of

the most famous poets of the period were Du Fu and Li Bai.

The development of Tang Poetry

The Tang Dynasty was long- lasting and covers a time period of many major social and probably linguistic

upheavals. Thus, the genre may be divided into several major more-or-less chronological divisions, based

on developmental stages or stylistic groupings (sometimes even on personal friendships between poets). It

should be remembered that poets may be somewhat arbitrarily assigned to these based on their presumed

biographical dates (not always known); furthermore that the lifetimes of poets towards the beginning or

end of this period may overlap with the preceding Sui Dynasty or the succeeding Five Dynasties and Ten

Kingdoms Period. The chronology of Tang poetry may be divided into four parts: Beginning Tang,

Flourishing Tang, Middle Tang, and Late Tang.

Beginning Tang

In Beginning Tang (

初唐

), the earliest poets to develop the foundation what is now considered to be the

Tang style of poetry inherited a rich and deep literary and poetic tradition, or several traditions. The

Beginning Tang poetry is subdivided into early, middle and late phases.

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Some of the initial poets who began to develop what is considered to be the Tang Dynasty style of

poetry were heavily influenced by the Court Style of the Southern Dynasties (

南朝宫

), referring to the

Southern Dynasties of the Southern and Northern Dynasties time period (420-589 CE) that preceded the

short-lived Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE). The Southern Dynasty Court (or Palace) poems tended towards an

ornate and flowery style and particular vocabulary, partly passed on through continuity of certain

governmental individuals who were also poets, during the transition from Sui to Tang. This group

includes the emperor Li Shimin, the calligrapher Yu Shinan, Zhe Liang (

禇亮

), Li Baiyao, the

governmental

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official Shangguan Yi, and his granddaughter, the governmental official and later imperial consort

Shangguan Wan'er. Indeed, there were many others, as this was a culture that placed a great emphasis on

literature and poetry, at least for persons in official capacity and their social intimates.

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Representative of the middle phase of early Tang were the so- called

Weidao, Cui Rong (

崔融

, 653-706), and Du Shenyan (

杜审言

, from about 645-708). This represents a transitional phase.

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In the late phase the poetic style becomes more typical of what is considered as Tang poetry. A major influence was

Wang Ji (585-644) upon the

初唐四杰

):

杨炯

, 650-692),

Lu Zhaolin (

卢照邻

, 632-695), and Luo Binwang. They each preferred to dispense with literary pretensions in favor of

authenticity.

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Chen Zi'ang (

陈子昂

, 661-702) is credited with being the great poet who finally brought an end to the Beginning

Tang period, casting away the ornate Court style in favor of a hard-hitting, authentic poetry which included political and

social commentary (at great risk to himself), and thus leading the way to the greatness that was to come.

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Flourishing Tang

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