''Chang Hen Ge'' () is a literary masterpiece from the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

by the famous Chinese poet

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; , Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin pinyin ''Bǎi Jūyì''; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician during the Tang dynasty. Many of his poems concern his career o ...

(772–846). It retells the love story between

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Throu ...

and his favorite concubine

Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bing'shen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the ''Zhi'de'' era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on the ...

(719–756). This long narrative poem is dated from 809.

Influence

A long list of literary, political, visual, musical and film works have been based on or referenced by ''Chang Hen Ge''. Immediately after the poem had been written, its influence spread. Bai Juyi's friend Chen Hong (陳鴻, fl. 810s) created a dramatic version, ''Chang Hen Zhuan'', which later inspired ''Rain on the Paulownia Tree'' (''Wutong Yu'') by Bai Pu (1226–after 1306) and ''

The Palace of Eternal Youth ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' (), also translated as ''The Palace of Eternal Youth'', is a play written by Hong Sheng () in the Qing dynasty. He absorbed certain material from the long narrative poem '' The Song of Everlasting Sorrow'' writte ...

'' (''Changsheng Dian'') by Hong Sheng (, 1645–1704). Chogonka Emaki by Kano Sansetsu

Painter Li Yishi (, 1886–1942) illustrated the poem with a series of thirty paintings. In classical music the poem has been set as a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

by Huang Zi (1933) and as an

orchestral song The orchestral song (German ') is a late romantic genre of classical music for solo voices and orchestra. History What was effectively song with instrumental accompaniment – the cantata and the aria – had been part of music since the early bar ...

by Mo Fan (1991). The poem is referenced in the writings of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

. Author

Madeleine Thien Madeleine Thien (; pinyin: Dèng Mǐnlíng; b. 1974) is a Canadian short story writer and novelist. ''The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature'' has considered her work as reflecting the increasingly trans-cultural nature of Canadian literature ...

quotes from the poem in the closing pages of her award-winning 2016 novel, '' Do Not Say We Have Nothing''. Wang Anyi's 1995 novel '' The Song of Everlasting Sorrow'' shares the same title as the poem () but tells a story about a woman's turbulent life in 20th-century Shanghai. It was adapted into the 2005 Hong Kong film '' Everlasting Regret''. The poem is central to the plot of ''

Legend of the Demon Cat ''Legend of the Demon Cat'' () is a 2017 Xianxia fantasy mystery film co-written and directed by Chen Kaige, based on the Japanese novel series by Baku Yumemakura. A Chinese- Japanese-Hong Kong co-production, the film released in December 22, 2 ...

''. In this 2017 historical fantasy film directed by

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige ( zh, s=陈凯歌, link=no; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, Chen is known for his visual flair and epic storytelling.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: His ...

, poet

is solving a murder case together with monk

Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...

. Throughout the film, Bai Juyi is struggling to finish his poem about the legendary beauty of Yang Guifei, without realizing that the murder case is also related to her death, a generation ago. It had a great influence on

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...

during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, including ''Genji Monogatari''.

Interpretation

The poem might look like it retells the love story between Emperor Xuanzong of Tong and his favorite concubine Yang Guifei. But actually the poem reveals Bai Juyi's disappointment towards the Tang Government at that time. According to The Notes of Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Zhou Tian, the poem's opening section was sarcastic about Tang Xuanzhong's excesses due to his passion for Concubine Yang and his disregard for his royal duties. However, the poem's second section concentrates on the romantic tale of the two lovers. Zhou Tian believed that Bai Juyi was using this part to show that Concubine Yang was alluring and accountable for the Tang dynasty's downfall in life and death.

References

External links

*https://www.gushiwen.cn/GuShiWen_c79924d76e.aspx {{Portal bar, Poetry, China Tang dynasty poetry Love stories Love poems Chinese poems

Influence

Interpretation

References

Further reading

External links