The ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'' is an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of poems from the Chinese

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 ...

(618–907). It was first compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (1722–1778Yu, 64–65), who was a

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi (, "Retired Master of Hengtang"). Various later editions also exist. All editions contain slightly more than 300 total poems. The number 300 (or more exactly 305) was a classic number for a poetry collection due to the influence of the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'' (, ''Shijing''), which was generally known as ''The Three Hundred Poems''. Dissatisfied with the anthology ''Poems by a Thousand Masters'' (, ''Qianjiashi'') compiled by

Liu Kezhuang Liu Kezhuang (, 1187–1269), was a Song Dynasty Chinese poet and literary critic. He is credited with selecting the first version of the anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; i ...

in the late

Southern Song The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending ...

, and influenced by

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

poetry anthologies, Sun selected the poems based on their popularity and educational value. The collection has been popular ever since and can be found in many Chinese households. For centuries, elementary students memorized the poems and used them to learn to read and write. It contains poems by

Du Fu Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Together with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, Du is often considered one of the greatest Chinese poets of his time. His greatest ambition was to serve ...

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), Literary and colloquial readings, also pronounced Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the greatest and most important poets of the Tang dynasty and in Chinese history as a whole. He and hi ...

, Wang Wei,

Chen Zi'ang Chen Zi'ang (, 661 (or 656)–702), courtesy name Boyu (), was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He was important in helping to bring into being the type of poetry which is considered to be characteristically "Tang". Dissatisfied with the ...

Meng Haoran Meng Haoran (; 689/691–740) was a Chinese poet and a major literary figure of the Tang dynasty. He was somewhat an older contemporary of Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu. Despite his brief pursuit of an official career, Meng Haoran spent most of hi ...

Han Yu Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was an essayist, Confucian scholar, poet, and government official during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced t ...

Du Mu Du Mu ( zh, c=杜牧, p=Dù Mù, w=Tu4 Mu4; 803–852) was a Chinese calligrapher, poet, and politician who lived during the late Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Muzhi (), and art name Fanchuan (). He is best known for his lyrical and roma ...

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 ...

Liu Zhangqing Liu Zhangqing ( zh, w=''Liu Chang-ch'ing''; ca. 709–785), often read and Romanized as Liu Changqing, courtesy name Wenfang (), was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Eleven of his poems are included in the popular anthology ...

Cen Shen Cen Shen or Cen Can (), 715–770, was a Chinese poet. He was regarded one of the great Chinese poets during the Tang dynasty. His poems were included in the Three Hundred Poems anthology. Name He is also called Cen Jiazhou (). During the rei ...

Wang Changling Wang Changling (; 698–756) was a major Tang dynasty poet. His courtesy name was Shaobo (). He was originally from Taiyuan in present-day Shanxi province, according to the editors of the '' Three Hundred Tang Poems'', although other sources cla ...

Wei Yingwu Wei Yingwu (; c. 737? – c. 792), courtesy name Yibo (), art name Xizhai (), was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. Twelve of Wei Yingwu's poems were included in the influential '' Three Hundred Tang Poems'' anthology. He was also known by his ...

, and more.

Organization of poems

The original Qing Dynasty version of the ''300 Tang Poems'' was organized by the poem's formal type, of which there were seven: *Folk song-styled verse (''

yuefu ''Yuefu'' are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. The term originally literally meant " Music Bureau", a reference to the imperial Chinese governmental organization(s) originally charged with collecting or writing the lyrics, later the ...

'') *Ancient verse ('' gushi''): **Five-character ancient verse **Seven-character ancient verse *Modern-style verse ('' jintishi''): **Eight-line regulated verse ('' lüshi''): ***Five-character regular verse ***Seven-character regular verse **Quatrain (''

jueju ''Jueju'' (), or Chinese quatrain, is a type of '' jintishi'' ("modern form poetry") that grew popular among Chinese poets in the Tang dynasty (618–907), although traceable to earlier origins. ''Jueju'' poems are always quatrains; or, more sp ...

''): ***Five-character quatrain ***Seven-character quatrain Out of 317 poems in one edition, 90 were in the ''gushi'' form and 227 were in the ''lüshi'' or the ''jueju'' forms.

Poets

The poets of the ''Tang shi'' include a number of authors ranging from the well-known and famous to obscure or anonymous poets, and even include at least one emperor. The poet with the most pieces included in this collection is

, with thirty-nine.

is a close runner-up, with thirty-four. Wang Wei has twenty-nine poems included in the anthology and

Li Shangyin Li Shangyin ( zh, c=李商隱, p=Lǐ Shāngyǐn, 813858), courtesy name Yishan ( zh, c=義山), was a Chinese poet and politician of the late Tang dynasty, born in the Henei Commandery (now Qinyang, Henan). He is noted for his imagist and "n ...

has twenty-four.

has fifteen,

twelve,

eleven, and

ten. After that, each of the other poets' included pieces number in the single digits; however, some of these poets are quite important, such as

Liu Zongyuan Liu Zongyuan (; 77328 November 819)，courtesy name Zihou (), was a Chinese philosopher, prose writer, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a leader of th ...

. Some important poets, such as

Li He Li He ( – ) was a Chinese poet of the Tang poetry#Middle Tang, mid-Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Changji, and he is also known as Guicai and Shigui. He was prevented from taking the imperial examination due to a naming taboo. He died ve ...

, are not represented at all.

Translations

The first complete translation of the ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'' into English was published as ''The Jade Mountain'', translated by

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures ther ...

and

Jiang Kanghu Jiang Kanghu (; Hepburn: ''Kō Kōko''), who preferred to be known in English as Kiang Kang-hu, (July 18, 1883 – December 7, 1954), was a politician and activist in the Republic of China. His former name was "Shaoquan" () and he also wrot ...

. From 1929 through 1972 it went through ten editions. A new translation of the anthology by Peter Harris was published in 2009.

References

Sources

* Wu, John C. H. (1972). ''The Four Seasons of Tang Poetry''. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle. *

Watson, Burton Burton Dewitt Watson (June 13, 1925April 1, 2017) was an American sinologist, translator, and writer known for his English translations of Chinese and Japanese literature. Watson's translations received many awards, including the Gold Medal Awa ...

(1971). ''CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century''. (New York: Columbia University Press). * Rexroth, Kenneth (1970). '' Love and the Turning Year: One Hundred More Poems from the Chinese''. New York: New Directions. *Yu, Pauline (2002). "Chinese Poetry and Its Institutions", in ''Hsiang Lectures on Chinese Poetry, Volume 2'', Grace S. Fong, editor. Montreal: Center for East Asian Research, McGill University.

External links

www.zhongwen.com''300 Tang Poems''
at the

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