Li Bai, also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai, was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were two of the most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang dynasty, which is often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry". The expression "Three Wonders" denotes Li Bai's poetry, Pei Min's swordplay, and Zhang Xu's calligraphy.
The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature vernacular fiction novels that arose during the Ming dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Song dynasty (960–1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun (1881–1936) is considered an influential voice of baihua literature in China.
Li Yu, before 961 known as Li Congjia (李從嘉), also known as Li Houzhu, was the third ruler of the Southern Tang state during imperial China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned from 961 until 976, when he was captured by the invading Song dynasty armies which annexed his kingdom. He died by poison on orders of Emperor Taizong of Song after 2 years as an exiled prisoner.
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poetry generally falls into one of two primary types, Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry.
Luo Binwang, courtesy name Guanguang (觀光/观光), was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. His family was from Wuzhou, modern Yiwu, Zhejiang, but he was raised in Shandong. Luo is grouped with Lu Zhaolin, Wang Bo, and Yang Jiong as the Four Paragons of the Early Tang, the most outstanding poets of their time.
Meng Haoran was a major Tang dynasty poet, and a somewhat older contemporary of Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu. Despite his brief pursuit of an official career, Meng Haoran mainly lived in and wrote about the area in which he was born and raised, in what is now Hubei province, China. Meng Haoran was a major influence on other contemporary and subsequent poets of the High Tang era because of his focus on nature as a main topic for poetry. Meng Haoran was also prominently featured in the Qing dynasty poetry anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, having the fifth largest number of his poems included, for a total of fifteen, exceeded only by Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, and Li Shangyin. These poems of Meng Haoran were available in the English translations by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kanghu, by 1920, with the publication of The Jade Mountain. The Three Hundred Tang Poems also has two poems by Li Bai addressed to Meng Haoran, one in his praise and one written in farewell on the occasion of their parting company. Meng Haoran was also influential to Japanese poetry.
The Lu Xun Literary Prize 鲁迅文学奖 is a literary prize awarded by China Writers Association. It is one of China's top four literary prizes and is named after Lu Xun and has been awarded every three years since 1995. Its predecessor, the National Outstanding Short Story Award and National Outstanding Novella Award, was established since the beginning of the new-era literature in the early 1980s.
The Lantingji Xu, or Lanting Xu, is a piece of Chinese calligraphy work generally considered to be written by the well-known calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303–361) from the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420).
Yuan Zhen, courtesy name Weizhi (微之), was a Chinese novelist, poet, and politician of the middle Tang dynasty. In prose literature, Yuan Zhen is particularly known for his work Yingying's Biography, which has often been adapted for other treatments, including operatic and musical ones. In poetry, he is remembered for the inclusion of some of his poems by popular anthologies, his verses on exotic topics, and for being part of the group of "New Yuefu" poets, which often used poetry as a form of expression and protest, but one potentially subtle enough to avoid the likely repercussions of more direct criticism. The poetic circle in which Yuan Zhen was involved included Bai Juyi, among others. Politically Yuan Zhen was briefly chancellor, during the reign of Emperor Muzong.
Shangguan Wan'er was a Chinese politician, poet, and imperial consort of the Wu Zhou and Tang dynasties. Described as a "female prime minister," Shangguan rose from modest origins as a palace servant to become secretary and leading advisor to Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou. Under Empress Wu, Shangguan exercised responsibility for drafting imperial edicts and earned approbation for her writing style. She retained her influence as consort to Wu's son and successor, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, holding the imperial consort rank of Zhaorong (昭容). Shangguan was also highly esteemed for her talent as a poet. In 710, after Emperor Zhongzong's death, Shangguan was killed during a palace coup that ended the regency of Empress Dowager Wei.
Tengwang Ge Xu, full name Preface to a Farewell Feast Atop the Prince Teng's Pavilion in Autumn or Preface to Poems on the Prince of Teng's Pavilion, is a piece of literature by Wang Bo of the Tang dynasty. It is considered a founding piece of Tang Literature.
Tang poetry refers to poetry written in or around the time of or in the characteristic style of China's Tang dynasty, and/or follows a certain style, often considered as the Golden Age of Chinese poetry. The Quan Tangshi includes over 48,900 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 exams, 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. The two most famous poets of the period were Li Bai and Du Fu. The Qing dynasty selection,Three Hundred Tang Poems, has made Tang poetry familiar to educated Chinese in modern times.
The Four Paragons of the Early Tang is a group name for four Chinese poets of the early Tang dynasty: Luo Binwang, Lu Zhaolin, Wang Bo, and Yang Jiong.
Xu Yuanchong was a Chinese translator, best known for translating Chinese ancient poems into English and French. He was a professor at Peking University since 1983.
Wuyi Lane is located on the south side of Qinhuai River in Nanjing. During the Three Kingdoms period, it was the barracks of the army guarding the Stone City of Wu. The name Wuyi means black clothes. This was because the non-commissioned officers at that time always dress in black. Later the aristocrats of Eastern Jin (317-420) gradually assembled at Wuyi Lane, making it popular and famous. In addition, Wang Dao and Xie An, the two founding fathers of Eastern Jin, once lived here. The poem Wuyi Lane, written by Tang poet Liu Yuxi is based on it. In 1997, the government of Qinhuai District restored Wuyi Lane and rebuilt Wang and Xie Former Residence 王谢故居 to commemorate Wang Dao and Xie An. It is built in Ming and Qing styles.
Yang Jiong was a Tang dynasty Chinese poet, traditionally grouped together with Luo Binwang, Lu Zhaolin, and Wang Bo as the Four Paragons of the Early Tang. Known for his eight extant fu (rhapsody) poems, he also wrote an influential preface to the collected works of Wang Bo, in which he criticized the excessive formality of the court poetry of the preceding generation, and lauded the classical style of Wang Bo and Lu Zhaolin.
Qiji, also known by his art name Hengyue Shamen, was a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk and poet. Qiji wrote more than 852 poems, after Li Bai (701-762), Du Fu (712-770), Bai Juyi (772-846), Yuan Zhen (779-831), he ranks at the fifth position in terms of numbers of poems within the Tang poets. He was one of the big three of Tang dynasty poetmonks (诗僧), along with Guanxiu (832-912) and Jiaoran (730-799).
Li Shunxian was a Chinese poet celebrated for her beauty and poetic talent. She was a concubine of Wang Yan, the Chinese Emperor of Former Shu. She was famous for being a Chinese woman of Persian ancestry who was an accomplished poet in the Chinese language.
Xu Jian, also known as Xu Yuangu, was a literary figure from the Tang dynasty. He is the author of "the Great Hidden Biography" and "the Beginning of Learning Records".
Song Ruozhao was a Chinese Confucian scholar, poet and imperial official of the Tang dynasty (618–906). Her extant works include one poem, a short fiction story and her annotation to her sister's work: Analects for Women, a book about the proper roles and code of conduct for women, and a biography of Niu Yingzhen.
