Chinese poetries in the Tang Dynasty

Author: Zhuofan Zhu

Publish date: 25/09/2022

An era of unparalleled power and affluence provided the necessary guarantees for the development of culture and art. Along with the promotion and reform of the imperial examinations[1], more and more people mastered the written word and expressed their emotions in the form of written poetry, which facilitated a beautiful literary environment for creativity. The territorial expansion furnished the Tang dynasty with a boost of confidence. With a stable internal political ambiance and the introduction of new things, the Tang Dynasty's arts soared to a new height. Tang poetry, the most representative and sensitive form of artistic expression reflecting the cultural aesthetics of the Tang Dynasty, came into being.

Reckoned as the jewel in the crown of ancient Chinese art, Tang poetry enjoys a more systematic and sophisticated form, cultivating unique literary characteristics over the course of its long historical evolution. Compared to the previous dynasties' poems or songs, the forms of Tang poetry are multiple. They are divided into two main categories: Gutishi 古体诗 (classical poetry/old form poetry) and Jintishi近体诗 (regulated verse/modern form poetry). As for Gutishi, it owns two types of forms, which are five-syllable(character)-poetry and seven-syllable(character)-poetry. There are also two kinds of Jintishi: Jueju 绝句 (Chinese quatrain), and the other is called Lüshi 律诗, and each is divided into five-character-form and seven-character-form. Hence, there are basically six primary forms of Tang poetry: the five-word Gutishi, the seven-word Gutishi, the five-word Jueju, the seven-word Jueju, the five-word Lüshi, and the seven-word Lüshi.

In contrast to Jintishi, the phonetic rhyme and meter requirements in Gutishi are relatively loose: the number of lines and length of a poem are not limited, and the rhyme scheme of the last rhyming word can be changed during line breaks. However, when it comes to Jintishi, the rhyme and meter demands are much more stringent and sophisticated. First of all, the number of lines in a poem is limited, i.e., four lines for Jueju and eight lines for Lüshi. Besides specific rules for the rhyme and rhythm of the words used in each poem, the rhyming feet cannot be switched. What is more, lüshi also requires that the middle four lines become “Duizhang - 对仗”, which means in two adjacent sentences, the word class in the same position in the sentence must be lexically identical and correspond to each other in meaning. In a sense, this reflects the Chinese aesthetic of symmetry. In addition to being richer in form, Tang poetry is broader and more profound in content as well.

Spring River and Moonlight Night is a long seven-word poem written by Zhang Ruoxu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. This poem is regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese ancient poetry of the Tang Dynasty. Ancient Chinese poets commented on this poem: "One poem alone is trumping all the ancient poems of the entire Tang Dynasty"[2]; the famous scholar Wen Yiduo of modern times also commented on this poem as "the poem of poems, the pinnacle of pinnacles"[3]. The poem follows the old theme of the Chen-Sui Music House, with the river as the scene and the moon as the main subject, depicting a beautiful and picturesque image of a moonlit night on the spring river. The poem expresses the sincere and touching feelings of separation and philosophical sentiments of the wanderer and his wife, breaking through the narrow world of Liang and Chen's poetry, and expressing a vastly different cosmic consciousness. In this process, a deep, silent and tranquil artistic realm is created. The poem is composed of 36 lines, with a rhyme scheme every four lines. The poetic, pictorial, and philosophical moods are integrated throughout the poem, and the language is natural and timeless, with a lively rhythm.

In spring the river rises as high as the sea,

春江潮水连海平，

And with the river's tide uprises the moon bright.

海上明月共潮生。

She follows the rolling waves for ten thousand li

滟滟随波千万里，

Where'er the river flows, there overflows her light.

何处春江无月明！

The river winds around the fragrant islet where

江流宛转绕芳甸，

The blooming flowers in her light all look like snow.

月照花林皆似霰。

You cannot tell her beams from hoar frost in the air,

空里流霜不觉飞，

Nor from white sand upon the Farewell Beach below.

汀上白沙看不见。

No dust has stained the water blending with the skies;

江天一色无纤尘，

A lonely wheellike moon shines brilliant far and wide.

皎皎空中孤月轮。

Who by the riverside did first see the moon rise?

江畔何人初见月？

When did the moon first see a man by riverside?

江月何年初照人？

Many generations have come and passed away;

人生代代无穷已，

From year to year the moons look alike, old and new.

江月年年望相似。

We do not know tonight for whom she sheds her ray,

不知江月待何人，

But hear the river say to its water adieu.

但见长江送流水。

Away, away is sailing a single cloud white;

白云一片去悠悠，

On Farewell Beach are pining away maples green.

青枫浦上不胜愁。

Where is the wanderer sailing his boat tonight?

谁家今夜扁舟子？

Who, pining away, on the moonlit rails would lean?

何处相思明月楼？

Alas! the moon is lingering over the tower;

可怜楼上月徘徊，

It should have seen her dressing table all alone.

应照离人妆镜台。

She may roll curtains up, but light is in her bower;

玉户帘中卷不去，

She may wash, but moonbeams still remain on the stone.

捣衣砧上拂还来。

She sees the moon, but her husband is out of sight;

此时相望不相闻，

She would follow the moonbeams to shine on his face.

愿逐月华流照君。

But message-bearing swans can't fly out of moonlight,

鸿雁长飞光不度，

Nor letter-sending fish can leap out of their place.

鱼龙潜跃水成文。

He dreamed of flowers falling o'er the pool last night; 昨夜闲潭梦落花，

Alas! spring has half gone, but he can't homeward go.

可怜春半不还家。

The water bearing spring will run away in flight;

江水流春去欲尽，

The moon over the pool will in the west sink low.

江潭落月复西斜。

In the mist on the sea the slanting moon will hide;

斜月沉沉藏海雾，

It's a long way from northern hills to southern streams.

碣石潇湘无限路。

How many can go home by moonlight on the tide?

不知乘月几人归，

The setting moon sheds o'er riverside trees but dreams.”

落月摇情满江树。

(Translated version of the poem from scholar Xu Yuanchong)

[1] The Chinese Imperial Examination (Ke Ju Kaoshi科举考试) originated in the Sui Dynasty in Chinese history, and it was reformed and widely applied to select intellectuals during the Tang Dynasty. [2] 孤篇压全唐 [3] 诗中的诗，顶峰中的顶峰