The Three Hundred Tang Poems is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907). It was first compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (1722–1778[1]), who was a Qing Dynasty scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi (蘅塘退士, "Retired Master of Hengtang"). Various later editions also exist. All editions contain slightly more than 300 total poems.[2] The number 300 (or more exactly 305) was a classic number for a poetry collection due to the influence of the Classic of Poetry (詩經, Shijing), which was generally known as The Three Hundred Poems.[1]
Dissatisfied with the anthology Poems by a Thousand Masters (千家詩, Qianjiashi) compiled by Liu Kezhuang in the late Southern Song, and influenced by Ming Dynasty 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, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Chen Zi'ang, Meng Haoran, Han Yu, Du Mu, Bai Juyi, Liu Zhangqing, Cen Shen, Wang Changling, Wei Yingwu, and more.[3][4]
Out of 317 poems in one edition, 90 were in the gushi form and 227 were in the lüshi or the jueju forms.[5]
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 Du Fu, with thirty-nine. Li Bai is a close runner-up, with thirty-four. Wang Wei has twenty-nine poems included in the anthology and Li Shangyin has twenty-four. Meng Haoran has fifteen, Wei Yingwu twelve, Liu Zhangqing eleven, and Du Mu 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 or Bai Juyi. Some important poets,[citation needed] such as Li He, are not represented at all.
The first complete translation of the Three Hundred Tang Poems into English was published as The Jade Mountain, translated by Witter Bynner and Jiang Kanghu. From 1929 through 1972 it went through ten editions.[3] A new translation of the anthology by Peter Harris was published in 2009.[7]
^"Tang Shi – 300 Tang poems". Wengu – Chinese Classics and Translations (in Chinese, English, and French). AFPC. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
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
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