Tang Poetry (唐诗)

Tang PoetryTang poetry (táng shī 唐诗) refers to poetry written during China's Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝), often considered as the Golden Age of Chinese poetry. According to a compilation created under the Kangxi (kāng xī 康熙) emperor of the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), there were almost 50,000 Tang poems written by over 2,200 authors.

During the Tang Dynasty, poetry became an important part of social life at all levels of society. Scholars were required to master poetry for the civil service examinations, but the art was available to everyone. This led to a large record of poetry and poets, a partial record of which survives today. Two of the most famous poets of the period were Du Fu (dù fǔ 杜甫) and Li Bai (lǐ bái 李白).

 

Three Hundred Tang Poems
The Three Hundred Tang Poems (Táng shī sān bǎi shǒu 唐诗三百首) were compiled by the Qing scholar Sun Zhu (sūn zhū 孙洙), also called "Retired Master of Hengtang" (héng táng tuì shì 衡塘退士), and published in 1764. Sun was not very pleased with the poems of the anthology Qianjiashi (qiān jiā shī 千家诗) "A thousand master's poems" because of its lack of educational spirit. His own compilation became so popular that it is enclosed in a corpus of books that are found in almost every household still today.

 

Five-character-regular-verse (wǔ yán lǜ shī 五言律诗)

A Spring View (chūn wàng 春望)  Du Fu (dù fǔ 杜甫)

A Spring ViewThough a country be sundered, hills and rivers endure;
And spring comes green again to trees and grasses wher petals have been shed like tears;
And lonely birds have sung their grief.
After the war-fires of three months, one message from home is worth a ton of gold.
I stroke my white hair. It has grown too thin to hold the hairpins any more.

Du Fu

 

Du Fu (杜甫 dù fǔ) was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Bai, he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.His own greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan (ān lù shān 安禄山) Rebellion of 755, and the last 15 years of his life were a time of almost constant unrest.

 

In the Quiet NightFive-character-quatrain (wǔ yán jué jù 五言绝句)

In the Quiet Night (jìng yè sī 静夜思)  Li Bai (lǐ bái 李白)

So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed.
Could there have been a frost already?
Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight. Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.

 

Li BaiLi Bai (Lǐ Bái 李白)was a Chinese poet. He was part of the group of Chinese scholars called the "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup"(yǐn zhōng bā xiān 饮中八仙) in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. Li Bai is often regarded, along with Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in China's literary history. Approximately 1,100 of his poems remain today.

Like Du Fu, he spent much of his life travelling, although in his case it was because his wealth allowed him to, rather than because his poverty forced him. He is said to have drowned in the Yangtze River, having fallen from his boat while drunkenly trying to embrace the reflection of the moon.


Seven-character-quatrain (qī yán jué jù 七言绝句)

A Song at WeichengA Song at Weicheng (wèi chéng qǚ 渭城曲)  Wang Wei (wáng wéi 王维)
 

A morning-rain has settled the dust in Weicheng.
Willows are green again in the tavern dooryard.
Wait till we empty one more cup.
West of Yang Gate there'll be no old friends.

Wang Wei is one of the three most admired Tang dynasty poets, alongside Du Fu and Li Bai. A painter as well as a poet, he is known above all for his miniaturist celebrations of nature.

唐诗
      唐代(公元618-907年)是我国古典诗歌发展的全盛时期。唐诗是我国优秀的文学遗产之一，也是全世界文学宝库中的一颗灿烂的明珠。尽管离现在已有一千多年了，但许多诗篇还是为我们所广为流传。

唐代有许多伟大的诗人，如李白、杜甫、白居易等。除此之外，还有许许多多著名的诗人。他们的作品，保存在《全唐诗》中的多达四万八千九百多首。唐诗的题材非常广泛。有的从侧面反映当时社会的阶级状况和阶级矛盾，揭露了封建社会的黑暗；有的歌颂正义战争，抒发爱国思想；有的描绘祖国河山的秀丽多娇；此外，还有抒写个人抱负和遭遇的，有表达儿女爱慕之情的，有诉说朋友交情、人生悲欢的等等。总之从自然现象、政治动态、劳动生活、社会风习，直到个人感受，都逃不过诗人敏锐的目光，成为他们写作的题材。在创作方法上，既有现实主义的流派，也有浪漫主义的流派，而许多伟大的作品，则又是这两种创作方法相结合的典范，形成了我国古典诗歌的优秀传统。

唐诗的形式是多种多样的。唐代的古体诗，基本上有五言和七言两种。近体诗也有两种，一种叫做绝句，一种叫做律诗。绝句和律诗又各有五言和七言之不同。所以唐诗的基本形式基本上有这样六种：五言古体诗，七言古体诗，五言绝句，七言绝句，五言律诗，七言律诗。古体诗对音韵格律的要求比较宽：一首之中，句数可多可少，篇章可长可短，韵脚可以转换。近体诗对音韵格律的要求比较严：一首诗的句数有限定，即绝句四句，律诗八句，每句诗中用字的平仄声，有一定的规律，韵脚不能转换；律诗还要求中间四句成为对仗。古体诗的风格是前代流传下来的，所以又叫古风。近体诗有严整的格律，所以有人又称它为格律诗。

唐诗的形式和风格是丰富多彩、推陈出新的。它不仅继承了汉魏民歌、乐府传统，并且大大发展了歌行体的样式；不仅继承了前代的五、七言古诗，并且发展为叙事言情的长篇巨制；不仅扩展了五言、七言形式的运用，还创造了风格特别优美整齐的近体诗。近体诗是当时的新体诗，它的创造和成熟，是唐代诗歌发展史上的一件大事。它把我国古曲诗歌的音节和谐、文字精炼的艺术特色，推到前所未有的高度，为古代抒情诗找到一个最典型的形式，至今还特别为人民所喜闻乐见。但是近体诗中的律诗，由于它有严格的格律的限制，容易使诗的内容受到束缚，不能自由创造和发挥，这是它的长处带来的一个很大的缺陷。