Zhang Hu (c. 792 – c. 853) was a Chinese poet of the mid-Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Chengji.
| Zhang Hu | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 張祜 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张祜 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | (given name) | ||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 承吉 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | (courtesy name) | ||||||||
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After travelling to the capital of Chang'an, Zhang was unsuccessful in seeking a position at court. He spent the latter half of his life travelling to famous places and composing poetry. The majority of his surviving poems are on historical topics and famous places he visited in his travels.
Biography
editZhang Hu was born in 792,[1][a] in Qinghe (modern Qinghe County, Hebei or Shandong)[2] or possibly Nanyang (modern Nanyang, Henan).[3] His courtesy name was Chengji.[2]
Zhang flourished between 820 and 845.[4] Living early on in Gusu, in the Changqing era (821–824) he was summoned to the capital Chang'an on the recommendation of Linghu Chu.[3] Linghu had known Zhang through the 810s, and his recommendation memorial was submitted along with 300 of Zhang's poems.[5] However, he failed to find employment at court due to the opposition of Yuan Zhen, who claimed Zhang lacked literary talent. Zhang moved to Huainan, where he spent his days visiting famous temples and places of scenic beauty and devoting himself to poetry composition.[6]
Later, Zhang retired to Danyang (modern Danyang, Jiangsu), where spent the rest of his days as a private citizen.[3] He likely died in 852 or 853.[2][b]
Poetry
editRoughly 350 of Zhang's poems have survived, most of which are based on famous temples and places of scenic beauty that he visited in his travels.[1] He primarily wrote quatrains on historical topics.[4] There is an anthology of his poetry called the Zhang Chushi Shiji (simplified Chinese: 张処士诗集; traditional Chinese: 張處士詩集; pinyin: Zhāng Chǔshì Shījí; Wade–Giles: Chang2 Ch'u3shih4 Shih2chi1; lit. 'Collection of Poems by Retired Scholar Zhang').[3]
Zhang wrote a dozen poems on the reign of Xuanzong,[4] of which the following notably deals with the emperor's relationship with an older sister of Yang Guifei:[7]
| Traditional[8][9] | Simplified[10][11] | Pinyin[8][9] | English translation (by Lily Xiao Hong Lee)[7] |
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Among Zhang's better-known poems is the wuyan lüshi "Jinshan-si" (Chinese: 金山寺; pinyin: Jīnshān-sì; Wade–Giles: Chin2shan2-ssu4; lit. 'Jinshan Temple" or "Golden Mountain Temple'):[2]
| Traditional[12][13] | Simplified[14][15] | Pinyin[12][13] |
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Five of Zhang's poems were included in the Three Hundred Tang Poems.[16]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Britannica 2014.
- ^ a b c d Ueki et al. 1999, p. 128; Britannica 2014.
- ^ a b c d Ueki et al. 1999, p. 128.
- ^ a b c Paragraph 86 in Paul W. Kroll "Poetry of the T'ang Dynasty", chapter 14 in Mair 2001.
- ^ Moore 2004, p. 334.
- ^ Moore 2004, p. 334; Ueki et al. 1999, p. 128.
- ^ a b Liu 2015, p. 540.
- ^ a b "Chinese Text Project entry "集靈台二首 (3)" (Traditional)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ a b "Chinese Text Project entry "集靈台二首 (4)" (Traditional)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "Chinese Text Project entry "集靈台二首 (3)" (Simplified)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "Chinese Text Project entry "集靈台二首 (4)" (Simplified)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ a b "Chinese Text Project entry "題潤州金山寺 (1)" (Traditional)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ a b "Chinese Text Project entry "題潤州金山寺 (2)" (Traditional)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "Chinese Text Project entry "題潤州金山寺 (1)" (Simplified)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "Chinese Text Project entry "題潤州金山寺 (2)" (Simplified)". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
- ^ "唐詩三百首網路教學系統 作者資料". Archived from the original on 2003-07-08. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
Works cited
edit- "Zhang Hu (Chō Ko in Japanese)". Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten (in Japanese). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
- Mair, Victor H. (ed.) (2001). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10984-9. (Amazon Kindle edition.)
- Moore, Oliver J. (2004). Rituals of Recruitment in Tang China: Reading an Annual Programme in the Collected Statements of Wang Dingbao (870–940). Leiden/Boston: Brill.
- Ueki, Hisayuki; Uno, Naoto; Matsubara, Akira (1999). "Shijin to Shi no Shōgai (Chō Ko)". In Matsuura, Tomohisa (ed.). Kanshi no Jiten 漢詩の事典 (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten. p. 128. OCLC 41025662.
- Liu, Ning (2015). "Yang, Lady of Guo State". In Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (eds.). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming 618–1644. Vol. 1. Translated by Lee, Lily Xiao Hong. London/New York: Routledge. pp. 540–541. ISBN 9781317515623. OCLC 1069740337.
External links
edit- Books of the Quan Tangshi that include collected poems of Zhang Hu at the Chinese Text Project: