Tang poetry is one of the most valuable cultural inheritances of Chinese history. Its distinctive aesthetics, delicate language and diverse styles constitute great Literature in itself, as well as a rich topic for literary study. This two-volume set constitutes a classic analysis of Tang poetry in the “Golden Age” of Chinese poetry (618–907 CE).
This volume focuses on the prominent Tang poets and poems. Beginning with an introduction to the “four greatest poets”—Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, and Bai Juyi—the author discusses their subjects, language, influence, and key works. The volume also includes essays on a dozen of masterpieces of Tang poetry, categorized by topics such as love and friendship, aspirations
and seclusion, as well as travelling and nostalgia. As the author stresses, Tang poetry is worth rereading because it makes us invigorate our mental wellbeing, leaving it powerful and full of vitality.
This book will appeal to researchers and students of Chinese literature, especially of classical Chinese poetry. People interested in Chinese culture will also benefit from the book.
1 The four great Tang poets
2 The poet Li Bai
3 On exaggeration in Li Bai’s poetry
4 Starting with the characteristics of the Tang poetry
5 A note on the Tang poetry
6 A note on frontier fortress poetry
7 Wang Zhihuan’s “Song of Liangzhou”
8 On Liangzhou
9 “Ancient Style: compassion for peasants”: an integration of realism and romanticism
10 Spring is late, the green wild graceful
11 On a poem by Xie Tiao
12 On Yu Xin’s poem about Zhaojun
13 On Wang Changling’s “Out of the Fortress”
14 On Meng Haoran’s innocent enjoyment
15 On Wang Wei’s “Song of Weicheng”
16 On Wang Wei’s “Farewell in the Mountain”
Biography
Lin Geng was a literary historian, a scholar in ancient Chinese literature, and a modern poet, he was a professor and doctoral supervisor of Peking University. His poetic and rational qualities interact in his writing and research, forming a distinct characteristic rarely seen in the literary world.
