¹ Kao Tsu Wên Ti (A.D. 589–605).

² 605–617.

¹

¹ Obata, Shigeyoshi, The Works of Li Po, the Chinese Poet, Done into English Verse (New York, 1922).Google Scholar

² Hsiian Tsang … set out in A.D. 629 on his tour through India, travelling by way of Turkestan. Sixteen years later he returned with 657 new Sanscrit works. He wrote an account of his travels under the title Hsi yu chi , and spent the remainder of his life in translating the books w hich he had brought back.

¹ Cf. Hudson, G. F., Europe and China, pp. 129 ff.Google Scholar

² Wu Hou (684–705).

¹ Analects, Book viii, chap. xiv. “The Master said, ‘He who is not in any particular office, has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties’.” (Legge.)

² Analects, Book vii, chap, x, “When called to office, to undertake its duties; when not so called, to lie retired…” (Legge.)

¹ (Dragon City Records), the authorship of which is credited to Liu Tsung-yüan (773–819). Liu was an ardent Buddhist as well as a brilliant writer. It was said of him that “only one with the discernment of Han Yii should abuse Buddhism, and only one with the discernment of Liu Tsung-yüan should defend it.”

² Li Po died A.D. 762.

¹

²

³ Wilhelm, , History of Chinese Civilization, p. 122.Google Scholar

¹ Cf. Dr. G. Margouliès, Le Kou-wên Chinois, “L'epoque des T'ang, au point de vue littéraire, est peutêtre la plus glorieuse et la plus brilliante de toute l'histoire de la Chine.” Cf., on the other hand, the caustic comments of Wieger, P. L.. Chinu throughout the Ages (Hsien-hsien, 1928), p. 197.Google Scholar “I have not found a single piece worth translating in the voluminous works of Sung Chih-wên, Wang Wei, Li Shang-yin, and others.” See also pp. 202–3. These opposing views suggest that Dr. Margouliès being, like the Chinese scholars themselves for the most part, interested in form and oblivious of content, finds T'ang literature “glorious” and “brilliant”, while P. Wieger views it from the opposite angle, and so condemns it out of hand.

² Tuan An-chieh , Yuėh fu tsa lu , a treatise on music written at the end of the tenth century.

³ Hsin-nung, Yao, “The Spirit of Chinese Poetry” (North China Herald, 28th 03, 1934)Google Scholar: “Every Chinese poem is a composition in music, determined by the tonal arrangement of characters and the caesura beat.”

¹

²

³

⁴

¹

² Shên Yūeh , scholar and high functionary under the Liang dynasty (502–556). In 488 he completed the drawing up of the Sung shu; author of the Ssǔ shêng p'u , based on the Indian fan-ch'ieh system. Died 513.

¹

²

³ These rules apply only to shih . “Modern” poetry, under the T'angs, consisted of the “regulated” style (lü shih ) and a form known as chüeh chü , which follows the rules for regulated verse and like it has five or seven-word lines. The phrase means “detached lines” and it is in fact a short poem in the modern style whose character suggests that it is part of a longer poem. Its origin, however, remains obscure, the most probable explanation being that T'ang poets were given to building up poems as a kind of round-game and that when the works of an individual poet were compiled his contribution was detached from the whole poem and included with his complete works. Ancient poetry also had two divisions, the yueh-fu , or verses for music, and the ku shih . or ancient poems. From the yüeh-fu, which had as their prototype the songs of a primitive community and were therefore not restricted as to the number of words to a line, was developed the poem with lines of irregular length which, under the T'ang, was called “ch'ang tuan chǔ,” , or “long and short lines”. It may have been this form which resulted in the tz'ŭ or tz'ŭ ch'ü , songs of irregular lines which were the chief glory of Sung poetry.

¹ The seven-word line ancient poem may have irregular lines, and every line may rhyme.

² The dates of these periods are variously stated; Kiang Kang-hu (Jade Mountain, Introduction) gives them as Early, 620–700; Glorious, 700–780; Middle, 780–850; Late, 850–900.

³ (581–643.) Author of the biographical section of the Sui shu (History of the Sui Dynasty), which was drawn up under his direction. See Giles, , Biographical Dictionary, 2264.Google Scholar

¹ Dd. 762.

² 712–770.

³ Dd. 846.

⁴ Dd. 824.

⁵ 773–819.

⁶ 779–831.

⁷ 170 Chinese Poems, p. 15.

⁸ (? –765).

⁹ (699–759).

¹ Cf. Chên niang mu shih, a series of poems about a famous singing-girl written by Chang Yu , Li Shang-yin , Po Chü-i , and T'an Shu .

² 712–770.

³ 779–831.

⁴ Dd. 846.

⁵ Dd. 824.

⁶ 773–819.

⁷ , author of Wên ch'i lu and Line ying lu

⁸ , author of Chên chung chi . See Giles, , Biogmphical Dictionary, 1180.Google Scholar

¹ For the story of the friendship of these two poets see Waley, A., 170 Chinese Poems, p. 105.Google Scholar

² Waley, A., 170 Chinese Poems, p. 105.Google Scholar

³ (b. 813). See Giles, , Biographical Dictionary, 1188.Google Scholar

⁴ (803–852). See Giles, , Biographical Dictionary, 2070.Google Scholar

⁵

⁶ So called from the fact that a group of poets of the Sung dynasty made a collection of their poems which were written in the style of Li Shang-yin, and published it under the title, Hsi K'un ch'ang ch'ou chi .

⁷ “the last of the T'angs” (844–923).

⁸ See Giles, , Biographical Dictionary, 1420Google Scholar, and Wylie, , Notes on Chinese Literature, p. 93.Google Scholar

⁹ Lei ssǔ ching

¹⁰ The “Three Lo” belong to the later T'ang period.