Gao Shi (ca. 704–765) was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, two of whose poems were collected in the popular anthology ''

Three Hundred Tang Poems 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 (1722–1778Yu, 64–65), who was a Qing Dynasty scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi ( ...

''. His

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

was Dàfú ().'' Kanjigen'' entry "Gao Shi" (Kōteki/Kōseki).

Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces other ...

2006.''

Daijisen The is a general-purpose Japanese dictionary published by Shogakukan in 1995 and 1998. It was designed as an "all-in-one" dictionary for native speakers of Japanese, especially high school and university students. History Shogakukan intended for ...

'' entry "Gao Shi" (Kōseki).

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

. Born into an impoverished family, Gao eventually became a secretary in the military, enjoying a successful career.Red Pine. Poems of the Masters, p. 38. Copper Canyon Press, 2003. His hometown was either in modern

Hunan Province Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi t ...

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

. Gao Shi was one of the competitors in the famous wine shop competition along with

Wang Zhihuan Wang Zhihuan (; 688–742), alternatively transliterated as Wang Tsu-huan, was a Chinese poet of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He is best known for his ''jueju'' "Climbing Stork Tower" (). Poetry No collection of Wang's poems seem ...

and

Wang Changling Wang Changling (; 698–756) was a major Tang dynasty poet. His courtesy name was Shaobo (). He was originally from Taiyuan in present-day Shanxi province, according to the editors of the ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'', although other sources cl ...

Life

Early years

Gao Shi is generally considered to have been born in 704, in Cangzhou( 沧州). He spent his childhood in Guangzhou where his father worked as an officer in Shaozhou(广东韶关). Afterward, Gao Shi traveled around middle and southern China for more than 10 years and moved to Songzhou(宋州). During this time, he failed to find a way to become an official.In 731, Gao Shi moved to Shuofang(朔方) and joined the army. He witnessed the fight with the Khitan people and created many of his masterpieces like "A Song of the Yan Country".

Become an official

After the war, Gao Shi moved back to Songzhou and started another round of traveling. In the next 10 years, Gao Shi met Li Bai, Du Fu, and many other famous poets. In 749, Gao Shi was recommended by Zhang Jiugao(张九皋). He became a county lieutenant in that autumn and visit the frontier as an official for the next 2 years. In the next several years, Gao Shi traveled around the frontier with the army. As the war is going well, Gao Shi keeps getting promoted.

success in old age

In 755, The

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

took place, as a secretary in the military, Gao Shi had more chances to meet the emperor and show his talent. After a chain of promotion, Gao Shi finally became the

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Poems

One of Gao Shi's poems (as translated by

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures the ...

), appearing in the ''Tang 300'' was "A Song of the Yan Country", referring to the Yan territory of the An and Shi "Yan dynasty": the other being "To Vice-prefects Li and Wang degraded and transferred to Xiazhong and Changsha". he moved back to the capital in 764 and in his last days, he became the deputy minister of the ministry of punishment.https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=137790 In February 17th, 765, Gao Shi dead in his home in

Changan Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

Notes

References

*Wu, John C. H. (1972). ''The Four Seasons of Tang Poetry''. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E.Tuttle. Three Hundred Tang Poems poets 765 deaths 706 births Tang dynasty politicians Politicians from Hengshui Poets from Hebei 8th-century Chinese poets {{China-poet-stub