He Zhizhang (, ca. 659–744),

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 ...

Jizhen (季真), was a

Chinese poet The following is a list of Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the languages of China. __NOTOC__ A *Ai Qing B *Bai Juyi or Bo Juyi *Consort Ban *Ban Gu (32–92 A.D.)Minford, John, and Joseph S. M. Lau, ''Classical Chinese Lite ...

and

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

born in Yongxing, Yue Prefecture (越州永兴, present-day Xiaoshan, Zhejiang) during 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 ...

. He entered the civil service after achieving a ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' degree in 695 during the reign of Empress Regnant

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

, and continued serving the court under three subsequent emperors Zhongzong, Ruizong, and Xuanzong, serving first in the Imperial Academy (''

guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the national central institution of higher learning in Chinese dynasties after the Sui ...

''), and then in the Ministry of Rites and Ministry of Works. Well regarded for his poetry and calligraphy, he is one of the Tang dynasty's

Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup or Eight Immortals Indulged in Wine () were a group of Tang Dynasty scholars who are known for their love of alcoholic beverages. They are not deified and '' xiān'' ("immortal; transcendent; fairy") is metapho ...

. Only a few of his works have survived. His well-known works include ''Ode to the Willow'' (咏柳) and a pair of poems, ''On Returning Home'' (回鄉偶書). ''On Returning Home'' is a wistful and nostalgic work composed by He on his return to his home village at the age of 85, when he was granted retirement by Emperor Xuanzong in 744, just a few months before his death, after almost five decades of service to the imperial court. The first of the pair, "Returning Home As An Unrecognized Old Man," is particularly well-known, having been anthologized in the ''

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 ( ...

'' and appearing in elementary school textbooks in China.

《回鄉偶書 · 其一》少小離家老大回，鄉音無改鬢毛衰。兒童相見不相識，笑問客從何處來？''I leave home green and come back grayed; tongue unchanged but sideburns frayed. Smiling at the guest they see; children query, "Whence comes he?"'' Literal translation: I leave home young and return old; my native accent is unchanged but my sideburns grow thin. Children see but do not recognize me; they ask smiling, "From where does this guest come?"

Of his surviving calligraphic works, one is a grass-script copy of the ''Xiaojing'', currently located in Japan, another is an engraved stele (龍瑞宮記) located near Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

References

*Jiang, Xinmei
"He Zhizhang"
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...

'' (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed. Three Hundred Tang Poems poets Tang dynasty politicians from Zhejiang 659 births 744 deaths Politicians from Hangzhou Writers from Hangzhou 7th-century Chinese poets 8th-century Chinese poets Poets from Zhejiang {{China-poet-stub