Zhang Ruoxu (; ca. 660 – ca. 720) was a Chinese poet of the early

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 ...

from

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

in modern

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province. He is best known for "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night" (''Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye'', 春江花月夜), one of the most unique and influential Tang poems, which has inspired numerous later artworks.

Life

Zhang Ruoxu was a native of

in modern

province, and served as a minor military officer in

Yanzhou Yanzhou ( postal: Yenchow; ) is a district in the prefecture-level city of Jining, in the southwest of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It was also the name of one of the Nine Provinces in ancient China, where Yu combated floods by ...

in modern

Shandong 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 civilizati ...

. Little is known about his life today. He is traditionally grouped with

He Zhizhang He Zhizhang (, ca. 659–744), courtesy name Jizhen (季真), was a Chinese poet and scholar-official born in Yongxing, Yue Prefecture (越州永兴, present-day Xiaoshan, Zhejiang) during the Tang Dynasty. He entered the civil service after ...

Zhang Xu Zhang Xu (, fl. 8th century), courtesy name Bogao (), was a Chinese calligrapher and poet of the Tang Dynasty. A native of Suzhou, he became an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Zhang was known as one of the Eight Immortals ...

, and Bao Rong as the Four Poets of Central Wu (), the

Lower Yangtze The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

region.

Poetry

Only two of Zhang Ruoxu's poems are extant, but one of them, "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night" (''Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye'', 春江花月夜), has long been well known and considered an extraordinary work. The poem can be divided into nine

quatrains A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

and three sections. The first section describes the scenery of the moonlit

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

in spring. The second and third lament the ephemerality of life, as well as the sorrow of travellers and the loved ones they leave behind. The poem marks a stylistic break from the poetry of the preceding

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...

, and anticipates the content and style of High

Tang poetry Tang poetry () refers to poetry written in or around the time of or in the characteristic style of China's Tang dynasty, (June 18, 618 – June 4, 907, including the 690–705 reign of Wu Zetian) and/or follows a certain style, often considered as ...

Legacy

One of the most unique poems of the Tang dynasty, "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night" is included in virtually all historical surveys of

. The influential 20th-century poet

Wen Yiduo Wen Yiduo (; 24 November 189915 July 1946) was a Chinese poet and scholar known for his nationalistic poetry. Wen was assassinated by the Kuomintang in 1946. Life Wen Yiduo was born Wén Jiāhuá () on 24 November 1899 in what is now Xishui ...

was especially enthusiastic in his praise, calling it "the poem of all poems, the summit of all summits." Zhang Ruoxu's poem has inspired numerous later artworks. The composer Peng Xiuwen created a piece of orchestral music with the same name, which has since entered the classical repertoire for the traditional Chinese instrument

guzheng The zheng () or gu zheng (), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''Paulownia'' wood. Other co ...

. During the

Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...

of 2013, calligrapher Wang Dongling () gave a live calligraphy performance at the

Hong Kong Museum of Art The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and main art museum of Hong Kong, located in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. HKMoA has an art collection ...

, creating a high by wide work of ''Spring River in the Flower Moon Night''. It was the largest work of calligraphy made in Hong Kong, and has been donated to the art museum.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

Usage in Music

Free HD Video Recording of Variations on "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night"
from American Solo Harpist Jieyin Wu {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Ruoxu Tang dynasty poets 7th-century Chinese poets 8th-century Chinese poets 660 births 720 deaths Writers from Yangzhou Poets from Jiangsu

Life

Poetry

Legacy

References

Bibliography

Further reading

Usage in Music