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Liu Zongyuan (; 77328 November 819)，
He died in 819.
As a most distinguished Tang prose writer alongside Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan excelled in biography, travelogue, and fable.
During his exile years, he came to contact with the common people who fell victims to excessive government rules. His biographies thus shed light on these overlooked individuals such as the snake catcher, the tree planter, the carpenter, and the shepherd boy. One of his best-known biographies depicts a snake catcher who risked his life capturing highly venomous snakes in order to avoid paying heavy annual levies. Through these character portraits, Liu Zongyuan argued that government officials had a duty to improve the commoner's lives, as they were indeed the "servant" of the people. Liu further advocated for “the mandate of the people", asserting that the legitimacy of the emperor's authority comes from the support of the people.
From a literary point of view, Liu's biographies were rich in story telling and exhibited features of the Chuanqi.
Liu's best-known travel pieces are the ''Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou'' ( 永州八記). These nature writings combined vivid descriptions of natural landscape with reflections of his inner emotions. Through themes of aloofness, tranquility, and elegance, he found solace and unity with nature.
Around 180 of his poems are extant, of which five were collected in the anthology '' Three Hundred Tang Poems''. Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment. One of his most famous poems is "''Jiangxue''" (), translated into English as "River Snow" or "Winter Snow". The poem has been an inspiration for many works of
Liu Zongyuan in Wengu textbase
five poems in traditional Chinese arrayed with Bynner's translation. * * *Books of the '' Quan Tangshi'' that include collected poems of Liu Zongyuan at the Chinese Text Project:
Book 350
Book 351
Book 352
Book 353
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zongyuan 773 births 819 deaths 8th-century Chinese philosophers 8th-century Chinese poets 9th-century Chinese philosophers 9th-century Chinese poets Poets from Shanxi Politicians from Yuncheng Tang dynasty essayists Tang dynasty government officials Three Hundred Tang Poems poets
courtesy name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Zihou (), was a Chinese philosopher, prose writer, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi
Yongji () is a county-level city in the prefecture-level city of Yuncheng, in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level di ...
. Along with Han Yu, he was a leader of the Classical Prose Movement in Tang. He is traditionally recognized as one of the " Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song".
Biography
Liu Zongyuan was born to a family of the "noble clans", which had nurtured social and political leaders for at least fifteen generations. He spent most of his youthful years amid the intellectual and official circles in the capital Chang-an, and received family schooling as early as three years old. By his twenties, he was well versed in ancient classics and histories. He obtained the Jinshi degree in 793 and entered official career in year 798. Liu Zongyuan'scivil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
career was initially successful; however, in 805, he fell out of favour with the imperial government because of his association with a failed reformist movement. He was exiled first to Yongzhou, Hunan
Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
, and then to Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , Standard Mandarin: , Liuzhou Yue dialect: International Phonetic Alphabet, iəu53 ʦəu44 is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 4 ...
, Guangxi
Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
, where he eventually became the city governor. A park and temple in Liuzhou is dedicated to his memory. This abrupt turns of life transformed a rising political and intellectual star into a grieving and depressed minor official living in one of the least developed regions of China. Nevertheless, his exile allowed his literary career to flourish: he produced poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
s, fables
Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...
, reflective travelogues and essays synthesizing elements of Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
, Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
and Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
He died in 819.
Works and ideas
As a most distinguished Tang prose writer alongside Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan excelled in biography, travelogue, and fable.
During his exile years, he came to contact with the common people who fell victims to excessive government rules. His biographies thus shed light on these overlooked individuals such as the snake catcher, the tree planter, the carpenter, and the shepherd boy. One of his best-known biographies depicts a snake catcher who risked his life capturing highly venomous snakes in order to avoid paying heavy annual levies. Through these character portraits, Liu Zongyuan argued that government officials had a duty to improve the commoner's lives, as they were indeed the "servant" of the people. Liu further advocated for “the mandate of the people", asserting that the legitimacy of the emperor's authority comes from the support of the people.
From a literary point of view, Liu's biographies were rich in story telling and exhibited features of the Chuanqi.
Liu's best-known travel pieces are the ''Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou'' ( 永州八記). These nature writings combined vivid descriptions of natural landscape with reflections of his inner emotions. Through themes of aloofness, tranquility, and elegance, he found solace and unity with nature.
Around 180 of his poems are extant, of which five were collected in the anthology '' Three Hundred Tang Poems''. Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment. One of his most famous poems is "''Jiangxue''" (), translated into English as "River Snow" or "Winter Snow". The poem has been an inspiration for many works of Chinese painting
Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as , meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which b ...
.
:
See also
* Classical Chinese poetry * List of Three Hundred Tang Poems poets *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 a ...
* Classical Prose Movement
* Eight Masters of the Tang and Song
References
Works cited
* * * * *Further reading
* Nienhauser Jr., William H.; Hartmann, Charles; Crawford, William Bruce; Walls, Jan W.; Neighbors, Lloyd, ''Liu Tsung-yüan'', New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1973.External links
Liu Zongyuan in Wengu textbase
five poems in traditional Chinese arrayed with Bynner's translation. * * *Books of the '' Quan Tangshi'' that include collected poems of Liu Zongyuan at the Chinese Text Project:
Book 350
Book 351
Book 352
Book 353
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zongyuan 773 births 819 deaths 8th-century Chinese philosophers 8th-century Chinese poets 9th-century Chinese philosophers 9th-century Chinese poets Poets from Shanxi Politicians from Yuncheng Tang dynasty essayists Tang dynasty government officials Three Hundred Tang Poems poets