The Complete Poems of Qiao Zhizhi

全唐诗Apr 2024

Rating 3.6
Word count
2.5K words
Chapters
21

Tags

Classical Poetry Slow ReadingReclusive MoodTang Poetic StyleLandscape and PastoralMusical Rhythm

Summary

This poetry collection is part of the Complete Tang Poems. It was compiled by imperial order during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty by Peng Dingqiu, Yang Zhongne, Shen Sanceng, Pan Conglü, Xu Shuben, Che Dingjin, Wang Yi, Zha Sicen, Yu Mei, and others, with Cao Yin in charge of the final printing. It not only fully reflects the flourishing of Tang poetry but also serves as important material for studying Tang history, culture, and education.

Editor's review

Qiao Zhizhi was an Early Tang poet whose surviving works are few. This book gathers his poems from the Complete Tang Poems, offering readers a convenient textual entry point to this poet. Qiao's poems mostly concern boudoir lament, frontier themes, and occasional verse; his language is polished and his sentiments subtly expressed, giving him some value for understanding the poetry scene in the transition from the Early to the High Tang. The book follows the textual system of the Complete Tang Poems, compiled by imperial order under Peng Dingqiu and others in the Kangxi reign of the Qing and overseen for printing by Cao Yin; its documentary source is clear, making it suitable as auxiliary material for the study of Early Tang poetry. Since Qiao Zhizhi is not a widely known poet, the book is better read with literary-historical questions in mind, such as examining the evolution of Early Tang seven-character song-form and boudoir-lament themes. It should be noted that this book is an extract from a general anthology and does not state that it includes detailed annotations or biographical research; readers should use it alongside Tang literary history and related scholarship, and should not treat it as a popular appreciation volume.

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Reading tips

  1. First understand Qiao Zhizhi's approximate place in the Early Tang poetry scene, then read his surviving works one by one
  2. Read boudoir-lament and frontier poems in paired categories to observe his diction and structural features
  3. Check the text against the relevant volumes of the Complete Tang Poems and note the clues of the general anthology's arrangement
  4. After reading, compare with works by poets of the same period to build a sense of literary-historical coordinates

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 长信宫中树
  3. 下山逢故夫
  4. 巫山高
  5. 弃妾篇
  6. 苦寒行
  7. 从军行
  8. 拟古赠陈子昂
  9. 定情篇
  10. 绿珠篇
  11. 和李侍郎古意
  12. 倡女行
  13. 羸骏篇
  14. 铜雀妓
  15. 侍宴应制得分字
  16. 梨园亭子侍宴
  17. 和苏员外寓直
  18. 哭故人
  19. 折杨柳
  20. 附 乔侃(弟)
  21. 附 乔备(弟)

FAQ

Are many of Qiao Zhizhi's poems extant? Qiao Zhizhi was an Early Tang poet, and the number of his surviving works is limited. This book extracts his poems from the Complete Tang Poems, and the specific pieces are those collected in that general anthology. Readers who need a full picture of his writing may read it alongside the relevant volumes of the Complete Tang Poems and materials on Tang literary history.
Is this book suitable for beginners to read directly? This book is an extract of content from the Complete Tang Poems and does not state that it includes annotations or translation, so it is better suited to readers with some foundation in classical Chinese. Beginners reading it directly may encounter obstacles in names, allusions, and background; it is advisable to use it together with a reliable annotated edition, a literary history, or reference works.
What special value is there in reading Qiao Zhizhi's poems? Qiao Zhizhi lived in the transition from the Early to the High Tang, and his boudoir-lament, frontier, and occasional poems reflect certain features of theme and form in the poetry of the time. For readers studying the evolution of Early Tang poetry and observing the work of a minor poet, this book provides a directly usable general-anthology text and has value as auxiliary research material.

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About the author

全唐诗 Author

"Quan Tang Shi" is not the name of an individual poet, but a comprehensive anthology of Tang poetry compiled during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. The attribution "Quan Tang Shi" actually stands for the group of editors behind this large imperially commissioned work. The anthology gathers a vast range of Tang poems, generally including all poets whose works survive, and the 287 items in this collection derive from it, comprising the complete works of poets such as Wang Wei, Li Bai, Li Shangyin, Du Mu, Chen Zi'ang, Cui Hao, Zhang Jiuling, and Bai Juyi. In subject and style, these works cover landscape and pastoral verse, frontier and military themes, historical reflection, and farewell and occasional poetry, offering a fairly complete picture of Tang poetry. Public information about the individual editors is limited; nevertheless, for its breadth and documentary value, the anthology has long been regarded as an important foundation for studying Tang poetry and for literary appreciation.