Sent to Vice-Magistrate Liu

朱庆馀Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2020

3.1

Word count: 3.8K words
Chapters: 48

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Summary

"To Secretary Liu" is a verse-letter composed in the Tang dynasty by Zhu Qingyu.

Editor's review

Zhu Qingyu was a mid-Tang poet best known for "To Secretary Zhang on the Eve of the Examination," and his style is lucid, delicate, and restrained, with particular skill in regulated pentasyllabic verse and occasional poems. "To Secretary Liu" belongs to the "verse-letter" category, that is, a poem written in place of a letter to greet a friend, Secretary Liu. Such poems were extremely common in Tang literati exchange; they look like ordinary greetings but in fact demand careful tact: they must express longing and concern while revealing, in only a few lines, the depth of the friendship and the propriety of the wording. Readers can thus experience the Tang habit of "using poetry in place of correspondence" and observe how the poem arranges scenery and feeling and how it identifies the addressee through his office and residence. The edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company is convenient for reading and annotating a single piece. The value of this book lies in seeing the large through the small: one verse-letter opens onto the mid-Tang literati network, official aspirations, and the functions of poetry. It is suitable as supplementary material for thematic reading in Tang poetry; read alongside other works by Zhu Qingyu and occasional poems by Zhang Ji, Jia Dao, and others, it reveals the social ecology of the poetry world of the time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Tang poetry readers interested in mid-Tang verse-letters and the literati occasional-poem tradition
Literature enthusiasts who want to know Zhu Qingyu's work beyond his famous examination poem
Language teachers who need examples of occasional poems for teaching or writing practice
Students researching Tang literati social networks and the social functions of poetry

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete author collection or chronological biography
General leisure readers seeking storytelling and long-form narrative
Beginners who rely entirely on vernacular translations and do not plan to engage with classical Chinese

Reading tips

First establish the "verse-letter" nature of the poem; read it as a letter and note whether the forms of address and tone are appropriate.
Read it alongside Zhu Qingyu's "To Secretary Zhang on the Eve of the Examination" and compare the differences in addressee, purpose, and wording.
Extract the descriptive lines and analyze how scenery serves greeting and longing; write a short note.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
【送顾非熊下第归】朱庆馀
卷514_31【送韦繇校书赴浙东幕】朱庆馀
卷514_32【寻贾岛所居】朱庆馀
卷514_33【题毗陵上人院】朱庆馀
卷514_34【送李侍御入蕃】朱庆馀
卷514_35【望萧关】朱庆馀
卷514_36【送韩校书赴江西幕】朱庆馀
卷514_37【题寄王秘书】朱庆馀
卷514_38【山居】朱庆馀
卷514_39【重过惟贞上人院】朱庆馀
卷514_40【与石昼秀才过普照寺】朱庆馀
卷514_41【题任处士幽居】朱庆馀
卷514_42【送僧往太原谒李司空】朱庆馀
卷514_43【将之上京别淮南书记李侍御】朱庆馀
卷514_44【韩协律相送精舍读书四韵奉寄呈陆补阙】朱庆馀
卷514_45【过苏州晓上人院】朱庆馀
卷514_46【送僧游缙云】朱庆馀
卷514_47【赠道者】朱庆馀
卷514_48【杭州卢录事山亭】朱庆馀
卷514_49【送品上人入秦】朱庆馀
卷514_50【题蔷薇花】朱庆馀
卷514_51【题胡氏溪亭】朱庆馀
卷514_52【看涛】朱庆馀
卷514_53【和刘补阙秋园寓兴之什十首】朱庆馀
卷514_54【上翰林蒋防舍人】朱庆馀
卷514_55【上翰林李舍人】朱庆馀
卷514_56【题章正字道正新居（孝标）】朱庆馀
卷514_57【送李馀及第归蜀】朱庆馀
卷514_58【送唐中丞开淘西湖夏日游泛因书示郡人】朱庆馀
卷514_59【过旧宅（一作题王侯废宅）】朱庆馀
卷514_60【鄂渚送白舍人赴杭州】朱庆馀
卷514_61【题崔驸马林亭】朱庆馀
卷514_62【赠韩协律】朱庆馀
卷514_63【自萧关望临洮】朱庆馀
卷514_64【送崔约下第归淮南觐省】朱庆馀
卷514_65【羽林郎】朱庆馀
卷514_66【归故园】朱庆馀
卷514_67【同友人看花】朱庆馀
卷514_68【种花】朱庆馀
卷514_69【早发庐江涂中遇雪寄李侍御】朱庆馀
卷514_70【登望云亭招友】朱庆馀
卷514_71【刘补阙西亭晚宴】朱庆馀
卷514_72【送长安罗少府】朱庆馀
卷514_73【林下招胡长官（一作寄招胡明府）】朱庆馀
卷514_74【与真上人一二禅师题玢寺主院】朱庆馀
卷514_75【寻僧】朱庆馀
卷514_76【题王丘长史宅】朱庆馀

FAQ

What is a "verse-letter"? How does it differ from an ordinary occasional poem?

A verse-letter uses a poem in place of a letter; functionally it is close to a letter, usually with a clear recipient, greetings, and a specific occasion, and its wording observes etiquette and tact. Compared with ordinary occasional poems, it emphasizes the practical purpose of "conveying a message," its lyricism often attached to greeting and narrative, and it is relatively short.

What status does Secretary Liu have, and do I need to know it before reading?

"Secretary" (shaofu) was the Tang colloquial term for a county defender, a grassroots office. Knowing this helps in grasping the forms of address and wording related to the addressee's residence and duties. But there is no need to over-investigate the specific person; read the poem through first, then confirm the background with annotations.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to Tang poetry?

Not really as a first choice for beginners. This book presents a single poem in an edited edition and lacks systematic background explanation and vernacular paraphrase. It is better to first build a foundation with an anthology of Tang poetry that has detailed annotations and appreciation, then use this book for close thematic reading and textual reference.

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About the author

朱庆馀 Author

Zhu Qingyu was a poet of the Tang dynasty. Publicly available information about his life is limited, and details such as his birth and death years, native place, and official career are difficult to verify. The library currently holds two of his works, namely "Sending Zhang Jingxuan Back East After His Failure in the Examination" and "To Liu Shaofu." Judging from the extant pieces, his writing consists mainly of classical poetry, with themes centered on farewells, dedications, and other traditional scenes of literati exchange. His language is concise and restrained, his feeling sincere, and he is skilled at expressing concern for friends and reflection on his own circumstances within ordinary partings and poetic replies. Such works reflect both the general Tang practice of using poetry to cultivate friendships and voice aspirations, and certain features of mid- and late-Tang poetry as it shifted from the grandeur of the High Tang toward personal sentiment. Because his surviving works are limited, later understanding of him still rests mainly on these scattered poems, and his literary standing and influence await fuller documentary discovery and organization.