Journey Through the Gorges

雍陶Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJul 2024

3.2

Word count: 3.6K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Yong Tao [Tang] (fl. c. 834), courtesy name Guojun, a native of Chengdu (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan), was a Late Tang poet. His birth and death years are unknown; he flourished around 834. He was skilled in ci and fu. His major works include "Inscribed on Mount Jun" and "Visiting a Friend's Villa West of the City."

Editor's review

Xiazhong Xing (Travels Through the Gorges) is a compilation of poems by the Late Tang poet Yong Tao, printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company. Yong Tao was skilled in ci and fu; his extant works are notable for landscape travel verse and poems of parting and correspondence, with clear, elegant language and spare imagery. This book distills the poet's observations and feelings from his journeys through the river gorges. Readers can sense the complex emotions of Late Tang literati facing perilous mountains and waters, and can also learn how Tang-dynasty Ba-Shu waterway transport and the scenery of the gorges were represented in poetry. As a classical poetry reader, it suits quiet, attentive reading: one can appreciate the beauty of its rhythm and also find concrete texts for Tang poetry research. Note that Yong Tao's birth and death years are unknown and biographical material is limited; reading should center on the works themselves rather than overinterpreting the author's life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Tang poetry and wish to broaden their reading of Late Tang poets
Readers interested in the geography of the river gorges and ancient travel literature
Language teachers who need short classical poems for classroom teaching or recitation practice
General readers who prefer light classical reading during commutes or before sleep

Not a good fit for

Beginners in classical poetry who expect detailed annotations and vernacular translations
Readers seeking long narrative works or fiction
Readers impatient with rare characters and classical prosody

Reading tips

Read through the whole piece first to feel its rhythm, then examine the gorge place names and images line by line to build a spatial picture.
Read alongside a map of Tang-dynasty Ba-Shu waterways to understand the relationship between the travel route and the scenes in the poems.
Choose one or two poems to read aloud repeatedly, comparing word choice and structure with Yong Tao's other extant works.
Note questions as you read, then check relevant Tang poetry anthologies or research materials afterward to verify them.

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
卷518_7【送裴璋还蜀因亦怀归】雍陶
卷518_8【送前鄠县李少府】雍陶
卷518_9【送宜春裴明府之任】雍陶
卷518_10【赠宗静上人】雍陶
卷518_11【同贾岛宿无可上人院】雍陶
卷518_12【和刘补阙秋园寓兴六首】雍陶
卷518_13【岳阳晚景】雍陶
卷518_14【塞上宿野寺】雍陶
卷518_15【寒食夜池上对月怀友】雍陶
卷518_16【自述】雍陶
卷518_17【送契玄上人南游】雍陶
卷518_18【少年行（一作汉宫少年行）】雍陶
卷518_19【咏双白鹭（一作崔少府池鹭）】雍陶
卷518_20【晴诗（一作塞路初晴）】雍陶
卷518_21【送徐山人归睦州旧隐】雍陶
卷518_22【到蜀后记途中经历】雍陶
卷518_23【忆山寄僧】雍陶
卷518_24【赠玉芝观王尊师】雍陶
卷518_25【哭饶州吴谏议使君】雍陶
卷518_26【经杜甫旧宅】雍陶
卷518_27【河阴新城】雍陶
卷518_28【秋居病中】雍陶
卷518_29【罢还边将】雍陶
卷518_30【永乐殷尧藩明府县池嘉莲咏】雍陶
卷518_31【酬李绀岁除送酒】雍陶
卷518_32【蜀路倦行因有所感】雍陶
卷518_33【寄永乐殷尧藩明府】雍陶
卷518_34【蜀中战后感事】雍陶
卷518_35【答蜀中经蛮后友人马艾见寄】雍陶
卷518_36【卢岳闲居十韵】雍陶
卷518_37【送于中丞使北蕃】雍陶
卷518_38【和河南白尹西池北新葺水斋招赏十二韵】雍陶
卷518_39【感兴】雍陶
卷518_40【长安客感】雍陶
卷518_41【春怀旧游】雍陶
卷518_42【离京城宿商山作】雍陶
卷518_43【秋馆雨夜】雍陶
卷518_44【闻子规】雍陶
卷518_45【怀无可上人】雍陶
卷518_46【长安客感】雍陶
卷518_47【送客遥望】雍陶
卷518_48【伤靡草】雍陶
卷518_49【放鹤】雍陶
卷518_50【早秋月夜】雍陶
卷518_51【蝉】雍陶
卷518_52【公子行】雍陶
卷518_53【题情尽桥】雍陶

FAQ

Yong Tao's biographical material is scarce. Will that affect my understanding of this book?

The impact is limited. Yong Tao's birth and death years are unknown and biographical records are brief, but Xiazhong Xing consists mainly of landscape travel and occasional lyric poetry. The focus of understanding lies in the geographical imagery and emotional expression in the poems, not in biographical details. Readers can begin with the text itself and then consult material on Tang-dynasty gorge transport and Late Tang society as appropriate; there is no need to reconstruct the author's life.

Is this book suitable for readers with no foundation in classical poetry?

Not very suitable for complete beginners. This book is a poetry compilation and provides no systematic annotations or vernacular translations; rare characters and prosodic knowledge require some prior accumulation. If you are new to Tang poetry, it is advisable to start with an annotated anthology, then return to this book to appreciate the poems in their original form.

What are the characteristics of the edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company?

Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company was a well-known modern publishing house, and its classical readers generally retain traditional typesetting styles. This book was printed in 2024, making it accessible to contemporary readers. When reading, you may note the layout and line breaks of the poems, but understanding the content should still center on the poetic text itself; there is no need to rely excessively on edition differences.

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About the author

雍陶 Author

Yong Tao was a poet of the Tang dynasty. His life is now obscure: his nationality and dates of birth and death are unrecorded, and available public information is limited. Judging from the works held in the collection, he was skilled in both five- and seven-character poetry, and his subjects often involve farewells, travel, and landscapes. "Seeing Off Commissioner Xu on His Way to Yuezhou" centers on a farewell, expressing encouragement to a friend and imagining the long journey ahead, while "Traveling Through the Gorges" records what he saw and felt while sailing the Three Gorges. His style is concise, good at using scenery to set off emotion, and shows a clear, brisk naturalness. Yong Tao's poems circulated to some degree in his own time and later, and are classed among classical poetry and classic works; he is a useful reference for the study of poetry in the mid-to-late Tang. Because historical sources are scattered, the details of his life are hard to verify, and readers can chiefly appreciate his art of describing scenery and expressing feeling through his surviving poems.