Seeing Off My Fifteenth Maternal Uncle cover

Seeing Off My Fifteenth Maternal Uncle

Rating 4.4
Word count
2.5K words
Chapters
48

Tags

Summary

"Seeing Off My Fifteenth Uncle" is one of the poems by the Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling.

Editor's review

"Seeing Off My Fifteenth Uncle" is a farewell poem by the High Tang poet Wang Changling. Wang Changling was renowned for his seven-character quatrains and was known as the "Sage of the Seven-Character Quatrain"; his farewell poems are typically lucid and flowing in language, with deep and subtle feeling, creating in a short space a broad imaginative realm and genuine sorrow at parting. This poem takes the farewell to an uncle as its subject; farewells between relatives carry an added layer of blood kinship compared with those between ordinary friends, and the emotional expression is correspondingly more plain and earnest. When reading, one may attend both to the relation between the scenic description and the unfolding of emotion, and to the combination of briskness and restraint characteristic of High Tang farewell poetry in tone. For readers learning to write seven-character quatrains or studying the full range of Wang Changling's poetry, this poem is a concrete sample for understanding his work in the farewell vein. It is short and well suited as everyday reading for the appreciation of classical poetry, and convenient as discussion material in classroom teaching or reading groups.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Poetry lovers who admire Wang Changling's seven-character quatrains and wish to broaden their reading
  • Primary and secondary school students and Chinese teachers studying the Tang farewell poem genre
  • Literary researchers studying High Tang poetry and the theme of farewells among relatives
  • General readers who wish to savor short classical poems in spare moments

Not a good fit for

  • Specialist scholars requiring detailed annotation and systematic study
  • Young children with little patience for reading classical Chinese poetry

Reading tips

  1. First read the whole poem aloud to feel its rhythm, then go line by line and trace the relation between scenery and feeling
  2. Read it alongside Wang Changling's other farewell quatrains and compare farewells between relatives with those between friends
  3. After reading, try retelling the farewell scene in your own words to test your understanding

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.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 【朝来曲】王昌龄
  3. 【从军行】王昌龄
  4. 【答武陵田太守】王昌龄
  5. 【题灞池二首】王昌龄
  6. 【题僧房】王昌龄
  7. 【击磬老人】王昌龄
  8. 【送胡大】王昌龄
  9. 【送郭司仓】王昌龄
  10. 【送李十五】王昌龄
  11. 【送张四】王昌龄
  12. 【武陵田太守席送司马卢谿】王昌龄
  13. 【送谭八之桂林】王昌龄
  14. 【送刘十五之郡】王昌龄
  15. 【从军行七首】王昌龄
  16. 【出塞二首】王昌龄
  17. 【采莲曲二首】王昌龄
  18. 【殿前曲二首】王昌龄
  19. 【春宫曲(唐人绝句作殿前曲)】王昌龄
  20. 【西宫春怨】王昌龄
  21. 【西宫秋怨】王昌龄
  22. 【长信秋词五首】王昌龄
  23. 【青楼曲二首】王昌龄
  24. 【青楼怨】王昌龄
  25. 【浣纱女】王昌龄
  26. 【闺怨】王昌龄
  27. 【甘泉歌】王昌龄
  28. 【萧驸马宅花烛】王昌龄
  29. 【观猎】王昌龄
  30. 【寄穆侍御出幽州】王昌龄
  31. 【寄陶副使】王昌龄
  32. 【至南陵答皇甫岳】王昌龄
  33. 【西江寄越弟】王昌龄
  34. 【李四仓曹宅夜饮】王昌龄
  35. 【宴春源】王昌龄
  36. 【龙标野宴】王昌龄
  37. 【听流人水调子】王昌龄
  38. 【梁苑】王昌龄
  39. 【武陵龙兴观黄道士房问易因题】王昌龄
  40. 【送魏二】王昌龄
  41. 【别李浦之京】王昌龄
  42. 【送狄宗亨】王昌龄
  43. 【送薛大赴安陆】王昌龄
  44. 【芙蓉楼送辛渐二首】王昌龄
  45. 【重别李评事】王昌龄
  46. 【别陶副使归南海】王昌龄
  47. 【送人归江夏】王昌龄
  48. 【送李五】王昌龄

FAQ

What are the characteristics of Wang Changling's farewell poems?
Wang Changling is famed for his seven-character quatrains; his farewell poems are mostly lucid in language with a broad imaginative realm, and their feeling is sincere yet restrained. He excels at using scenery to set off the sorrow of parting and completes a layered unfolding of emotion within a short space, and this poem on seeing off his uncle reflects that same approach.
Is this poem suitable for classroom teaching?
It is short with a clear emotional thread, making it suitable material for appreciating classical poetry in class. Teachers can guide students to attend to the relation between scenery and feeling and to compare it with Wang Changling's other farewell poems, helping students understand the common methods of High Tang farewell poetry.
Can I understand it without any grounding in classical poetry?
You can read it through with basic annotations, focusing on the farewell scene and the expression of kinship. To appreciate the artistry more deeply, it is best first to learn the basic rules of the seven-character quatrain and the common conventions of High Tang farewell poetry, then return for a close reading, which will be more rewarding.

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About the author

王昌龄 Author

Wang Changling is a renowned poet in ancient China. Reliable public sources differ on his birthplace and the exact years of his birth and death, and the available information is limited, so these details cannot be described in full. The library currently holds nine of his works, including "Going beyond the Frontier," "Army Life," "Ancient Sentiments," "Seeing Off My Fifteenth Maternal Uncle," as well as The Complete Works of Wang Changling, The Collected Works of Wang Changling, The Rules of Poetry, and "Enjoying the Moon by the Eastern Stream." These works show that he excelled in frontier poetry and farewell verse, often dealing with garrison warfare, parting feelings, and personal reflections. His language is concise, his imagery broad, and his emotion sincere, giving his poetry a distinctive place in the classical tradition. "Going beyond the Frontier" and "Army Life" have long been regarded as important representatives of frontier poetry and have had a lasting influence, while The Rules of Poetry reflects his thinking on poetic creation. Because sources are limited, his biographical details are not elaborated here; readers may come to know his artistic style through his works.

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