Title Missing

刘眘虚Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJan 2021

Rating 4.4

Word count: 3.8K words
Chapters: 51

Summary

"Que Ti" is a five-character regulated verse (wulu) by the Tang poet Liu Shenxu.

Editor's review

Liu Shenxu was a High Tang poet with few surviving works, and "Que Ti" is one of his representative pieces, a five-character regulated verse that describes scenery while conveying feeling. This edition presents the poem as a single piece; its compact length makes it a good sample for close reading of a Tang poem. The imagery is drawn from nature and the language is plain, allowing readers to experience the High Tang landscape-and-pastoral style and to observe the metrical structure and parallelism of regulated verse. For readers who wish to approach the original text directly rather than through annotated editions, this single-poem format is convenient for repeated recitation and word-by-word scrutiny. When reading, one need not seek complete background knowledge; rather, attention should be placed on the imagery and sentiment between the lines. Read alongside landscape poems of the same era, it further reveals Liu Shenxu's restraint in selecting images and choosing words. As a lightweight reader of classical poetry, it is better suited to casual desk reading than to serving as a base text for systematic research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who wish to closely read a Tang poem through a single work
Literature enthusiasts interested in the High Tang landscape-and-pastoral style
Readers who need short material for recitation and metrical practice
Readers who prefer the original text over secondary appreciation

Not a good fit for

Researchers who need detailed annotations and textual collation
Readers expecting a full account of Liu Shenxu's life
Readers who prefer long narratives or fiction

Reading tips

Read the whole poem first, then mark natural imagery and emotional focal points line by line to form your own reading.
Recite it aloud several times, noting the rhythm and parallelism of the five-character regulated verse and how sound and image work together.
Read it alongside landscape-and-pastoral works by Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, and others, comparing their selection of imagery and language style.

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
卷三十二
【祭神州乐章·舒和】褚亮
【祭方丘乐章·顺和】褚亮
【祭方丘乐章·肃和】褚亮
【祭方丘乐章·雍和】褚亮
【祭方丘乐章·舒和】褚亮
【祭方丘乐章·顺和】褚亮
【临高台】褚亮
【赋得蜀都】褚亮
【奉和咏日午】褚亮
【奉和望月应魏王教】褚亮
【咏花烛（烛花）】褚亮
【在陇头哭潘学士】褚亮
【奉和禁苑饯别应令】褚亮
【和御史韦大夫喜霁之作】褚亮
【晚别乐记室彦】褚亮
【伤始平李少府正己】褚亮
【秋雁（一作虞世南诗）】褚亮
【句（赠杜侍御）】褚亮
卷三十三
【冬日宴群公于宅各赋一字得杯】于志宁
【冬日宴于庶子宅各赋一字得趣】令狐德棻
【冬日宴于庶子宅各赋一字得色】封行高
【冬日宴于庶子宅各赋一字得节】杜正伦
【玄武门侍宴（一作侍宴北门）】杜正伦
【奉和正日临朝】岑文本
【奉述飞白书势】岑文本
【冬日宴于庶子宅各赋一字得平】岑文本
【安德山池宴集】岑文本
【安德山池宴集】刘洎
【安德山池宴集】褚遂良
【安德山池宴集】杨续
【游清都观寻沈道士得仙字】刘孝孙
【早发成皋望河】刘孝孙
【游灵山寺】刘孝孙
【冬日宴于庶子宅各赋一字得鲜】刘孝孙
【送刘散员同赋陈思王诗游人久不归（一作贺朝或贺朝清）】刘孝孙
【咏笛】刘孝孙
【赋得春莺送友人（又作贺朝诗）】刘孝孙
【巫山高】陆敬
【游隋故都】陆敬
【游清都观寻沈道士得都字】陆敬
【七夕赋咏成篇】陆敬
【七夕赋咏成篇】沈叔安
【七夕赋咏成篇】何仲宣
【游清都观寻沈道士得芳字】赵中虚
【送刘散员赋得陈思王诗明月照高楼】杨濬
卷三十四
【陇头水】杨师道
【中书寓直咏雨简褚起居上官学士】杨师道

FAQ

Why is "Que Ti" called Que Ti?

"Que Ti" usually means the title is missing or the original title was not transmitted, and later editors marked it as such. For this poem, the missing title does not affect understanding of its meaning; readers can focus on the scenery and emotion expressed in the text.

Can I understand this poem without annotations?

The language of "Que Ti" is plain and its images are common, so general readers can grasp the overall scene and mood on a first reading. If individual words are unclear, consult a common dictionary or compare with landscape poems of the same era; basic understanding does not depend on a full annotated edition.

Is this single-poem edition suitable as a base text for research?

Not very suitable. A single-poem edition is convenient for reading and recitation, but it lacks collation notes, variant readings, and detailed annotations, making it hard to support textual research. For academic study, one should find a properly collated and annotated edition as the base text.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

刘眘虚 Author

Liu Shenxu was a Tang dynasty poet whose name survives within the tradition of classical Chinese poetry, yet his dates, native place, and life story are not clearly recorded, and publicly available material is quite limited. Later understanding of the man and his work rests mainly on a single representative poem, “Que Ti” (A Poem Without a Title). The poem begins with quiet mountain and water scenes, depicting a secluded dwelling among the hills, white clouds, flowing water, and falling blossoms. Its language is simple and natural, its mood ethereal and distant, carrying the clear, serene quality characteristic of High Tang landscape poetry. In subject and technique, Liu Shenxu excelled at entrusting tranquil feelings to ordinary scenery, achieving lasting resonance without elaborate polish. Because so few of his works survive, he is often remembered for a single poem, and his name reaches anthologies and readers chiefly through “Que Ti.” Discussion of this poet therefore centers on the artistic features of that poem and its place in the classical landscape tradition, while details of family, official career, and friendships remain difficult to set out for lack of sources.