| Three Hundred Tang Poems | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 唐詩三百首 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 唐诗三百首 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Three Hundred Tang Poems is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907). It was first compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (1722–1778[1]), who was a Qing Dynasty scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi (蘅塘退士, "Retired Master of Hengtang"). Various later editions also exist. All editions contain slightly more than 300 total poems.[2] The number 300 (or more exactly 305) was a classic number for a poetry collection due to the influence of the Classic of Poetry (詩經, Shijing), which was generally known as The Three Hundred Poems.[1]
Dissatisfied with the anthology Poems by a Thousand Masters (千家詩, Qianjiashi) compiled by Liu Kezhuang in the late Southern Song, and influenced by Ming Dynasty poetry anthologies, Sun selected the poems based on their popularity and educational value. The collection has been popular ever since and can be found in many Chinese households. For centuries, elementary students memorized the poems and used them to learn to read and write. It contains poems by Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Chen Zi'ang, Meng Haoran, Han Yu, Du Mu, Bai Juyi, Liu Zhangqing, Cen Shen, Wang Changling, Wei Yingwu, and more.[3][4]
- ^ a b Yu, 64–65
- ^ Rexroth, xvi
- ^ Weichang Chan, ed. (1997). "Home of 300 Tang Poems". Chinese Text Initiative (in Chinese and English). Translated by Witter Bynner. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Tang Shi – 300 Tang poems". Wengu – Chinese Classics and Translations (in Chinese, English, and French). AFPC. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-12.