Yuan Zhongdao

Yuan Zhongdao 袁中道, , Chinese poet, essayist, travel diarist and official was born in Kung-an in Hukuang. He shares his fame with two other brothers, Yuan Zongdao and Yuan Hongdao . The three brothers dominated the literature of the period. From a family of financial means, they printed and distributed their own works. The youngest of the brothers, Yüan Zhongdao, took years in his pursuit of a civil-service examination degree. The brothers were all openly ambivalent about social position. Yuan Zhongdao spent quantities of money on boats for his extended excursions. His brothers and their families were haunted by disease. Yuan Zhongdao’s own life was a story of breakdown at the cumulative stress of family deaths and repeated failure at the civil service examination. Yuan Zhongdao’s principle health problem was perhaps tuberculosis. Yuan Zhongdao would record extremes of mood within even a daily period suggesting perhaps bipolar disorder. Yuan Zhongdao was denied the complete rest he needed for such a condition due to pressing family needs. Yuan’s diary, ''Yu chü-fei lu'' is his literary monument. Yuan’s precarious physical and psychological condition provided the background for his preoccupation with longevity and stress avoidance. He avoided a Buddhistic vegetarian diet, perceiving a need for protein in his diet. Excessive drinking and too many wives were other perceived impediments. His travel diary is full of such detail. Yuan records an early reading of the celebrated novel Jin Ping Mei . He was likewise associated with the radical philosopher Li Zhi 李贄 and his espousals of popular literature. Likewise Yuan Zhongdao had the acquaintance of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci . In 1616 he passed the Imperial examination and obtained a succession of official posts.

POEMS

RECORD OF A DREAM


The road before me completely dark;

I know not where I am.

Black water vast without bounds;

No raft to sail upon.

Above I cannot see the heavens;

Below I cannot see the earth.

Hear the growl of a mad dog;

Right in my path he faces me and barks.

On all sides not a soul to be seen;

Again I try to seek the road back;

Long and long for my old home.

Black, black are the surrounding pines;

Enter main rooms and hear no voices;

Go through the side rooms and see no one.

Grass is matted and chokes the courtyard;

Wind is mournful and blows all around.

Something or maybe nothing; I'm alarmed.

Going in I can't find anyone; outside all is unclear.

Slowly, slowly, where I've been recedes;

My dreaming soul returns and I sweat like rain.

Books

Articles

* Carpenter, Bruce E., ‘Yüan Chung-tao and the Seventeenth-Century Life’, ''Tezukayama University Review'' , Nara, Japan, no. 64, 1989, pp. 21-37. ISSN 0385-7743

Yuan Hongdao

Yuan Hongdao was Chinese poet of the Ming Dynasty, and one of the Three Yuan Brothers. His life spanned nearly the whole of the Wanli period in Chinese history. Yuan was from Gong'an in Hukuang.　His family had been military officials for generations. Yuan showed an interest in literature from youth and formed his own literary club at age fifteen. At the age of twenty-four in 1592 he took the chin-shih examination and subsequently received an official position in 1595. However he quit out of boredom after a year and in 1593. Yuan traveled and consulted with the radical philosopher Li Zhi. On another trip his brothers joined him. Hu's elder brother was a Buddhist-Confucianist synchronist. His travels resulted in his publishing a poetry compilation ''Jietuo ji'' . His and his two brothers' poetry, which focused on clarity and sincerity, produced a following eventually known as the Gong'an school, the central belief of which was that good writing was a result of genuine emotions and personal experience. When one of his brothers died in 1600, Yuan retired to a small island in a lake to meditate and write poetry. The resulting work is ''Xiaobi tangji'' .

POEMS

THE CAPITAL

Bright are the city walls of the capital;

Red-robed officials shout on broad streets.

There is a white-headed destitute scholar;

Hanging from his mule's saddle, sheaves of poems.

Clasping his calling card, he knocks on doors for work;

The gate keepers smirk at one another.

Ten try and ten fail;

Walk the streets, his face is haggard.

Always fear in serving the rich;

Sorry your flattery isn't quick enough.

Over an eye a black eyepatch;

Half blind, the fellow is old!



A STRANGE PRIEST

Bought his mantle to escape draft and taxes;

Now he's the head priest amid his splendor.

Recites incantations, but sounds like a bird;

Writes Sanscrit that looks like twisted weeds.

With his begging bowl he distributes food of the spirit;

On his seat he faces the lamp of Buddha;

If you don't devote you whole body and soul,

How can there be anywhere Buddhism at all?

BOOKS

Chaves, Jonathan trans. ''Pilgrim of the Clouds'', New York-Tokyo, 1978; new edition Buffalo New York: White Pine Press, 2005.

ARTICLES

Carpenter, Bruce E. 'The Gentleman of Stones: Yüan Hung-tao', ''Tezukayama University Review''
, Nara, Japan, no. 24, 1979. ISSN 0385-7743

Yang Shen

Yang Shen , son of Yang Tinghe, '''' Yòngxiū , '''' Shēng'ān , also ''hao'' Bonanshanren , Bonanshushi , was a poet in Ming Dynasty. He lived in Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China.

As a result of the Great rites controversy of 1524, he was exiled to Yunnan.

Wu Mingji

Wu Mingji was a sixteenth century scholar from the Shaoxing region. He is best known for the compilation of ''Chaoxian shi xuan'' , a collection of several hundred poems written by Korean scholars in classical Chinese.

Much of what is known about Wu Mingji is contained in the preface to ''Chaoxian shi xuan''. Wu visited Korea twice during the , as an advisor to the expeditionary army. Wu was able to meet with many of the Korean literati. In 1598, he met with Heo Gyun, one of the leading scholars of the Joseon kingdom. Heo composed a poem in Wu's honour, in which he celebrated the common brotherhood of men despite their nationalities. On his second tour of Korea, Wu Mingqi made a concerted effort to collect the works of Korean poets.

The final work Wu produced was the ''Chaoxian shi xuan'' , the first Chinese anthology of Korean poetry. It included 340 poems by 112 Korean poets from the Silla period onwards, and was divided into seven parts according to genre. The ''Chaoxian shi xuan'' became subject of scholarly interest in the 17th century, when it was catalogued by bibliographers. The scholar Qian Qianyi incorporated a dozen poems from Wu's collection into his ''Li dai shi ji'' , as did Zhu Yizun into his ''Ming shi zong'' .

Wu also penned a short history of Goryeo entitled ''Gaoli shi ji'' .

Wen Zhenheng

Wen Zhenheng was a Ming dynasty scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter.

Wen was born in Suzhou in 1585. In 1621, he graduated from the Imperial Academy, obtained the lowest degree of ''''. In 1637, Wen was the assistant magistrate of Longzhou county in the Shanxi prefecture. On the same year, he was appointed Secretariat Drafter by Chongzhen Emperor. Wen Zhenheng was famous for his , poetry and essay. He was also an expert in , the Sweetgrass Garden he built in Suzhou was famous at his time.

Treatise on Superfluous Things

Wen Zhenheng's best known work ''Zhang Wu Zhi'' written between 1620-1627 was an encyclopedic book about garden architecture and interior design.

Zhang Wu Zhi was divided into twelve volumes:

* Vol 1. House and Dwelling-- 17 chapters
* Vol 2. Flowers and Trees-- 43 chapters
* Vol 3. Water and Stones - 18 chapters
* Vol 4. Fowl and Fish -- 11 chapters
* Vol 5. Books and Paintings - 26 chapters
* Vol 6. Chairs and Beds-- 20 chapters
* Vol 7. Utensils -- 58 chapters
* Vol 8. Cloths and accessories -- 10 chapters
* Vol 9. Boat and carriage -- 4 chapters
* Vol 10. Arrangement -- 11 chapters
* Vol 11. Vegetable and Fruits-- 27 chapters
* Vol 12. Incense and Tea -- 24 chapters

Wang Wei (17th century poet)

Wang Wei was a woman poet.

Orphaned at the age of seven, she became a courtesan in Yangzhou. In later life she was twice married and twice widowed, before becoming a priestess with the name "Taoist Master in the Straw coat". Thereafter she travelled throughout central China on a boat, writing poems celebrating nature. She later traveled to Japan for monetary endeavors and ended up in a brothel because of finances.

Ou Daren

Ou Daren was a Ming dynasty scholar, a native of Chencun , Shunde in Guangdong province. Becoming an official with the Second-Degree Scholars , he was appointed at posts such as Assistant of the Imperial College , Officer in Ministry of Work Affairs in Nanjing , etc. He was famous for his poetry, and was one of "The Latter Five Poets of the Southern Garden" , along with Liang Youyu, Li Minbiao, and Li Shixing. His famous works are the Collected Works of Ou Yubu and the Biographies of Virtuous Ancestors of Bai Yue .

Li Dongyang

Lǐ Dōngyáng was a Ming Dynasty scholar born in Hunan Province, Chaling city.

He served as an official under four emperors for over 50 years, including the roles of "Grand Historian" and the "Minister of Rites". He is also known for his distinctive poetry. He was commissioned with the compiling of the Statutes of the Ming Dynasty .

Liang Youyu

Liang Youyu was a Ming dynasty scholar. A native of Shunde in Guangdong province, he completed the Jinshi level of the Imperial Examination in 1550. He was involved in two well known poetry circles "The Latter Five Poets of the Southern Garden" , and "The Seven Masters" . His most famous work is Lántīng Cúngǎo .

Gao Qi

Gao Qi ,style name Ji Di 季迪, pseudonym Qinqiuzhi 青丘子 is generally acknowledged as the greatest of the Ming dynasty in China. He was born and raised in the shore of Wusong River, north of Puli Town near Suzhou. His life was dominated by the fall of the Yuan dynasty and the rise of the Ming.
In the 2nd year of Ming Hongwu, Gao Qi was called on as editor of Yuan Shi, The History of Yuan. Soon afterward, he was promoted to the post of deputy finance minister; but he declined, on pretext that he had no ability to manage finance. He retired to Blue Hill of Puli Town and taught students for living. Emperor Hongwu deemed him not cooperative; in 1374 he was accused of involvement in a "rebellion conspiracy" and was executed, he was only 39 years old.

Gao Qi's Work

* Edited History of Yuan
* Qing Qiu Ji, Collected Works of Blue Hill, a collection of his poems

His style of poetry was a radical departure from the extravagance of Yuan dynasty poetry, and led the way for three hundred years of Ming dynasty poetry.

Poems

Farm House

Gao Qi

I heard Sound of spinning wheel

Mingled with sound of flowing water

Sight of wooden bridge,

flowerless trees in hazy spring

Where from the aroma the breeze brought so close ?

Ah, next neighor is baking afternoon tea !

Translated by Martin Tai