Liu Zongyuan

Liu Zongyuan (Chinese: 柳宗元; pinyin: Liǔ Zōngyuán; 773 – 28 November 819) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He has been traditionally classed as one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song".

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu (柳).

Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元
Born	773 Yongji, Shanxi
Died	November 28, 819(819-11-28) (aged 45–46) Liuzhou, Guangxi
Nationality	Chinese
Occupation(s)	Philosopher, poet, politician

Liu Zongyuan
Chinese	柳宗元
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liǔ Zōngyuán Wade–Giles Liu3 Tsung1-yüan2 IPA [ljòʊ tsʊ́ŋ.ɥɛ̌n] Wu Suzhounese Leu Tson-nyioẽ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Láuh Jōng-yùhn Jyutping Lau5 Zung1-jyun4 IPA [lɐw˩˧ tsʊŋ.jyn˩] Southern Min Tâi-lô Liú Tsong-guân
Courtesy name
Chinese	子厚
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zǐhòu Wade–Giles Tzu3hou4

Biography

Liu Zongyuan was born in 773.^[1] His courtesy name was Zihou (子厚).

Liu Zongyuan's civil service career was initially successful; however, in 805, he fell out of favour with the imperial government because of his association with a failed reformist movement. He was exiled first to Yongzhou, Hunan, and then to Liuzhou, Guangxi, where he eventually became the city Governor. A park and temple in Liuzhou is dedicated to his memory.^[2] His exile allowed his literary career to flourish: he produced poems, fables, reflective travelogues and essays synthesizing elements of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Statue of Liu Zongyuan

He died in 819.^[1]

Works

Landscape painting by Zhou Wenjing, the last two lines of Liu Zongyuan's poem "River Snow" written in the upper right corner ("孤舟蓑笠翁，獨釣寒江雪")

Liu's best-known travel pieces are the Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou (永州八記). Around 180 of his poems are extant, of which five were collected in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment.

One of his most famous poems is "Jiangxue" (江雪), translated into English as "River Snow" or "Winter Snow". The poem has been an inspiration for many works of Chinese painting.

江雪 千山鳥飛絕 萬徑人蹤滅 孤舟蓑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪	River Snow A thousand mountains, but no sign of birds in flight; Ten thousand paths, but no trace of human tracks. In a lone boat, an old man, in a rain hat and a straw raincoat, Fishing alone, in the cold river snow.

Liu Zongyuan wrote Fei Guoyu (simplified Chinese: 非国语; traditional Chinese: 非國語, Argument against the Harangues of the Various States), a criticism of Guoyu. In response, Liu Zhang (劉 章, c. 1095–1177); Jiang Duanli (simplified Chinese: 江端礼; traditional Chinese: 江端禮); and Yu Pan (Chinese: 虞槃 fl. 1300), Yu Ji's (虞 集, 1272–1348) younger brother, wrote texts titled Fei Fei Guoyu (simplified Chinese: 非非国语; traditional Chinese: 非非國語; Argument against the Argument against the Harangues of the Various States) in opposition to Liu Zongyuan's essay.^[3]

See also

• Classical Chinese poetry
• List of Three Hundred Tang Poems poets
• Tang poetry

References

1. Ueki et al. 1999, p. 113.
2. "Liuzhou Tourism". Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
3. Nienhauser, William H. Jr. (University of Wisconsin-Madison). A Third Look at "Li Wa Zhuan". T'ang Studies (Print ISSN 0737-5034, Online ISSN 1759-7633), 2007(25), pp. 91–110. Cited p.: 91-92.

Works cited

• Chen, Jo-shui, Liu Tsung-yüan and Intellectual Change in T'ang China, 773–819, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN 0521419646.
• Nienhauser Jr., William H.; Hartmann, Charles; Crawford, William Bruce; Walls, Jan W.; Neighbors, Lloyd, Liu Tsung-yüan, New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1973.
• Ueki, Hisayuki; Uno, Naoto; Matsubara, Akira (1999). "Shijin to Shi no Shōgai (Ryū Sōgen)". In Matsuura, Tomohisa (ed.). Kanshi no Jiten 漢詩の事典 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten. pp. 113–115. OCLC 41025662.

External links

• Liu Zongyuan in Wengu textbase, five poems in traditional Chinese arrayed with Bynner's translation.
• Biography and translations of five poems. (Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping)
• Works by or about Liu Zongyuan at the Internet Archive
• Works by Liu Zongyuan at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Books of the Quan Tangshi that include collected poems of Liu Zongyuan at the Chinese Text Project:
  • Book 350
  • Book 351
  • Book 352
  • Book 353