Meng Haoran

Meng Haoran (Chinese: 孟浩然; Wade–Giles: Meng Hao-jan; 689/691–740) was a Chinese poet and a major literary figure of the Tang dynasty. He was somewhat an older contemporary of Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu. Despite his brief pursuit of an official career, Meng Haoran spent most of his life in and around his hometown Xiangyang of the Hubei Province living like a hermit, while creating poems inspired by its landscapes and milieu.^[1]

Meng Haoran
孟浩然
Meng Haoran.
Born	689/691 Xiangyang, Hubei, China
Died	740 (aged 50–51) 740 (aged 48–49) Xiangyang, Hubei, China
Occupation	Poet
Children	Meng Yifu (孟儀甫)
Chinese name
Chinese	孟浩然
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mèng Hàorán Wade–Giles Meng4 Hao4-jan2 IPA [mə̂ŋ xâʊ.ɻǎn] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Maahng Houh-yìhn Jyutping Maang6 Hou6-jin4 IPA [maŋ˨ hɔw˨ jin˩] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Bēng Hō-jiân Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Mɐng ɤâu-ńźjän

In this Chinese name, the family name is Meng.

Meng Haoran was a major influence on both contemporary and subsequent poets of the Tang dynasty due to his excellency in Shanshui poetry and his composed, independent spirit.^[1][2] Meng was prominently featured in the Qing dynasty (and subsequently frequently republished) poetry anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, having the fifth largest number of poems selected for a total of fifteen, exceeded only by Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, and Li Shangyin. These poems of Meng Haoran were made available in English translations by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kanghu with the publication of The Jade Mountain in 1920. In 2021, a complete translation of all Meng's poems by Paul W. Kroll was published as The Poetry of Meng Haoran, which also contains an introduction of Meng's life and historical contexts of his poetry.^[3]

The Three Hundred Tang Poems also collected two poems by Li Bai addressed to Meng Haoran, one in his praise and one written in farewell.

Biography

A city park in the former Xiangyang area, Meng Haoran's home territory.

One of the major poets during a peak era of the Tang Poetry, known as the High Tang, Meng Haoran was born in Xiangyang District, Xiangfan, south of the Han River, in the modern province of Hubei. He remained strongly attached to this area and its scenery throughout his life.

He had the desire to pursue a career in politics in his youth, but never successes in securing an official position.^[1] As recorded by the New Book of Tang, he was recommended by his good friend Wang Wei to Emperor Xuanzong, who granted him an audience during which he recited his poem. However, one line therein angered the emperor: "The untalented the wise lord discards" (不才明主棄), which Xuanzong interpreted as a sarcastic complaint for not employing him sooner in the imperial government. Thus, he was sent away from the palace.^[4] He received his only quasi-civil service position as an advisor to Zhang Jiuling three years before his death, but resigned after less than a year due to his aloofness and pride.^[1] He lived in the Xiangyang area almost all his life, except for a brief trip to the capital city of Chang'an where he was hosted by Wang Wei in 728. The landscape, history and legends of his hometown are the subjects of a majority of his poems. Some particularly prominent landmarks include Nanshan (or South Mountain, his family seat) and Lumen Shan, a temple site, where he briefly lived in retreat.

Works

Meng Haoran is often bracketed with Wang Wei, due to the friendship they shared and their prominence as landscape poets.^[5] In fact, Meng composed several poems about Wang and their parting. While Wang's work focused on the natural world, in particular the solitude and reprieve it granted from human life along with the scale of the natural world, Meng's poetry focuses more on foreground details and human life, such as returning villagers waiting at the ferry crossing, fishermen, or (often unseen) mountain hermits dwelling in religious seclusion.

Meng's poetic language was as simple as everyday conversation, yet this simplicity did not diminish their careful craftsmanship. Critics have noted that Meng's artistry resides in his adeptness at transforming ordinary daily experiences into enduring poetry.^[6][7]

Meng's quatrain "Spring Morning" (春曉) is one of the best known Tang poems, partly due to its inclusion as the opening piece of the Qian-Jia Shi (Poems of a Thousand Masters), a beginner's anthology of verses widely adopted in elementary curriculum since the late Song dynasty.^[2]

春眠不覺曉，
處處聞啼鳥。
夜來風雨聲，
花落知多少。

In spring slumber, I am unaware of daybreak,
Though everywhere I hear the tweet of birds.
Last night came the sound of wind and rain;
Who knows how many flowers must have fallen?

Reception and Legacy

Meng was highly regarded by his contemporaries, notably both Li Bai and Du Fu had written poems in his praise. According to Du Fu, Meng's poetry surpassed those of Bao Zhao and Xie Lingyun in quality.^[8] Li Bai's tribute, on the other hand, honored Meng's noble character and independent spirit.^[9] Song dynasty critics held that Meng's poetry excelled in creativity but lacked depth and breadth in its topics. Su Shi likened Meng's artistry to that of a skilled wine maker with supreme craftsmanship but a shortage of ingredients.^[10][11] 20th century scholar Wen Yiduo aligned with Li Bai in his assessment of Meng, praising his poetry as an genuine expression of his serene demeanor and hermit lifestyle.^[6]

The themes and styles of Meng Haoran's Shanshui poetry helped to set a convention followed by younger poets, such as Wang Wei.

See also

• Classical Chinese poetry
• Meng Jiao
• Tang poetry
• Wang Wei
• Chinese Wikipedia article on relationship to Mencius (孟家) (In Chinese)

References

1. Longxi, Zhang (2022-08-30). A History of Chinese Literature (1 ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 109–120. doi:10.4324/9781003164173. ISBN 978-1-003-16417-3.
2. Mair, Victor H. (2001). The Columbia history of Chinese literature. New York: Columbia University press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-231-10984-0.
3. Kroll, Paul W. (2021-07-05). Owen, Stephen (ed.). The Poetry of Meng Haoran. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110734690. ISBN 978-3-11-073469-0.
4. 《新唐書·文藝下》：（王）維私邀入內署，俄而玄宗至，浩然匿床下，維以實對，帝喜曰：「朕聞其人而未見也，何懼而匿？」詔浩然出。帝問其詩，浩然再拜，自誦所為，至「不才明主棄」之句，帝曰：「卿不求仕，而朕未嘗棄卿，奈何誣我？」因放還。
5. Jaroslav Průšek and Zbigniew Słupski, eds., Dictionary of Oriental Literatures: East Asia (Charles Tuttle, 1978): 116.
6. Wen, Yiduo (1941). 唐诗杂论 (Tang Shi Za Lun) [Discussions on Tang Poetry] (in Chinese). Shanxiguji Chubanshe (published 2001). pp. 23–27. ISBN 9787805984667.
7. Zhang, Longxi (2022). A History of Chinese Literature. London: Routledge. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-003-16417-3.
8. 杜甫，唐， “遣兴五首·吾怜孟浩然”：吾怜孟浩然，裋褐即长夜。赋诗何必多，往往凌鲍谢。清江空旧鱼，春雨馀甘蔗。每望东南云，令人几悲吒。
9. 李白，唐, “赠孟浩然”: 吾爱孟夫子，风流天下闻。红颜弃轩冕，白首卧松云。醉月频中圣，迷花不事君。高山安可仰，徒此揖清芬。
10. 张戒, 宋, 岁寒堂诗话, "论孟襄阳诗": 论诗文当以文体为先，警策为後。若但取其警策而已，则“枫落吴江冷”，岂足以定优劣？孟浩然“微雲淡河汉，疏雨滴梧桐”之句，东野集中未必有也。然使浩然当退之大敌，如城南联句，亦必困矣。子瞻云：“浩然诗如内库法酒，却是上尊之规模，但欠酒才尔。”此论尽之。
11. 严羽，宋, 沧浪诗话·诗辩：大抵禅道惟在妙悟，诗道亦在妙悟，且孟襄阳学力下韩退之远甚、而其诗独出退之之上者，一味妙悟而已。惟悟乃为当行，乃为本色。

Further reading

• Kroll, Paul W. (2021). The Poetry of Meng Haoran . De Gruyter Mouton.
• Bryant, Daniel Joseph (1977). The high T'ang poet Meng Hao-jan: studies in biography and textual history (PhD). Vancouver: University of British Columbia. hdl:2429/21504. Contains English translations of all known poems by Meng Haoran.
• Nienhauser, William H (ed.). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Indiana University Press 1986. ISBN 0-253-32983-3
• Ma Maoyuan, "Meng Haoran". Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.

External links

• Five-character regulated verses of Meng Haoran, with English translation, pinyin transliteration, and tonal patterns.
• 15 poems by Meng Haoran in the 300 Tang Poems (trans. Bynner)
• Works by or about Meng Haoran at the Internet Archive
• Works by Meng Haoran at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)