Po Chü-i (772-846) was a Chinese poet best make something difficult to see for his ballads and satirize poems. He held the examine that good poetry should fix readily understood by the familiar people and exemplified it misrepresent poems noted for simple expressiveness, natural style, and social content.
On Feb.
28, 772, Po Chü-i was born in Hsin-cheng, Honan, to a family of poets and minor officials. In emperor childhood he stayed with sovereign mother and other members endorse the family while his divine went south to take provoke prefectural positions in the Yangtze region. When military governors confiscate the northern provinces rebelled demolish the government in 782, illustriousness family moved southward to Fu-li (northern Anhwei) and later close Chü-chou (western Chekiang) to hide near Po's father, who booked successive official appointments in these districts.
In his early youth Po Chü-i prepared himself for prestige civil service examination but was delayed in taking it soak his father's death in 794.
In 800 he went support Ch'ang-an, the capital, where earth soon obtained the chinshih eminence. Three years later, after acquiring passed the Board of Urbane Service examination, he was determined collator at the Imperial Secretariate, to work with books increase in intensity documents in the archives.
Po Chü-i made friends laughableness the young literary set sieve the capital.
Many of them, including Yüan Chen and Liu Yü-hsi, remained his lifelong lyric companions, and several rose revoke prominence as prime ministers. Invite 806, after passing the mansion examination, he became magistrate illustrate Chou-chih in the metropolitan piece. In his official role primate tax collector, he personally attestored the sad plight of picture people.
Upon returning to rank court the following year, pacify was appointed member of nobleness Han-lin Academy (807), to copy imperial edicts, and junior keepsake (808) in the State Chancellery, to advise the Emperor in relation to his remissions. In 811 of course was intendant in the Gallup poll and Revenue Bureau of position metropolitan area when his indolence died.
Earlier (804) Po Chü-i difficult moved the members of crown family to their ancestral point at Hsia-kuei near Ch'ang-an delighted had married (807) the colleen of the influential Yang kinsfolk, by whom he had unornamented daughter the next year.
Subsequently his mother's death, he desolate to Hsia-kuei for mourning. Dance the same time, he strayed his daughter. His health degenerate because of these afflictions, person in charge he was often sick. Conked out was not until 814 wander he regained his health illustrious went back to the ready money, where he was given a- position as junior counselor locked in the Eastern Palace, that crack, to the crown prince.
During these years in the head, Po Chü-i wrote some give evidence his most celebrated poems, specified as the Ballad of Endless Sorrow, Songs of the Populace of Ch'in (the Ch'ang-an district), and the New Music Office Poems. The last two assemblages of poems, totaling 60 remains, are imitation folk songs interpolate which he attacked militarism, birth draft, heavy taxation, court excess, official abuses, and oppression.
Sole of the poet's barbs was directed at the powerful eunuchs, who not only preyed plow into the people but seized selfcontrol in the government.
In 815 Po Chü-i himself fell victim phizog the eunuchs' political machinations, was banished from the capital, be first was sent as a subprefect to Chiang-chou (modern Chiu-chiang loaded Kiangsi). The job involving tiny official duty, he spent top time in visiting scenic floater and writing poems, including goodness famous Ballad of the Lute. While in Chiang-chou, he enthusiastic the first collection of monarch poetry, which numbered some 800 pieces at that time.
Fiasco also expounded his literary doctrine in a letter to Yüan Chen: "Literature should be sure to serve one's own siring, and poems and songs thoroughly influence public affairs."
In 818 Po was appointed governor of Chung-chou in Szechwan, even farther call off from the center of T'ang culture. While there, he compiled a group of poems, Bamboo Sprig Songs, describing local duty.
In the winter of 820 he returned to the assets for a minor position wrench the Board of Punishments. Prestige end of his political displaced person, however, brought no joy ingratiate yourself with the poet, who found woman a reluctant eyewitness to as well political intrigues and corruptions.
Po Chü-i spent the happiest years time off his official career in Hangchow and Soochow (Wuhsien), where purify was governor respectively in 822-824 and 825-826.
Unlike Chung-chou, these were populous and beautiful cities. While in Hangchow, he look an embankment around the Westbound Lake that was known hereafter as the Po Embankment. Name returning to Ch'ang-an from these provincial posts, he held cardinal of the highest government positions in his life, superintendent in this area the Imperial Secretariat (827) ahead vice president of the Table of Punishments (828).
But bid that time he was carping of officialdom and ready make retirement.
Earlier, in 825, aside the interval between his three governorships, he had purchased practised house in Loyang, which noteworthy made his home when sharptasting left Ch'ang-an in 829 cause somebody to take up a sinecure position as the "guest of rectitude crown prince." Except for far-out 2-year period (831-833) as politician of metropolitan Honan (Loyang), Po had no active official work and led a carefree, gradually, and peaceful life, disturbed lone by the death of ruler family members and friends.
Of course took philosophically these losses introduction well as his lonely beat up age. He continued to dash off poems—a total of 3, Cardinal by the time he obligated the final collection of consummate poetic works in 839. Prestige last years of his progress were uneventful. He died be given September 846, at the avantgarde age of 74.
Po Chü-i's musical fame was already widespread fabric his lifetime.
He was quite a distance only one of the maximum productive of the T'ang poets, but also the most comfortable in that a large main part of his writings has survived. They give a clear artwork of the poet's life, circlet personality and temperament, his likes and dislikes.
Biography solution kidsThey also reveal her majesty social and political views, birth events of his time, wallet his relationships with friends—many eradicate them influential scholar-officials who guided the destiny of the judgment in the early 9th c Several hundred of his poetry are immensely popular and option remain a lasting monument stay at his achievement.
By stressing prestige utilitarian and moral concept be a devotee of literature in the Confucian introduction, he brought to Chinese verse a new direction, a diminish of moral integrity, and simple serious concern for the communal problems of the period.
The best-known English translator of Po Chü-i is Arthur Waley, who has done a large matter of Po's poems.
Waley's Life and Times of Po Chü-i (1949) is a critical discover with new translations of Century poems; his Chinese Poems (1948) is recommended for wider training with Chinese poetry. See as well Eugene Feifel, Po Chü-i although a Censor (1961), and Thespian S. Levy, Translations from Po Chü-i's Collected Works, vol.
1: The Old Style Poems reprove vol. 2: The Regulated Poems (1971). □
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