In Chinese literature, the
Tang period (618-907) is considered
the golden age of Chinese poetry. Tang
Shi San Bai Shou [300 Tang Poems]
is a compilation of poems from this
period made around 1763 by Heng-tang-tui-shi
[Sun Zhu] of the Qing dynasty. Sun's
motivation for compiling the collection
sprang from his dissatisfaction with
the then popular textbook, the Qian
Jia Shi [Poems by A Thousand
Poets], an earlier collection from
the Tang and Sung (960-1279) periods
. Sun made his own selection of Tang
poems based on their popularity and
effectiveness in cultivating character.
Because it represented equally well
each of the classical poetic forms and
because it represented the best works
by the most prominent Tang poets, Sun's
collection became a "best seller" soon
after its publication. It has been used
for centuries since to teach elementary
students to read and write, and also
in cultivating character. Sun's collection
is still a classic today, its popularity
undiminished. Nearly every Chinese household
owns a copy of Tang Shi and poems
from it are still included in textbooks
and to be memorized by students. We
would like to make this World Wide Web
version of the poems as a testimony
to its compiler's intent : " Learning
Tang poems three hundred by heart, you
can chant poems though you know not
the art ."
Chinese Text and English Translations
There are 310 poems in the original
collection of 300 Tang Poems,
and additional poems were added later
on. Our presentation contains 320 poems
and is based on the Chinese electronic
version created by Mr. Weichang Chan
from the National Central University
in Taiwan. The English translations
are taken primarily from those in Witter
Bynner's The Jade Mountain. Since
there are only 310 poems in Bynner's
collection, to complete our expanded
collection of 320 poems we added three
translations from Perspectives on
the Tang, Yale University Press
(nos. 190,191,193) ; and seven from
300 Tang Poems , the Commercial
Press, HK (nos. 001, 003, 039, 040,
042, 083, 084). Some seventy-seven poets
are represented here.
View Chinese Text on the World
Wide Web
In order to read the Chinese text ,
Chinese software with Big5 encoding
system is required. For detail information
on how to read Chinese on the Web, please
consult Accessing Chinese
Text on the Internet .
Romanization and Word Division
We apply Pinyin system to romanizing
all Chinese place and personal names.
As to word division, we separate personal
surname from the given name, all given
names and place names are grouped in
one word:
Zhang Jiuling
Not Zhangjiuling
or Zhang Jiu Ling
Changjiang
Not Chang Jiang
Bibliographies
Readers who are interested in finding
out more information on Chinese poetry
or translation of Chinese poetry may
find this small selection useful:
1. Bynner, Witter. The
Jade Mountain: A Chinese Anthology,
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1929.
2. Davis, A.R. Tu Fu, New
York : Twayne Publishers, 1971.
3. Giles, Herbert A. Chinese
Poetry in English Verse, London
: Bernard Quaritch, Shanghai: Kelly
& Walsh, 1898.
4. Jenyns, Soame. Selections
from the Three Hundred Poems of the
T'ang Dynasty, London: John Murray,
1940.
5. Jenyns, Soame. A Further
Selection from the Three Hundred Poems
of the T'ang Dynasty, London: John
Murray, 1944.
6. Wright, Arthur. Perspectives
on the Tang , New Haven : Yale
University Press, 1973.
7. Xu, Yuan-zhong. 300
Tang Poems: a new translation, Hong
Kong: Commercial Press, 1987.
For more Chinese Poetry
please visit the (awesome) website of
The University of Virginia at
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/index.html
Copyright © 1997 by
the Rector and Visitors of the University
of Virginia
Used, modified and adapted for
this project with their kind permission
