Wang Changling

Wang Changling (Chinese: 王昌齡; pinyin: Wáng Chānglíng; 698–756) was a major Tang dynasty poet. His courtesy name was Shaobo (少伯). He was originally from Taiyuan in present-day Shanxi province, according to the editors of the Three Hundred Tang Poems, although other sources claim that he was actually from Jiangning near modern-day Nanjing. After passing the prestigious jinshi examination, he became a secretarial official and later held other imperial positions, including that of an official posting to Sishui (汜水), in what is currently Xingyang, in Henan province. Near the end of his life he was appointed as a minister of Jiangning county. He died in the An Lushan Rebellion.[2]

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang.

Wang Changling
王昌齡
Wang Changling, painted by Kanō Tsunenobu in the 18th century.
Born	698 Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
Died	756 (aged 57–58) Bozhou, Anhui, China
Occupation	Poet
Chinese name
Chinese	王昌齡
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wáng Chānglíng
Shaobo
Chinese	少伯
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shàobó

Yoshitoshi illustrating one of Wang Changling's poems, 100 Aspects of the Moon #54, 1887.[1]

He is best known for his poems describing battles in the frontier regions of western China. He also wrote an homage to the Princess Pingyang, Lady Warrior of the early Tang Dynasty.[3] Wang Changling was one of the competitors in the famous wine shop competition along with Gao Shi and Wang Zhihuan.[4]

Notes

1. From a poem by Wang Changling, "The night is still and a hundred flowers are fragrant in the western palace. She orders the screen to be rolled up, regretting the passing of spring with the Yunhe across her lap. She gazes at the moon, the colors of the trees are hazy in the indistinct moonlight."
2. Rexroth (1970): p. 132.
3. "Song of the Spring Palace – Wang Changling". August 10, 2018.
4. Wu (1972): pp. 118-119

References

• Rexroth, Kenneth (1970). Love and the Turning Year: One Hundred More Poems from the Chinese. New York: New Directions.
• Wu, John C. H. (1972). The Four Seasons of Tang Poetry. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E.Tuttle. ISBN 978-0-8048-0197-3

Further reading

• (Three Hundred Tang Poems), Taipei: 三民書局印行, 2001.

External links

• Works by Wang Changling at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Books of the Quan Tangshi that include collected poems of Wang Changling at the Chinese Text Project:
  • Book 140
  • Book 141
  • Book 142
  • Book 143