MASARYK UNIVERSITY Faculty of Arts Studies Seminar

Bachelor‘s Thesis

2018 Petra Zigáčková

MASARYK UNIVERSITY Faculty of Arts China Studies Seminar

Petra Zigáčková The Life and Work of the Tang He Bachelor‘s Thesis

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Lucie Olivová, MA, Ph.D., DSc. Brno 2018

I hereby declare that the submitted thesis is the result of my own original independent work. All references have been properly cited and acknowledged.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to give special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Lucie Olivová, MA, Ph.D., DSc., for the professional and patient guidance she has been providing me with throughout the whole process of writing the thesis.

Anotace

Cílem této práce je představení čínského básníka žijícím v období panování dynastie Tang. Li He se proslavil díky svému jedinečnému básnickému stylu, reprezentovaným především v básních ve starém stylu a básních ve stylu lidových písní . Práce seznamuje s básníkovým životem a poté se zaměřuje na jeho básnickou tvorbu. Básníkův styl s označením changji ti je analyzován z hlediska jeho formálních a stylistických kvalit. Z dochovaných básní básníka Li He je hlubší pozornost věnována jeho básním fantastickým, milostným, historickým, autobiografickým a básním, které Li He věnoval svým přátelům. Jednotlivé popisy typů tvorby jsou doplněny ukázkami. Tyto ukázky básní jsou interpretovány v kontextu básníkova života. V podkapitolách jsou stručně nastíněny oblíbené básnické žánry dynastie Tang a jejich představitelé. Také je věnována pozornost dílům a osobnostem, které ovlivnily tvorbu Li He, např. básníci a . V neposlední řadě je krátce zhodnocen básníkův odkaz a jeho přijetí veřejností.

Klíčová slova

čínská poezie, poezie dynastie Tang, Li He, changji ti, gushi, yuefu

Abstract

The thesis deals with the life and work of the poet Li He. He was a creator of a unique literary style contradicting the trends of the time. Therefore, he did not enjoy much popularity and his work faced waves of criticism up until the . Through primary sources such as Li He’s , preface by the poet Mu and biography by the poet and numerous secondary sources, the thesis unravels the story of the poet’s life and analyzes his poetic style. It also sets the historic and literary context by introducing Tang dynasty and its literary scene with the prevalent poetic forms and their representants. The thesis discovers that Li He was inspired by the anthology , namely by its mythological and shamanistic features, and by famous Tang such as Li Bai, Han Yu or . Li He favored the ancient style poetry gushi, under the influence of Han Yu, and a folk song style poetry yuefu that flourished during the Tang dynasty. His poetry, dubbed changji ti, is distinctive by loosely linked images within the verses and tends to be pessimistic with the elements of terror. Many poets of the following dynasties pick up on this style, despite the occasional denouncement. The thesis serves as an introductory study of Li He on the Czech academic field.

Key Words

Chinese poetry, Tang dynasty poetry, Li He, changji ti, gushi, yuefu Table of Content: Introduction ...... 8 Methodology ...... 9 1. Tang Literature ...... 11 1.1. The Introduction to Tang Dynasty ...... 11 1.2. Literature ...... 12 1.2.1. ...... 13 1.2.1.1. 律詩 ...... 13 1.2.1.2. Gushi 古詩 ...... 14 1.2.1.3. Yuefu 樂府 ...... 15 2. Li He 李賀 ...... 17 2.1. Family Background and Upbringing ...... 17 2.2. Education and Imperial Examinations ...... 18 2.3. Post–Examination Career ...... 21 2.4. Military Service and Death ...... 22 3. Li He’s Literary Influences ...... 26 3.1. 楚辭 ...... 26 3.2. Meng Jiao 孟郊 ...... 28 3.3. Han Yu 韓愈 ...... 29 3.4. Li Bai 李白 ...... 30 4. Li He’s Poetry ...... 32 4.1. Poetic Forms ...... 32 4.2. Stylistics of Changji Ti 長吉體 ...... 33 4.3. Themes ...... 36 4.3.1. Poems about Supernatural Beings and Occurrences ...... 35 4.3.2. Historical Poetry ...... 39 4.3.3. Love Poetry ...... 40 4.3.4. Dedicated Poems ...... 41 4.3.5. Autobiographical Poems ...... 42 5. Li He’s Reception and Legacy ...... 47 Conclusion ...... 49 Bibliography ...... 51 Electronical Resources ...... 52 Other Sources ...... 55

Introduction

The thesis introduces the life and work of the poet Li He 李賀 (790–816/817). He lived during the so called Mid–Tang dynasty period (765–835) and is an author of mainly ancient style poetry gushi 古詩 and a folk song style poetry yuefu 樂府. Although he was of a royal descent, his family branch was insignificant, therefore there are but a few accounts of him in contemporary documents. There were few brief biographies of Li He published, notably one written by the poet Li Shangyin 李商隱 (813–858). Around 240 pieces of Li He’s poetry were preserved, many of them serve as a valuable source of information about the poet’s life. From the few pieces of information we know that he once held an official post in the capital city Chang’an 長安 (present–day Xi’an 西安) and later joined the army in Luzhou 瀘州. In Chang’an he participated in the poetic group led by the poets Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824) and Meng Jiao 孟郊 (751–814), who significantly influenced his poetic style. Li He suffered poor health all his life and died of tuberculosis at the age of 26/27.

The work presents Li He’s biography and analyzes formal and stylistic qualities of his poetry. It focuses on certain topical poetry, like fantastical or autobiographical. The work also aims to put Li He’s literary contribution into the perspective of the Tang dynasty. Therefore, it briefly outlines the literary styles and representatives of the dynasty, as well as literary pieces and figures influencing Li He. Finally, the work evaluates Li He’s legacy and public reception.

The thesis is divided into five chapter. For reference purposes, I state the of proper nouns like the names of individuals, dynasties, literary works, geographical places such as counties and towns and terminology of and relevant historical terms. I omit the Chinese characters of provinces. Throughout the thesis, I use the traditional Chinese characters and hanyu for the transcription (except for citing publication’s names that use Wade–Giles transcription). All of Li He’s poems included in the work are translated by Jonathan D. Frodsham as presented in the Collected Poems of Li He (2016).

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Methodology

The thesis is divided into two parts– theoretical and practical one. The outline of the work is set by these four research questions:

1. Who was Li He and what are the characteristics of his literary style? 2. How does Li He’s style differ from the Tang dynasty distinctive literary style? 3. How were Li He’s poems preserved until today? 4. What was the literary contribution of Li He’s work?

In Czech Republic, Li He’s work has not yet been deeply studied nor were his poems translated into Czech, with an exception of one piece published in the Tang poetry reader Čítanka tangské poezie by Olga Lomová (1995, p. 151–152). Therefore, the work serves merely as an introduction on Li He and implies further studies in the field of Czech sinology.

The sources I used were either recommended by my supervisor, or I have looked them up online. In my primary search of sources, I used websites like https://scholar.google.cz/ or https://www.jstor.org/ to find Li He or Tang poetry related works. As my skills are not on the level to adequately comprehend academic Chinese, I focused on texts written in English. That narrowed down my selection relatively significantly. Moreover, I was not able to gain access to most of the Chinese texts I did try to obtain. If I was forced to use studies written in Japanese or an advanced Chinese– .g., Li He Qi Yan Gushi de Yishu Changxin Ji Qi Shu Xue Yiyi 李賀七言古詩的藝術創新及其詩學史意義 (2015) by Wei Zuqin, I sought help by native speakers with the translation.

I used the monograph Collected Poems of Li He (2016) translated and commented by Jonathan D. Frodsham as a starting point of my study. It was not only easily available for purchase online, but it also provided me with a comprehensive and relatively exhaustive source of information about the poet. Moreover, Frodsham carefully annotates each poem, which helped me with a better understanding of their meanings. The monograph includes a preface written by 杜牧, which is a valuable primary source from the ninth century. My only objection is that although the monograph has a list of sources, Frodsham does not specifically address which exact information he took from which literature. I tried to check the sources on my own, but they were either in Chinese or Japanese, or I have not gained access to them.

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I came across many unpublished dissertations written about Li He, some of which were cited in the literature used for my own thesis. They mostly dealt with poetry analysis, e.g. the Mythological Themes in the Poetry of Li Ho (791-817) (1973) by Michael Bennett. I requested an access for them on websites such as https://www.researchgate.net but with no success. I was able to view a dissertation by Kuniko Ukai called Songs of a Hidden Orchid: Yuefu and Gexing by Li He (791–817) (1956), which helped with me with the evaluation of Li He’s yuefu poetry.

Other notable works I did not use either because I was not able to retrieve them, or they did not provide me with new information. Such were– e.g., the monograph Li Ho (1979) by the author Du Guoqing 杜國清, which I did not manage to get the hold of.

The biography of Li He was compiled by information found in the Collected Poems of Li He and other sources such as the Čítanka tangské poezie by Olga Lomová (1995), Poetry: An Anthology by David Hinton (2010), Xin Tangshu 新唐書, Li He Xiaozhuan 李賀小傳 by the poet Li Shangyin 李商隱 and others. These works were either accessible online or available for purchase online.

The theoretical part consists of Li He’s biography which I deemed proper to place in the historical and literary context. For that reason, a briefly introduce the Tang dynasty and then its trends in poetry. Furthermore, I elaborate on the prominent pieces of works and people, who had an impact on Li He’s work.

For the practical part, where I focus on poetry analysis, I divided Li He’s poems into several thematic groups. I take a closer look on groups that show the distinctions of Li He’s style more clearly and analyze them. I also look on the general formal and stylistic qualities of the poems to further define the style.

In the last part of the thesis I evaluate Li He’s literary legacy based on his reception by literary critics, later poets and attention by modern academia.

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Theoretical Part

1. Tang Literature

1.1. The Introduction to Tang Dynasty

The Tang 唐 dynasty (618–907) empire is generally regarded as a pinnacle of the Chinese civilization. It was preceded by the Sui 隋 dynasty (581–618) and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960). The Tang dynasty era was met with great economic and social development. Arts flourished under the blessings of the imperial court. The capital Chang’an 長安 (present–day Xi’an 西安) was the most populous city in the world.1

The sovereignty of the state was disrupted by a devastating rebellion with the general 安禄山 (703–757) in lead. It began in 755 when An Lushan established a rival Yan 燕 dynasty in the northern regions of the Tang empire, fighting with the Tang emperor Xuanzong 玄宗 (685–762). Although the rebellion was eventually defeated, it significantly weakened the empire.

When poet Li He 李賀 was born in 790, parts of the land were still ravished by local generals, who took advantage of the former rebellion and kept usurping their territories. The chronic warlordism lasted for the entire second half of the Tang dynasty, into the Five Dynasties period. It finally came to an end with establishing of the Song 宋 dynasty in 960.2

For the purposes of the thesis, a periodization of the Tang dynasty will be used as it is stated by Burton Watson in the Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century (1971). He divides the dynasty into 4 parts, first of which is the so called Early Tang, dating from 618 to 712, High Tang from 713 to 765, Middle Tang from 766 to 835 and Late Tang from 836 till the fall of the dynasty in 907 (p. 109).

1 Tang dynasty https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tang-dynasty [Retrieved 3.15.2018]. 2 An Lushan https://www.britannica.com/biography/An-Lushan [Retrieved 3.15.2018]. 11

1.2. Literature

The Tang dynasty was the golden age of and arts. It gave birth to many brilliant authors, whose works are being admired up until the present time and that gained worldwide popularity. Among the most renowned representatives of the Tang dynasty literature are the poets Li Bai 李白 (701–762), Du 杜甫 (712–770) or 王維 (701–761) just to name a few.

Many new literary styles were developed. The Neo–Confucian authors 柳宗元 (773–819) and Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824) rose against the Han 漢 dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) poetry tradition piantiwen 騙體文 (parallel prose), which was highly decorative and had a rigid structure.3 Instead, in the Guwen Yundong 古文運動 (Classical Prose Movement), they called for a recovery of the pre–Han style of prose, that relied on clarity and precise expressions using colloquial language (Ebrey, Walthall, Palais, 2006, p. 106).

The politician and writer 元稹 (779–831) is the author of the Biography of Yingying (Yingying Zhuan 鶯鶯傳). It is considered to be the first work of fiction in Chinese history (Gu Mingdong, 2006, p. 81–82). It is in the form of 傳奇, which is a short story form in classical language developed during the Tang dynasty. Later it became the basis for the Chinese opera.4

Extensive encyclopedias such as Yiwen Lieju 藝文類聚5 were compiled on imperial orders during the Tang era. Yiwen leiju or Collection of Literature Arranged by Categories is a work of ten compilers, led by Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641). It was published in 624 and covers 727 topics and quotes from 1431 sources. The work deals with themes ranging from literature, military matters to natural disasters and strange phenomena. Its value lies mostly in the large number of citations from sources that are partially lost.

Many other pieces of work were produced such as travelogues, history books of the previous dynasties, commentaries of classical books or collections of legends and myths (Reed,

3 Piantiwen 騙體文 is a rhyming prose characterized by parallel style and ornate language. Some of the features of piantiwen are that the whole article is composed of antithetic sentences and these sentences are made up of four-character and six-character lines. Following the Han dynasty the form was of more importance than the content. http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/09/content_41729.htm [Retrieved 3.15.2018]. 4 Chuanqi 傳奇 https://www.britannica.com/art/chuanqi-Chinese-drama [Retrieved 3.16.2018]. 5 Yiwen Lieju 藝文類聚 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Science/yiwenleiju.html [Retrieved 3.16.2018]. 12

2003, p. 121). Nevertheless, poetry became the most prominent and praised genre of the Tang dynasty. It accommodated much larger number of poets than in any other time in the and an increased amount of preserved poems then ever before. The exhaustive collection of poems 全唐詩 from 1705 contains nearly 49 000 poems by 2 200 authors (Watson, 1971, p. 109).

1.2.1. Tang Poetry

Poetry was regarded highly during Tang and poets generally enjoyed a respectable reputation. Many gathered in poetic groups or were hired by emperors to serve as court poets, such as Li Bai.6 Scholars and aspirants for government positions were required to master poetry in order to pass the Imperial examinations (Crozier, 2002). The anthology of the Tang dynasty poems called Tang Shi Sanbai Shou 唐詩三百首 was compiled during the Qing dynasty 清朝 and first published in 1764.7 Among the most prevalent forms were poems with shi 詩, rhymed prose fu 賦 and folk song style poetry yuefu 樂府. Li He rarely composed in the regulated verse shi form. His poems are mostly in an ancient–style poetry form gushi 古詩 and yuefu 樂府.8 For a comparison, a special regulated verse form lüshi 律詩, that was typical for the Tang dynasty, will be introduced as well.

1.2.1.1. Lüshi 律詩

Lüshi is a type of shi 詩 that was developed in Tang dynasty. The origin of lüshi, or the “regulated verse“ is associated with the poet 沈約 (441–513), who developed 8 rules of how to correctly compose poetry in regard to its tonal and rhyming qualities (Watson, 1971, p. 111). According to one of these rules, the tonal succession of words in the second line of a syntactically–paired couplet had to be parallel to the first line. In such way the reader, presumably, will not be distracted by an unintentional tonal harmony, that would confuse his understanding of the verse.

6 Li Bai https://www.britannica.com/biography/Li-Bai [Retrieved 4.30.2018]. 7 Tang Shi Sanbai Shou 唐詩三百首 http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=Tangshi [Retrieved 3.19.2018]. 8 Gushi 古詩 https://www.britannica.com/art/Chinese-literature/Qin-and-Han-dynasties-221-bce-220- ce#ref192077 [Retrieved 3.19.2018]. 13

The tones were divided into two groups. The first group included level tone ping 平, which is similar to ’s first tone. The other group of non–level or deflected tones ze 仄 included other three tones of , that was used at the time.9

A mandatory element of lüshi was parallelism of lines within a couplet, meaning that each word of a line must match a word at a same position in a parallel line. The match can be in terms of grammatical function, comparison or contrast and phonology (including tonality). Lüshi is usually made up of eight lines with four couplets of five (wushi 五律), six (liushi 六 律), or seven (qishi 七律) characters.10 The third and fourth couplet had to be parallel too, as well as the fifth and sixth. The first couplet served as an exposition of a theme, in the second and third couplet the theme was developed, and the last couplet served as a conclusion.

An example of lüshi with five characters per line is Song Youren 送友人 (Seeing Off a Friend) by Li Bai 李白, translated by A. Z. Foreman:

青山横北郭， Beyond the north wall, dark green mountains stretch 白水绕东城， Round the east city, the clear white river flows 此地一为别， Once we two have parted in this place 孤蓬万里征. Lone tumbleweed has thousands of miles to blow 浮云游子意， A drifting cloud: the mind of a traveler 落日故人情， Sinking sun: the mood of old friends going 挥手自兹去， We wave our hands taking leave from here 萧萧班马鸣。 Our hesitant horses in parting neigh and moan. 11

1.2.1.2. Gushi 古詩

This poetic form, translated as “the old style“ or “ancient“ poetry, emerged as a revolt against the highly stylized and regulated verse forms such as lüshi. Gushi first appeared as early as in the second century AD (Frankel, 1978, p. 213) but had its most significant revival during

9 Lüshi 律詩 http://popularpoetryforms.blogspot.cz/2013/12/lushi.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 10 Lüshi 律詩 https://baike.baidu.com/item/律詩 [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 11 Song Youren 送友人 http://poemsintranslation.blogspot.cz/2016/08/li-bai-seeing-friend-off-from- chinese.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 14 the Tang dynasty with the most famous propagators being Li Bai and . The length of verses in gushi is not strictly set and does not require verbal or tonal parallelisms.12 There were no rules regarding the placement of tones throughout the verse, only euphony was required.13

The Tang gushi usually consisted of four lines of seven or five characters, with lines in syntactically–paired couplets. Adding more characters to the rhythm scheme in order to create a rhyme was allowed. Some would omit rhyming completely. Parallelism within a couplet is a common feature, although not necessary. The poet Liu Zongyuan (733–819) wrote a gushi Yuweng 漁翁 (An old fisherman) which has six lines of seven characters each, translated by Ulrich Theobald: 14

漁翁夜傍西巖宿，An old fisherman spent the night here, under the western cliff. 曉汲清湘燃楚燭。He dipped up water from the pure Xiang and made a bamboo fire. 煙銷日出不見人，And then, at sunrise, he went his way through the cloven mist, 欸乃一聲山水綠. with only the creak of his paddle left, in the greenness of mountain and river. 迴看天際下中流，I turn and see the waves moving as from heaven, 巖上無心雲相逐。and clouds above the cliffs coming idly, one by one.

1.2.1.3. Yuefu 樂府

Yuefu is a poetry derived from folk songs. It originated in the Han dynasty, when the Musical Bureau (Yuefu 樂府), founded in 120 BC, started to collect songs and their scores for the use at ceremonies at the court.15 Later was the term adopted for works of imitation. Although the original tunes of these songs were lost, the lyrics were saved and later served as a template for the yuefu style. Yuefu was popular throughout various dynasties and was revived during the Tang dynasty where it was also called the xin yuefu 新樂府. Such as gushi, the usage of the xin

12 Parallelism is a literary device that connects ideas through similar structures of grammar. https://study.com/academy/lesson/parallelism-in-poetry-definition-examples.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 13 Euphony is the quality of being pleasing to the ear. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/euphony [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 14 Yuweng 漁翁 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/tangshi.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 15 Yuefu 樂府 https://www.britannica.com/art/yuefu-Chinese-poetic-form [Retrieved 4.30.2018].

15 yuefu form was to a contrast lüshi.16 Later in the Tang dynasty, the tradition of yuefu was followed by the ci 詞 poetry song form.17

The number of characters per line copied the rhythm of the original tune, although most commonly it was five or seven characters.18 The language was usually colloquial and thus easily understood. The themes revolved around romance and nature, but yuefu also engaged in social satire and criticism (Watson, 1971, p. 113–114)

Well–known authors of yuefu are Li Bai, Du Fu or Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846).19 An example of yuefu is Bai Juyi’s Zhanghenge 長恨歌 (Song of Everlasting Regret) with seven characters per line:

漢皇重色思傾國, The longed for a beauty able to topple the empire. 御宇多年求不得。 Despite many years of reign he could not fulfill his desire. 楊家有女初長成, Meanwhile, a lass in the Yang family had reached puberty. 養在深閨人未識。 As she was raised deep in her boudoir, no one knew her beauty. 天生麗質難自棄, Her heavenly glamour could not be concealed forever. 一朝選在君王側。 One day she was chosen to entertain the Emperor. 回眸一笑百媚生, When she turned and smiled, the coquetry created was tremendous, 六宮粉黛無顏色 rendering all concubines of the six palaces lusterless. (Trans. by Sun). 20

16 Yuefu 樂府 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/yuefu.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 17 Ci 詞 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/songci.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 18 Yuefu 樂府 http://www.poetspoetrypoems.com/categories/listings/yuefu.html [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 19 Yuefu 樂府 https://www.britannica.com/art/yuefu-Chinese-poetic-form [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 20 Zhanghenge 長恨歌 http://www.musicated.com/syh/TangPoems/EverlastingRegret.htm [Retrieved 3.8.2018]. 16

2. Li He 李賀 (based on Frodsham, 2016)

2.1. Family Background and Upbringing

Li He, Changji 長吉, was born in 790 or 791 in Changgu 昌谷, modern Yiyang 宜陽 in Fuchang 福昌 county, . The year 790, the year of the Horse, seems more probable as Li He would often symbolize himself as a horse in his poems (Frodsham, 2016, p. 17). His family belonged to a minor branch of the imperial house of Tang (Lomová, 1995, p. 151). The precise connection to the royal branch is uncertain, as his name is not mentioned in the Genealogical Tables of the Imperial House, stated in the Xin Tangshu 新唐書 (New Tang History).21 Some sources suggest a relation to an unspecified Prince Zheng 政. That might be the thirteenth son of the founder of the dynasty, emperor Gaozu 高祖 (566 – 635).22 There were three princes in the Tang dynasty of that name and so the prince’s true identity remains unknown (Frodsham, 2016, p. 17).

In the mid–Tang period, Li He’s ancestors held powerful offices at the imperial court (Lomová, 1995, p. 151). By the time Li He was born, the significance of his family withered and lost most of the wealth and honors it had once possessed. The records about his family were omitted by the historians and local gazetteers of the time, and so a lot of the information about Li He are vague and fragmentary and not much is known of his immediate family. It is known that his father, Li Jinsu 李晉肅, attained the magistrateship of the county, a low office of the fifth rank. He was a distant cousin of the poet Du Fu (712–770). A good relation with the poet, who even wrote him a farewell poem, was his only way to attain the office. He died in the year 808, when Li He was only eighteen years old. The mother of Li He probably came from the Zhengs of Henan, a significant family at the time. He had an elder sister who married into Wang family, and a younger brother, who Li He mentions several times.

21 Xin Tangshu 新唐書 is a book of the official history of the Tang dynasty, compiled by a team of scholars led by Ouyang Xiu 欧阳修 (1007- 1072) and Song Qi 宋祁 (998- 1061). It was published in 1060 https://baike.baidu.com/item/新唐书 https://baike.baidu.com/item/新唐书李贺传/15404566 [Retrieved 30.4.2018]. 22 The emperor Gaozu 高祖 (566-635)- The founder and the first emperor of the Tang dynasty. He ruled from 618 to 626. 17

Li He’s friend, Chen Ziming 沈子明, wrote fifteen years after his death that he had no relatives remaining alive. Although some commentators write that he had up to fourteen older brothers and a wife, the claim seems unlikely. Such assertion probably comes from a misunderstood term xiong 兄, meaning “elder brother“, which was often used as an expression for “elder kinsman of the same generation“. Chen’s account also debunks this claim, as fifteen years after Li He’s death, some of his bothers would most likely be still alive.

Li He probably never got married. Scholars rarely got married at a young age. Usually they would wait until they reached doctorate and an official post. Also, financially, getting married would be an unreachable goal for someone who had to provide for a widowed mother and brother. Li He had to do so since he was eighteen years old. Moreover, it was expected from the bridegroom to pay a dowry and the wedding ceremony expenses. Poet Li Shangyin 李 商隱 (813–858), who wrote Li He’s autobiography, mentions no wife at his deathbed. 23 Nevertheless, many, especially Chinese scholars, insist that Li He must have been married in order to keep him a respectable reputation (Frodsham, 2016, p. 17–19).

2.2. Education and Imperial Examinations

Li He’s hometown Changgu lied around 80 km west from 洛陽, the Eastern capital of the empire. Although his family estate was slowly fading away, his father was still able to provide him an early education, benefitting from the vicinity of Luoyang.

According to Li He’s biography in the Xin Tangshu, which is largely based on the biographies written by Du Mu 杜牧 (803–852) and Li Shangyin, he could compose poems since the age of seven.24 Poetic talent was a good prospect for the future, as during the Tang dynasty, it was common that poets held post in the state bureaucracy. In order to pass the Imperial examination, one had to be relatively proficient in poetry. Sometimes, excelling in poetry was enough by itself to achieve high office. In order to be admitted to the examinations, one had to have a patron acting as a guarantor of the participant. Li He was supported by a Neo–Confucian scholar Han Yu (Hinton, 2010, p. 318).

23 Li He xiaozhuan 李賀小傳 https://m.gushiwen.org/view_71182.aspx [Retrieved 30.4.2018]. 24 Li He Zhuan 李賀傳 https://baike.baidu.com/item/新唐书·李贺传/15404566 [Retrieved 30.4.2018].

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Xin Tangshu states, that Han Yu and another scholar Huangfu Shi 皇甫湜 (777–835) heard about Li He’s great talent and wanted to see a proof with their own eyes. They visited Li He at the age of seven and asked him to write a poem. He then with ease wrote few verses, leaving the two scholars in awe. He named his poem Gao Xuanguo 高軒過 (The Tall Official Carriage Comes on a Visit) (Frodsham, 2016, p. 19):

入門下馬氣如虹。 In through my gates they come, alighting, auras like rainbows. 雲是東京才子, 文章巨公。“Behold the genius from Lo–yang, and the Lord of Letters!” (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 228).

The writer Zhang Ji 張璪 (766–830) provides a more credible version of the meeting of Li He and Han Yu. He recounts that a nineteen–year–old Li He visited Han Yu one day before his first examination. Han Yu at the time held a post of Doctoral Professor in Luoyang, a branch of the University of Sons of State, and was known for supporting many successful participants of the examination in the past. One night, after returning to his home, his gatekeeper gave him a scroll with verses. There he read Li He’s poem Yan Men Taishou Xing 雁門太守行 (Ballad of the Grand Warden of Goose Gate). He got intrigued and invited Li He inside. Han Yu decided to back Li He up financially for the Henan Provincial Examination in 809 and Li He did not disappoint him. He easily passed the examination and headed towards the next step– the Doctoral examination in the capital. The Doctoral examination was held by the Ministry of Rites (Frodsham, 2016, p. 20– 22) and one could choose between various topics such as mathematics, law or calligraphy, with the success rate between 10 % to 20 %. The examination for the 進士 degree was esteemed as the most difficult, with only about 1–2 % successful candidates. It tested the participant’s literary abilities and knowledge of the Classics. It consisted of questions about current affairs, writing an exegetical essay on passages from classical texts and composing two poems – one of a fu 賦 type (rhymed prose)25 and a shi 詩 (regulated verse).26 Those who passed this examination (according to Han Yu, less than 200 out of 3000 candidates) were enabled to sit for the Selection xuan 選 examination, which helped to assign candidate to a fitting office. This examination was in a form of an interview and it tested the aspirant’s calligraphy, moral

25 Fu 賦 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/rhapsody.html [Retrieved 3.7.2018]. 26 Shi 詩 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/tangshi.html [Retrieved 3.7.2018].

19 qualities, ability to express himself and decision–making abilities. After passing the examination one would be proclaimed junzi 君子 (gentleman) and thus was fit to govern. The journey to become junzi could last up to 20 years (Frodsham, 2016, p. 22).

Going through the examination process was an arduous task. Much was in stake with about 14 out of 15 participants being eliminated in the Provincial examinations. In order to succeed, scams and bribery were highly prevalent. Although Li He was one of the brightest candidates at the jinshi exam, he fell victim to one of such scams himself (Hinton, 2010, p. 318).

Upon arrival to Chang’an, Li He discovered that he had been disqualified due to a case of a name taboo. Different taboos regarding names were deeply embedded in and were strictly observed. Everyone was to avoid using certain names, like those of emperor or father, in speech or in writing. If one encountered such word, he would avoid it by saying the word “mou 某” (certain/some) instead, or substituting it by a different character. It was allowed to utter the homophones of the taboo word.

Li He was accused of violating this taboo, as his father’s name, Li Jinsu, had the character “jin 晉” in it, read similarly as “jin 進” in jinshi 進士. Although similar in etymology, the characters are not identical. That did not matter to the examiners, and Li He, much to his disappointment, was expelled from the examination.

Various sources convey different narratives of how the event went down. But most of them claim that the accusation against Li He was raised by a rival party that bribed the examination inspectors. According to many stories, it was the poet Yuan Zhen 元稹 (779– 831).27 Apparently, Li He once insulted him, so he took a revenge on him by eliminating him as a competitor in the examination. This version has a weak spot, as Yuan Zhen passed the Selection examination already in the year 803 when Li He was only thirteen. Another story says that in the year Li He was about to take his examination, Yuan Zhen held the post of a censor and had a great number of enemies. One of them was the governor of Luoyang Fang Shi 房式. He was responsible for authorizing Li He’s candidature. If Li He was to fail the examination, Fang Shi would face severe penalties. And so, according to this narrative, Yuan’s revenge would be steered towards Fang Shi.

27 Yuan Zhen 元稹 was a politician, writer and a poet of the Tang dynasty. He was involved in a poetic circle around the poet Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yuan-Zhen [Retrieved 30.4.2018]. 20

Han Yu stated in his writings that the one responsible was someone “who was contending with Li He for fame”. Afterwards he was also warned by another contestant, that he should not steer up the controversy more, or he will find himself in trouble. Hence Han Yu assumed, that some clique hostile towards him was involved.

Nonetheless, Han Yu was not stopped by such threats and in outrage went on a rant about the name taboo. He wrote to the officials that enforcing the rule in cases like that of Li He might lead to ridiculous extremities. For example, he mentioned that if someone’s father was named “ren 仁”, then his son would not be able to call himself a man (“ren 人”). But to no avail, Han Yu’s defense did not reverse the decision (Frodsham, 2016, p. 23–25).

2.3. Post–Examination Career

Numerous poems by Li He describe his disappointment and despair the failure at the examination caused him. As a son of the fifth degree official he could enjoy a so–called “yin 蔭 (shadow) privilege“ that allowed him to take the Selection examination even without passing the jinshi examination first. 28 Although luckier then other unsuccessful candidates, it was a small satisfaction, as without the jinshi degree a chance to get a high office was still minimal.

He went to Luoyang in the tenth month of 810 to sit for the Selection examination and passed (Frodsham, 2016, p. 28). Subsequently, he was appointed the Supervisor of Ceremonies in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in Chang’an. This was a low position of the ninth degree (Fukazawa, 2013, p. 1219). Li He worked at the Imperial Ancestral Temple where he had to take care of a correct positioning of ceremonial vessels. Other than that, he oversaw the seating arrangements at court audiences and sent out signals to bow, kneel, kowtow or rise during ceremonies. Unsurprisingly, Li He was not satisfied by such job and was complaining persistently to his friends through poetry.

Xin Tangshu states that he also held a position of a Harmonizer of Pitch–pipes, which was of eighth rank, one position higher than the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Frodsham supposes, that Li He got promoted to this position because of his reputation as a song/yuefu writer.

28 Yin 荫 (shadow) privilege- “a hereditary rank or privilege granted somebody as a recognition of the services of his ancestors” (Pleco Chinese Dictionary 2018) [Retrieved 4.30.2018]. Yin privilege http://chinesehistorydigest.com/songdynasty.html [Retrieved 2.26.2018]. 21

Chang’an was at that time the biggest city in the world with nearly one million inhabitants. It was vibrant with life and all kinds of entertainment and pleasure. Li He, mesmerized by the city life, started spending excessively on banquets and singsong–girls. Moreover, he had to support his mother and brother back in his hometown Changgu. Thus, he soon found himself in financial troubles. For seeking the company of drunkards and singsong– girls he also got a reputation of a debauchee.

Despite the insignificant job, Li He drew attention to himself in the public due to his song writing. In the preface of the Hua You Bing Xu 花游曲并序 (Outing Among Blossoms) he recounts how he was invited for a picnic with various princes and singsong–girls.29 In situations like this he could get a taste of the high–class life that he so longed for. But these bright moments were few and brief. And so, as apparent from his poems, he got even more depressed (Frodsham, 2016, p. 29–30).

2.4. Military Service and Death

He resigned from his post in 814 and returned to his hometown Changgu. Some of his poems suggest he returned home in order to recover from sickness. During this time, he wrote several poems, admiring the nature of Changgu and enjoying the slow–paced life in the countryside. But he knew he had to get back to work again sooner or later. His poem Nanyuan Shisan Shou 南園十三首 (Thirteen Poems from My Southern Garden) suggests how he started contemplating joining the army:

见买若耶溪水剑， Better to go and buy a sword from Ruo–ye river, 明朝归去事猿公。 come back at dawn next day to serve The monkey Duke. 男儿何不带吴钩， Why shouldn’t a young man wear a sword? 收取关山五十州。30 He could win back fifty provinces in pass and mountain. (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 31).

29 Hua You Qu Bing Xu 花游曲并序 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#146 [Retrieved 2.26.2018]. 30 Nanyuan Shisan 南園十三首 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm [Retrieved 2.27.2018].

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By entering the army, Li He was following the steps of his master Han Yu. Han Yu served in the military at a young age and once he got a good reputation, he was enabled to reach a position in the central government (Nienhauser, 1986, p. 397–399). Tang scholars, following Confucian ethics and morals, also felt a strong need to serve the country using their virtues and knowledge. That is why this move allowed Li He to both contribute to his country as well as give him a chance to show of his skills.

In the autumn of 814 Li He set out to Luzhou 瀘州 in Shanxi, were he joined his friend Zhang Che 張徹, relative and pupil of Han Yu, who served under the general Xi Shimei 郗士 美 (756–819). The from 755 to 763 caused that the central government loosened its power over the provincial military governors. The emperor Xianzong 憲宗 (778– 820) (ruled from 805 to 820) launched a series of punitive expeditions against the rebelling governors in order to put them back under his regime. General Xi Shimei was loyal to the emperor and in 814, along with five other commanders, set off on an offence against a disobedient governor Wang Chengzong 王承宗 (?–820) in Hebei Province. Li He felt that by joining Xi Shimei’s unit he will directly serve the emperor and help the dynastic restoration (Frodsham, 2016, p. 35–36).

History provides no information about Li He’s life in the military. Only few glimpses can be traced in some of Li He’s writing. He describes the gloomy journey to Luzhou in Zhangping Jiantou Ge 長平箭頭歌 (Song of an Arrowhead from Changping), that was marked by poverty, sickness and misfortune:

白翎金竿雨中尽， White feathers and metal stems have rotted in the rain, 直余三脊残狼牙。 only the three spines still remain, broken teeth of a wolf. (…) 虫栖雁病芦笋红， Insets silent, the wild geese sick, reed shoots reddening. 回风送客吹阴火… 31 A whirlwind came to see me off, blowing the ghost fires… (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 36).

31 Zhangping Jiantou Ge 長平箭頭歌 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#178 [Retrieved 3.26.2018]. 23

Li He spent three years in the military. During those years Xi Shimei’s army was very active in the strike against the governor Wang Chengzong. It is possible, that Li He took part in the actual battles. He painted out the tough environment of the battle frontier in the poem Pingcheng Xia 平城下 (Under the Walls of Ping City):

飢寒平城下， Hungry and cold, under Ping City’s walls, 夜夜守明月。 night after night we guard the shining moon. 別劍無玉花， Our farewell swords have lost their sheen, 海風斷鬢髮。32 the Gobi wind cuts through our temple–hair. (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 36).

The afflictions of war took a toll on Li He. He suffered from chronic disease his whole life but the poor conditions in Luzhou worsen it significantly. He gave up his post in Luzhou and returned to Changgu. In his poems he described his symptoms as fever, prematurely white hair and fatigue. In the poem Renhe Li Za Xu Huangfu Shi 仁和里杂叙皇甫是 (A Few Remarks Addressed to Huangfu Shi from the Chenho Quarter) he writes how his hair fell off:

归来骨薄面无膏， I came home, all skin and bones, a fleshless face, 疫气冲头鬓茎少。33 a murrain lighted on my head, my hair fell out. (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 26).

In an ancient source Yunxian Zaji 雲仙雜記 is a story of a person visiting Li He at his home. He noticed Li He was spitting blood frequently while he was composing poems.34 In the latest preserved poem by Li He, Zhui Fu Hua Jiang Tan Yuan Si Shou 追赋画江潭苑四首 (Four Poems Written after Looking at a Painting of the Jiangtan Park), we find him laying sick in Zhang Che’s house in Luzhou.

32 Pingcheng xia 平城下 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#178 [Retrieved 3.26.2018]. 33 Renhe Li Za Xu Huangfu Shi 仁和里杂叙皇甫是 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#178 [Retrieved 2.26.2018]. 34 Yunxian Zaji 云仙杂记 http://cy.mmtw.org/tuo-di-cheng-wen.html [Retrieved 2.26.2018].

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病客眠清晓， Through the clear dawn I slumbered in my sickness,

疏桐坠绿鲜。35 while the sparse plane–trees cast fresh emeralds down. (Transl. by Frodsham, 2016, p. 167).

The cause of death was most likely a pulmonary tuberculosis. He died sometimes during the year 816 or 817, at the age of 26 or 27 (Frodsham, 2016, p. 36).

35 Zhui Fu Hua Jiang Tan Yuan Si Shou 追赋画江潭苑四首 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#017 [Retrieved 4.30.2018]. 25

3. Li He’s Literary Influences

In regard to poetry, Li He is considered an outstanding talent, especially as he was able to compose poetically advanced pieces at a young age. Xin Tangshu recounts that Li He did not write poems on a given topic. But rather he would leave his house every day early in the morning riding a pony, searching for an inspiration in the nature. A servant followed him carrying a bag where he would store Li He’s drafts. In the evening he would continue to work on the verses (Lomová, 1995, p.151).

Despite the great talent, Li He was never comparably famous to Han Yu or Meng Jiao 孟郊 (751–814). Frodsham believes that the reason why Chinese classical scholars did not pay much attention to Li He is because of his unconventional writing style and a rather scandalous lifestyle. He makes comparison with the Manchu poet Nalan Xingde 納蘭性德 (1655–1685), whose work was shaped by shamanistic traditions (p. 3, 39). The Song dynasty poetry theorist, critic and poet Yan Yu 严羽 (1191–1241) asserted that Li “used the language of a demonic immortal“.36 The main influences on Li He’s work are considered to be the third century anthology Chu Ci 楚辭 (Songs of Chu) and the poet Li Bai 李白 (701–762) (Hinton, 2008, p. 287). He was also influenced by his contemporaries Han Yu and Meng Jiao.

3.1. Chu Ci 楚辭

The anthology of poems Chu Ci is a collection of works of the poet 屈原 (340– 278 BC) and his disciples. It was edited by a politician, historian and writer 劉向 (77–6 BC) during the Western Han Dynasty 西漢朝 (206 BC–24 AD).37

Qu Yuan was a member of aristocracy in the state of Chu 楚 during the 戰國時代 (475–221 BC). He is the first Chinese poet known by name. While in his 20s he was appointed a counselor of the Chu 楚 king Huaiwang 懷王 (?–296). Due to intrigues at the court, he was exiled to the south of the River. There he observed the shamanistic

36 Yan Yu 严羽 http://duguoxue.cn/wenxue/60468.html [Retrieved 3.1.2018]. 37 Chu ci 楚辭 https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/literature/classical1.htm [Retrieved 3.1.2018].

26 folk rituals and legends, which shaped his poetry. Chu at the time was a fringe of the Chinese cultural area. For a time, it was a part of both the Shang 商 and Zhou 周 dynasty, but it retained local traditions such as shamanism.38

Chu Ci is opened by Qu Yuan’s semi–autobiographical poem Lisao 離騷, or Encountering Sorrow. It represents the general mood of all the poems contained. In the poem, Qu Yuan during a “spirit journey“ visits spirits and deities such as Peng 彭咸, the alleged god of Sun:

朝發軔於蒼梧兮， Taking off the brake, departing from Cangwu at dawn, 夕餘至乎縣圃； and before night falls, arriving at the Hanging Gardens. 欲少留此靈瑣兮， I wish to stay at this gathering place of the spirits, 日忽忽其將暮； yet the sun is about to set; 吾令羲和弭節兮， I order Xihe to slow to a trot. 望崦嵫而匆迫； yet not anxious to approach them. 路漫漫其脩遠兮， the road is boundless – cultivation so distant. 吾將上下而求索。39 I shall explore it from beginning to end.40 (Transl. by David Hawkes, 2012).

The second section of Chu Ci called 九歌 (Nine Songs) consists of eleven songs, which describe shamanistic practices of the Yangtze River area. They involve invocations of divine beings and seeking their blessing by a courtship ritual (Davis, 1970, p. 67). Another part called Wen 天問 () consists of 172 questions in verses. The questions revolve around and ancient Chinese religious beliefs. Answers are only hinted but in most cases completely omitted. Especially this section of Chu Ci serves historians as a valuable primary source of information about the culture, mythology and religious beliefs of the Chu kingdom (p. 48)

38 Qu Yuan 屈原 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Qu-Yuan [Retrieved 1.3.2018]. 39 Lisao 離騷 http://bs.dayabook.com/poetry/chu-ci-songs-of-the-south/li-sao-translated-by-david-hawkes [Retrieved 1.3.2018]. 40 Lisao 離騷 https://eastasiastudent.net/china/classical/qu-yuan-li-sao-extract/ [Retrieved 1.3.2018].

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Because of its unorthodox topics, Chu Ci did not become a canonical work, such as Shi Jing 詩經 (Hawkes, 1985, p. 26). Despite that, it influenced numerous well–known poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Han Yu and Li He (Murck, 2000, p. 11–27).

3.2. Meng Jiao 孟郊

Meng Jiao was a poet born in 751 in today’s Province. His childhood was distorted by the launch of the An Lushan rebellion in 755. He refused to take the Imperial examination which destined him to a life of poverty (Wu, 1972, p. 154). Meng took a refuge as a recluse in Southern China, where he associated with Zen Buddhist poets. In his 40s he wandered back to Luoyang as an impoverished and unemployed poet. There he accompanied himself with a poetic circle including Han Yu (Hinton, 2008, p. 237, 252) and they took a lead of a movement called Han Meng Shi Pai 韓孟詩派. 41 At the urge of his mother, around the age of 46 he did finally take and passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed to a position in Liyang 溧陽. Nevertheless, he neglected his duties and composed poetry instead. That resulted in appointing him a substitute which halved his salary.42 He died in 814.

Meng generally wrote in a five–character per line gushi style. Around 500 pieces of his poems survived. His style was highly symbolic, introspective and all–in–all bleak. He addressed the poor social conditions of his time in China caused by the An Lushan rebellion. He often talks of the misery of poverty and uses the image of coldness, such as in his poems Han Xi 寒 溪 (Cold Creek):43

幽幽棘针村， A village all thorns and brambles, 冻死难耕犁。 fields all frozen and dead no one could plow.

冰齿相磨啮 Frozen teeth gnaw and grind at themselves. 风音酸铎铃。 Windchimes clatter in sour wind. All this immaculate grief—it’s inescapable.

41 Han Meng Shi Pai 韩孟詩派 https://baike.baidu.com/item/韩孟詩派 [Retrieved 3.1.2018]. 42 Meng Jiao 孟郊 http://poetrychina.net/wp/poets/meng_chiao [Retrieved 3.3.2018]. 43 Han Xi 寒溪 http://tangshi.tuxfamily.org/mengjiao/mj183.html [Retrieved 3.3.2018].

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The imagination of his poems is dim and morbid, full of death and post mortal life references. The verses also get fantastical, talking of supernatural occurrences and creatures:

波澜冻为刀， Frozen into knife – blades, 剸割凫与鹥。 rapids have sliced ducks open, hacked geese apart. 宿羽皆翦弃， Stopping overnight here left their feathers scattered, 血声沉沙泥。 their blood gurgling down into mud and sand.

Xia Ai She Shou 峡哀十首 (Lament of the Gorges):44

逐客零落肠 Exile, tattered heart all scattered away 到此汤火煎, you’ll simmer in seething flame glimmering. (…) 枭鸱作人语. Death–owls call in human voices. 蛟虬吸水波. wolf down heaving mountain waters.

Li He adopted elements of Meng Jiao’s style as he participated in his poetic group. All the group’s members met with great misfortunes in their lives so they naturally leaned towards pessimism while writing. Pessimism and supernaturalism are important characteristics of both Meng Jiao’s and Li He’s style.

3.3. Han Yu 韓愈

Han Yu was born in 768 in Henan into a noble family and received an education in philosophical writings and Confucianism (Pollard, 2000, p. 31.). He passed the jinshi examination and served on various positions such as the rector of the Imperial university or as a military governor of different areas (Barnstone, 2004, p. 157–158). He was a devout Confucian intellectual and led campaigns of the Neo–Confucianist movement. He held an opinion, that literature should fully reflect authors morality, emotions and experiences. He advocated for a “cry for justice“ and encouraged authors to openly address social injustice in

44 Xia Ai She Shou 峡哀十首 http://tangshi.tuxfamily.org/mengjiao/mj001.html [Retrieved 3.3.2018].

29 their works (Wu, Harrison, 2014).45 That led him to numerous problems. He was twice exiled and once sentenced to death by the emperor Xianzong. Thanks to his popularity and great number of influential friends, he was released before the execution could take place (Liu Wuji, 1966, s. 126–127). He was opposed to Buddhism, claiming it us useless for the cultivation of one’s mind and behavior and blamed it for bringing the country into poverty and chaos.46 Han Yu tried out numerous of styles in his writings, from traditional to experimental. He avoided lyricism and the regulated verse lüshi, that were widely endorsed in the time. Instead he focused on narrative and presenting ideas in both of his prose and poetry. His poems, mostly in the gushi form, tend to be long with an attention to detail. His experimental stage was due to taking part in Meng’s poetry group. Nevertheless, his poems composed under the influence of the group never got as popular as those of Meng Jiao and he soon returned to more mainstream genres. Although Han Yu is mostly renowned for his philosophical works and prose, he was a considerably successful poet as well. He could recognize a great poetry talent in a person, such as that of Li He’s. Frodsham argues, the Li He tried to please his patron and thus adopted many of his ideas and style (2016, p. 62). Li He shared Han Yu’s conviction that “literature ought to play an important social role, that the poet was the guardian of the conscience of society“. Li also followed Han’s footsteps in writing in the gushi form (p. 34, 55).

3.4. Li Bai 李白

The giant of the Chinese poetry was born in 701 in Sichuan. He was never appointed with a government post but took a part in a group of distinguished court poets. He excelled in various poetic forms such as gushi, lüshi, yuefu, or a “cut off" poetry 絕句.47

Hinton notes that Li He got inspired by Li Bai’s “startling spontaneity“ (2014, p. 319). The writer and a historian Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526–90) marks that Li He “follows the dictates of his heart so that his poems often sound strange, while he also has lines that surprise his readers“ (Frodsham, 2016, p. 55). There are other similarities in the style of

45 Han Yu: Founder of the ‘Classical Prose Movement’ Accessible at http://printarchive.epochtimes.com/a1/en/ca/yto/2014/10-Oct/09/B03%20Essence%20of%20China.pdf [Retrieved 3.22.2018]. 46 Han Yu 韓愈 http://printarchive.epochtimes.com/a1/en/ca/yto/2014/10- Oct/09/B03%20Essence%20of%20China.pdf [Retrieved 3.22.2018]. 47 Jueju 絕句 https://www.poetspoetrypoems.com/categories/listings/jueju.html [Retrieved 3.22.2018].

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Li Bai and Li He, especially in their fantastic images and nostalgic themes. Watson points out that “many of his (Li Bai’s) poems deal with mountains, often descriptions of ascents that midway modulate into journeys of the imagination, passing from actual mountain scenery to visions of nature deities, immortals, and ‘jade maidens’ of Taoist lore" (1971, p. 142). Both Li Bai’s and Li He’s preoccupation with the supernatural world sprung out from their interests in the mysticism of Daoism. Both poets were also inspired by Chu Ci.

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Practical Part

4. Li He’s Poetry

4.1. Poetic Forms

Not letting his creative process be hindered by rules, Li He more often opted for less strict poetry forms, mostly gushi (171 pieces out of 243 poems in total) and yuefu (Wei Zuqin, 2015). Other less used forms include lüshi and other types of regulated verse jueju 絕句 and pailü 排 律. Li He’s unique style earned a special nickname changji ti 長吉體 derived from his courtesy name Changji 長吉 (Zeitlin, 2007, p. 75.).

As mentioned above, gushi was also close to Li He thanks to his patron Han Yu and the involvement in Han Yu’s and Meng Jiao’s group. Li He’s gushi are mostly in the seven characters, less often 5 characters per line form. In a few exceptions, the number of characters is irregular. The number of rhyme changes within poems varies from one to six, a few poems do not rhyme at all.

Li He’s lifetime coincided with the flourishing period of the song genre yuefu. His interest in this genre was partially due to the general tendency prevailing in literature at the time, as stated by Kuniko Ukai (2008, 263). Nonetheless, the main reason why he worked with it was that it provided him with an opportunity to experiment with language, unlike in regulated verse poetry. His yuefu are of seven, five or irregular number of characters per line with multiple rhyme changes.

In Wei Zuqin’s study he contends that Li He did not strictly abide to a tonal parallelism within couplets. But for the sake of phonology, he would usually end his lines of both gushi and yuefu with a of “平平平 “ (i.e. three level tones), “仄平仄 “ (i.e. deflected, level and deflected tone) or “平仄平“ (i.e. level, deflected and level tone). This tone pattern is esteemed as highly esthetic and complex.

The couplet of his 7 characters per line yuefu Yan Men Taishou Xing 雁門太守行 (Ballad of the Grand Warden of Goose Gate) uses the “平仄平 “ and “平平平“ tonal pattern. The tonal

32 pattern of level tones ping 平 and non–level tones ze 仄 is shown bellow, with slash / standing for caesura.48 A Standard Chinese pinyin transcription is also provided:

黑雲壓城城欲摧， Black clouds whelm on the city, 甲光向日金鱗開。49 till it seems the city must yield.

Tonal Pattern: Standard Chinese Pinyin: 仄平仄平/平仄平， Hēi yún yā chéng chéng yù cuī, 仄平仄仄/平平平。50 jiǎ guāng xiàng rì jīn lín kāi.

4.2. Stylistics of Changji Ti

The general tone of much of Tang poetry was melancholic and nostalgic. Li He’s poetry was no expectation as stated above, but he added to it a level of dread and horror. Creating the frightening atmosphere is a significant feature of the changji ti, together with other distinctive characteristics that make it unique (Zeitlin, 2007, p. 75.). In this chapter Li He’s style and changji ti is used interchangeably.

The eerie mood is achieved by using words of sinister connotations like qi 泣 (weep), xing 腥 (raw meat), leng 冷 (cold), xue 血 (blood), or si 死 (death). Many of these words were considered inauspicious either because of their meaning or phonology. Usage of such words in poetry would usually be frowned upon (Fukazawa, 2013, p. 1220). He also often mentions ghosts, demons and mythical evil beings. They’re either the main characters of the poem, or they creep somewhere in the background to add frightening atmosphere to the scene. The poem stated above Qiu Lai 秋來 (Coming of Autumn) illustrates this well with the line “In the cold rain comes a fragrant spirit to console this poet “. The phrase “cold rain“ expresses the bleak and comfortless situation Li He found himself in after he resigned his post in Chang’an.

48 Caesura is a rhetorical break in the flow of sound in the middle of a line of verse https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/caesura [Retrieved 3.15.2018]. 49 Yan Men Taishou Cing 雁門太守行 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#125 [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 50 Zenyang Youxiao Beisong Li He de Yuefu Shi “Yan Men Taishou Xang” 怎樣有效背誦李賀的樂府詩《雁門太 守行》http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4e8669650102wcvb.html [Retrieved 3.28.2018].

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Personification51 and anthropomorphism52 is another common element of Li He’s style. Weeping orchids, sad moon, lonely magpies etc. once again serve the purpose of evoking unsettling feelings in the reader. They also mirror Li He’s own perception of worlds as an unsafe and hostile place.53

An important aspect of changji ti is the abundant usage of colors. Li He used a great variety of colors in 615 instances to simply describe the environment but also to evoke certain emotions in the reader (Frodsham, 2016, p. 67). The Song dynasty’s author 范 仲淹 (989–1052) said of Li He that “his words are like a coat of many colors, a hundred embroidered patches dazzling the eye” (Frodsham, 2016, p. 68). The frequently appearing colors are white (93 times), jade–white (79), golden (73), red (69), blue–green (68), emerald green (48), yellow (45), sapphire (26), silver (21), purple (25), turquoise (21), black (11) and many more.

What Frodsham and others find striking is Li He’s obsession with the color white. Counting white and jade–white color together it makes up for 172 cases. Frodsham points out that according to psychologists a strong liking for white is linked to a psychic abnormality (p. 68). The color white has a morbid undertone in Chinese culture, representing a misfortune, death an old age.54 In Li He’s case, the fondness of these connotations could be caused by his premature whitening of hair. The symbol of white hair serves as a symbol of bad omen in Li He’s poems, implying sickness or a great distress. Apart from red, yellow, sapphire and purple, all the other frequently used colors are cool toned. That further expresses sadness and hopelessness.55

壯年抱羈恨， Young as I am, brooding on stifled sorrows 夢泣生白頭。 weeping in dreams until my hair turns white. 瘦馬秣敗草， I feed my skinny nag on moldy hay,

51 Personification – The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/personification [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 52 Anthropomorphism – The attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/anthropomorphism [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 53 Li He Shige de Meixue Tezheng Jichengyin 李賀詩歌的美學特徵及成因. Accessible at http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/shilun/gudian/15.htm [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 54 Color Symbolism in Chinese Culture: What do Traditional Chinese Colors Mean? https://www.color- meanings.com/color-symbolism-in-chinese-culture-what-do-traditional-chinese-colors-mean/ [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 55 See the note no. 51. 34

雨沫飄寒溝。56 as gusts of rain splash in the chilly gutters. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 170).

Perhaps the most typical quality of Li He’s poems is the sudden changes of topic within a poem. Hinton writes that Li He “made (…) discontinuities the very texture of his poems“. He characterizes his poems as both fantastical and discontinuous, and thus losing all connection with the empirical world. They are all set in an imaginary, even hallucinogenic realm existing only in the poem itself (p. 318–319). Li He was criticized for jumping about in time and space, keeping on changing the subject and a general lack of unity by contemporary critics (Frodsham, 2016, p. 57). But Frodsham argues that Li He’s poems indeed have an innate logic hid behind densely placed symbols and metaphors.

Frodsham gives as an example the poem Can Si Qu 殘絲曲 (The Gossamer) that might give an impression of no inner logic on a first glance:

垂楊葉老鶯哺兒， In the aging leaves of weeping willows, orioles feed their young, 殘絲欲斷黃蜂歸。 the gossamer is vanishing, yellow bees go home. 綠鬢年少金釵客， Black–haired young men, and girls with golden hairpins, amber. 縹粉壺中沈琥珀。57 From goblets, powder–blue, are quaffing a liquid amber. (Trans. Frodsham, 2016, p. 55)

According to Frodsham, this is a picture of an aging courtesan contemplating the fleeting of time. “Weeping willow“ is a symbol for courtesan in Chinese poetry. The “aging leaves” with the images of an oriole feeding its young suggest that she regrets not having children. “Gossamer” once again suggests her vanishing youth, contrasting with the “black–haired young men” who have found a better company. The Spring is slowly fading away, just like her youth (p. 56).

The logic in Li He’s seemingly unrelated verses can be found upon closer study. Frodsham sees this as a sign of Li He’s modernity and compares his style to the art of

56 Chong Yi Li Zhi Yu 崇義裡滯雨 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#137 [Retrieved 3.28.2018]. 57 Can Si Qu 殘絲曲 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#002 [Retrieved 4.22.2018].

35 cinematography: “He’s camera work–whether black and white or color–is always brilliant. It is his montages that sometimes fail him“(p. 57).

4.3. Themes

Li He earned the nickname guicai 鬼才– the “demonic genius“, thanks to the large number of poems regarding ghosts, deities or mythological beings.58 From around 240 poems, 91 are about supernatural beings or occurrences. That makes up for 38 % of all poems.59 Another group of Li He’s works consists of songs composed in order to be performed by singsong–girls. In some poems Li He simply portrays the beauty of singsong–girls or other notorious beauties from past or present. Li He would be also asked by his friends to compose poems for them. Many poems are lyrical, they describe nature, old palaces or some parts of cities. In historical pieces, oftentimes satirizing a concurrent political situation, Li He writes of ancient battles, emperors, courtiers and court intrigues. Autobiographical poems deal with matters from his life such as Imperial examinations, military service, life at countryside, love affairs and illness. Most of all the collected poems have either an eerie, fantastical atmosphere, or they have an underlying tone of despair and sorrow, such as historical, autobiographical, or lyrical pieces.

4.3.1. Poems about Supernatural Beings and Occurrences

Li He undoubtedly held a deep interest in the realm of the supernatural. He sought out communicating with ghosts and deities, e.g. through Daoist rituals. Frodsham goes even as far as calling him a psychic, who would receive visions and special revelations (p. 3, 45).

A fascinating story about the poet’s death is mentioned in his biography by Li Shangyin. The story was passed down to Li Shangyin by Li He’s sister. As Li He was lying on his deathbed, he saw descending from the sky a man dressed in a purple robe riding a red . The man said that he came to summon Li He up to Heaven, upon which Li He knelt in front of him and begged not to take him for the sake of his mother. The man comforted him saying that the Emperor of Heaven needs him and that the life in Heaven will be delightful. Li He passed away

58 Guicai 鬼才 https://poetry-talk.com/article/chinas-demonic-genius [Retrieved 4.22.2018]. 59 Li He http://duguoxue.cn/wenxue/59963.html [Retrieved 4.22.2018]. 36 shortly after he had this vision. Li Shangyin goes on describing that the people present in the room heard a sound of flutes and carriages and that mist rose into the air.60

As unbelievable as this story seems, it only adds to the mysterious personality of Li He. He writes of creatures like dragons and phoenixes e.g. in song called Xiang Fei 湘妃 (The Royal Ladies of the Xiang). The poem talks of the legendary 舜 (2233–2184 BC). When he died, his two wives buried him under the mountain Cangwu 苍梧 in today’s Hunan Province. The legend has it that their tears stained all the bamboos in the region with blood. They then drowned themselves in the river Xiang 湘. This poem talks of summoning their spirits:61

離鸞別鳳煙梧中, Departure of simurgh, farewell of phoenix, in mist–hung Cangwu. 巫雲蜀雨遙相通。 Clouds of Wu and rain of Shu, love reaching afar. 幽愁秋氣上青楓, Drearily, sadly, the spirit of autumn mounts the green maples. 涼夜波間吟古龍。62 In the icy night among those waves, the ancient dragon roars. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 115).

Summoning ghosts or exorcism is a frequent topic for Li He, probably under the influence of Chu Ci. These rituals were performed either by Daoist priests or by shamans (Frodsham, 2016, p. 41). In the poem called Shen Xian 神弦 (Magic Strings) a female shaman is summoning deities:

女巫澆酒雲滿空， The witch pours out a libation of wine and clouds cover the sky, 玉爐炭火香咚咚。 In a jade brazier charcoal burns – the incense booms. 海神山鬼來座中。63 Gods of the sea and mountain demons flock to her seat. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 223).

A Daoist rite is a center of attention in the Lü Zhang Feng Shi 綠章封事 (Sealing up Green Prayers). Its goal was to exorcise the demons of plague and drought (Frodsham, 2016, p. 290):

60 Li He Xiaozhuan 李賀小傳 https://m.gushiwen.org/view_71182.aspx [Retrieved 4.22.2018]. 61 Shun 舜 http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/personsshun.html [Retrieved 4.22.2018]. 62 Xiang Fei 湘妃 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#045 [Retrieved 4.23.2018]. 63 Shen Xian 神弦 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#187 [Retrieved 4.23.2018].

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青霓扣額呼宮神， The Blue Lion kowtows and calls to the Palace Spirits. 鴻龍玉狗開天門。64 With a fearful howl the Dog of Jade65 opens Heaven’s gates. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 93).

Li He sets an eerie and dim atmosphere in the poem Qiu Lai 秋來 (Coming of Autumn). It uses the imagery of ghosts, coldness, rain and blood to express the atmosphere of desolation and grief. Li He identifies with the fifth century poet Bao Zhao 鮑照 and a politician from the Shu 蜀66 state Changhong 萇弘 (582–492) who were both unjustly executed.67 Li He, unable to find a life companion, feels lost and lonely. He is comforted by a “fragrant spirit“, who Frodsham suggests is a ghost of a girl (p. 297):

雨冷香魂吊書客。 In the cold rain comes a fragrant spirit to console this poet. 秋墳鬼唱鮑家詩， On autumn graves the ghosts sit chanting that poem of Bao’s, 恨血千年土中碧。68 A thousand years in earth makes emerald jade rancorous blood. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 107).

The poem Shen Xian Qu 神弦曲 (Song of the Magic Strings) was inspired by a song of the same name from the third century. It is once again about a female shaman exorcising evil spirits. The poem starts with the shaman dancing as a part of the ritual, subsequently the spirits arrive in a whirlwind. In the excerpt bellow, Li He creates a frightening atmosphere by the symbols of raccoons and foxes, which were feared animals among Chinese. Owls were considered to be inauspicious animals. In the poem they turn to Forest demons, which were beasts with four legs and human faces (Frodsham, 2016, p. 358).

64 Lü Zhang Feng Shi 綠章封事 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#023 [Retrieved 4.25.2018]. 65 Dog of Jade is one the guardians of Heaven (Frodsham, 2016, p. 290). 66 Shu 蜀 was a state in today’s Sichuan Province. The time of its founding is unknown. It was defeated by the 秦 state in 316 BC https://baike.baidu.com/item/蜀国 [Retrieved 4.25.2018]. 67 Bao Zhao 鮑照 (414－466) http://chinesereferenceshelf.brillonline.com/ancient-literature/entries/SIM- 300014;jsessionid=96791D46188C78173217BAB09A484311 [Retrieved 4.25.2018]. Changhong 萇弘 https://baike.baidu.com/item/苌弘/486353 [Retrieved 4.25.2018]. 68 Qiu Lai 秋來 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#039; https://baike.baidu.com/item/秋 来 [Retrieved 4.25.2018].

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青狸哭血寒狐死。 Blue raccoons are weeping blood as shivering foxes die. 古壁彩(叫左換蟲)金貼尾， On the ancient wall, a painted dragon, tail inlaid with gold, 雨工騎入秋潭水。 The Rain God is riding it away to an autumn tarn. 百年老(號鳥)成木魅， Owls that have lived a hundred years, turned forest demons, 笑聲碧火巢中起。69 Laugh wildly as an emerald fire leaps from their nests. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 223).

4.3.2. Historical Poetry

Li He touches on stories and events from the past in his poetry. He focuses on certain historical figures and sometimes compares them satirically to political figures of his times.

He does so in e.g. the poem Liang Gongzi 梁公子 (A Young Nobleman of Liang). The title of the poem refers to an unknown descendant of the Liang 梁 royal house, who was known for his licentious lifestyle. The house of Liang bore the family name 蕭, as mentioned in the first line. Frodsham argues that Li He draws a parallel between the Liang nobleman and an unknown general (p. 338):

風采出蕭家， He bears the stamp of the Xiao family, 本是菖蒲花。 as handsome as that bulrush flower. 種柳營中暗， Tao Kan’s willows shade the camp 題書賜館娃。70 where he writes his letters to a singsong–girl. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 181).

On a similar note goes the yuefu Ye Yin Chao Mian Qu 夜飲朝眠曲 (Drinking All Night, Asleep All Morning). It is a satire to the marriage of princess Puning 普寧, the daughter of the emperor Xianzong 憲宗.71 In order to create an alliance with a powerful governor, she got married to governor’s son Ji You 季友. Ji You had a reputation of a promiscuous drunkard. Li

69 Shen Xian Qu 神弦曲 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#186 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 70 Liang Gongzi 梁公子 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#151 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 71 Puning 普宁 https://baike.baidu.com/item/梁国惠康公主 [Retrieved 4.21.2018].

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He suggests that Puning will be corrupted by her husband’s behavior as well (Ward, 2008, p. 80):

柳苑鴉啼公主醉， The sash at her waist is half–untied, under weary stars. 薄露壓花蕙蘭氣。 In the willow–garden crows are cawing, a drunken princess! 夜飲朝眠斷無事， Drinking all night, asleep all morning, not a care in the world, 楚羅之幃臥皇子。72 Beneath her curtains of southern silk, sleeps the emperor’s child. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 169).

The poem called Qingong Shi Bing Xu 秦宮詩并序 (Qing Gong) is about a slave Qin 秦, who served the Han dynasty general Liang Ji 梁冀 (?–159 BC). The general’s wife was fond of Qin and granted him special privileges. He became arrogant and despised by other courtiers:

皇天厄運猶曾裂， Even high heaven was once unlucky and split and broke, 秦宮一生花底活。 But Qin Gong spends his whole life under the flowers. 鸞篦奪得不還人， He goes off with her simurgh comb, nor will he give it back, 醉睡氍毹滿堂月。73 Sleeps drunkenly on the Persian rugs in the moonlit hall.

(Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 186).

4.3.3. Love Poetry

While living in Chang’an, Li He enjoyed the company of courtesans and singsong–girls that were usually employed by a restaurant and brothels.74 Many of his poems convey the beauty of women he encountered, loneliness, longing for a loved one or they recount famous love affairs.

72 Ye Yin Chao Mian Qu 夜飲朝眠曲 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#134 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 73 Qingong Shi Bing Xu 秦宮詩并序 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#155 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 74 Singsong-girls- geji 歌妓 https://baike.baidu.com/item/歌妓 [Retrieved 4.21.2018].

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The poem Nao Gong 惱公 (She Steals My Heart) talks of an affair with one such singsong–girl. Her services were too expensive and Li He could not afford to keep a long–term relationship with her. The poem opens with the reference to a writer 宋玉 (298–263 BC), to whom are attributed parts of Chu Ci. According to traditions he had a flirtatious personality and sought out the company of prostitutes.75 The poem continues to admire the woman’s beauty as she is in her room waiting for her lover:

宋玉愁空斷， Sung Yu’s vain hopes have vanished in melancholy, 嬌饒粉自紅。 what a graceful beauty she is, dusted with rose. 歌聲春草露， I hear her singing among dewy spring grass, 門掩杏花叢。76 her gate is closed, drifted over with apricot blossom. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 149).

4.3.4. Dedicated Poems

Li He would get requests by his friends or family members to write poems for them. Also, he would compose poems to be sung by singsong–girls. These poems are of various topics and forms. In a yuefu asked for by certain bachelors Xie 謝 and Du Yunqing 杜云卿, Li He describes a five–grain pine, which was said to have magical powers. In the song the pine laments that her owners are too busy and barbaric to appreciate its value.77 The song is called Wu Li Xiaosong Ge Bing Xu 五粒小松歌并序 (Song of the Young Five–Grain Pine):

新香幾粒洪崖飯。 My grains, new and fragrant, were food for Ya.78 綠波浸葉滿濃光， Leaves lapped in green wavelets, glossy and rich. (…) 主人壁上鋪州圖， On my owner’s wall maps of the district.

75 Song Yu 宋玉 http://www.absolutechinatours.com/china-travel/Song-Yu.html [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 76 Nao Gong 恼公 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#107 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 77 Wu Li Xiaosong Ge Bing Xu 五粒小松歌并序 https://baike.baidu.com/item/五粒小松歌 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 78 Hong Yai 洪崖 is a fairy of the Daoist mythology https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/洪崖先生 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 41

主人堂前多俗儒。79 Round my owner’s hall mobs of uncouth scholars. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 241).

Another poem of this category bears a self–explanatory title Feng He Er Xiong Ba Shi Qian Ma Gui Yan Zhou 奉和二兄罷使遣馬歸延州, i.e. Poem Presented to My Second Elder Cousin (Its Rhymes Harmonizing with a Poem of His) When He Stopped Being a Messenger, Sent Back His Horse, and Went Home to Yanzhou. Yanzhou 延州 was a city lying some 310 kilometers from Chang’an, in today’s Shaanxi Province. Li He gives his cousin hope that although he had lost his office, he will still thrive in his retirement:

還吳已渺渺， Long months have passed since you returned to Wu,80 入郢莫淒淒。 But do not fret, for you’ll enter Ying again, 81 自是桃李樹， you’re a peach–tree in flower, a blossoming plum! 何患不成蹊？82 Be sure that they will beat a path to you. 83 (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 174).

The yuefu by the name of Xu Gongzi Zheng Ji Ge 許公子鄭姬歌 (A Song for Xu’s Lady, Zheng) was composed when Li He visited Lady Zheng in her garden (Frodsham, 2016, p. 249). She was a famous singsong–girl from Luoyang, who made a fortune thanks to her close relationship with a Han emperor’s ancestor of the Xu 許 family. The poem admires the splendor of the Xu family’s palace and depicts the love relationship between lady Zheng and her beloved:

許史世家外親貴， Imperial relatives on the distaff side, generations of Xu’s and Shi’s. 官錦千端買沉醉。 With a thousand yards of palace brocade he bought his drinking–bouts. (…)

79 Wu Li Xiaosong Ge Bing Xu 五粒小松歌并序 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#203 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 80 Return to Wu 吳 means “to retire” https://baike.baidu.com/item/奉和二兄罢使遣马归延州 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 81 Enter Ying 郢 means “to assume office again” https://baike.baidu.com/item/奉和二兄罢使遣马归延州 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 82 Feng He Er Xiong Ba Shi Qian Ma Gui Yan Zhou 奉和二兄罷使遣馬歸延州 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#141 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 83 A reference to a Chinese proverb meaning that a brilliant person can be prosperous even in a seeming inactivity http://toncha.org/catalog/en/ItemDetail.aspx?itemId=i32&word=peach [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 42

莫愁簾中許合歡， As Never Sorrow let him dally, behind the screen, 清弦五十為君彈。84 She played her lute for his delight, fifty melodious strings. (Trans. Frodsham, 2016, p. 249).

4.3.5. Autobiographical Poems

Li He’s autobiographical poems are a valuable resource when putting together the fragments of his life as other sources are more than brief. We can trace his journey towards the jinshi examination and the name taboo scam, his life in Chang’an working in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, recovering from sickness in his hometown, joining the army and his final moments of life. The verses further reveal us Li He’ perception of life and society. The pessimistic tone suggests he never forgave wrongdoings and, in his mind, kept on revisiting the worst moments of his life. That led to a lifetime of depression and physical sickness. Although he persisted to be ambitious, constant sickness hindered the accomplishment of his dreams. He was also well aware of the social and political situation in the state and would often satirize it, as mentioned above. There are also regards to religion and philosophy in his works, hinting he had an affiliation with Buddhism.

Perhaps one of the most poignant expressions of Li He’s desperation is found in the poem Chun Gui Chang Gu 春歸昌谷 (Returning to Changgu in Spring).

束髮方讀書， I started studying when I reached my teens, 謀身苦不早。 regretting I had left my plans too late. 終軍未乘傳， Before Zhang Jun earned his official carriage 顏子鬢先老。 this Yan–zi’s hair turned prematurely white. 天網信崇大， The net of Heaven,85 though truly wide and high, 矯士常忄蚤。86 trammeled this stubborn man in endless trouble. (Trans. Frodsham, 2016, p. 192).

84 Xu Gongzi Zheng Ji Ge 許公子鄭姬歌 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#213 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 85 The net of Heaven refers to the examination system (Frodsham, 2016, p. 343). 86 Chun Gui Chang Gu 春歸昌谷 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#162 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 43

Another part of this poem suggests Li He was struck down with sickness while in Chang’an after he was expelled from the examination:

思焦面如病， My brain on fire, my sickness on my face, 嘗膽腸似絞。 gall filled my mouth, cramp twisted my guts. 京國心爛漫， There in the capital my heart was shattered, 夜夢歸家少。 even in dreams I rarely saw my home.

Then he had to set on a journey back home. He was aware of the humiliation he would bring to his family for not coming back as a jinshi:

少健无所就， A fine, young man–a fine, young failure too– 入门愧家老。 I’m home to bring my aged mother shame.

Following lines tells us that Li He was searching for comfort in nature and Buddhist teaching:

聽講依大樹， Listening to a sutra, I pace beneath great trees. 觀書臨曲沼。 Reading a book, I walk by a winding pool. (…) 驅趨委憔悴， Though faint and weary from my wayfaring, 眺覽強笑貌。87 the scenery still wrung a smile from me.

Li He’s Buddhist believes are further supported by the poem Zeng Chen Shang 贈陳商 (Presented to Chen Shang) that was written in 810.88 There he talks of the Laṅkāvatāra–sūtra, which is one of the classic works of . The sutra tackles profound Buddhist doctrines, most importantly that consciousness is the only existing reality. The whole universe arounds us is nothing but a manifestation of the mind.89 Frodsham concludes that Li He was an

87 Chun Gui Chang Gu 春歸昌谷 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#162 [Retrieved 4.20.2018]. 88 Zeng Chen Shang 贈陳商 https://baike.baidu.com/item/赠陈商 [Retrieved 4.20.2018]. 89 Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php?title=Lankavatara_Sutra [Retrieved 4.20.2018]. 44 avid student of this sutra. An examination of the complex teaching and language of this sutra would require much time and a full engagement of mind. Frodsham assumes that the sutra would not attract someone who had merely a superficial interest in Buddhism. (p.46). In light of the sutra’s teaching, Li He perhaps realized that even his own art ultimately had no meaning and value. The last line of the following excerpt might suggest a desire to die:

長安有男兒， In Chang–an city lives a lad of twenty 二十心已朽。 whose heart’s already so much rotten wood. 楞伽堆案前， The Lȧnka sutra heaped upon his table, 楚辭系肘後。 the Songs of Chu piled up beside his elbow. (…) 只今道已塞， He knows by now the way is blocked to him, 何必須白首？90 no need to wait until his hair turns white. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 171).

Li He is accused by Frodsham for exaggerating or alterating the reality (p. 30). Li He is, of course, allowed to do so and it probably serves as a tool for verbalization of his inner distress. In 811 Li He wrote a poem called Shi Wei Feng Chang Gushan Ju 始為奉禮憶昌谷山居 (On First Taking up My Post as Supervisor of Ceremonies My Thoughts Turn to My House in the Mountains of Changgu). He makes a comparison between the lonely, unfulfilled life in Chang’an and a peaceful life in his hometown. Li He regrets he ever went to the capital, where he suffers poverty – he cannot even afford a servant that would close his gates. In other pieces he pities himself for not being able to afford buying wine. That is, according to Frodsham, highly unlikely and he ascribes it to a Chinese poetic convention:91

掃斷馬蹄痕， Horses’ hoof–prints have been brushed away, 衙回自閉門。 back from the office, I must shut the gates myself. (…) 土甑封茶叶， The tea is sealed away in earthen jars,

90 Zeng Chen Shang 贈陳商 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#139 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 91 Shi Wei Feng Li Yi Chang Gushan Ju 始為奉禮憶昌谷山居 https://baike.baidu.com/item/始為奉禮憶昌谷山 居 [Retrieved 4.21.2018].

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山杯锁竹根。92 my mountain wine locked up with the bamboo stumps. (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 81).

It is notoriously claimed that Li He turned prematurely grey–haired due to his illness and mental suffering. He mentions this several times in his poems, e.g. in Yonghuai Er Shou 詠 懷二首 (Expressing My Feelings). In the first part Li He compares himself to a Han poet , whom Li He admired. The poet, similarly to Li He, suffered from sickness, i.e. diabetes. He worked under the emperor Wu 武 (156–187 BC) who admired him for his fu prose. Sima Xiangru was a well–established author with a generous dowry and an official post granted by the emperor.93 Li He modifies the reality and writes that the Han poet was casted out by the emperor. That points out to Li He’s own feelings of rejection and abandonment.94 In the second part Li He writes directly of himself:

梁王與武帝， The Prince of Liang and Emperor Wu 棄之如斷梗。 had cast him aside like a snapped–off flower. (…) 日夕著書罷， At dusk, when I have done with writing, 驚霜落素絲。 surprised by frost, my white silk starts to fall. 鏡中聊自笑， I laugh at myself in the mirror for a while, 詎是南山期。95 how can I live as long as the Southern Hill? (Transl. Frodsham, 2016, p. 85).

92 Shi Wei Feng Li Yi Chang Gushan Ju 始為奉禮憶昌谷山居 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#008 [Retrieved 4.21.2018]. 93 Sima Xiangru 司馬相如 https://baike.baidu.com/item/司馬相如 [Retrieved 4.26.2018]. 94 Yonghuai Er Shou 詠懷二首 http://www.exam58.com/lhds/3268.html [Retrieved 4.26.2018]. 95 Yonghuai Er Shou 詠懷二首 http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/gushi/lihe.htm#012 [Retrieved 4.26.2018]. 46

5. Li He’s Reception and Legacy

Although Li He was never as prominent as his contemporaries Han Yu or Meng Jiao, he did find his audience and disciples throughout the following history. Within few decades after his death, his poetry was being compiled and edited, as is stated in the preface to his poems by Du Mu from 831 (Frodsham, 2016, p. 14–16). Du Mu recalls a letter he once received from Li He’s friend, the scholar Chen Ziming. In the letter Chen Ziming recounts that Li He handed him down the collection of his poems before he died. He then put the collection aside for many years until he forgot about it. Recently, after thinking it is forever lost, he founds it in his house and now asks Du Mu to write a preface for them.

Earliest surviving edition of his poetry was collected during the Southern Song dynasty (Wu Fusheng, 1998, p. 228). The earliest biography by Li Shangyin is dated after Du Mu’s preface, which contains almost no biographical details. During the Tang dynasty, Li He was once again mentioned in a critical work Liu Zao Qiang Bei 劉棗強碑 by the poet Pi Rixiu 皮 日休 (834–883). In it is Li He, alongside with Li Bai, set up as an example of brilliant authors, whose works “are like a careful carving into jade or gold”.96

As J.T. Zeitlin contends, because of Li He’s “strangeness”, the interest in him among critics was only sporadic until the Ming dynasty. Nevertheless, his style was often imitated, e.g. by the Song dynasty authors of ci, such as 周邦彥 (1056–1121). Yan Yu in his critical piece Canglang Shihua 滄浪詩話, contrasts Li Bai, the Xiancai 仙才 (“heavenly talent“) to Li He, the Guicai 鬼才 (“devilish talent “).97 Ming scholar Hu Yingling 胡應麟 (1551–1602) points out that should we read Li He politically as “the tones of a ruined state “, we can notice that his imitators became especially frequent towards the end of dynasties (p. 75).

During the , changji ti continued to be vastly imitated, among others by the author of mythologically themed yuefu Yang Weizhen 楊維楨 (1296–1370).98 By the end

96 Liu Zao Qiang Bei 劉棗強碑 https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/劉棗強碑 [Retrieved 4.26.2018]. 97 Jiang chuan mai jiu baiyun bian 將船買酒白雲邊 http://missinglibai.lofter.com/post/1cbe287a_7f2d313 [Retrieved 4.26.2018]. 98 Yang Weizhen 楊維楨 https://baike.baidu.com/item/杨维桢#3_1 [Retrieved 4.26.2018].

47 of Ming dynasty, Zeitlin remarks that ghostly lyrical style poetry was distinctly understood to have originated with Li He (p. 75).

Zeitlin continues stating the Qing dynasty brought a decline to Li He’s popularity, as many critics raised their voice to denounce Li He’s imitators. Their argument was that it seemed to be suspiciously easier to mimic Li He than other great Tang poets. Thus, his imitators must be lazy and untalented, and Li He’s style simple and flat. Li He’s works were even omitted in the Tangshi Sanbai Shou 唐詩三百首, which served as an arbiter of poetic taste in the late Qing and early twentieth century (p. 75).

As one of the San Li 三李 (“three Lis“), Li He was admired by 毛澤東 (1893–1976), alongside Li Bai and Li Shangyin. Mao Zedong commended his writing skills as well as innovative style that he interpreted as a revolt against the feudal system. He gathered many collections of Li He’s poems and would often set him as an example of a highly inventive and successful young person in his speeches. Mao Zedong also imitated or quoted Li He in his own poetry.99

The first translations of Li He to other languages were created in the twentieth century. In 1960 Li He’s work was included in the collection of Chinese poetry White Pony by an English author Robert Payne (1911–2016). In the same year, a Chinese historian going by the name Jerome Chen (*1919) translated Li He in his poetry collection called Poems of Solitude (Graham, 1971). In 1965, A. C. Graham (1919–1991), a Welsh Sinologist, published Poems of the late Tang which contains Li He’s poems. The complete translation of all 243 poems was done by J. D. Frodsham in 1970 and was published by the name of The Poems of Li He.

In China, Taiwan, USA and Japan there has been conducted extensive studies about Li He and he continues to be discovered by critics in other countries. In China, common people in general recall Li He as a notable Tang poet. He is commemorated in Sanxiang 三鄉, former Changgu, where a square has been named after him with a 6 meters tall marble statue erected in 2010.100 Despite his youth and early passing, Li He managed to find his place among the great Chinese poets.

99 Mao Zedong Du Zhong Li He de Panni Jingshen 毛澤東獨重李賀的叛逆精神 http://www.people.com.cn/GB/paper81/653/75886.html [Retrieved 4.16.2018]. 100 Li He’s square http://www.bytravel.cn/Landscape/41/liheguangchang.html [Retrieved 4.16.2018]. 48

Conclusion

The thesis introduced the Tang poet Li He and his literary work. It roughly went through the Tang dynasty literary context, its most prevalent poetic forms and their representants. Then it dealt with Li He’s life, his literary influences and his poetry– mainly its themes and formal and stylistic characteristics. The last chapter briefly dealt with Li He’s reception, the process of collecting his works and his literary legacy and today’s image.

Throughout the thesis, I aimed to answer four questions:

1) Who was Li He and what are the characteristics of his literary style? Li He was a poet that lived during the Tang dynasty from 790 to 816/817. He became notorious for his literary style that has distinct negative overtones, aiming to evoke the feelings of grief, fear, even terror. Mythological or supernatural beings and events are commonly featured throughout the poems of a wide range of themes. Li He often uses personification and anthropomorphism, includes inauspicious words in his verses and abundantly uses colors in describing the environment, especially the color white. The themes and images change suddenly throughout the verses, making them seem to be unrelated. The poems are mostly written in the loosely regulated forms of gushi and yuefu.

2) How does Li He’s style differ from the Tang dynasty distinctive literary style? Li He’s style has namely two extraordinary features in the context of the Tang dynasty literary tradition. First one would be the negative overtone appearing throughout his poetry. Although Tang poetry tends to be sad and negative, Li He extended it to the point of terror. The second feature would be the sudden changes of themes within verses, for which Li He was often criticized. Li He’s unique style earned the nickname changji ti.

3) How were Li He’s poems preserved until today? According to Du Mu, Li He passed on his poems to his friend Chen Ziming. He then shared them with Du Mu, who wrote a preface to them. The preface is dated to 831. The earliest surviving edition of Li’s poetry was collected and annotated in the Southern Song dynasty.

4) What was the literary contribution of Li He’s work? The changji ti was imitated by numerous poets throughout the history, e.g. Zhou Bangyan 周邦彥 of the Song dynasty. Ming scholar Hu Yingling 胡應麟 wrote that imitators became especially frequent towards the end of dynasties, as many would read Li He as an image of a falling state. He contributed to the development of yuefu. They were imitated by poets such as the Yuan dynasty’s Yang Weizhen

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楊維楨. Later during the Tang dynasty, the tradition of yuefu was followed by the ci poetry song form. In the twentieth century, Li He was admired by Mao Zedong, who imitated his style and quoted him in his own works.

Following the course of Li He’s life can allow one to understand better the Chinese culture, both past and present. During the Tang dynasty, obtaining the jinshi degree was crucial to achieve a high post in the government. Nevertheless, there were exceptions to that rule in cases of outstandingly brilliant people, such as Li Bai. Members of the royal branch were also exempted, such as Li He, and were given the yin privilege. Thanks to this privilege, Li He could take the Selection examination, and thus attained at least a minor official position. The jinshi degree also provided the whole family with a respectable reputation. The necessity of education to ensure a good job and reputation remains an important aspect of Chinese culture nowadays.

The thesis is the first study written on Li He in the Czech academic environment. As in Japan or USA, where the poet enjoys larger attention, I believe he is worth of an acknowledgement in Czech Republic as well. It is my hope that the thesis would convey the significance and value of the poet’s work and that it might encourage others to conduct further studies of it. Additional analysis needs to be done of, e.g. Li He’s poetry, which was not in the focus of my thesis. Working on a translation of the collection of poems to Czech might be another step to draw attention to Li He in Czech Republic and to offer a chance to appreciate him by the general public.

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