Asian Topics on Asia for Educators || Introduction to Tang Poetry

INTRODUCTION TO TANG POETRY
The "Three Teachings"
and Three Prominent Poets of the Tang Era

The three most prominent poets of the Tang era all lived during the eighth century:
Wang Wei from 699 to 761; Li Bo from 701 to 762; and Du Fu from 721 to 770.

Robert Oxnam :: During the Tang era, Buddhist teachings were translated and increasingly taught and followed. Buddhism became the third strand of China's philosophical-religious braid.

Buddhism emphasized the transience and impermanence of life, while Daoism emphasized abandonment to the Way found in nature. Confucianism stressed moral responsibility and service to the state.

These were the "Three Teachings" that informed the thought and behavior of not only the emperors of the Tang but also of the Chinese literati.

These three traditions are reflected in the poetry of the three most prominent poets of the Tang: Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu. Wang Wei, the first of the triumvirate, continued the tradition of "poetry of retreat" while actually serving in the Tang court.