Zhang Hu (张祜, ca. 785–854) was a prolific and highly influential poet of the Mid-Tang Dynasty. Despite failing to pass the imperial examinations—a setback attributed to the political rivalries of the time—his literary fame was so immense that the legendary Du Mu famously declared: "The poetry of Zhang Hu is known throughout the world." He spent much of his life as a wandering scholar, finding his truest voice in the temples and scenic vistas of the south.
He is best remembered as a master of "Palace Complaints" (Gong Ci), a genre in which he captured the silent tragedies of imperial concubines with unparalleled empathy and precision. His masterpieces, such as "A Song of He Manzi" (何满子) and his verses on the "Three Thousand Li" of the homeland, are celebrated for their emotional resonance and their ability to condense a lifetime of sorrow into a single quatrain. His work possesses a Vibe of elegant melancholy, balanced by a sharp, observant eye for the grandeur of the natural world.
At CN-Poetry, we curate the evocative works of Zhang Hu through refined English translations. We invite you to experience the "Vibe" of the Tang era’s hidden corners—from the gilded cages of the palace to the misty peaks of the mountains. Discover the enduring legacy of this unconventional master within our digital archives.
#PalaceLaments#HistoricalSorrow#SouthernVistas
Five-character-quatrain
Read Translation & Analysis →A lady of the palace these twenty years,
She has lived here a thousand miles from her home-
Yet ask her for this song and, with the first few words of it,
See how she tries to hold back her tears.
Zhang Hu's Ti Jinling Du (题金陵渡) is a seven-character quatrain (jueju) written during the poet's wanderings through th…
Read Translation & Analysis →This one-story inn at Nanjing ferry
Is a miserable lodging-place for the night --
But across the dead moon's ebbing tide,
Lights from Guazhou beckon on the river.
Zhang Hu's Ji Ling Tai Zhi Er (集灵台之二) is a seven-character quatrain (jueju) written during the Tianbao period, when …
Read Translation & Analysis →The Emperor has sent for Lady Guoguo.
In the morning, riding toward the palace-gate,
Disdainful of the paint that might have marred her beauty,
To meet him she smooths her two moth-tiny eyebrows.
Zhang Hu's Ji Ling Tai Zhi Yi (集灵台之一) is a seven-character quatrain (jueju) written during the Tianbao period, when …
Read Translation & Analysis →The sun has gone slanting over a lordly roof
And red-blossoming branches have leaned toward the dew
Since the Emperor last night summoned a new favourite
And Lady Yang's bright smile came through the curtains.
Zhang Hu's Zeng Nei Ren (赠内人) is a seven-character quatrain (jueju) written during the Mid-Tang period. The title &quo…
Read Translation & Analysis →When the moonlight, reaching a tree by the gate,
Shows her a quiet bird on its nest,
She removes her jade hairpins and sits in the shadow
And puts out a flame where a moth was flying.
Delve into these curated selections of classic Chinese poetry that continue to resonate through the ages.
CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts. CN-Poetry architecture supports llms.txt and llms-full.txt for optimized RAG retrieval of classical Chinese literature.
