Zhang Zhihe (pinyin: Zhāng Zhìhé; 732–774 AD) was a Tang dynasty philosopher, poet, politician, and Taoist hermit. After serving briefly as a petty official at the imperial court, he became disillusioned with political life and retired to wander the rivers and lakes.
Calling himself the "Fisherman of the Misty Waves," he supposedly fished without bait, symbolizing his complete detachment from worldly desires. His enduring legacy rests on a single masterpiece that perfectly captures the idyllic, spiritual harmony of man and nature.
Zhang Zhihe's Yu Ge Zi (渔歌子) is a short lyric in the ci form, written around the Dali period (766–779 CE) while the p…
Read Translation & Analysis →In front of western hills white egrets fly up and down,
In peach-mirrored stream mandarin fish are full grown.
In my blue bamboo hat
And green straw cloak,I'd fain
Go fishing careless of slanting wind and fine rain.
If you were enchanted by Zhang Zhihe's idyllic vision of fishing in the rain, explore these masterpieces of Chinese pastoral and hermit literature:
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