Yuan Zhen: Life, Times and Works (779-831)
Yuan was a mid-Tang Dynasty poet who enjoyed wide popularity as a poet during his lifetime. His artistic creed was simplicity and sincerity, which was reflected in the style and tone of his writing. He was part of the “New Yuefu” poets, where poetry was considered a form of both expression and satire
against the corruption of palace elites. His style included implementing the use of figurative language, such as metaphors, as well as political, social and historical symbolisms and allusions, commonly used by many other artists.
Yuan was a key figure in the revival of literature from the past.
He had a history of political and occupational setbacks and exiles. These disappointments and his wide experiences of human nature were utilized to show his respect for the common people. For example, in 817, Yuan wrote an important poem with the title of “Song of the Weaving Woman”. Here he praised the work of mostly women and their silk worms in the production of silk. In ancient times, this fabric was used not only to pay government taxes, but also to help support the family.
Family History:
Born in Loyang, Hunan Province in the year 779.
Descendant of the royal house of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-584 AD)
His mother, Lady Zheng, was highly cultured, and therefore was largely in charge of Zhen’s early education.
In 786, his Father died when Yuan was only seven years old. This event led to years of hard times for his family. The family then moved to Baoji, Shaanxi Province. Yuan began writing around the age of eight.
Yuan was a tenth generation descendent of Tuoba Shiyiqian of early Northern Wei dynasty, and grandfather of Emperor Zhaocheng.
Surname changed from Tuoba to Yuan in 496.
Other ancestors served as officials in the Sui and Tang dynasties, including his father and grandfather.
In 806, at the age of 27,Wei Ceng, Yuan’s wife died with a miscarriage. They had been married for only seven years. He wrote five poems expressing his sorrow and loss. Three of them can be found on this website. They are under the title “Try to Dispel Sorrows“.
Career:
In 793, Yuan passed an imperial exam at the age of fourteen for his competent understanding two Confucian classics.
In 802, at the age of 23 he was made a copyeditor at the Palace Library.
In 806, at the age of twenty-seven, Yuan sat for a special imperial exam with Emperor Xianzong dealing with strategic thinking. Of the 18 candidates taking the test, he scored first, where he even scored ahead of Bai Juyi. He met Bai at this time and place, and from there they developed a deep and long-lasting friendship. Many poems and letters were addressed to his very good friend Bai Juyi. Bai’s biographical information and work can also be found on this website.
They shared much of their philosophy and literary interests. These included the viewpoint that poems should express social concerns, and the poetic form of Xin Yuehfu (New Music Bureau). Many poems of departure and reunions were written by these friends over the years.
He and Bai Juyi made a “Green Mountain pact” to retire together as Daoist recluses after having enough money. In 813, at the age of thirty-four,
Yuan wrote a grave inscription for Du Fu praising his works.
With this success Yuan was appointed as a “You Shiyi”, a junior advisor at the Bureau of Government.
In this position, Yuan submitted proposals involving the defense of the northwestern border areas near the Tibetan and Uyghur empires. Soon many other officials became jealous of him along with him gaining favor with the emperor.
While in Luoyang and Sichuan assignments, he was noted for trying to root out official corruption. Later sent off to Jiangling City, modern day Jingzhou, Hubei. Here he wrote many poems. Yuan was named military advisor in Nantong, Jiangsu, while Bai Juyi was sent to Nanchang in Jiangxi as military governor. Being apart, they often wrote poems to each other, sometimes up to 30-50 lines and some up to100 lines. Fame arrived for both. In 819 he was recalled to the capital, Changan, where he continued to make a good impression with government officials and the crown prince.
In 820 Emperor Muzong (795-824) came to power and was offered as a gift, a collection of over 100 poems by Yuan Zhen. Yuan was then shortly offered a new position as a supervisor in the Ministry of Rites, placed in charge of drifting edicts for the emperor. As the popularity of his poems rose, jealousy increased among the palace people. Eventually Yuan was made Chief Imperial Scholar. In the succeeding years, Yuan’s career had several promotions and demotions as the imperial palace continued with it’s ever-changing shifts with infighting and power politics.
By 829 the new emperor was Wenzong. Yuan was recalled to the capital Chang’an to serve in the Executive Bureau. Shortly thereafter he was sent to post in the province of Hubei. Yuan suddenly became ill in the fall of 1831, and died within one day, on the second of September.
Works
Yuan had four of his poems selected for inclusion in the famous poetry anthology, “Three Hundred Tang Poems“. They included the poems, “The Summer Palace” and three elegies for his wife who died young. These three are included on this website under the title “Try to Dispel Sorrows”. (#10)
His poem “Lianchang Palace” was noticed by emperor Muzong (821- ?) who was so impressed that he soon promoted Yuan to a member of the imperial secretariat.
Romance prose “The Story of Ying Ying” tells of a scholar who abandons his first love for political advancement. His longer poems can be complex and exhibits fresh imagery.
According to his long-time friend, Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen categorized his poems into several areas. Six of them included:
1. Ancient Satire: A style close to the ancient traditions
2. Music Satire: In the style of Yuan’s music hall poems
3. Ancient Style: Expressing personal emotions
4. New Title Music Hall: Like #2 above, but with a contemporary twist
5. Regulated Verse: Done in both five-character and seven-character lines.
Exhibited smooth rhythms and well-matched couplets
6. Regulated Satire: Regulated verse with elements of satire
Yuan Zhen told Bai Juyi that he had several poems of mourning, and over one hundred poems of beauty. Between the ages of sixteen and thirty-one, Yuan had written over eight hundred poems, collected into twenty volumes. By the year of 816, when he was age 37, Yuan had completed over one thousand poems. One hundred volumes of his poems were collected into a work titled,
“Yuan Shi Chang Qing Ji”. It can be roughly translated as: Original Celebration and Collection of a Long Family (History).
Bai Juyi wrote the epitaph for Yuan Zhen. Other and additional themes and genres noted were: essays; policy essays; letters; memorials; imperial edicts; prefaces; biographies and epitaphs, and sacrificial texts.