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90-654: The Wenyuan Yinghua ( Chinese : 文苑英華 ), sometimes translated as Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature , is an anthology of poetry, odes, songs and writings from the Liang dynasty to the Five Dynasties era. Wenyuan Yinghua is a showreel of literature from around the Song dynasty . The book was initially compiled by a team of officers including Song Bai (宋白), Hu Meng (扈蒙), Xu Xuan (徐鉉) under an imperial order from 982 to 986 during

180-402: A bedridden invalid for several months. After his partial recovery, he spent his final years arranging his Collected Works, which he presented to the main monasteries of those localities in which he had spent time. In 846, Bai Juyi died, leaving instructions for a simple burial in a grave at the monastery, with a plain style funeral, and to not have a posthumous title conferred upon him. He has

270-447: A bit poor ( 立部賤，坐部貴 ). In Bai Juyi's time, those two performances were full of foreign music, the Yayue ( 雅樂 , literally: "elegant music") was no longer be performed in those two sections. The Yayue music was only performed by the players who were eliminated from those two sections ( 立部又退何所任，始就樂懸操雅音 ). This poem shows the culture changing in the middle Tang dynasty and the decline of Yayue,

360-503: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from

450-439: A difference—famous poets describing the scenes and conditions of citizens could sometimes attract the attention of the imperial court and eventually have the impacted states got official support. Wars between imperial dynasty and border nations is also a well-implemented subject. While accounts of victories of imperial forces are often seen as another way to praise imperials, authors sometimes secretly expressed their concerns about

540-533: A form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples In those two poems of Bai reflected the situation of political and culture in the middle Tang dynasty after the An Lushan Rebellion, and he was concerned that the popularity of foreign music could lead the Tang society into chaos. The pipa in the poems of Bai Juyi represents the expression of love, the action of communicating, and especially

630-634: A government official, at Zhouzhi , which was not far from Chang'an (and also in Shaanxi province). He was made a member (scholar) of the Hanlin Academy , in 807, and Reminder of the Left from 807 until 815, except when in 811 his mother died, and he spent the traditional three-year mourning period again along the Wei River, before returning to court in the winter of 814, where he held the title of Assistant Secretary to

720-428: A group of poets who rejected the courtly style of the time and emphasized the didactic function of literature, Bai believing that every literary work should contain a fitting moral and a well-defined social purpose. That makes him not satisfied with cultural performance styles of Tang court. For instance, in his work of Faqu ge ( 法曲歌 ), translated as Model Music , is a poem regard to a kind of performing art, he made

810-464: A significant impact on the selection of work. Emperor Taizong of Song enlisted several Song poems he preferred in Wenyuan Yinghua. He also appointed the chief editor personally to make sure only the literature work of the best quality is composed. Emperor Zhenzong showed a similar attitude toward the work. This influence from emperors made Wenyuan Yinghua biased towards emphasizing the importance of

900-601: A standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until the middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of

990-488: A timely manner; and, on July 13, 815, before dawn, the Tang Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng was set to go to the palace for a meeting with Emperor Xianzong. As he left his house, arrows were fired at his retinue. His servants all fled, and the assassins seized Wu Yuanheng and his horse, and then decapitated him, taking his head with them. The assassins also attacked another official who favored the campaign against

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1080-716: A tomb monument in Longmen, situated on Xiangshan across the Yi River from the Longmen cave temples in the vicinity of Luoyang , Henan . It is a circular mound of earth 4 metres (13 ft) high and 52 metres (171 ft) in circumference, with a 2.8-metre (9 ft 2 in) tall monument inscribed "Bai Juyi". Bai Juyi has been known for his plain, direct, and easily comprehensible style of verse, as well as for his social and political criticism. Besides his surviving poems, several letters and essays are also extant. He collected his writings in

1170-850: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;

1260-484: Is " Chang hen ge " ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow"), a long narrative poem that tells the story of the famous Tang dynasty concubine Yang Guifei and her relationship with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang . Han's sovereign prized the beauty of flesh, he longed for such as ruins domains; For many years he ruled the Earth and sought for one in vain. A daughter there was of the house of Yang, just grown to maturity, Raised deep in

1350-667: Is "The Song of the Pipa Player". Like Du Fu , Bai had a strong sense of social responsibility and is well known for his satirical poems, such as The Elderly Charcoal Seller . Also he wrote about military conflicts during the Tang dynasty. Poems like "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" were examples of the peril in China during the An Lushan rebellion. Bai Juyi also wrote intensely romantic poems to fellow officials with whom he studied and traveled. These speak of sharing wine, sleeping together, and viewing

1440-507: Is considered one of the Four Great Books of Song . Despite this, Wenyuan Yinghua has a massive amount of valuable content regarding Chinese history and literature ; this work has been mostly neglected by scholars in both the East and West since the book was composed and printed. It has an extensive association with other Tang and Song Chinese literary anthologies. The compilation started in

1530-515: Is one of the main characters of the 2017 Chinese fantasy film Legend of the Demon Cat , where he is portrayed by Huang Xuan . It the movie, the poet is solving a murder mystery and struggles to finish his famous poem, "Song of Everlasting Regret." The American poet, Allen Ginsberg , wrote "Reading Bai Juyi" during his 1984 trip to China. The poem was written in Shanghai over the course of one day and

1620-483: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to

1710-732: The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries composed in the Qing dynasty . Wenyuan Yinghua influences the circle of Han culture, namely countries such as Japan and Korea . Wenyuan Yinghua was spread to these countries through cultural exchange by the "Imperial embassy to China" (put wiki link). Copies of the original version of Wenyuan Yinghua are preserved in several Japanese monasteries today and act as valuable sources for Japanese scholars researching that part of history. Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are

1800-512: The Dali regnal era (766-779) of Emperor Daizong of Tang . He had a long and successful career both as a government official and a poet, although these two facets of his career seemed to have come in conflict with each other at certain points. Bai Juyi was also a devoted Chan Buddhist . Bai Juyi was born in 772 in Taiyuan , Shanxi , which was then a few miles from location of the modern city, although he

1890-462: The Kensiu language . Bai Juyi Bai was also influential in the historical development of Japanese literature , where he is better known by the on'yomi reading of his courtesy name, Haku Rakuten ( shinjitai : 白楽天). His younger brother Bai Xingjian was a short story writer. Among his most famous works are the long narrative poems " Chang Hen Ge " ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow"), which tells

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1980-622: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝   'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for

2070-464: The Han Daqu-the original form of Daqu. Tang culture was an amalgamation of the culture of the ethnic Han majority, the culture of the " Western Region " ( 西域 ), and Buddhism . The conflict between the mainstream Han culture and minority culture exposed after the An Lushan Rebellion. The alien culture was so popular and it had seriously threatened the status of Han culture. Musical performances at

2160-588: The Japanese god of poetry repelling the Chinese poet from Japan, in opposition to Bai's (perceived) challenge to the country's poetic autonomy. Bai Juyi was known for his interest in the old yuefu form of poetry, which was a typical form of Han poetry , namely folk ballad verses, collected or written by the Music Bureau . These were often a form of social protest. And, in fact, writing poetry to promote social progress

2250-785: The Moon and mountains. One friend, Yu Shunzhi, sent Bai a bolt of cloth as a gift from a far-off posting, and Bai Juyi debated on how best to use the precious material: About to cut it to make a mattress, pitying the breaking of the leaves; about to cut it to make a bag, pitying the dividing of the flowers. It is better to sew it, making a coverlet of joined delight; I think of you as if I'm with you, day or night. Bai's works were also highly renowned in Japan, and many of his poems were quoted and referenced in The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu . Zeami Motokiyo also quoted from Bai, in his Noh plays , and even wrote one, Haku Rakuten , about

2340-531: The Northern Song dynasty. Southern Song scholar Zhou Bida printed the book at last in 1204, while four extensive alterations and countless minor revisions were put forth in the extent of the past 200 years. Wenyuan Yinghua is divided into 1,000 volumes and 38 genera by sections with 19,102 pieces of works written by about 2,200 authors; much of the crucial compilation of the writings came from the Tang dynasty scholars. It

2430-547: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China

2520-458: The Prince's Tutor. It was not a high-ranking position, but nevertheless one which he was soon to lose. While serving as a minor palace official in 814, Bai managed to get himself in official trouble. He made enemies at court and with certain individuals in other positions. It was partly his written works which led him into trouble. He wrote two long memorials, translated by Arthur Waley as "On Stopping

2610-442: The Tang court are of two types: seated performances ( 坐部 ) and standing performances ( 立部 ). Seated performances were conducted in smaller halls with a limited number of dancers, and emphasized refined artistry. Standing performances involves numerous dancers, and were usually performed in courtyards or squares intended for grand presentations. Bai's another poem, Libuji ( 立部伎 ), translated as Standing Section Players , reflected

2700-521: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,

2790-594: The War", regarding what he considered to be an overly lengthy campaign against a minor group of Tatars ; and he wrote a series of poems, in which he satirized the actions of greedy officials and highlighting the sufferings of the common folk. At this time, one of the post- An Lushan warlords ( jiedushi ), Wu Yuanji in Henan , had seized control of Zhangyi Circuit (centered in Zhumadian ), an act for which he sought reconciliation with

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2880-461: The Xiangshan Monastery, at Longmen , about 7.5 miles south of Luoyang. Bai Juyi moved to this location, and began to refer to himself as the "Hermit of Xiangshan". This area, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is famous for its tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples carved out of the rock. In 839, he experienced a paralytic attack, losing the use of his left leg, and became

2970-725: The anthology called the Bai Zhi Wen Ji  [ zh ] . One of the most prolific of the Tang poets, Bai Juyi wrote over 2,800 poems , which he had copied and distributed to ensure their survival. They are notable for their relative accessibility: it is said that he would rewrite any part of a poem if one of his servants was unable to understand it. The accessibility of Bai Juyi's poems made them extremely popular in his lifetime, in both China and Japan , and they continue to be read in these countries today. His writings are also popular in Korea and Vietnam . One of Bai's most famous poems

3060-491: The capital. He then served in various official posts in the capital, and then again as prefect/governor, this time in Henan , the province in which Luoyang was located. It was in Henan that his first son was born, though only to die prematurely the next year. In 831 Yuan Zhen died. For the next thirteen years, Bai Juyi continued to hold various nominal posts but actually lived in retirement. In 832, Bai Juyi repaired an unused part of

3150-536: The construction of a causeway to allow walking on foot, instead of requiring the services of a boat. A causeway in the West Lake (Baisha Causeway, 白沙堤) was later referred to as Bai Causeway in Bai Juyi's honor, but the original causeway built by Bai Juyi named Baigong Causeway ( 白公堤 ) no longer exists. In 824, Bai Juyi's commission as governor expired, and he received the nominal rank of Imperial Tutor, which provided more in

3240-450: The directors changed the context of the animation to make the plot more dramatic. However, the core structure of the story stayed the same as it was originally composed by a Northern Dynasty poet and collected in Wenyuan Yinghua. The value conveyed by the act of a woman riding to war, conducting Jeanne d'Arc acts guiding soldiers to victory under all the opposition of her family is still heroic to this day. The act of defiance reminded people of

3330-572: The early years of the Song dynasty. The ruling family of Song, the Zhao family, seized power to the throne by conducting a coup d'état on the former Zhou dynasty . Song faces threats from the north and south in its early years. The founding emperor of Song wants to secure his place and increase the legitimacy of his reign by leaving a mark in literature. Thus, he started the compilation of Wenyuan Yinghua. The compilers, led by Zhou Bida, come from all over China. Among

3420-625: The emperor and the good deed they have done, acting as propaganda to justify the right of imperial autocracy. Wenyuan Yinghua includes literature of all forms, including poems, lyrics, and articles. These writings cover a wide range of topics, from the story of a heroic act to the poet's philosophical emotion about an object. Poems and songs are famous types of literature genres in the Tang and Song dynasties. They have different names in Chinese, such as " Fu ", " Shi ", " Ci ", " Yuefu Shi ", and " Jue Ju ". They are all types of poems, but each represents different poetic composition rules and forms. Many of

3510-464: The exam varies from "Early snow in Spring" to "bamboo in the backyard." A worth-noting fact is that the answer with the highest regard usually eulogizes the emperor. For example, in the "Early snow in Spring" exam poem collected in Wenyuan Yinghua, the author says it's the god that lets snowfall, responding to the goodwill and high moral standard of the emperor. The imperial examination acts to stabilize both

3600-420: The following statement: "All the faqu's now are combined with songs from the barbarians ; but the barbarian music sounds evil and disordered whereas Han music sounds harmonious!" ( 法曲法曲合夷歌，夷聲邪亂華聲和 ) Faqu is a kind of performing style of Yanyue, a part of court music performance. In this poem, Bai Juyi strongly criticized Tang Daqu, which was itself heavily influenced by some nonnative musical elements absent in

3690-483: The general population, the work included in the compilation continues to be popular. The lyrics and poems written by poets such as Su Shi and Du Fu are still well known in present-day as they put out a voice for the commons and sympathize with their pain and hardness. The story of Mulan was one of the works collected in Wenyuan Yinghua about a girl going to war against the Huns . It was immediately recognized by scholars at

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3780-416: The hardship of ordinary people, secretly conveying discontent. Those works have a market among ordinary citizens while spreading unnoticed by authorities. Symbolism is prevalent in Wenyuan Yinghua's poems. Like many western poets like Shakespeare , Emily Dickinson , and E. E. Cummings , their middle-aged colleagues in China also have keen sights of their surroundings. Poets in Tang and Song left comments on

3870-428: The huge cost and death behind the victories. The literature of Wenyuan Yinghua served educational purposes for future scholars. The compilation aimed to find a place in the history of literature. Thus, many renowned and famous works of that time are included. The work is an encyclopedia of literature; imperial scholars can look into the compilation to find the work they want. Although the compilation stayed distanced from

3960-484: The imperial exam, so the audience would not have problems understanding the quoted reference. In "酬乐天扬州初逢席上见赠," the verse "到乡翻似烂柯人" literally means "as if I'm the man carrying a broken ax after I return home." The quotation "the man carrying a broken ax" comes from a story in "Jing shu" (The history of Jing). The story tells a man who went chopping the woods in the forest, and when he gets back home, he discovers everything has changed. A few years have passed in his few days in

4050-485: The imperial government, trying to get an imperial pardon as a necessary prerequisite. Despite the intercession of influential friends, Wu was denied, thus officially putting him in the position of rebellion. Still seeking a pardon, Wu turned to assassination, blaming the Prime Minister, Wu Yuanheng , and other officials: the imperial court generally began by dawn, requiring the ministers to rise early in order to attend in

4140-463: The imperial order and society. The talented are selected and serve in public offices rather than destabilizing the community. Wenyuan Yinghua contains poems depicting daily events in Song, including trade and commerce activities. Some scenes depict government officials collecting taxes from the poor. The writers wanted to express their pity for the poor and gratitude for their contribution. But sometimes, even sympathy must be expressed in symbolic ways in

4230-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from

4320-458: The law to bring this under control." Bai was also criticized for his "carelessness and repetitiveness", especially his later works. He was nevertheless placed by Tang poet Zhang Wei ( 張爲 ) in his Schematic of Masters and Followers Among the Poets ( 詩人主客圖 ) at the head of his first category: "extensive and grand civilizing power". Burton Watson says of Bai Juyi: "he worked to develop a style that

4410-477: The lead before offering his own criticism. This was not the only charge which his opponents used against him. His mother had died, apparently caused by falling into a well while looking at some flowers, and two poems written by Bai Juyi — the titles of which Waley translates as "In Praise of Flowers" and "The New Well" — were used against him as a sign of lack of Filial Piety , one of the Confucian ideals. The result

4500-488: The leading officials of the project, Xu Xuan comes from Guiji. He newly surrendered to Song after the fall of Nan Tang, where he was a court poet there. Wu Shu came from Danyang, and Lü Wenzhong was born in Xin'an, Hebei. The whole picture is that the emperor wants every talent in every background and birth to attribute to the compilation. The compilation of Wenyuan Yinghua lasted for several emperors in Song, during which emperors had

4590-521: The literature. Progress in science can be seen in the writings. Detailed accounts in poems for astronomy, math, architecture, fireworks, and other inventions all show the progress of technology in Song. Natural disasters at the time are recorded through literature. A flood or drought going on in Hebei might be neglectable for historians, but writers who experienced or witnessed the destruction it brought would record them in their writing. Besides, it might make

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4680-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as

4770-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In

4860-518: The market place." Bai's poetry was immensely popular in his own lifetime, but his popularity, his use of vernacular, the sensual delicacy of some of his poetry, led to criticism of him being "common" or "vulgar". In a tomb inscription for Li Kan ( 李戡 ), a critic of Bai, poet Du Mu wrote, couched in the words of Li Kan: "...It has bothered me that ever since the Yuanhe Reign we have had poems by Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen whose sensual delicacy has defied

4950-975: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often

5040-428: The norms. Excepting gentlemen of mature strength and classical decorum, many have been ruined by them. They have circulated among the common people and been inscribed on walls; mothers and fathers teach them to sons and daughters orally, through winter's cold and summer's heat their lascivious phrases and overly familiar words have entered people's flesh and bone and cannot be gotten out. I have no position and cannot use

5130-665: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as

5220-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as

5310-531: The phenomenon of "decline in imperial court music". In this poem, Bai mercilessly pointed out that music style of both seated performances and standing performances were deeply influenced by foreign culture. Seated performances are more elegant than standing performances. Players in the Seating Section were the most qualified performers, while the performing level of the players in the Standing Section were

5400-430: The poet's feelings on listening to music. Bai Juyi is considered one of the greatest Chinese poets, but even during the ninth century, sharp divide in critical opinions of his poetry already existed. While some poets like Pi Rixiu only had the highest praise for Bai Juyi, others were hostile, like Sikong Tu ( 司空圖 ) who described Bai as "overbearing in force, yet feeble in energy ( qi ), like domineering merchants in

5490-417: The point that the local farmers were suffering from severe drought. He ordered the construction of a stronger and taller dike, with a dam to control the flow of water, thus providing water for irrigation, relieving the drought, and improving the livelihood of the local people over the following years. Bai Juyi used his leisure time to enjoy the beauty of West Lake, visiting the lake almost every day. He ordered

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5580-825: The predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is a retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to

5670-430: The purpose of saving words of description here since they use the commonly known character of one object to describe another lesser-known thing. Wenyuan Yinghua included other literary forms such as narrative tales and stories. Some works are articles or even bibliographies by poets describing the achievement in their life. A type of story worthy of note is " Zhi guai ," stories about ghosts and supernatural phenomena. It

5760-439: The rebellious warlords, Pei Du, but was unable to kill him. The people at the capital were shocked and there was turmoil, with officials refusing to leave their personal residences until after dawn. In this context, Bai Juyi overstepped his minor position by memorializing the emperor. As Assistant Secretary to the Prince's Tutor, Bai's memorial was a breach of protocol — he should have waited for those of censorial authority to take

5850-631: The story of Yang Guifei , and " Pipa xing " ("Song of the Pipa"). Bai Juyi lived during the Middle Tang period. This was a period of rebuilding and recovery for the Tang Empire, following the An Lushan Rebellion , and following the poetically flourishing era famous for Li Bai (701－762), Wang Wei (701－761), and Du Fu (712－770). Bai Juyi lived through the reigns of eight or nine emperors, being born in

5940-539: The tenancy of nature, praising the firmness and persistence of bamboos and orchids. They were lit up by the lone plum in the snow and astounded by the pines growing from rocks. They learned from the cruelness and beauty of nature. The authors polish their works, illustrating traits of good virtue vividly with symbolism. Poems in Wenyuan Yinghua include many analogies and metaphors. Since lyrics come in verses of seven Chinese characters, poets need to express as efficiently as possible in limited space. Metaphors and analogy serve

6030-459: The throne, Muzong spent his time feasting and heavily drinking and neglecting his duties as emperor. Meanwhile, the temporarily subdued regional military governors, jiedushi , began to challenge the central Tang government, leading to the new de facto independence of three circuits north of the Yellow River , which had been previously subdued by Emperor Xianzong. Furthermore, Muzong's administration

6120-448: The time and has long been considered a masterpiece of North Dynasty poems. It was just like other numerous famous narrative poems that appeared in Wenyuan Yinghua until Disney made it a buzz by producing the animation " Mulan ." "Mulan" was officially released in 1998 and immediately became a hit throughout the world. It had become a cultural symbol for China that projected the optimism and bravery of Chinese women. When composing "Mulan,"

6210-400: The time was serving an assignment in nearby Ningbo , also in what is today Zhejiang , so the two could occasionally get together, at least until Bai Juyi's term as Governor expired. As governor of Hangzhou, Bai Juyi realized that the farmland nearby depended on the water of West Lake, but, due to the negligence of previous governors, the old dike had collapsed and the lake had dried out to

6300-627: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with

6390-970: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write

6480-509: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being

6570-672: The value of women's rights in the age dynasties. Thanks to Wenyuan Yinghua, this spirit can be passed on to future generations and eventually influence the world. Mulan acts as a messenger that penetrates all cultural barriers and biases. Although few know the source of the piece in the west, Chinese poems with Wenyuan Yinghua as an example prove that it contains vast amazing stories and lyrics that can still have meaning to modern-day people. They're yet to be explored and researched. Wenyuan Yinghua, as collected literature of refined works, generated huge value for future Chinese writers and scholars. It brought convenience for later scholars to understand

6660-405: The way of official salary than official duties, and he relocated his household to a suburb of the "eastern capital," Luoyang . At the time, Luoyang was known as the eastern capital of the empire and was a major metropolis with a population of around one million and a reputation as the "cultural capital," as opposed to the more politically oriented capital of Chang'an . In 825, at age 53, Bai Juyi

6750-611: The women's quarters where no man knew of her. When Heaven begets beauteous things, it is loath to let them be wasted, So one morning this maiden was chosen to be by the ruler's side. When she turned around with smiling glance, she exuded every charm; In the harem all who wore powder and paint of beauty then seemed barren. In springtime's chill he let her bathe in Huaqing Palace's pools Whose warm springs' glistening waters washed flecks of dried lotions away. Those in attendance helped her rise, in helplessness so charming— This

6840-405: The woods. By quoting this, the author Bai Juyi expresses the shocking emotion that everything moved forth while he was away from home. Some authors use symbolism to present the work in depth. For instance, Du Fu 's poem "Li Ren Xin" included a detailed description of the banquet in the palace. Although it seemed to be depicting the scene, Du implies the extravagant lifestyle of nobles is built on

6930-571: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c.  200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c.  the 5th century . Although

7020-656: The works of the highest regard in Wenyuan Yinghua combine the writer's description of events and the expression of opinions. The writers usually start describing an event or object in the first few lines and carry on to expressing their ideas deriving from the event. The poems in Wenyuan Yinghua come with a lot of quotations. It is a way for writers to show their erudition to audiences, majorly fellow writers with certain cultural attainment. The work they quoted could be Chinese classics dating further back, such as " Zhuang Zi ", " Zuo Zhuan ", or " Lun Yu ". Those examples listed are all classics required for Chinese scholars to memorize for

7110-463: The writings and literature of that period. A lot of the later collection of poetry and songs, such as the Complete Tang Poems , also uses work from Wenyuan Yinghua. Scholars widely refer to the works when they try to compose an analysis or judgment of Song and Tang. Famous scholars like Zhu Xi and Fang Songqing quoted the pieces and left comments. Wenyuan Yinghua is also one of the sources of

7200-402: Was also in exile and with whom he explored the rock caves located at Yichang . Bai Juyi was delighted by the flowers and trees for which his new location was noted. In 819, he was recalled back to the capital, ending his exile. In 819, Bai Juyi was recalled to the capital and given the position of second-class Assistant Secretary. In 821, China got a new emperor, Muzong . After succeeding to

7290-452: Was characterized by massive corruption. Again, Bai Juyi wrote a series of memorials in remonstrance. Again, Bai Juyi was sent away from the court and the capital, but this time to the important position of the thriving town of Hangzhou , which was at the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and located in the scenic neighborhood of West Lake . Fortunately for their friendship, Yuan Zhen at

7380-402: Was delayed by seven years due to his father's death. He passed the jinshi examinations in 800. Bai Juyi may have taken up residence in the western capital city of Chang'an , in 801. Not long after this, Bai Juyi formed a long friendship with a scholar Yuan Zhen . 806, the first full year of the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang , was the year when Bai Juyi was appointed to a minor post as

7470-598: Was exile. Bai Juyi was demoted to the rank of Sub-Prefect and banished from the court and the capital city to Jiujiang , then known as Xun Yang, on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province. After three years, he was sent as Governor of a remote place in Sichuan. At the time, the main travel route there was up the Yangzi River. This trip allowed Bai Juyi a few days to visit his friend Yuan Zhen, who

7560-555: Was explicitly one of his objectives. He is also known for his well-written poems in the regulated verse style. Bai was a poet of the middle Tang dynasty. It was a period after the An Lushan Rebellion , the Tang Empire was in rebuilding and recovery. As a government official and a litterateur, Bai observed the court music performance that was seriously affected by Xiyu ( 西域 , Western regions), and he made some articles with indignation to criticize that phenomenon. As an informal leader of

7650-461: Was given the position of Governor (Prefect) of Suzhou , situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Tai . For the first two years, he enjoyed himself with feasts and picnic outings, but after a couple years he became ill and was forced into a period of retirement. After his time as Prefect of Hangzhou (822-824) and then Suzhou (825-827), Bai Juyi returned to

7740-525: Was in Zhengyang , Henan for most of his childhood. His family was poor but scholarly, his father being an Assistant Department Magistrate of the second-class. At the age of ten he was sent away from his family to avoid a war that broke out in the north of China, and went to live with relatives in the area known as Jiangnan , more specifically Xuzhou . Bai Juyi's father died in 794, his father's death caused his family to undergo hard times. Bai Juyi's official

7830-406: Was popular in Song society, combining myth and legends with writers' creations. The type led to the trend of stories in Song and eventually developed into novels about "Zhi guai" in later dynasties. The literature forms other than poems in Wenyuan Yinghua are much less famous than poems and little studied. Throughout the song dynasty, the only way for a citizen to get promoted to become an official

7920-415: Was simple and easy to understand, and posterity has requited his efforts by making him one of the most well-loved and widely read of all Chinese poets, both in his native land and in the other countries of the East that participate in the appreciation of Chinese culture. He is also, thanks to the translations and biographical studies by Arthur Waley , one of the most accessible to English readers". Bai Juyi

8010-582: Was the moment when first she enjoyed the flood of royal favor. Tresses like cloud, face like a flower, gold pins that swayed to her steps; It was warm in the lotus-embroidered tents where they passed the nights of spring. And the nights of spring seemed all too short, the sun would too soon rise, From this point on our lord and king avoided daybreak court. 漢皇重色思傾國， 御宇多年求不得。 楊家有女初長成， 養在深閨人未識。 天生麗質難自棄， 一朝選在君王側。 回眸一笑百媚生， 六宮粉黛無顏色。 春寒賜浴華清池， 溫泉水滑洗凝脂。 侍兒扶起嬌無力， 始是新承恩澤時。 雲鬢花顏金步搖， 芙蓉帳暖度春宵。 春宵苦短日高起， 從此君王不早朝。 Another of Bai's famous poems

8100-441: Was through "imperial examination." The "imperial examination" selects officials mainly through literature skills, which significantly facilitates the prosperity of poems and lyrics in Song. Ideas such as loyalty and virginity are encouraged to be expressed in examination writings. Wenyuan Yinghua, aiming to collect the best of Song literature, also reflects this function. The best Answers from past exams are included. The question of

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