⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Chen Zi'ang (661-702 BC) was a poet of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Tang Dynasty was the golden age of literature and art in Chinese history, especially for poetry. There are more than 48,000 poems composed by over 2,200 authors existing in present day. Among Tang poets, Chen Zi'ang was an important figure in that he helped to bring into being the Tang style poetry. He was later followed by the greatest poets in not only Tang Dynasty but also in entire Chinese history, including Li Bai (李白) and Du Fu (杜甫).
Born to a very wealthy landowner family, young Chen Zi'ang was not particularly interested in reading classics. He was quite good at hunting and gambling games. According to the New Tang Book (新唐书), Chen Zi'ang was not aware of how to read and write until he was 18. After he checked in a local school, he felt so ashamed that he refused all socializing and studied very hard at home for several years. In 684 AD, he took the imperial civil examination and came first in the test.
Chen Zi'ang started his government career as a proofreader at the imperial library. But the low ranking of this position did not stop Chen Zi'ang from remonstrating bluntly. His appeal to the emperor on almost every issue, the recovery of the country, the restoration of its education, the mitigation of punishment and simplification of policies,and war against neighboring states. Many of them were critical to the emperor. It did not come without risk during the reign of Empress dowager Wu Zetian. It was believed that Chen Zi'ang was once put in prison due to his outspokenness and candor.
In 698 AD, Chen Zi'ang's father was ill. He quit the imperial court and went back to his hometown to take care of his father. The local county magistrate coveted Chen Zi'ang's family wealth so he framed Zi'ang and put him into prison. Chen Zi'ang died in the prison later at age of 43.