⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Song Zhiwen (宋之问，656-712 AD) was a poet of the early Tang Dynasty. He was acclaimed for his contribution to the perfection of Lüshi (律诗,regulated poetry verse) which was the most important form of classical Chinese poetry. However, Song Zhiwen was also known for his immorality. In his early political career, he was so flattery to the empress Wu Zetian (武则天) and people who were close to her that his contemporaries and literary critics in later generations did not even want to give him the credit for some of his best works. According to the New Tang Book, Song Zhiwen was the ghostwriter for Zhang Yizhi (张易之),one of the empress's favorite lover. Song did not only write all the poems and proses for Zhang, he even held Zhang's urinal for him.
In 705 AD, the crown prince Li Xian (李显) and prime minister Zhang Jianzhi (张柬之) staged a coup to force the empress to abdicate. Zhang Yizhi, the lover of the empress, was executed. As the consequence of his close connection to Zhang Yizhi, Song Zhiwen was demoted far to the south of country. But he sneaked back to the capital and hid in Zhang Zhongzhi's home (张仲之). Zhang at that time was planning another coup with Wang Tongjiao (王同皎), the son-in-law of the newly enthroned emperor, to kill the powerful Wu Sansi (武三思), the nephew of deceased empress at her funeral. When Song Zhiwen found out, he sold them out to Wu, which led to the arrest and execution of Zhang Zhongzhi and Wang Tongjiao. Song Zhiwen was promoted once again. But he was despised by the entire country.
The fight in the imperial court continued in the next couple of years. Although Song Zhiwen tried to cling to the power, it was a struggle he could not win. He was exiled to Guangdong (广东),the very south part of China in 705 AD. On his way to Guangdong, he wrote some of his most famous poems, including this Across the Great Mountain Yu. In 709 AD, his soft soap to one princess caused resentment from another princess. He was demoted again to Yue Zhou (越州，now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, 今浙江绍兴). These ups and downs in officialdom had Song Zhiwen change his life attitude, and the contents of his poems as well. In Yue Zhou, he turned his attention to local people's livelihood. His poems were no longer flattery and exaggerated, but fresh and elegant. Unfortunately politics won't let him go so easily. In 712 AD, the Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗,685-762 AD) came to the throne. The new emperor ordered the poet Song Zhiwen to commit suicide.