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Meng Haoran

Tang poet from Xiangyang who spent most of his life as a recluse at Lumen Mountain, known for short nature poems such as 'Spring Dawn' and paired with Wang Wei

Also known as Zi Haoran · Haomeng Shanren · Lumen Chushi

Meng Haoran came from Xiangyang. The New Book of Tang (Xin Tangshu) says he valued integrity as a young man, liked to help people in trouble and lived for years as a recluse on Lumen Mountain near his home. In the winter of 727 he went to Chang'an to seek office, failed the metropolitan examination the next year, and exchanged poems with Wang Wei, Zhang Jiuling and others in the capital. He then wandered through the lower Yangzi region before returning to Xiangyang. In 737 Zhang Jiuling, demoted to Jingzhou, took him onto his staff, but he soon went home again. When Wang Changling visited Xiangyang in 740, Meng was recovering from an abscess on his back; Wang Shiyuan's preface to his collected poems says that he ate fish at the welcoming feast, fell ill again and died, aged fifty-two. Li Bai's poem "To Meng Haoran" opens with the line "I love Master Meng", saying his free spirit was known throughout the realm.

Life and times

  1. 689 CEBornTang
  2. 740 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Poetry17
    1. Visiting an Old Friend's CottageTangMeng Haoran's regulated verse on a visit to a farming friend, wine and talk of the harvest
    2. Spring DawnTangMeng Haoran's quatrain on waking to birdsong and blossoms fallen in the night's rain
    3. Mooring on the Jiande RiverTangMeng Haoran moors on the Jiande River at dusk, his sorrow set in open fields and moonlight
    4. Calling on Yuan the Reminder and Not Finding HimTangMeng Haoran seeks a friend in Luoyang and finds him exiled beyond the southern ranges
    5. Seeing Off Zhu the Eldest to QinTangMeng Haoran gives his precious sword to a friend bound for Chang'an, a pledge of lifelong trust
    6. +12 more
      1. Written at Master Yi's Meditation ChamberTangMeng Haoran's regulated verse on a monk's retreat, where hills after rain mirror a pure mind
      2. Facing Lake Dongting: To Minister ZhangTangMeng Haoran's regulated poem on vast Lake Dongting that quietly asks a minister for patronage
      3. Returning to the Southern Hills at the Year's EndTangMeng Haoran's regulated poem of failed ambition, going home to the southern hills at year's end
      4. A Feast at Daoist Mei's Mountain LodgeTangMeng Haoran, invited to a Daoist's mountain lodge, toasts the life of the immortals
      5. Staying at Master Ye's Mountain Lodge, Waiting for Ding the Eldest, Who Does Not ComeTangMeng Haoran waits by night at a mountain lodge, zither in hand, for a friend who never comes
      6. Staying the Night on the Tonglu River, Sent to Old Friends in GuanglingTangMeng Haoran moored on the Tonglu River at night, sending his tears to old friends in Yangzhou
      7. Parting Words for Wang WeiTangMeng Haoran, his hopes of office spent, takes leave of Wang Wei and heads home
      8. Climbing Mount Xian with FriendsTangMeng Haoran climbs Mount Xian, reads Lord Yang's stele and weeps at the passing of ages
      9. Thoughts in the Early ColdTangMeng Haoran adrift on the river as leaves fall and geese fly south, longing for home
      10. Thinking of Xin the Eldest at the South Pavilion on a Summer DayTangMeng Haoran cools off on a summer night at the south pavilion and misses his friend Xin
      11. Climbing Orchid Mountain in Autumn: To Zhang the FifthTangMeng Haoran climbs a hill in autumn and invites his friend Zhang to drink at the Double Ninth
      12. Song of Returning to Lumen at NightTangMeng Haoran sails home by night to Lumen Mountain and the quiet freedom of a hermit's life
  2. Literature · Sayings3
    1. Over Wine We Talk of Mulberry and HempTangFamous line from Meng Haoran's Visiting an Old Friend's Farm: country talk over wine
    2. Sleeping Through the Spring Dawn UnawaresTangFamous line from Meng Haoran's Spring Morning, on waking late from deep spring sleep
    3. How Many Blossoms Fell in the NightTangFamous line from Meng Haoran's Spring Dawn: wondering how many flowers the night storm took