Writers › Writer / Poet

Wen Tingyun

Late Tang poet and song-lyric writer nicknamed 'Eight-Folds Wen' for his speed at verse, whose lyrics open the Among the Flowers anthology

Also known as Ben Mingqi · Zi Feiqing · Wen Bacha · Wen Zhongkui

Wen Tingyun, originally named Qi, courtesy name Feiqing, came from Qi in Taiyuan. According to Sun Guangxian's *Trivial Talk from North of the Meng* (*Beimeng suoyan*), he could finish an eight-rhyme examination rhapsody in the time it took to fold his hands eight times, which earned him the nickname 'Eight-Folds Wen'. He wrote ornate lyrics to the tunes of strings and pipes, but the *Old Book of Tang* (*Jiu Tangshu*) says his conduct was loose and careless, and he failed the jinshi examination again and again. He served as an adviser to Xu Shang at Xiangyang and as an instructor at the Imperial Academy, was demoted to sheriff of Fangcheng, and died soon after a transfer to Suixian. His poems were ranked with Li Shangyin's, the pair being called Wen and Li, while his lyrics dwell on women's private feelings. Zhao Chongzuo of the Later Shu put sixty-six of his lyrics at the head of the anthology *Among the Flowers* (*Huajian ji*).

Life and times

  1. c. 812 CEBornTang
  2. c. 866 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Lyrics61
    1. Deva-Like Barbarian: Layered Hills of Gold Shimmer and FadeTangWen Tingyun's lyric opening Among the Flowers: a noblewoman at her morning toilette
    2. Deva-Like Barbarian: Crystal Pillow Behind Crystal BlindsTangWen Tingyun's boudoir lyric moving from crystal and brocade to willows and a waning moon
    3. Water Clock Song: Jade Incense BurnerTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a sleepless autumn night, parting told by rain on the wutong leaves
    4. Dreaming of the South: Ten Thousand RegretsTangWen Tingyun's single-stanza lyric of a wife's bitter longing for a man at the world's end
    5. Wine Spring Song: Flowers Glow Among the WillowsTangWen Tingyun's lyric from Among the Flowers: spring rain by a pond, an empty room, no letters
    6. +25 more
      1. Song of the South: A Golden Parrot in Her HandTangWen Tingyun's first Song of the South: a girl steals a look at a young man and resolves to wed
      2. Song of the South: Willows Like RibbonsTangWen Tingyun's spring lyric of a young man trailing a lady's scented carriage at dusk
      3. Song of the South: Her Hair Falls LowTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a woman who pines all day, wasting away while the flowers bloom
      4. Song of the South: Fine Gold on Her CheeksTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a woman on her pillow at dawn, an oriole's song stirring her longing
      5. Song of the South: Dusting Yellow on Her BrowTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a woman making up for the full-moon night of the fifteenth
      6. Song of the South: Eyes That Glance Like RipplesTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a secret beckoning among the flowers and the heartbreak that follows
      7. Song of the South: Too Listless to Smooth the PillowTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a woman too lovesick to tend her pillow, her sewing or the incense
      8. Lotus Leaf Cup: Autumn Moon on Mirror WaterTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a lotus-picking girl by moonlit autumn water, sad and lost in thought
      9. Lotus Leaf Cup · A Drop of Dew Congeals ColdTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a lotus pond in the cool, its broken lines carrying sorrow
      10. Lotus Leaf Cup · The Girl of Chu Would Go Home to the Southern ShoreTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a girl of Chu rowing home through the lotus in morning rain
      11. Willow Branch Song · The Longest Strands Outside Yichun ParkTangWen Tingyun's Willow Branches song of palace willows in spring and a heartbroken beauty
      12. Willow Branch Song · Outside the Guanwa Palace, West of YeTangWen Tingyun's Willow Branches song, giving the old homesick spring grass's role to the willow
      13. Willow Branch Song · Beside the Imperial Road East of the Southern Palace WallTangWen Tingyun's Willow Branch lyric from Among the Flowers, on spring willows by the palace road
      14. Willow Branch Song · Ten Thousand Willow Strands Before Su Xiao's DoorTangWen Tingyun's Willow Branch lyric from Among the Flowers, willows at Su Xiaoxiao's door
      15. Willow Branch Song · Threads of Gold Hang Thick by the Green-Tiled GuttersTangWen Tingyun's lyric on palace willows, whose threads stir the spring sorrow of palace women
      16. Willow Branch Song · Orioles in Pairs, Golden as GoldTangWen Tingyun's spring lament of orioles and willows, whose long threads cannot hold a roving man
      17. Willow Branch Song · Imperial Willows Like Silk over the PalaceTangWen Tingyun's lyric likening the palace willows to palace women made up at dawn
      18. Willow Branch Song · By the Brocade Loom the Orioles ChatterTangWen Tingyun's lyric of a weaver missing her soldier, her thoughts drifting to the cold frontier
      19. Lament of the Foreign Girl · Fragrant Snow Fully Open on Ten Thousand BoughsTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a woman who watches swallows pair while no word comes from the pass
      20. Lament of the Foreign Girl · On the Sands South of the Desert, Startled Geese RiseTangWen Tingyun's short ci moving from frontier wars to an empty painted tower where apricots bloom
      21. Lament for a Distant Land · Leaning on the Embroidered RailTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a woman waiting for a rider who does not come, as the crabapples fall
      22. Lament for a Distant Land · Flowers Half OpenTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a woman waking after rain, her dream broken by the dawn orioles
      23. Settling the Western Tribes · The Han Envoy Parted Years AgoTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a woman longing for an envoy gone beyond the Jade Gate
      24. Settling the Western Tribes · The Sea Swallow, About to Fly, PreensTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a finely adorned woman in her tower under the full spring moon
      25. Settling the Western Tribes · Fine Rain, Dawn Orioles, Late SpringTangWen Tingyun's short ci of a woman in late spring waiting for word from the frontier
    7. Open all works→
  2. Literature · Sayings8
    1. Little Hills Layered on the Screen: Wen Tingyun's Morning BoudoirTangFamous line from Wen Tingyun's Pusaman: painted hills on a screen in morning light
    2. Warm Fragrance Coaxing Dreams Beneath Mandarin-Duck BrocadeTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Pusa Man: crystal curtains and warm scent luring a sleeper to dream
    3. Footprints in the Frost on the Plank BridgeTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Early Departure from Mount Shang: dawn travel on frosty bridges
    4. Willows Like Mist Along the River: Wen Tingyun's Spring DreamTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Pu Sa Man: riverside willows hazy as mist
    5. Behind the Crystal Curtain: Wen Tingyun's Jewelled ChamberTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Pu Sa Man: a crystal curtain frames a lavish chamber
    6. +3 more
      1. Rain Dripping on Empty Steps Until Dawn: Wen Tingyun's Sleepless NightTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Geng Lou Zi: rain on empty steps through a sleepless night
      2. Gold Glinting and Fading on the Folded Hills: Wen Tingyun's Morning ToiletteTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Pu Sa Man: gold glints and fades in the morning light
      3. Cockcrow, Thatched Inn, Fading Moon: Setting Out Early on Mount ShangTangLine from Wen Tingyun's Early Departure on Mount Shang: the cold beauty of an early start
  3. Literature · Poetry5
    1. Early Departure from Mount ShangTangWen Tingyun's regulated verse of a dawn start, built from bare noun images of the road
    2. Lament of the Jade ZitherTangWen Tingyun's quatrain of a woman sleepless on an autumn night, missing someone far away
    3. Seeing Off a Friend Travelling EastTangWen Tingyun sees a friend off east from an autumn fort, hoping for wine when they meet again
    4. Crossing South at LizhouTangWen Tingyun paints a river crossing at dusk and longs, like Fan Li, to drift free of the world
    5. The Shrine of Su WuTangWen Tingyun visits Su Wu's shrine and recalls the envoy's years with the sheep and bleak return

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Wen Tingyun
    Son-in-law
    Duan Anjie