Writers › Writer / Poet
Zhang Bi
Poet of the Five Dynasties who served Southern Tang, later held office under the Song, and whose lyrics appear in the Huajian Ji anthology.
In a study at night, a desk holds a brush pot, a porcelain vase with a plum branch, a lit red lantern, a folded fan and an unrolled blank scroll, with no one seated there, while through a round window the moon rises over a lake with a sailboat.
Also known as Zi Zicheng
Zhang Bi was a poet of the Five Dynasties who passed the jinshi examination. Recommended by Xu Xuan, he served Southern Tang as commandant of Jurong, then as investigating censor, vice director of the Bureau of Merit Evaluation and palace secretary. He followed Li Yu in submitting to the Song and rose to grand master of remonstrance on the right and compiler in the History Office; he was still alive in 994. His lyrics are included in the Huajian Ji, and their style is delicate and clear.
Life and times
- UnknownBorn
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Songactive from late Southern Tang to early Northern Song, still living in 994 - UnknownDied
Works
Literature · Lyrics19- Silk-Washing Stream · A Fragrant Carriage on the Willow DykeFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a fragrant carriage on a willow dyke and silent longing under the moon
- Silk-Washing Stream · Lost in Thought on HorsebackFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a rider recalling old pleasures and a parting now an autumn old
- Silk-Washing Stream · Alone on the Cold StepsFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of moon-gazing on cold steps after a parting only dreams can cross
- Silk-Washing Stream · Tidying Faded BrowsFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a woman who leaves her make-up undone and idly twirls a crabapple spray
- Silk-Washing Stream · The Kingfisher Screen OpensFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a languid woman at dawn and a lonely courtyard in light spring rain
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- Silk-Washing Stream · Pillow Screen and Incense BurnerFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of two years of longing and a waking from dreams at a rainy dusk
- Silk-Washing Stream · Flowers, Moon and Cold FragranceFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a secret meeting at a banquet and words stolen between drinking games
- Silk-Washing Stream · A Flower Crown Worn AslantFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a woman just risen, flower crown aslant, brooding as apricot petals fall
- Silk-Washing Stream · Following a Fragrant Carriage into the CapitalFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a young man who trails a lady's carriage at dusk, feigning drunkenness
- Silk-Washing Stream · A Snowy Day at the East Gate of the MarketFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a glimpse of a beauty at a market gate on a day that threatens snow
- River Tale · Cloud and Water, Vast and DimFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a far-off evening sail, crying geese and a sleepless night of tears
- River Tale · Red Apricots in the East WindFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of red apricot blossom, dancing butterflies and wine among the petals
- Wine Spring Song · Spring Rain on the WindowFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of a spring-rain dawn, wine with no one to share it and swallows in pairs
- Wine Spring Song · Purple Lanes and the Green GateFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's short ci of spring in the capital, wine in Xianyang and a moonlit ride home
- Song of the South · Willow Shade Darkens the TowerFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's one-stanza short ci of willow shade, paulownia blossom and a blind raised at sunset
- Song of the South · Bank Willows Trail a Green HazeFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's one-stanza short ci of a cuckoo's cry that breaks a spring dream
- Song of the South · Red Ducks on a Brocade MatFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's one-stanza short ci of a quiet boudoir, curtains lowered while snow blows outside
- River Town · A Small Court Beyond the Green RailingFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's one-stanza short ci of a rain-washed courtyard near Qingming and a listless woman
- River Town · Meeting My Darling on Huanhua StreamFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsZhang Bi's one-stanza short ci of meeting a girl by Huanhua Stream and her laughing reply