Thousand Poems, Lyrics of the Two Emperors of Southern Tang

Author: Liu Kezhuang et al. (Song Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: A Thousand Poems is a widely circulated poetry collection in history, a shortened name for A Selected Collection of Poems by Talented Individuals from the Tang and Five Dynasties and Song Dynasties, Categorized and Compiled. It was compiled by Liu Kezhuang of the Southern Song Dynasty. Liu Kezhuang is also known as Houcun Jushi, hence the collection is sometimes referred to as Houcun A Thousand Poems. The entire collection consists of 22 volumes, limited to regulated verse and quatrains, categorized into 14 sections: seasons, festivals, climates, day and night, hundred flowers, bamboo forests, astronomy, geography, palaces, utensils, music, birds and beasts, insects, and human characters. It selects poems from the Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song dynasties, with a particular emphasis on Song poetry. However, the original version by Liu Kezhuang was overly extensive and not convenient for children's early education in the old era. As a result, by the Ming Dynasty, the selected editions underwent changes, with some versions adding, deleting, or adjusting the structure based on Liu Kezhuang's original. Wang Xiang's widely used edition, A Thousand Poems, selects 224 poems from the Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song dynasties, arranged by the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Most of the selected poems are easy to understand, read, and remember, and many are works by famous Tang and Song figures. Its broad themes, rich poetic flavor, and strong artistic quality are its main features, as well as the reasons for its enduring popularity and widespread appeal.