Chronicle of Han Yu: A Collection of Chronicles

Author: Lü Dafang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1991-05-01
Features:
Han Yu (768–824) was a Tang Dynasty literary figure and philosopher. His courtesy name was Tuizi. He was from Heyang, Henan (now Meng County, Henan). His clan originated from Changli, and he was hence known as Han Changli. In his later years, he served as Vice Minister of Personnel, also known as Han Lishi. He was posthumously honored as "Wen" (Literary) and referred to as Han Wengong. At the age of three, he lost his father and was raised by his older brother and sister. In 792, during the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong, he passed the imperial examination and served as a regional administrator, later holding positions such as Censor and Magistrate of Yangshan. When Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, he became a professor at the Imperial University. He later held various official posts, including Vice Director of the Palace. In 817, during the Yuanhe era, he contributed to the suppression of Wu Yuanji's rebellion in Huaixi with Pei Du and was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice. In 819, when Emperor Xianzong welcomed the bones of Buddha into the imperial palace, Han Yu submitted a memorial urging against it, for which he was demoted to the post of magistrate of Chaozhou. He was later transferred to Yuanzhou and soon recalled to the capital, holding prominent positions such as Director of the Imperial University and Vice Minister of Personnel. He died in Chang'an. Politically, Han Yu advocated for strengthening unity and opposed the separatism of regional warlords. Ideologically, he upheld Confucianism and excluded Buddhism, claiming to be the inheritor of the Confucian tradition of Confucius and Mencius. He opposed the formalistic parallel prose style of the Six Dynasties and vigorously promoted classical prose, leading the Mid-Tang Classical Prose Movement alongside Liu Zongyuan. Han Yu was a renowned prose writer of the Tang Dynasty. Su Shi praised him as "reviving the decline of prose for eight generations" (in the "Epigraph to Han Wengong's Temple in Chaozhou"). His essays covered a wide range of topics and styles, such as On the Way, Memorial on the Buddha's Bones, On Teachers, and On Advancing Learning, which were original in conception, clear in argument, bold and straightforward, and highly persuasive. His epitaphs and biographies creatively adapted the narrative techniques of the Zuo Zhuan and Records of the Grand Historian to this genre, creating vivid characters and enriching the traditionally dry and lifeless form. Some of his works, such as Biography of Liu Zongyuan, have become excellent examples of biographical literature. His prefaces to farewell essays, such as Preface to Meng Dongye and Preface to Dong Shounan, employed diverse techniques, elevating the genre to a literary and practical form. His letters, such as Reply to Cui Lizhi, were tailored to the recipient, expressing genuine emotions. His prose was grand, unrestrained, and imaginative, described by Su Xun as "like the vast Yangtze River, rolling and surging" (in Letter to Ouyang Naihan). He was profound in thought, skillful in composition, concise in language, and innovative. His poetry also broke new ground, daring to innovate and excelling in long classical poems that adopted the structure and tone of prose and fu. His style was majestic, powerful, and imaginative, forming a unique and grand tradition. He pioneered a significant school of poetry after Li Bai and Du Fu, correcting the mediocre style of the Dali era. Representative works include Mountain Rock and To Zhang Gongcao on the Mid-Autumn Night. His seven-character poem Left Transfer to Lan Pass to Nephew Xiang and his seven-line quatrain Early Spring to Zhang Shiba, Assistant Teacher of the Water Department are also widely celebrated. However, his excessive pursuit of novelty sometimes led to obscurity, and his emphasis on "prose as poetry" occasionally turned poems into rhyming prose. His collected works, Collected Poems of Master Changli, were compiled by his disciple Li Han and passed down. The more complete Collected Poems of Master Changli with Annotations and Explanations by Five Hundred Scholars, edited by Wei Zhongju of the Song Dynasty, includes 40 volumes of the main collection and 10 volumes of supplementary works. For poetry annotations, Biographies of Han Changli's Poems in Chronological Order by Fang Shiju and Chronological Collection and Explanations of Han Changli's Poems by Qian Zhonglian are highly regarded. His life story is recorded in the biographies of the New and Old Books of the Tang Dynasty. This book includes three parts: the first is a chronology, the second is biographical materials, and the third is records and prefaces by predecessors on Han Yu's chronology.