Meng Hao-jan
China (689 - 740) Timeline
Buddhist : Zen / Chan


Poems by Meng Hao-jan
Books - Links

Meng Hao-jan (also transliterated as Meng Haoran) was a celebrated poet of the Tang dynasty of China. He was also a close friend of the famous Buddhist poet, Wang Wei.

Like many of the educated classes in China, Meng Hao-jan expected to live a life working as a government official, but he failed the civil service exams. He retired to the hilly country of his native Xiangyang (Hubei province) and dedicated himself, instead, to poetry and Ch'an Buddhist practice.

His poetry explored the beauty of nature, the fleeting nature of life, occasionally spiced with political commentary and satire.

Poems by Meng Hao-jan


Recommended Books: Meng Hao-jan

The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library) Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand Years of Chinese Poetry The Mountain Poems of Meng Hao-jan



Related Links

A Lute of Jade - Meng Hao-Jan
http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/poetry/ALuteofJade/chap13.html

Brief bio and a couple of poems

The Mountain Poems of Meng Hao-jan
http://www.davidhinton.org/Pages/Meng%20Hao-jan.html

Several sample poems translated by David Hinton

Meng Haoran
http://www.renditions.org/renditions/authors/menghr.html

Very brief biographical note.

Translated Chinese Poetry: Poems by Meng Hao-jan
http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/hanshi/menghaoran.htm

A good collection of poems by Meng Hao-jan

In a Dark Time... The Eye Begins to See - The Mountain Poems of Meng Hao-jan
http://www.lorenwebster.net/In_a_Dark_Time/2004/07/27/the-mountain-poems-of-meng-hao-jan/

A review of David Hinton's book The Mountain Poems of Meng Hao-jan, with several poems.
Meng Hao-jan