Chen Tao (poet)

Chen Tao​ (Chinese: 陳陶; pinyin: Chén​ Táo​, 824-882^[1]), and whose name, especially in older English transliteration, appears as "Ch'en T'ao", was a poet of the Late Tang Dynasty, and one of whose poems was collected in the popular anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems; also, other of his poems have been anthologized in the Quantangshi (also known as, the Collected Tang Poems). The poem appearing in the Three Hundred Tang Poems is the well-known verse sometimes known as "Lung-hsi Song"^[2].

Biography

Biographical information about Chen Tao seems scarce; indeed A. R. Davis mentions an "element of confusion", in this regard: and, if this is the same Chen Tao mentioned in connection with Tian Lingzi in the year 888, then either this date or the date of his death is wrong. It is known that he was learned in Buddhism and Taoism and that he pursued the study of astronomy and alchemy, and that he spent most of his life in retirement in what is now Nanchang, in the Chinese province of Jiangxi.^[3]

Poetry

Chen Tao is best known for his one poem which is included in the Three Hundred Tang Poems, translated as "Turkestan" by Witter Bynner.

Notes

1. ^ Wu, 223
2. ^ Davis, xvii
3. ^ Davis, xvii

References

• Davis, A. R., ed., Robert Kotewall and Norman L. Smith, trans. The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. Baltimore: Penguin Books (1970).
• Wu, John C. H. (1972). The Four Seasons of Tang Poetry. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E.Tuttle. ISBN 978-0804801973