Chinese Mountain Poetry -- Suggestions please!

[cui ruide]

Hey everyone, I'm currently studying Chinese poetry that specifically references mountains or is set in such locations. As a student of Chinese, I think it'll probably be difficult to seek out such poetry in the wealth of the Chinese literary tradition on my own, so I was hoping you folks could give me some suggestions of authors, individual poems, places, etc.--anything really to help me find some good ones.

To elaborate on what I'm looking for... Mountains have always had a special place in Chinese culture--places where kings went to meet with heaven, sacred places, places of ritual, homes of hermits and wisemen, places of clarity and enlightenment, places of dreams, etc. This place in Chinese culture has developed and evolved over the centuries, and my goal is to assemble a collection of poetry to somehow express the importance of this mountain culture and the evolution of this fascination. So I'm looking for Chinese poetry and songs that somehow reference mountains--ancient, modern, and contemporary, poetry, lyrics, or propaganda (though preferabl song-like or poetic); the references may be to a physical mountain, a famous mountain, a fake mountain, and even a metaphorical mountain!

So any suggestions, tips, poets, musicians, poems, songs, whatever, would be greatly appreciated!

[skylee]

I recall that you posted a similar thread previously -> http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/1417-chinese-romanization-to-english-translation5

[againstwind]

and my goal is to assemble a collection of poetry to somehow express the importance of this mountain culture and the evolution of this fascination.

What an ambition!

let me see...

It seems that there were few poems on mountains ere 5th century.

5th to 6th century:

The first poet who wrote lots of poems on mountains should be 谢灵运 living in Northern and Southern Dynasty. Reference:

游岭门山、登永嘉绿嶂山、石室山、登上戍石鼓山、行田登海口盘屿山 etc.

Other important poets' works on mountains during this period include:

鲍照：登庐山 etc.

谢脁：登山曲、游敬亭山、晚登三山还望京邑 etc.

7th to 10th century:

Tang Dynasty was the Golden Age of Chinese Poetry. So there were many many poems on mountains.

寒山：寒山诗 It was his collection. This monk wrote all his poems on 天台山

孟浩然：秋登万山寄张五、 晚泊浔阳望庐山 etc.

王维：终南别业、终南山、山居秋瞑、归嵩山作、山中、山中送别 etc.

李白：蜀道难、梦游天姥吟留别、峨嵋山月歌、山中问答、登太白峰、望天门山、山中与幽人对酌、独坐敬亭山、访戴天山道士不遇、忆东山二首 etc.

杜甫：望岳

贾岛：访隐者不遇

李贺：罗浮山人与葛篇

杜牧：九日齐山登高、山行

There should have been more...

10th to 13th century:

In Song Dynasty, 词 became popular , but I dont remember any ci on mountains. There should be anyway, I just can't remember.

For 诗:

苏轼：题西林壁

王安石：登飞来峰

Posterior ages:

Sorry, I haven't read much poem after Song Dynasty. But I'm sure many Chinese poets were still writing poems about mountains.

BTW, remember some important mountain in China, not only for their landscapes but also, perhaps more significantly, for their cultural or historical significance.

五岳：泰山、恒山、嵩山、华山、衡山（天柱山 in ancient age）

三山：蓬莱、瀛州、方丈（They are legendary mountains.）

others: 庐山、峨嵋山、武当山、终南山、天台山、五台山、黄山 etc.

[cui ruide]

Yeah, I posted previously, but as I shifted my focus a small (but I think significant) degree, I thought I'd query again, especially since the last post didn't produce too much.

Againstwind: that's a great survey that can get me started, and it has already indirectly produced one invaluable find: http://www.mountainsongs.net a site pretty much dedicated to what I'm looking for (though a bit shy of modern poetry, pop songs, and propaganda slogans...)!

[xianu]

There is already a huge wealth of information on Chinese landscape poetry translated and discussed in English, German, French, Japanese. Lots of it has only gone so far as dissertations, but many many articles and books have been published. I know you want to focus on mountain poetry in particular, but you might want to just start with some translations on landscape poetry in general, and raid the bibliography for some sources. A lot of landscape poetry centers on mountains, though there is a lot that also makes rivers, or the view from mountain tops the primary setting for the poetry. Landscape poetry as a genre begins during the Nan-Bei chao period (200-600-ish) and is heavily influenced by the forced literati exodus to the south after the Xiongnu conquered the north, as well as by the contemplative meditation practices of Daoism and Buddhism (the retreat-hermit thing) that was so prevalent in medieval China.