Three Hundred Tang Poems
The Three Hundred Tang Poems () is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907). It was first compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (1722–1778), who was a Qing Dynasty scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi (, "Retired Master of Hengtang"). Various later editions also exist. All editions contain slightly more than 300 total poems. The number 300 (or more exactly 305) was a classic number for a poetry collection due to the influence of the "Classic of Poetry" (, "Shijing"), which was generally known as "The Three Hundred Poems". Dissatisfied with the anthology "Poems  by a Thousand Masters" (, "Qianjiashi") compiled by Liu Kezhuang in the late Southern Song, and influenced by Ming Dynasty poetry anthologies, Sun selected the poems based on their popularity and educational value. The collection has been popular ever since and can be found in many Chinese households. For centuries, elementary students memorized the poems and used them to learn to read and write. It contains poems by Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Chen Zi'ang, Meng Haoran, Han Yu, Du Mu, Bai Juyi, Liu Changqing, Cen Shen, Wang Changling, Wei Yingwu, and more. Organization of poems. The original Qing Dynasty  version of the "300 Tang Poems" was organized by the poem's formal type, of which there were seven: Out of 317 poems in one edition, 90 were in the "gushi" form and 227 were in the "lüshi" or the "jueju" forms. Poets. The poets of the "Tang shi" include a number of authors ranging from the well-known and famous to obscure or anonymous poets, and even include at least one emperor. The poet with the most pieces included in this collection is Du Fu, with thirty-nine. Li Bai is a close runner-up, with thirty-four. Wang  Wei has twenty-nine poems included in the anthology and Li Shangyin has twenty-four. Meng Haoran has fifteen, Wei Yingwu twelve, Liu Changqing eleven, and Du Mu ten. After that, each of the other poets' included pieces number in the single digits; however, some of these poets are quite important, such as Liu Zongyuan or Bai Juyi. Some important poets, such as Li He, are not represented at all. Translations. The first complete translation of the "Three Hundred Tang Poems" into English was published as "The Jade Mountain", translated by Witter Bynner and Jiang Kanghu. From 1929 through 1972  it went through ten editions. A new translation of the anthology was authored by Peter Harris in 2009.