Chen Ziang (AD 661-AD 702), courtesy name Boyu, was born in Shehong, Zizhou (now Shehong City, Sichuan Province). He was a writer and poet in the Tang Dynasty and one of the revolutionary figures in poetry and literature in the early Tang Dynasty. Because he served as You Shiyi, later generations called him Chen Shiyi.
When he was a teenager, Chen Zi'ang was a philanthropist and a generous man. He was promoted to Jinshi at the age of 24. His political writings won the attention of Empress Wu Zetian and she was awarded the title of Lintai. Later, he was promoted to the right, and he was outspoken and dared to remonstrate. He was once imprisoned for "rebelling against the party" and opposing Empress Wu. When he was 26 and 36 years old, he joined the border army twice and had a far-sighted view of border defense affairs. When he was 38 years old (698, the first year of the Holy Calendar), his father resigned and returned to his hometown. Soon after, his father died.
While Chen Ziang was in mourning, the powerful official Wu Sansi instigated Shehong County Magistrate Luo Zhi to accuse him and persecute him, and he eventually died unjustly in prison.
Chen Ziang has more than 100 poems in his collection. His poems are of great style, profound meaning, and powerful. Among them, the most representative ones include a group of 38 poems "Feelings of Encounter", 7 poems "Looking at the Ancient Times at Ji Qiu", "Deng Youzhou Taige", "Deng Zezhou City North Tower Banquet", etc.
Chen Ziang, Sima Chengzhen, Lu Zangyong, Song Zhiwen, Wang Shi, Bi Gou, Li Bai, Meng Haoran, Wang Wei, and He Zhizhang are called the Ten Friends of the Immortal Sect.
Extended information:
Contemporary and later generations’ evaluations
Lu Zang used the "Preface to the Collected Works of Chen Zi'ang from You Supplements": "To control the decline of the waves, the world is in chaos. The text changes. "Jin Yuan Haowen's "On Poetry and Quatrains": "The Shen Song Dynasty swept the calligraphy and ink field, and the Qi Liang Dynasty was not defeated.
Du Fu: "Loyalty has been established through the ages, and there is a legacy of feelings."
Bai Juyi's "First Teaching Supplements": "Du Fu and Chen Zi'ang are famous throughout the world."
Han Yu's " "Recommended Scholars": "When a country's dynasty is prosperous, its people will start to dance high."
Liu Kezhuang of Song Dynasty's "Houcun Poetry Talk": "In the early Tang Dynasty, Wang, Yang, Shen, and Song Dynasty were good at being famous, but they were not different from those in Qi and Liang Dynasties. The body of the book, with its unique and elegance-driven voice, sweeps away the frailty of the Six Dynasties, tending to the early days of Huangchu and Jian'an.
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Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia--Chen Ziang