Biography

Zu Yong was probably born around 699, but this is not certain. He hailed from Luoyang in modern-day Henan Province. He was a childhood friend of the poet Wang Wei.

In 724 he attained a jinshi degree in the imperial examination. He earned the favour of the high-ranking statesman Zhang Yue, but he did not take to life at court, and in his later years retired to his villa in Rufen (汝墳 Rǔfén, modern-day Fuyang, Anhui Province).

His courtesy name is not known.

Poetry

Zu Yong occupies a prominent position as a nature poet of the High Tang period. In addition to writing about natural scenery, his poems sing the praises of life in seclusion. Thirty-six of his poems survive, and two of his poems were included in the Three Hundred Tang Poems.

He was a close friend of the poet Wang Wei and also an associate of Wang Han.

One of his most famous poems is the "Rufen bie ye" (汝墳別業 Rǔfén bié yè), which is considered the representative poem of his post-retirement period.

The first half of the poem bemoans the solitude and loneliness of the poet's life of farming after leaving court, and then the latter half is filled with love for the new environment in which the poet finds himself.

Another of his best-regarded works is the jueju "On Seeing the Snow Peak of Zhongnan" (終南望餘雪 Zhōngnán wàng yú xuě).

There exists a Ming-era compilation called the Zu Yong Ji (祖詠集 Zǔ Yǒng-jí, literally Zu Yong Anthology).

作品

作品以寫自然景物為多，宣揚隱逸生活，並講求對仗。

代表作有《終南望余雪》、《望薊門》、《七夕》、《汝墳秋同仙州王長史翰聞百舌鳥》、《陸渾水亭》、《家園夜坐寄郭微》、《送丘為下第》、《古意二首》等，其中以《終南望余雪》和《望薊門》兩首詩為最著名。

明人輯有《祖詠集》。《全唐詩》存詩一卷。《全唐詩外編》及《全唐詩續拾》補詩一首，斷句四。

評價

• 《河嶽英靈集》：詠詩剪刻省淨，用思尤苦，氣雖不高，調頗凌俗。至如「霽日園林好，清明煙火新」，亦可稱為才子也。

• 《詩源辨體》：祖詠詩甚少，五言古僅數篇，俱不為工。五言律，聲調既高，語亦甚麗。七言「燕台一去」一篇，實為于鱗諸子鼻祖。

• 《載酒園詩話又編》：詠與盧象，稍有悲涼之感，然亦不激不傷。盧情深，祖尤骨秀。

• 《唐七律詩鈔》：祖詠諸公，篇什不多，自是盛唐正軌。

參考來源

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分類:唐朝詩人

分類:開元十二年甲子科進士