Meng Haoran (孟浩然) (pinyin: Mèng Hàorán; Wade-Giles: Meng Hao-jan) (689 or 691 - 740) was a Chinese poet during the Tang dynasty. Unsuccessful in his official career, he mainly lived in and wrote about his birthplace. Pinyin (Chinese: 拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Events Battle of Coronate: The army of Cunincpert, king of the Lombards, defeat the followers of the usurper Alahis on the Adda River. ... Events The building of the Dome of the Rock is completed People Theuderic III succeeded by Clovis III Wilfrid, Bishop of Northumbria, expelled to Mercia See also Unterseeboot 691 Categories: 691 ... Events October 26 - An earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death. ... Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the Chinese language. ... Also the name of a rock band. ...

The eldest of the major High Tang poets, he was born in Xiangyang, Hubei, and was strongly attached to the area. He lived there almost all his life, and its landscape, history and legends are the subjects of many of his poems. Particularly prominent are Nanshan (or South Mountain, his family seat) and Lumen Shan, where he briefly lived in retreat. Xiangyang (Traditional Chinese: 襄陽, Simplified Chinese: 襄阳, pinyin: Xiāngyáng) was a Chinese city famous for the Siege of Xiangyang (1267-1273) by Mongol invaders. ... Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Photograph of a landscape Landscape can mean: The layout of a land area, particularly with respect to its appearance and character. ... History studies the past in human terms. ... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ...

He had an unsuccessful civil service career, passing the jinshi exam late, at the age of 39. He received his first and last position three years before his death, but resigned after less than a year. The imperial examinations (科舉, kējǔ) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service, which had promoted upward mobility among the people for centuries. ...

He is often bracketed with Wang Wei, due to the friendship they shared and their prominence as landscape poets. In comparison, Meng Haoran focuses more on foreground details and human life. His works are generally considered less consistently successful than Wang's. Wang Wei (王維) (698 - 761), sometimes titled the Poet Buddha, was a Tang Dynasty Chinese poet, musician, painter and statesman. ...

Further reading

• Nienhauser, William H (ed.). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Indiana University Press 1986. ISBN 0253329833

External link

• Open Directory Project category
• Meng Haoran's poems included in 300 Selected Tang Poems, translated by Witter Bynner