Matsuo Bashō, born in 1644 and dead on 28 November 1694, occupies a singular place in Japanese literature: he was at once a professional poet, teacher, traveler, theorist, editor, correspondent, and restless seeker after a way of seeing. His name is now inseparable from haiku, although the compact poems for which he is famous were called hokku in his own lifetime and originally functioned as opening verses for collab…
“Follow the path of the ancients, seek what they sought, and then go beyond them.”
Neighbourhood:
Japanese Haiku Masters, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Nature Poets
Emotional landscape: Peace, Wonder, Spirituality
1 live poem · Mandarin Chinese
Du Fu, born in 712 and dead by the end of 770, stands among the most deeply admired poets in the Chinese language and among the great literary witnesses of world history. He lived through the glittering late flowering and violent fracture of the Tang dynasty, an age remembered for imperial splendor, cosmopolitan confidence, artistic achievement, civil war, famine, displacement, and political decline. His poems preser…
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Chinese Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Classical Chinese Poets, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Despair, Sorrow, Longing
