Introduction to Tang Poet Jia Dao | Generated by AI
Question: Provide an introduction to Jia Dao (贾岛), including his life and works.
Answer:
Jia Dao (贾岛, 779–843), courtesy name Langxian (浪仙 or 阆仙), also known by his self-given name Jieshi Shanren (碣石山人), was a prominent Chinese poet of the mid-Tang dynasty. He is often called “the poet slave” (诗奴) or “Jia Changjiang” (贾长江) due to one of his official posts. Together with Meng Jiao (孟郊), he represents the “bitter chanting” (苦吟) school of poetry, and their styles are famously summarized by Su Shi as “Meng郊寒岛瘦” (Meng’s coldness and Jia’s leanness).
Life (生平)
Jia Dao was born in Fanyang (范阳, near modern Beijing or Zhuozhou, Hebei). Coming from a poor family, he became a Buddhist monk at a young age, taking the monastic name Wuben (无本). He lived a life of poverty and seclusion in his early years.
Around 810–812 (during the Yuanhe era), while still a monk, he traveled to Luoyang and Chang’an. A famous (though possibly legendary) story describes how he violated a rule forbidding monks from going out after noon and wrote a poem expressing his frustration. Han Yu (韩愈), impressed by his talent, encouraged him to leave monastic life, become his disciple, and pursue the jinshi (进士) examination. Jia Dao eventually returned to secular life (还俗) and attempted the imperial exams multiple times but repeatedly failed.
Despite his literary connections to Han Yu, Zhang Ji, Meng Jiao, and others, Jia Dao remained poor and frustrated. In the later years of the Tang (around the Kaicheng and Huichang eras), he faced political trouble: reportedly due to slander or offending Emperor Xuanzong (or related figures), he was demoted and sent out of the capital. He served as Magistrate’s Assistant (主簿) in Changjiang County (长江县, in modern Sichuan), earning the nickname “Jia Changjiang.” Later, he was transferred to Puzhou (普州) as an administrative officer (司仓参军 or similar), where he died in 843 at around age 64 or 65.
Jia Dao was known for his extreme dedication to poetry—he would chant and refine lines obsessively, even forgetting his surroundings. The most famous anecdote is the origin of the Chinese idiom “tuīqiāo” (推敲, meaning to weigh and polish words carefully): while riding a donkey, he debated whether to use “push” (推) or “knock” (敲) in the line “a monk pushes/knocks at the wooden gate beneath the moon” (僧推/敲月下门), becoming so absorbed that he accidentally entered the path of an official procession (sometimes said to be Han Yu’s).
Works and Style (作品与风格)
Jia Dao specialized in five-character regulated verse (五言律诗), though he also wrote some ancient-style poems (古诗). His surviving collection is the Changjiang Ji (长江集, Collected Works of Changjiang), containing over 390 poems in 10 volumes. He also authored a poetry manual called Shige (诗格).
His poetry is characterized by:
- Clear, cold, and lean imagery — often depicting desolate, quiet, lonely, or withered scenes (荒凉枯寂之境).
- Extreme attention to word choice and refinement — he reportedly said of two lines: “Two lines took three years to achieve, one recitation brings double tears” (二句三年得，一吟双泪流).
- Buddhist-influenced tranquility, subtle melancholy, and a sense of isolation.
- Avoidance of ornate or popular styles (contrasting with the lighter Yuanhe era poets like Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen).
Famous poems include:
- “Seeking the Recluse but Not Meeting Him” (寻隐者不遇):
松下问童子，言师采药去。
只在此山中，云深不知处。
(Under the pine I ask the boy; he says the master has gone herb-gathering.
Only in this mountain — deep clouds, unknown whereabouts.) - Lines like “the autumn wind rises on the Wei River, fallen leaves fill Chang’an” (秋风生渭水，落叶满长安), which became widely quoted in later literature.
Although some critics (like Su Shi) called his work “thin” or limited, Jia Dao’s meticulous style influenced late-Tang poets (such as the “Yao-Jia school” with Yao He) and later “bitter poets.” His influence extended into the Song and beyond, with some admirers treating his image and poems almost reverently.
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