Overview

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) is regarded as the golden age of classical Chinese literature. Compiled by award-winner author William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and Michael E. Naparstek, this is the first English-language biographical dictionary on this critical era in Chinese literary culture. The Biographical Dictionary of Tang Dynasty Literati contains 140 entries, including major figures like Du Fu and Li Bo, as well as entries on lesser-studied figures including Buddhist, Daoist, and women writers. To provide a complete sense of these men and women, each piece contains an overview of the subject's life, supported by translations and close readings of their writing and concludes with a bibliography of original sources, critical editions, translations, and studies in multiple languages. Appended are a literary timeline of the Tang and a glossary of official titles making the Dictionary an indispensable resource for all interested in classical Chinese literature.

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This dictionary is an indispensable tool for understanding different aspects of the Tang dynasty. Each entry is detailed and informative, with extensive bibliographies that point readers to additional useful resources. A great contribution to the field, this compendium on the lives of famous and obscure men of letters also makes an enjoyable read for anyone interested in medieval China.--Manling Luo, Indiana University This volume, the first biographical dictionary in English focused on the Tang Dynasty, is an important contribution to the field of medieval Chinese Studies. Its combination of careful biographical sketches, representative translations of literary works, and extensive bibliographical guides ensures that the volume will serve both specialists in the Tang Dynasty and those interested in integrating Tang-era individuals into comparative research.--Anthony DeBlasi, University at Albany, President, T'ang Studies Society This is an indispensable and immensely helpful reference work for any student of the literature and culture of the storied Tang Dynasty. It offers 140 concise and informative life accounts of Tang writers, each of which helpfully includes one or more of his/her poems, as well as a plethora of information to learn more about the author, such as editions, annotations, and translations of his/her work, biographies in pre-modern sources, and modern studies.--Keith Knapp, The Citadel This informative reference work will aid and inspire a new generation of students of Tang literature. With its concise biographies and well-selected bibliographies, it should be consulted by all researchers working on the Tang, but the well-written entries can also serve as enjoyable and lucid introductions to key writers of the Tang Dynasty.--Nicholas Williams, Arizona State University, Editor of Tang Studies

"""This dictionary is an indispensable tool for understanding different aspects of the Tang dynasty. Each entry is detailed and informative, with extensive bibliographies that point readers to additional useful resources. A great contribution to the field, this compendium on the lives of famous and obscure men of letters also makes an enjoyable read for anyone interested in medieval China.""—Manling Luo, Indiana University ""This volume, the first biographical dictionary in English focused on the Tang Dynasty, is an important contribution to the field of medieval Chinese Studies. Its combination of careful biographical sketches, representative translations of literary works, and extensive bibliographical guides ensures that the volume will serve both specialists in the Tang Dynasty and those interested in integrating Tang-era individuals into comparative research.""—Anthony DeBlasi, University at Albany, President, T'ang Studies Society ""This is an indispensable and immensely helpful reference work for any student of the literature and culture of the storied Tang Dynasty. It offers 140 concise and informative life accounts of Tang writers, each of which helpfully includes one or more of his/her poems, as well as a plethora of information to learn more about the author, such as editions, annotations, and translations of his/her work, biographies in pre-modern sources, and modern studies.""—Keith Knapp, The Citadel ""This informative reference work will aid and inspire a new generation of students of Tang literature. With its concise biographies and well-selected bibliographies, it should be consulted by all researchers working on the Tang, but the well-written entries can also serve as enjoyable and lucid introductions to key writers of the Tang Dynasty.""—Nicholas Williams, Arizona State University, Editor of Tang Studies"

Author Information

William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is the Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, (as translator) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by André Lévy, and (as editor and translator) the eight volumes of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records). He is a founding editor of the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). Michael E. Naparstek is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville.

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