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Sung Chih-wen (d. 712) was from Shansi province and served in important posts in Ch’ang-an and later in Loyang during the reign of Empress Wu. Along with Shen Ch’uan-ch’i (verse 185), he was considered one of the greatest poets of the period following the early T’ang. But when the empress died in 705 the coups and countercoups that followed left him in a vulnerable position. When Jui-tsung re-ascended the throne in 710 (his earlier reign [684–690] ended when Empress Wu established her own reign [690–705]), Sung was exiled to the South and forced to commit suicide. Here, he accompanies Empress Wu at the end of 696 on her way back from performing a sacrificial ceremony at Sungshan—a ceremony normally reserved for emperors at the beginning of a new dynasty and normally performed at the eastern sacred peak of Taishan. Sungshan’s summit was the central member of China’s five sacred peaks. In ancient times, ten thousand chariots were said to constitute the power of a king. Tengfeng, seventy kilometers southeast of Loyang, was the county seat at the mountain’s base.

The Imperial Entourage on the Road from Tengfeng

SUNG CHIH-WEN

A palace of brocade adorns the great peak

the ascent of an immortal is glorious indeed

at dawn curtains weave through the clouds

at dusk lanterns flicker among the stars

countless banners wind out of a dark ravine

down the quaking mountain ten thousand chariots roll

the royal entourage is worthy of an ode

alas I lack the skill to dazzle Heaven