Liu Tsung-yüan (773–819)
These thousand peaks cut off the flight of birds
On all the trails, human tracks are gone.
A single boat—coat—hat—an old man!
Alone fishing chill river snow.
Translated by Gary Snyder
Liu Tsung-yüan became a Presented Scholar in 793. His official career was meteoric. Joining a group of political reformers some years later, Liu gained power for a short while prior to the death of the emperor who had supported change. The new emperor distrusted the reform coterie, and Liu was demoted to a position subordinate to the prefect of Yung-chou. Still later, he was made prefect of Liu-chou, another appointment far removed from the centers of power. Liu often satirized the meanness and corruption of officialdom. One of the finest prose stylists of the T’ang period, he was a master of the ancient-style essay (see introductory note to selection 42). and a sensitive poet. Many of his most memorable pieces describe the scenes of his exile and the complicated feelings of a northerner banished to the distant south.