Sikong Shu

TimelineCBDB

1. 779 縣丞 大曆
2. 785 水部郎中 貞元
3. 785 節度使從事 貞元

Office recordsCBDB

AliasesCBDB

• 司空十四 行第
• 文初 字
• 文明 字

StatusCBDB

• 詩人
• 文人

AssociationsCBDB

ExaminationsCBDB

WorksCBDB

Citations

1. [1] Life dates and identity Sikong Shu is dated approximately to 720–790 and is identified as a Tang poet and officeholder.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The biographical data gives his name and Tang affiliation, classifies him as a poet and literatus, and lists an official appointment.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries give the approximate dates 720–790 and describe him as a poet who held office in the Tang period.
   • WikidataSikong Shu (Q5953810)The identity record supplies the English name, identifies him as a Tang-dynasty politician, and gives date values corresponding to 720 and 790.
2. [2] Style names and native place Sikong Shu used the style names Wenming and Wenchu and the ordinal name Sikong Shisi; his native place is Guangping, with differing modern identifications and an alternative Jingzhao tradition.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The basic record lists Sikong Shisi, Wenchu, and Wenming, and gives Guangping as the native place.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries give Wenming, Wenchu, and Guangping, while differing over the modern location of Guangping and also preserving the Jingzhao alternative.
   • WikidataSikong Shu (Q5953810)The name record lists Sikong Shisi, Wenchu, and Wenming in both transliterated and Chinese forms.
3. [3] Early examinations and jinshi He failed an early examination in the capital, took refuge in the south during the An Lushan rebellion, and later passed the jinshi examination.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries describe his unsuccessful early examination attempt, his flight south during the rebellion, and his later success in the jinshi examination.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The examination entry records a jinshi qualification.
4. [4] Luoyang and Left Reminder At the beginning of the Dali era he served as registrar of Luoyang and then entered court service as Left Reminder.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries place his Luoyang service at the beginning of Dali and then describe his entry into court service as Left Reminder.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The office record lists the post of Left Reminder, transliterated as shi yi.
5. [5] Chang’an exchanges and the Ten Talents During the Yongtai-to-early-Dali period he exchanged poems in Chang’an with Lu Lun, Dugu Ji, and Qian Qi and was counted among the Ten Talents of the Dali era.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries describe his poetic exchanges in Chang’an with Lu Lun, Dugu Ji, and Qian Qi and identify him with the Ten Talents of the Dali era.
6. [6] Demotion to Changlin Toward the end of Dali and during Jianzhong he was demoted from Left Reminder to deputy magistrate of Changlin County.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The office data lists Left Reminder and Changlin county deputy, with the latter beginning in 779 under Dali.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries place the demotion at the end of Dali or during Jianzhong and identify the destination as Changlin County.
7. [7] Jiannan Xichuan appointment dates During the Zhenyuan era he entered Wei Gao’s Jiannan Xichuan staff, with the appointment dated variously to 785 and to around 788.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The office data places his staff and Shui bu langzhong appointments under the Jiannan Xichuan command and gives 785 as the starting year in Zhenyuan.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries place him in Wei Gao’s Jiannan Xichuan staff in early Zhenyuan, with one account dating it to around the fourth year, 788.
8. [8] Staff title and final office He served as a staff officer with the jianxiao title of Shui bu langzhong and ended his career as Yubu langzhong.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The office data lists the staff post, Shui bu langzhong, and Yubu langzhong.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The biographical entries describe his jianxiao Shui bu langzhong title in Wei Gao’s staff and give Yubu langzhong as his final office.
9. [9] Poetic subjects and forms His poetry centers on farewells, exchanged poems, and travel or displacement, using plain direct diction; he was especially accomplished in regulated verse and five-character regulated verse.
   • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The status data identifies him as a poet and literatus.
   • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The poetry account describes the farewell, gift, and wandering subjects, the plain and candid diction, and his mastery of regulated verse, especially the five-character form.
10. [10] Representative poems and imagery Several farewell and lodging poems use images of displacement and autumn scenes, while the named quatrains received contrasting stylistic praise.
    • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The poetry account names the three poems and their celebrated lines, explains their emotional and linguistic qualities, and lists three quatrains with contrasting stylistic assessments.
11. [11] The poem to Jian and poetic conception An appraisal of the poem addressed to the monk Jian highlights its setting and secluded, fluent manner, while other assessments praise Sikong Shu’s refined conception, luminous poetic atmosphere, precise description, and emotional turns.
    • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The critical passages discuss the poem to Jian, its secluded and fluent tone, and the poet’s refined conception, clear atmosphere, precise scenery, and emotional resonance.
12. [12] General critical assessment Critical assessments describe his verse as graceful and close to ordinary feeling, praise its clear atmosphere and finely wrought thought, emphasize emotion, and place him below Lu Lun and Li Yi among the Ten Talents.
    • Souyun司空曙 (13632)Several critical passages describe his verse as graceful and close to feeling, praise its clear atmosphere and finely wrought thought, emphasize emotion, and rank him below Lu Lun and Li Yi among the Dali Ten Talents.
13. [13] Seven-character regulated verse One critical tradition includes him among the few Tang poets accomplished in seven-character regulated verse, warns of a late-Tang tendency toward strangeness in some examples, and praises the ancient feeling and lucid language of his five-character poems.
    • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The critical passages list him among the few accomplished Tang writers of seven-character regulated verse, identify a late-Tang turn toward eccentricity, and praise the ancient feeling and lucid language of his five-character poems.
14. [14] Poetry collection Sikong Shu’s collection comprises two volumes, is also called the Collection of Sikong Wenming, and is catalogued in two volumes in the cited Tang poetry and literary bibliographies.
    • CBDBSikong Shu (92446)The works data lists the collection titled 司空曙詩集.
    • Souyun司空曙 (13632)The bibliographical account gives the two-volume collection, its alternate title 司空文明集, and the two-volume listings in the Complete Tang Poems and the New Book of Tang’s literary bibliography.