Jiaoran 皎然 730-799

Jiaoran, with the secular name Xie Zhou 謝晝, was a prominent poet-monk best known for his literary criticism that reflects the High-Tang style. He had formed close rapport with other famous literati of the time, including Lu Yu 陸羽 (733–804). Major critical works of Jiaoran include Shiping 詩評 [Poetry criticism] and Shishi 詩式 [Poetics], in which he ranked the accomplishments of poets from Han to Tang and explicate styles and the nature of poetic creation respectively. Poems of Jiaoran often bear thematic links with his Zen Buddhist's background, and his works were anthologized under the title Zhushan ji 杼山集 [A collection of Jiaoran's writings].

         close