SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Tang Dynasty

  • On the Snake Catcher

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    Juan

    – by Liu Zongyuan (Tang Dynasty) In the wilds of Yongzhou, there lives a strange snake: black-bodied with white markings. Any grass or tree it touches withers and dies; if it bites a person, nothing can save them. Yet, once captured and dried, it becomes a potent medicine – capable of curing leprosy, paralysis,…

  • On Horses

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    Juan

    by Han Yu (Tang Dynasty) In the world, only after there is a Bo Le can there be a “thousand-li horse” (a steed capable of running a thousand li in a day, see the story to pay thousand gold for a deed horse). Such exceptional horses are always present – but true judges like…

  • Chanting by the River at Dusk [Tang Poems]

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    Ana

    — Bai Juyi The departing sunbeams pave a way on the river; Half of its waves turn red and the other half shiver. How I love the third night of the ninth moon aglow! The dewdrops look like pearls, the crescent like a bow.

  • The Autobiographical Preface by Huai Su [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Juan

    Huai Su (737–799 CE) was a Buddhist monk and one of the most celebrated cursive script (caoshu) calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. Known for his wild, dynamic, and highly expressive brushwork, he is often paired with Zhang Xu as one of the “Two Sages of Cursive Script.”

  • Preface to the Sacred Teachings [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Juan

    Chu Suiliang (596–658 CE) was a prominent statesman and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty, celebrated for his elegant, refined, and rhythmically fluid style of regular script (kaishu). His masterpiece, the Yanta Shengjiao Xu (Preface to the Sacred Teachings at the Wild Goose Pagoda), was inscribed on stone in 653 CE at the request…

  • Stele of the Mysterious and Secret Pagoda [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Juan

    Liu Gongquan (778–865 CE) was a leading calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, renowned for his rigorous, upright, and sharply structured style of regular script (kaishu). His most famous work, the Xuanmi Ta Bei (Stele of the Mysterious and Secret Pagoda), was engraved in 841 CE to honor the life and teachings of a prominent…

  • The Many Treasures Pagoda Stele [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Juan

    Yan Zhenqing (709–785 CE) was one of China’s greatest calligraphers and a loyal official of the Tang Dynasty. He is especially famous for developing a bold, dignified, and powerful style of regular script (kaishu) that broke from earlier elegant but delicate traditions. His early masterpiece, the Dobao Ta Bei (Stele of the Many Treasures…

  • Jiucheng Palace Liqueur Spring Inscription [Chinese calligraphy]

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    Juan

    Ouyang Xun (557–641 CE) was one of the most influential calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty, renowned for his precise, disciplined, and structurally rigorous style of regular script (kaishu). His masterpiece, the Jiucheng Palace Liqueur Spring Inscription (Jiucheng Gong Li Quan Ming), was engraved in 632 CE to commemorate the discovery of a sweet…

  • Lian Suo

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    Ana

    Yang Yuwei had moved to a house by the bank of the Sishui River. His study faced an open wilderness. Outside the wall were many ancient tombs. At night, winds blew through white poplar trees, setting them to roaring like sea waves.