Yao Sui
Encyclopedia
Yao Sui 姚燧 writer of Chinese Sanqu poetry
and official, was the nephew of the noted official Yao Shu
姚樞 (1203–1280) and uncle of the dramatist and sanqu poet Yao Shouzhong
姚守中. At three he was orphaned. He was raised by his uncle Yao Shu. He began his studies with the scholar Xu Heng. At age twenty four he began his study of the Tang period prose masters and shortly thereafter began his thirty year career as an official, eventually becoming a member of the Hanlin Academy
and various other appointments. He began work on the Veritable Records of Kublai Khan. The family had roots in the Manchurian province of Liaoning
and subsequently relocated to Luoyang
洛陽 in Henan
河南 province. His formal collected writings of fifty chapters has survived, as well as a small collection of his sanqu
lyrics, and other writings.
UNTITLED
Sky’s winds and sea’s tides.
Men of the past have likewise been here.
Saints of wine, wizards of verse.
I climbed to gaze out.
Sun is far, heaven is high.
Mountains join water, vast and obscure.
Waters join sky, remote and mysterious.
Through with making a name for myself,
I laugh and chant verse;
Haven’t waited for any old monk to invite me!
UNTITLED
Things grow, things fall;
I lie on my bed at midnight.
All about me are puppets on stage;
Man’s life, unreal; like a bubble.
Who in the mist of danger
Finds light?
UNTITLED
Beneath my writing brush
Themes of wind and moon pass by.
Before my eyes
The number of my children increases and increases.
People ask me, “How goes it.”
I tell them
The sea of men is vast;
Not a day without shifts
In life’s winds and waves.
UNTITLED
To the passionate Mr. Wang she sent a note:
“Tonight let’s meet for love;
Be sure to be there.”
She waited until the wife was asleep.
Softly she tapped outside his window.
Chinese Sanqu poetry
Chinese Sanqu poetry refers to a fixed-rhythm form of Classical Chinese poetry, or "literary song", specifically sanqu is a subtype of the qu formal type of poetry. Sanqu was a notable Chinese poetic form, possibly beginning in the Jin Dynasty ; but, especially associated with the Yuan , Ming ,...
and official, was the nephew of the noted official Yao Shu
Yao Shu
Yao Shu , courtesy name Lingzhang , formally Count Cheng of Wuxing , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving twice as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign.- Background :...
姚樞 (1203–1280) and uncle of the dramatist and sanqu poet Yao Shouzhong
Yao Shouzhong
The Chinese poet Yao Shouzhong 姚守中 is thought to have been from the city of Luoyang 洛陽 in present Henan 河南. He dates are unclear. However, he seems to have been the nephew of the writer and official Yao Sui 姚燧 who lived from 1238 to 1313. Yao Shouzhong would then have lived in the early 14th century...
姚守中. At three he was orphaned. He was raised by his uncle Yao Shu. He began his studies with the scholar Xu Heng. At age twenty four he began his study of the Tang period prose masters and shortly thereafter began his thirty year career as an official, eventually becoming a member of the Hanlin Academy
Hanlin Academy
The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...
and various other appointments. He began work on the Veritable Records of Kublai Khan. The family had roots in the Manchurian province of Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
and subsequently relocated to Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
洛陽 in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
河南 province. His formal collected writings of fifty chapters has survived, as well as a small collection of his sanqu
Sanqu
Sanqu was a type of verse, compiled by Zhou Deqing , popular in the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, with tonal patterns modeled on tunes drawn from folk music.-Yuan Dynasty Sanqu:...
lyrics, and other writings.
UNTITLED
Sky’s winds and sea’s tides.
Men of the past have likewise been here.
Saints of wine, wizards of verse.
I climbed to gaze out.
Sun is far, heaven is high.
Mountains join water, vast and obscure.
Waters join sky, remote and mysterious.
Through with making a name for myself,
I laugh and chant verse;
Haven’t waited for any old monk to invite me!
UNTITLED
Things grow, things fall;
I lie on my bed at midnight.
All about me are puppets on stage;
Man’s life, unreal; like a bubble.
Who in the mist of danger
Finds light?
UNTITLED
Beneath my writing brush
Themes of wind and moon pass by.
Before my eyes
The number of my children increases and increases.
People ask me, “How goes it.”
I tell them
The sea of men is vast;
Not a day without shifts
In life’s winds and waves.
UNTITLED
To the passionate Mr. Wang she sent a note:
“Tonight let’s meet for love;
Be sure to be there.”
She waited until the wife was asleep.
Softly she tapped outside his window.