Yuanhe Poetry Sequences: A New Look

During the Yuanhe reign period (806-821), premier mid-Tang poets Han Yu (768-824) and Meng Jiao (751-815) experimented with the poem sequence, leaving several remarkable examples. This article examines one sequence by each poet: Han's "Autumn Meditations" and Meng's "Wintry Creek." It demonstrates that Han did indeed write a poetic sequence (rather than a mere "series") and that Meng offered a darker view of man's place in the natural world than main-line readings would allow. The study illuminates the therapeutic nature of both sequences and so sheds light on the art of the poetry sequence.