Praise him! Praise him!

We'll get to Wang Wei, but first, here's Li Deng

If I’m honest, I have no idea what this picture is or when it’s from. Looks like an emperor on an outing, though.

Following the Royal Model: A Vision of Spring in the Spring Rain, On the Occasion of our Procession Along the Elevated Road from Penglai Palace to Celebration Palace

In the outermost pavilions, soft air is quickening spring’s recall.
Our palace highway spirals around the Phoenix Hall.
Look to the northern gate-towers: clouds scud, the yin-damp overcast clears.
Look to the southern hills: the rain ends and layers of kingfisher green appear.
The Heavenly Insignia pass—and distant willows burst into leaf,
The flowers of the forest open without waiting for the morning breeze.
How well we know the boundless depths of His sacred grace;
Now the seasons gild His wisdom, how much more to celebrate.


李憕  奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制
别馆春还淑气催，三宫路转凤凰台。
云飞北阙轻阴散，雨歇南山积翠来。
御柳遥随天仗发，林花不待晓风开。
已知圣泽深无限，更喜年芳入睿才。

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This was an occasional poem written to mark a royal outing. The title suggests that the emperor himself composed a verse, providing the model for his courtiers to follow. The emperor’s original verse has been lost, but the Complete Tang Poetry preserves two of the poems written in response: one by Li Deng, the other by Wang Wei. Li Deng was a respected statesman, who would go on to become the emperor’s proxy in the eastern half of the empire. He is not particularly well-remembered as a poet, with only three of his poems extant today.

Both poems turn the emperor’s movements into something more grandiose. In this poem, the emperor becomes the god of spring, dispersing the cold of winter by his very presence.

[Personal note: sorry I haven’t been posting for the last couple of months - I’ve been homeschooling, and it’s left me completely unable to give the time that these poems need. I’m trying to get started again, but posting will be sporadic.]