Complete Tang Poems

In 1705, the Kangxi Emperor issued an edict to Cao Yin, a trusted imperial bondservant, official, and a literary figure in his own right.

He commanded Cao to compile and publish all the surviving shi (lyric poems) of the Tang, inaugurating the first of the great literary projects for which the Manchu dynasty became famous.

The work was finished in the remarkably short time, though Cao felt called upon to apologize to the emperor for the delay.

Many additional poems and variant texts were discovered in the early 20th century in the cave library at Dunhuang, for instance, and the compilers ignored or could not find others.

Others are arranged by form or subject, such as women (five sections), monks, priests, spirits, ghosts, dreams, prophecy, proverbs, mystery, rumor, and drinking.