An Examination of the Editors and Friendship of the Tang Songs and Poems in the Classification of the Categories

Abstract

Zhao Mengkui’s compilation of Tang poems is one of the largest collections of Tang poems in the Southern Song Dynasty, and has served as a guide in the history of the compilation of Chinese Tang poems. Zhao Mengkui, the compiler of the “Tang Songs and Poems”, was born into a royal family of imperial examiners and had excellent family roots and profound academic training. The problem of the different records of Zhao Mengkui’s origin is due to the fact that he lived in a different place of official transfer. In his life, Zhao Mengkui had a close personal friendship with Liu Kezhuang, Li Qianwei, Lin Xiyi, and other literati. It is an important reference value for the study of the compilation of the Tang Songs and Poems.