⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Zhang Ji was a poet in Tang Dynasty. Little is known of his life. Only thing can be found in historical record was that he passed the Jinshi (进士) imperial examination in 753 AD. Later he was appointed to a low level post which oversaw the salt trade in Hongzhou (洪州，now Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 江西南昌). About one year after he took the post, both Zhang Ji and his wife died in Hongzhou.
If it is not for this poem, we would not have known Zhang Ji's existence, like so many people who come and go without leaving a trace in history. Zhang Ji's poem also brought fame to Hanshan Temple and Maple Bridge. Hanshan Temple, meaning Cold Mountain Temple if translated word by word, was first built around 502-509 AD. In early Tang Dynasty, the name of monastery was changed to Hanshan because of the arrival of the famous monk Hanshan. Over its more than 1000 years history, the temple was destroyed by fire at least 5 times. During the Second World War, it was used by Japanese army as a stable. During the Culture Revolution (1966-1976 AD), Hanshan Temple was once used by the Red Guards to interrogate and torture the detainees. It was restored and reopened in 1979. Now the ringing of the bell at Hanshan Temple on Chinese New Year's eve has become a major tourism event.
It is believed that the original antique bell of Tang Dynasty was stolen and sold to Japan either in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) or in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD). Two antique bells currently used were both forged in 1906 AD, one forged in China and one forged in Japan. The bell from Japan has the inscriptions written by Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi (1841-1909 AD). In 2007, a 108 tons new bell was made in Wuhan to replace the old bells. The new bell is 8.5 meters high and 5.2 meters wide, with 70094 Chinese characters from Lotus Sutra engraved on it.
