Han Yu

Han Yu was born in 768, in Heyang (河陽, present day Mengzhou) in Henan to a family of noble lineage. His father worked as a minor official but died when Han Yu was two. He was then raised in the family of his older brother, Han Hui (). After Han Yu offered a formal apology to the Emperor a few months later, he was transferred to a province nearer to the capital. Emperor Xianzong died within a year, and his successor Emperor Muzong brought Han Yu back to the capital where he worked in the War Office. He was then appointed to a high-ranking position after he successfully completed a mission to persuade a rebellious military commander to return to the fold. == Thoughts and beliefs ==

Although generally not considered a philosopher, Han Yu was an important Confucian intellectual who influenced later generations of Confucian thinkers and Confucian philosophy. He also sponsored many literary figures of the turn of the ninth century. He led a revolt against pianwen (), a formal, richly ornamented literary style, advocating a return to a classical, simple, logical, and exact style. He felt that this classical style of writing—called guwen (), literally, "ancient writing"—would be appropriate for the restoration of Confucianism. Han Yu promoted Confucianism but was also deeply opposed to Buddhism, a religion that was then popular at the Tang court. In 819, he sent a letter, "Memorial on Bone-relics of the Buddha", to the emperor in which he denounced "the elaborate preparations being made by the state to receive the Buddha's fingerbone, which he called 'a filthy object' and which he said should be 'handed over to the proper officials for destruction by water and fire to eradicate forever its origin'. Again from Han Yu's letter, "Memorial on Bone-relics of the Buddha": Han Yu was also critical of Taoism, which he considered to be a harmful accretion to Chinese culture. He nevertheless made the distinction between Taoism, a homegrown religion, and Buddhism, a foreign faith. He considered Confucianism to be distinct from these two beliefs in linking the private, moral life of the individual with the public welfare of the state. He emphasized Mencius's method of assuring public morality and social order, Han introduced the ideas of the succession of the Way (, daotong), as well as the concept of the "teacher" (, shi) who embodies the Way as expressed in "Discourse on Teachers" (, Shishuo). Although Han Yu attacked Buddhism and Taoism, some of his ideas have Buddhist and/or Taoist roots; for example, the succession of the Way was inspired by the Buddhist idea of transmission of the dharma, while his concept of the "teacher" originated from the Buddhist and Taoist idea of religious mentor. He stated that "a disciple need not be necessarily inferior to the teacher, the teacher need not be necessarily more virtuous than the disciple. The only fact is that acquire Dao earlier or later , specific field that one specialized in." ==Literary works==

Prose Han Yu is often considered the greatest master of classical prose in the Tang. He was listed first among the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song" by Ming Dynasty scholar Mao Kun. Together with Liu Zongyuan he headed the Classical Prose Movement to return to the unornamented prose of the Han Dynasty. He considered the classical "old style prose" (古文, guwen) to be the kind of writing more suited to argumentation and the expression of ideas. and "Goodbye to Penury" () that describes his failed attempt to rid himself of the ghost of poverty. Poetry Han Yu also wrote poetry. However, while Han Yu's essays are highly regarded, his poetry is not considered exceptional. According to A History of Chinese Literature by Herbert Giles, Han Yu "wrote a large quantity of verse, frequently playful, on an immense variety of subjects, and under his touch the commonplace was often transmuted into wit. Among other pieces there is one on his teeth, which seemed to drop out at regular intervals, so that he could calculate roughly what span of life remained to him. Altogether, his poetry cannot be classed with that of the highest order, unlike his prose writings". A notable poem of Han Yu is "Losing Teeth" (), where he ruminated on getting old by recounting how he lost his own teeth. ==Significance and assessment==

Han Yu ranks among the most important personalities in the history of traditional Chinese culture. His works not only become classics in Chinese literature, but his writings redefined and changed the course of the tradition itself. He was a stylistic innovator in the many genres he wrote in, and was a major influence on the literary and intellectual life of his time as well as later dynasties. In an inscription for a shrine to Han Yu, Song Dynasty poet Su Shi praised Han Yu: All the major accounts of Han Yu's life agree that he had an open and forthright character, which manifested itself in his unswerving loyalty to his friends. According to Li Ao, Han Yu was a great conversationalist and an inspired teacher: "His teaching and his efforts to mold his students were unrelenting, fearing they would not be perfect. Yet he amused them with jokes and with the chanting of poems, so that they were enraptured with his teaching and forgot about returning home". The sense of humor that is so obvious in his writing was also important in his life. Herbert Giles judged that it was "due to his calm and dignified patriotism that the Chinese still keep his memory green". Han Yu led a defense of Confucianism at a time when Confucian doctrine was in decline, and attacked both Buddhism and Taoism which were then the dominant belief systems. His writings would have a significant influence on Neo-Confucians of later eras, such as the Song dynasty scholars Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi. Most modern scholarship, although content to assign to Han Yu a secure place in the history of Chinese literature, has been embarrassed by the violence of his Confucian passions. ==Memorial==

In honor of Han's contribution to Chaoshan when he was exiled to Chaozhou, the Han River flowing through Chaozhou is named after him. Han Yu Temple () in Chaozhou was established since the Song dynasty at the riverside of Mount Han, which also named after him. Due to his dealings with crocodiles in South China, the extinct gharial Hanyusuchus was named after him in 2022. ==Studies==

Erwin von Zach wrote Han Yüs poetische Werke, a German language study. The Poetry of Meng Chiao and Han Yü, a book by Stephen Owen published by the Yale University Press, was the first substantial English-language study of Han Yu. It was published 13 years after Zach's book. ==Modern references==

In an essay on Kafka, the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, in making the argument that "each writer creates his own precursors", placed Han Yu as one of the antecedents of Kafka due to some resemblance between them. An extinct genus of crocodilian, Hanyusuchus, was named in 2022 after Han Yu in recognition of his essay "Text for the Crocodiles". The crocodilian mentioned in this essay is believed to belong to a newly identified species Hanyusuchus sinensis. ==Descendants==

Han Yu's descendants held the title of "Wujing boshi" (五經博士; Wǔjīng bóshì). == References ==