Mengjiao - Moukou

A poet of the mid-Tang Dynasty in China. His pen name was Dongye. He was also known as Master Teiyo. He was from Wukang, Huzhou (Wukang County, Zhejiang Province). After turning 40, he took the imperial examination and passed in 796 (the 12th year of the Zhenyuan era). In 800, at the age of 50, he was appointed as the governor of Liyang (Jiangsu Province) for the first time. However, he was not satisfied and eventually resigned. Later, he obtained a position in Luoyang, but for the most part, he lived in misfortune, and died on the road to his post at the invitation of Zheng Yuqing, the governor of Xingyuan (Shaanxi Province). His poems, which use many difficult words that give a stiff impression and have a melancholic tone, were later criticized by Su Dongpo along with Jia Dao as "Jiao is cold and thin (Meng Jiao is cold and Jia Dao is thin)", but his contemporaries Han Yu and others highly praised him for having the style of Han and Wei poetry. He was friends with Han Yu and was referred to as "Meng poetry and Han writing (Meng Jiao's poetry and Han Yu's prose)". There are 10 volumes of "Meng Dong Ye Poetry Collection".

[Shigeru Saito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、中唐の詩人。字(あざな)は東野(とうや)。貞曜(ていよう)先生と称される。湖州武康（浙江(せっこう)省武康県）の人。40歳を過ぎて科挙に応じ、796年（貞元12）に及第。800年、50歳で初めて溧陽(りつよう)（江蘇(こうそ)省）の尉(い)に任ぜられた。しかし意を得ずにやがて辞任。のち洛陽(らくよう)で職を得たこともあるが、おおむねは不遇のうちに過ごし、興元（陝西(せんせい)省）節度使の鄭余慶(ていよけい)に招かれて赴任する旅先に死んだ。硬質な印象を与える難解な語句を多用し、沈鬱(ちんうつ)な調子をもつその詩は、のちに蘇東坡(そとうば)から賈島(かとう)とともに「郊寒島痩(そう)（孟郊は寒々とし、賈島はやせ細っている）」と評されたが、同時代の韓愈(かんゆ)らは漢魏(ぎ)詩の風韻をもつとして高く評価した。韓愈とは親交があり、「孟詩韓筆（詩は孟郊で文章は韓愈）」と並称される。『孟東野詩集』10巻がある。

［齋藤　茂］

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