Career
He is best known for "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night" (Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye, 春江花月夜), one of the most unique and influential Tang poems, which has inspired numerous later artworks. Zhang Ruoxu was a native of Yangzhou in modern Jiangsu province, and served as a minor military officer in Yanzhou in modern Shandong. Little is known about his life today.
He is traditionally grouped with He Zhizhang, Zhang Xu, and Bao Rong as the Four Poets of Central Wu (吳中四士), the Lower Yangtze region.
One of the most unique poems of the Tang dynasty, "Spring River in the Flower Moon Night" is included in virtually all historical surveys of Tang poetry. The influential 20th-century poet Wen Yiduo was especially enthusiastic in his praise, calling it "the poem of all poems, the summit of all summits." Zhang Ruoxu"s poem has inspired numerous later artworks.
The composer Peng Xiuwen created a piece of orchestral music with the same name, which has since entered the classical repertoire for the traditional Chinese instrument guzheng. During the Lantern Festival of 2013, calligrapher Wang Dongling (王冬龄) gave a live calligraphy performance at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, creating a 6 metres (20 ft) high by 11 metres (36 ft) wide work of Spring River in the Flower Moon Night.
lieutenant was the largest work of calligraphy made in Hong Kong, and has been donated to the art museum.
