贾岛
tang
Jia Dao, courtesy name Langxian, was a Tang dynasty poet from Fanyang. In his youth he became a Buddhist monk under the name Wuben, but later returned to secular life and pursued the civil service path. He is famous for “bitter chanting,” a style of painstaking poetic composition, and for the well-known anecdote behind the phrase “push and knock,” which refers to careful revision of a single word. His poetry is lean, austere, and quiet, often centered on temples, mountains, reclusion, travel, and solitude. “Seeking the Recluse but Not Meeting Him” is his best-known poem, admired for creating a complete world of hidden mountain life in only twenty characters.