China: Meng Jiao (Meng Dongye, 751-814), celebrated poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Meng Jiao (Meng Chiao) was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. As a result of failing to pass even the first stage of the examination system, Meng Jiao was doomed to a life of poverty and adversity. However, this did not prevent his success as a poet. He was part of the circle centred on Tang Dynasty poet Han Yu. His poetry, often based upon the themes of poverty and cold, is typified by the strong - and sometimes shocking - imagery advocated by Han Yu. Two of his poems are included in the classical anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems', one of which, 'Youzi yin', 'The Song of a Wanderer', is among the most famous Classical Chinese poems.