In the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan (730), Li Bai went west to Chang'an with ambitions, dreaming of shining on the stage of the prosperous era.
But who expected, the trip to Chang'an became the turning point in his life when he encountered a heavy blow to his dream for the first time. He was full of self-confidence, looking forward to the glory of the prosperous world, but he only exchanged for ambition and empty hands.
On this trip, Li Bai tasted the bitterness of broken dreams for the first time. Under the prosperous era, he has insight into the hidden social pain points and the bumps in the road to pursue his dreams.
This period of tempering made him sublimate and transform in thought and poetry. Since then, romance is no longer frivolous, he is down-to-earth, step by step. The maturity of the prodigal son has made a true poetic soul.
So, does this trip to Chang'an also indicate the transformation and maturity of Li Bai's poetry style?
Newly entered Jingluo
In the spring and summer of the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan, Li Bai set off from Anlu, entered Chang'an through Nanyang West, and lived in seclusion in Songlong, Zhongnan Mountain. During this period, he befriended Zhang and Zhang Jiao brothers, and also went to the Princess Yuzhen Annex in Zhongnan Mountain as a guest, leaving four poems: "Farewell to Zhang Wu at Night", "Autumn's Guards Zhang Qing and Wang Zhengjun", and "Two Songs of Princess Yuzhen's Annex".
Mr. An Qi tied the above poems to the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan, in order of "Two Songs of Princess Yuzhen's Annex's Bitter Rain for Captain Zhang Qing", "Night Farewell Zhang Wu", and "Autumn Mountain Guards Zhang Qing and Wang Zhengjun", thinking that Li Bai was treated coldly in Princess Yuzhen's Annex, so he didn't want to see Zhang We when he went away, and only used a poem to satirize. Mr. Yu Xianhao tied the "Two Heads of the Bitter Rain of the Princess Yuzhen Annex to the Guard Captain Zhang Qing" in the 19th year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, before the "Autumn Mountain Guards Zhang Qing and Wang Zhengjun".
"Sending Liang Gongchang from Xin'an Wang to the North" is the key evidence that Li Bai stayed in Chang'an for only one year and entered Luoyang immediately after leaving Beijing. Since Wang Qi of the Qing Dynasty, Zhan Qiang's "Li Bai's Poetry and Literature Year", Yu Xianhao's "Li Bai Cong Kao", and An Qi's "Li Bai's Annals" have no objection to the "Northern Expedition", that is, the first month of the twentieth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty contained in the two "Tang Shu Xuanzong Ji", Xin'an Wang Yi led troops to conquer Xi and Khitan.
Mr. An Qi also believed that Li Bai's poem was written in Luoyang rather than Chang'an, according to Chu Guangxi's "Yi Advocated Li Cheng's Belief in King An's Northern Expedition to King Li's Northern Expedition".
The reason for entering Luoyang for the first time
In the first month of the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, Li Bai sent his friend Liang Chang to join the army in Luoyang, so when did he arrive in Luoyang?
Li Bai has a collection of poems "Winter Night Drunk Stay in Longmen Jue Qi Zhi", and Mr. Zhan Qiang cited "Wealth is not expected, who to write to him." Go to tears and raise your voice "Liang Fuyin". Qingyun should be self-conscious, why bother to seek a bosom friend", which is believed to be a simultaneous work with "Liang Fuyin", which is related to the ninth year of Tianbao (750).
Mr. Yu Xianhao and Mr. An Qi affirmed the statement of "simultaneous work", but believed that the poverty and political frustration described in the poem were a portrayal of Li Bai's despondent return from Chang'an in the Kaiyuan period, which was related to the winter of the 21st year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty and the winter of the 19th year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, respectively, so it was more appropriate to say the latter statement.
Li Bai lifted his spirits in the poem, saying that he wanted to become a self-eligent, which shows that his ambition to seek employment is not declining, and he intends to seek opportunities for advancement in Luoyang. However, when Li Bai left Jingdong, he bypassed Luoyang and went straight to Liangyuan, why did he leave the Yingyang Mountain Residence in Yuandanqiu in winter and enter Luoyang in the west?
The reason may be related to the winter of the nineteenth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty. According to the "Old Tang Dynasty Book Xuanzong Ji": "(Kaiyuan 19th year) winter October Bingshen, fortunate to the eastern capital. November Bingchen, to the eastern capital. "If Li Bai wants to rise to prominence politically, Luoyang, the eastern capital where the emperor and courtiers are located, is naturally a good choice.
However, the proud behavior of "gold and white bi buying songs and laughing, drunk and light princes" failed to make him prosperous, and in the autumn of the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, Li Bai left Luoyang and embarked on a journey home.
Disappointed
The bumpy experience of Chang'an Qiushi not only did not eliminate Li Bai's ambition, but inspired his strong self-esteem, self-confidence and rebellious spirit in his nature.
He is determined to make himself prosperous, and refuses to lower his eyebrows and ask for help from friends; To let go of the feelings, arrogant and arrogant, will "go out to the princes and princes, and to look down on the nest and Xu" as the criterion of life; with a posture of not bowing to the governor of Jingzhou, Shi Han Chaozong; conceited "talking about Hao Song, writing Lizao, laughing and drinking, drunk and waving the piano, Yu Shi is worthy of the ancients"; Both in thought and behavior, he is more flamboyant and rebellious than before.
In addition, with the marriage of the Xu family and the trip to Chang'an and the return to the boundary, Li Bai has undergone three changes in the social circle of Anlu.
When he first arrived in Anlu, most of the people he befriended were scholars and low-level civil officials, such as Cai Shi, Liao Gong, and Anlu Mengxian Lieutenant"; After marrying the Xu family of the Anlu Wang clan, Li Bai became a guest of high-level civil officials such as Ma Zhenghui, the governor of Anzhou, Shi Li Jingzhi, and Pei, and entered the upper class society of Anlu.
After returning from Chang'an, there were no local officials in his circle of friends; This shows the adverse impact of the slanderous turmoil in the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan on him.
The first entry into Chang'an and the changes of Li Zi's creation
Li Bai thinks very highly of himself, who ever thought that "the avenue is like a blue sky, I can't go out alone", politically there is no reason to recommend, and he doesn't even have the opportunity to enter the mainstream social circle in the capital, and he has also witnessed the injustice and poverty and luxury under the prosperous surface, and he has to return in despair. This encounter enriched Li Bai's life experience, made his thoughts profound, and then had an important impact on literary creation.
The unmet talent is the most common, most famous, and most profound theme in Li Bai's poems, and he often reflects unreasonable social phenomena by expressing his own poverty, giving his works a profound and broad social connotation. However, in terms of both the amount of creation and the depth of reflection of reality, the trip to Chang'an in the 18th year of Kaiyuan can be regarded as an important turning point in this theme.
Li Bai spent a year in Chang'an, was snubbed by the powerful, and could not find a way out politically. He not only lamented his own inadequacy, but also vented his grievances and resentment with the momentum that came out of the air and the overwhelming verses, and also deeply thought about the reasons for this situation.
Li Bai claimed to be ashamed to be with the young people in Chang'an, and did not want to be like them, seeking glory and wealth with cockfighting and lackeys, but in fact, he pointed the finger of criticism at Tang Xuanzong, who was not as good as good and talented.
When he lived in seclusion in Anlu in the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, Li Bai once claimed to be "unyielding, not doing others", and refused to grovel for the wealth and nobility, but he was keen on Shijin and ran around to do things, and it was inevitable that he would flatter the magnates in order to gain their favor and appreciation, and truly be proud of the magnates and make equal relations with the princes or after Anlu was slandered.
It is likely that Li Bai's music and singing creations began after the Shu. During his travels, he was exposed to folk songs from all over the world, and found the poetry style that best suited his free nature with less constraints on rhyme, flatness and sentence structure, and lively and varied melodies.
Among them, the 18th to 22nd years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty (734), which was centered on the beginning of Chang'an, can be called the most important period in the history of Li Bailefu and song creation, whether in terms of the proportion of poetry, or the development of new themes, the expression of new themes, or the famous works produced.
What I saw and heard when I traveled back and forth to Chang'an for the first time and my unsuccessful life experience had a lot to do with this. Li Bai's attention to Yuefu and singing began after he left Shu, and he had the habit of learning folk songs from various places and composing Yuefu poems according to his deeds.
When he first entered Chang'an, the poet was very interested in Yuefu and singing, and he first visited the Gyeonggi area and Luoyang, Liangyuan, Nanyang, Xiangyang and other places, so he wrote a lot of poems related to the local area.
Li Bai came to Chang'an with the confidence of "the door of Lord He Wanggong, you can't play the long sword", but was left out of the "Jinzhang Pavilion" and couldn't find a political way out.
The forms of Yuefu and chanting are relatively free, and it is easier to express Li Bai's strong feelings, strange imagination, majestic momentum and exaggerated brushwork.
conclusion
The rich experience and bumpy experience of traveling back and forth to Chang'an, as well as Li Bai's enthusiasm for learning the new poetic style, made him inclined to use Yuefu or singing that was more in line with the situation at the time to remember, sing history, and express his feelings, which broadened the scope of Yuefu poems that were mainly written about folk customs since the beginning of Shu.
In general, the influence of his first entry into Chang'an on Li Bai's creation is mainly manifested in three aspects, namely, the theme of the work, the self-shaping of the lyrical subject, and the emergence of a large number of Yuefu songs.
In terms of content and style, there is a new theme and profound connotation that criticizes the evils of the times and is happy in time, but firmly believes in self-righteousness, and the rebellious spirit of arrogance and power aroused by the bumpy road to seek employment is more intense, which makes the work present a majestic momentum and majestic power.
During this period, Li Bai was attentive to the world, and most often used his auxiliary ministers, especially the politicians and strategists who finally met the monarch and the ministers after repeated hardships, and rarely compared himself with the literati and hermits, which clearly conveyed his self-positioning and spiritual sustenance.
In terms of form, the rich experience of traveling back and forth to Chang'an, the ups and downs of unsuccessful achievements, and Li Bai's enthusiasm for learning the new poetry style made him inclined to use Yuefu or songs that were more in line with the situation of the time to remember, sing history, and express his feelings, which broadened the scope of expression of Yuefu poems that mainly wrote folk customs since the beginning of Shu, making it the poetry carrier with the largest proportion and the most famous articles in this period.
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