Li Hecai was high-lived, weak and sickly, and only lived for 27 years before he died of depression and died.
Li He, known as the "poet ghost", although he has only survived in the world for more than twenty years, Li He's more than two hundred poems in the world have made the world remember him to this day, including a four-sentence poem, which is even more amazing for a thousand years.
The Nobleman of the Cold Gate - Li He
In 790, Li He was born into a depressed aristocratic family in Changgu, Fuchang County.
Li He's ancestor was the uncle of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Yuan, and belonged to the lineage of Li Liangfang, the Great King of The Tang Dynasty.
Li He also felt very proud that he had the noble bloodline of Li Tangzong's room.
However, the reality is that when Li He's generation came, he was already a distant and famous family grandson, and his family road was lost, and Li He's later career path was also many unhappy.
Li He is thin since childhood, and his appearance is also very distinctive.
The poet Li Shangyin once described Li He's appearance in the book "Li He's Small Biography": "Changji is thin and thin, with eyebrows, long fingers and claws, and can bitterly chant disease books." ”
Li He's father, Li Jinsu, was hired by the imperial court in his early years as a "side engaged" and then went to Shudi to serve.
In the first half of Li He's life, Li Jinsu was mostly wandering in other places, traveling to many places and becoming petty officials.
After Li He was born, Li Jinsu was promoted to the rank of County Commander of Shaanxi County.
Li He's mother, Zheng Shi, has a daughter and two sons under her knees.
Although the Li family was born of the imperial family and nobility, the family situation of the Li He family was not very good, and they only relied on the meager income of their father as a county order to maintain the family's livelihood.
When Li He was a teenager, Li Jinsu fell ill and died.
Li He's life is quite similar to the "Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty".
In terms of young talents, Li He, like Luo Binwang, was able to resign at the age of seven, and then moved to Jinghua.
It is said that in 796 AD, when Li He was only seven years old, the great poet Han Yu and his friend Huang Futi saw Li He's poems and were very surprised and praised.
Later, Han Yu learned that the author of this poem was actually just a seven-year-old doll, so he asked a friend to come to the door to verify it.
Gao Xuan's carriage stopped at the door of Li He's house, and Li He opened the door to greet Han Yu.
Han Yue had the heart to verify the true level of Li He's poetry, so he asked Li He to compose a poem on the spot, so he had the later poem "Gao Xuan Guo", which impressed Han Yu and others.
Since then, Li He's name as a "prodigy" has become famous, and this small story of Han Yu visiting Li He has also become a beautiful talk in the local literary circles.
In the face of the praise of many people, Li He was not proud and complacent, but studied more diligently.
When Li He was about ten years old, during the day, Li He immersed himself in hard reading at home and created poems.
This seemed to be an incomparably boring thing in the eyes of others, but Li He enjoyed it and was comfortable with himself.
When the weather is clear, Li He will ride on the little donkey at home, carry water bladders and book bags, and wander around in all directions and eight townships, inspiring inspiration and looking for poetry.
Along the way, Li He looked at it as he walked, and where he looked, or the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, or the suffering of the people, Li He sighed.
When the aura suddenly appeared, Li He quickly took out a pen and paper to record it, and then put it into the book bag behind him.
Riding a donkey and writing poetry are two things that are incompatible.
Li He seemed to be idle, but he looked at the six roads, listened to the eight directions, and when he had a sudden whim, he stopped writing poems on the donkey.
This is how Li He rode a donkey to find poetry and wandered between mountains and rivers.
Li He walked like this, and when He returned home at dusk, the bag was already filled with records and notes.
The mother was also very worried when she saw her son leave early and return late, and she was even more distressed to see the note in the book bag, and she felt that Li He was collecting materials so hard behind his back, afraid that he would vomit all his hard work.
For the official road, the career path is not smooth
When Li He was about sixteen years old, Li Jinsu died of illness.
After the expiration of the three-year period of filial piety, Han Yu wrote to Li He and suggested that he take the imperial examination.
The young Li He was a fledgling, full of ambition, and tried in one fell swoop in Henan Province.
However, when it was time to enter Beijing to prepare for the war, Li He encountered a troublesome matter.
Some people say that Li He's father's name is Li Jinsu, and if Li He passes the jinshi examination, the words "Jin" and "Jin" are homophonous, so they commit the taboo of "suspect sound".
In order to avoid the name, Li He was not allowed to take the exam.
In fact, behind everything, it was only because Li He was high in eight buckets that he attracted such jealousy.
During the qualification review, the parties concerned even set up obstacles in the name of "violating family secrets" to prevent Li He from taking the examination.
However, such a seemingly absurd and unreasonable thing has also aroused great discussion in the local area.
Rumors about Li He and his father arose on a whim, and they spread in the streets and alleys.
After Han Yu heard about this incident, he also tried all kinds of ways to eliminate the impact of this matter on Li He.
However, the efforts of Han Yu alone were ultimately light-hearted, and the rumors spread more and more unchecked under the spread of people with hearts.
Even though Han Yue spoke eloquently for Li He, Li He was ultimately unable to give it a try.
Later, with the help and connections of Han Yu, Li He only reluctantly became a Fenglilang of the Jiupin official, which was also a preliminary solution to the problem of Li He's source of livelihood.
The duty of the "fengli lang" is roughly to be responsible for the ceremonial discipline at the time of the court meeting or sacrifice.
This year, Li He was only twenty-two years old.
In this position of nine sesame officials, Li He worked for three years.
However, for a high-ranking scholar like Li He, the deceit and drama in the official arena are extremely shameful for Li He.
Coupled with the fact that Li He had not met Xianda before, it was as if fate had since pushed him into the abyss of darkness.
In the past three years, Li He has finally seen this realistic society and realized that he is not suitable for official life.
Since then, Li He has been drinking and composing poems every day, talking about self-dispatch.
Such a bland and boring official life seemed to be able to see his head at a glance, and Li He could not see his future at all.
In 814, Li He resolutely resigned from the position of "Feng LiLang", which seemed to be leisurely and relaxed, but in fact had no future.
That year, Li He returned to his hometown sadly, but when he returned home, he only saw his family that was falling down.
At this time, not only did Li He's sister marry a wife, but even his brother also left for a way out.
Li He was the only one left in the family, and he was dependent on his elderly mother.
What frustrated Li He the most was the frustration and blow on his career.
Although Han Yu has always greatly appreciated Li He's talent, this seems to have aggravated Li He's sense of loss.
"Poetry Ghost" Li He
Although Li He's career as an official was not smooth, his literary works were quite popular.
In Li He's poems, the words are wide open and closed, and there is an extraordinary imagination, and under his pen, he presents a strange and colorful world.
Although Li He seems to have become an outcast of fate, fortunately, his talent has not withered because of this.
In the poems, Li He can relax himself as much as he can, and express his enthusiasm and unfulfilled emotions.
One of the most praiseworthy is that most of Li He's works are full of a cold and strange tone.
In modern terms, it is "gloomy and ghostly", and the charm is very unique.
It is precisely because of this reason that people in later generations will call Li He a "poetry ghost".
The ancient Chinese did not always tend to use myths or ghosts as literary themes, but Li He's poems are full of images of "ghost qi" and "death".
Li He, who is known as the "poetry ghost", has a total of more than two hundred poems circulating in the present world, of which there are more than a dozen poems that directly write "ghosts", such as "ghost words sprinkle empty grass", "Autumn tomb ghosts sing Bao family poems", "ghost lamps are like painted pine flowers", "calling the stars to summon ghosts to cups and plates"...
Although some poems do not directly write "ghosts", the souls of his poems are always wandering in the world of ghosts.
In Li He's pen, although ghosts are aliens of the world, they are like people, and they also have feelings that belong to ghosts themselves.
Li He's poems are often full of fantasy, but this fantasy feels not beautiful, but full of obscurity and desolation.
The reason for this should be that, as Du Mu said, the shortcomings of Li He's poems lie in the fact that they are unreasonable and lack the human touch that the world should have.
In this way, although Li He's poems can give people a fresh and exciting taste in words, because of the lack of human touch, they cannot really touch people's hearts, so they are intriguing and can be read occasionally.
This is as Mr. Gu Sui said, "Li He's poems are only grotesque, there is no poetry in them, if it is always like this, do not change the style, even if Li He lives a long life, he will not be able to successfully make really good poetry." ”
As he saw, Xu was the reason for Li He's nature or encounter, so that Li He's poems were full of many grotesque syntax and words, and the words were strange, and many words such as "cold, wet, crying, falling, cold, cruel, ghost, thin, old" could be seen everywhere in the poetry collection, which made people shudder, so Du Mu once commented on his poetry, "words or over".
A young poet, who is supposed to live freely and freely in his bright youth, emits a heavy reflection on the issues of life and death that is so inappropriate for his age.
In the history of ancient Chinese poetry, there is no second person like Li He who has so much devassive imagery of death and ghosts.
But no matter what, Li He's "ghost poem" is also a unique landscape in Chinese history.
In addition, Li He's way of writing is also a bit strange.
Before Li He wrote, he was blind, like a wandering soul, spitting out three times, and then writing immediately.
Just this unusual look looks very scary.
Four-sentence poem that amazes a thousand years
Many of Li He's poems have survived, and his poetic style is also vividly reflected in these works.
In these works, one can see that Li He had great ambitions at that time, but he was never able to exert them.
Although Li He went out several times to run ahead, he did not succeed in the end.
At the age of 26, Li He made the last effort in his life.
Because he could not take the exam, Li He thought of joining the army and establishing a career, so he came to the army in Chuzhou to suppress the rebellion, and wanted to find an errand for himself.
But in the end, because of the increasing number of rebellions, the commander of Li He's unit was also assassinated, and the troops were isolated and helpless, and Li He had to return to his hometown after studying.
The poem "Thirteen Songs of Nanyuan • Five" expresses Li He's hope that he can gallop in the battlefield and repay the country with his full enthusiasm.
This poem is only four short sentences, but the impression left on posterity is the most profound, which can be described as a stunning thousand years of time for future generations.
"South Park Thirteen Songs · Five"
Why don't the boys take Wu hooks and charge Guan Shan Fifty Prefectures.
Please go to ling yan pavilion for the time being, if a scholar is a ten thousand households?
The meaning of this poem is, why don't the manly husbands bring weapons and go to recover the fifty prefectures of Guansai River and Mountains that have been divided between the north and south of the Yellow River?
Please go up to the Ling Yan Pavilion for the time being to take a look, and which scholar is a marquis who has been once enfeoffed as a ten thousand households?
The four-sentence poem "Thirteen Poems of Nanyuan And Five" is composed of two rhetorical questions, the first of which is a question sentence, which is also Li He's self-question, containing a kind of heroic ambition to go to the soup for the country, and the frustration is agitated, and the chest is directly expressed.
"Why don't boys take Wu hooks" begins with a sharp sentence, and then follows by "Collecting Guanshan Fifty States", and the two poems are like a waterfall hanging down from a high place, which looks imposing.
The word "why not" in the first sentence is extremely contagious, it constitutes a kind of rhetorical question, enhances the power of conveying feelings in the poem, has an imperative meaning, and hints at the current extremely urgent military situation and Li He's restless state of mind at this time.
Li Heben was a weak scholar who had been famous for poetry since he was seven years old, and could have enrolled in the school, but because of the "avoidance of his father", he did not have the opportunity to show his talents.
The word "why not" is enough to express that Li He is really helpless.
"With Wu hook" refers to wearing a saber and rushing to the battlefield, reflecting a kind of momentum of heroism.
"Collecting Guan Shan" was Li He's purpose in joining the army.
The word "take" is as light as a weight, but it contains the momentum of breaking through bamboo, vividly expressing Li He's urgent desire to save the country.
Seeing that the mountains and rivers are now broken and the people are not happy, how can Li He live in the mountains and do nothing?
Compared with the literati ink field, Li He was more eager to make meritorious achievements and defend the country at this time.
In the face of the situation of continuous fire, Li He also felt extremely anxious, eager to immediately rush to the battlefield to serve the country, and also made people feel Li He's long-standing feeling of resentment.
The two poems are written in one breath, and the rhythm is brisk, which is very in line with the poet's urgent mood.
However, even so, how easy is it to "collect fifty states from Guanshan"?
Li Heshu's business spirit naturally could not achieve the great cause of recovering mountains and rivers.
However, if you want to get rid of the sad situation in front of you, you must kill the enemy and make contributions.
This contradictory mood also shows Li He's unfair feelings.
In the last two verses, Li He's complaints are even stronger.
Reading through the entire four-sentence poem, Li He wrote a kind of importance of throwing pens from Rong from the opposite side, but in fact, it expressed the indignation that Huai Cai did not encounter.
Heavenly anger talent, died young at the age of 27
Li He's poetic style is so grotesque, firstly due to his personal factors, and secondly, due to the influence of the current era.
Wang Bo was frustrated by the article, while Li He was lost by an exam.
The saddest and lamentable thing is that these two people are only long-lived, and in the most enthusiastic youth, they abandoned the world.
After returning to his hometown, Li He originally wanted to continue to struggle, but his health was getting worse and worse.
For some time, Li He had a high fever, and he was constantly coughing, and even began to hallucinate.
Li He knew that he would not have much time at this time, so he began to organize his poems every day, and then handed them all over to a friend named Shen Ziming.
Li He's death is also full of a kind of legend.
The poet Li Shangyin recorded a major event in Li He's death: it is said that when the 27-year-old Li He was seriously ill, before his death, a man dressed in red, riding a red dragon under his body, came to him with a letter full of Taikoo seals written on his hand.
This person said to Li He, "I am a person from the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Emperor has built a white jade building and wants you to go up and write articles and do things for the Heavenly Emperor." Come with me now, life in the heavenly court is very good, not at all like you are in this world. ”
Li He thought of his elderly and sick mother, who did not want to leave the world, so he got out of bed and kowtowed to the visitor, saying, "The old mother in the family is very ill, and I beg the messenger to spare my little life." ”
The words have landed, but it is too late.
Some witnesses saw a cloud of smoke suddenly rise, and the sound of wheels and music was heard in their ears, and Li He in the room died of exhaustion at this time.
When Li He's mother saw this, she immediately ordered someone to stop crying, and personally led her family to kneel on the ground and send them as a gift.
The poet Li Shangyin quoted this time as a fact in the "Small Biography of Li He" and said that this matter was said by Li He's sister herself.
Li Shangyin said that Li He's sister is not the kind of person who likes to make up stories.
Li He's sister married her husband to the Wang family, and Li Shangyin married Wang Maoyuan's daughter.
In the book "Taiping Guangji", it is also said that shortly after Li He's death, he once dreamed to his mother one day, saying that he was not valued by the imperial court in the mortal world, but now he was writing "White Jade Building" for the Heavenly Emperor in the heavenly court, and comforted his mother not to remember herself too much.
When Li He died, he was only 27 years old.
In fact, Li He has an arrogant personality, is not good at socializing, and has fewer friends in reality, but these few friends play a crucial role in the expansion of Li He's poetry collection and fame.
Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, learning Li He's poems became one of the common choices of many poets.
Two years after Li He's death, the remaining poetry collection was turned over from under the box by Li He's friend Shen Ziming, which then attracted the attention of two great poets of the late Tang Dynasty.
Li Hede Du Mu wrote the preface to his poetry collection, and Li Shangyin wrote a biography for it, which can also be described as solemn to the extreme.
Later, in the "After the Book of Li He's Small Biography", Tortoise Meng also continued the contents of the story of Li Shangyin's small biography, expressing deep sympathy for this genius who did not meet.
Official Source:
"Poetic Feelings": Li He_Lingwen, a poet who died young
"Historical Life": "Poetic Ghost" Li He _ The Chinese Poet Most Obsessed with death Imagery _ Three Books