Liu Yuxi (772-842), originally from Luoyang, Henan, was a Tang dynasty writer and philosopher, known as "Shihao".
Liu Yuxi (data map)
Liu Yuxi's philosophical thought has a clear materialist tendency, and on the basis of Liu Zongyuan's "heaven and man do not predict each other", he proposed the dialectical relationship between heaven and man "intersecting and winning" and "returning to each other", which is rational and pragmatic in his understanding and attitude towards fire.
During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang to the tenth year of the Yuan Dynasty, when Liu Yuxi was again demoted to Langzhou (present-day Changde, Hunan) as Sima, he personally experienced a major fire in Wuling and wrote this "Wuling Fire Watching Poem", which has been passed down through the ages:
This five-word ancient poem "Wuling Fire Watching Poem" describes the fire disaster with documentary pen, which is a typical fire chronicle poem.
Liu Yuxi pointed out in the poem: "Fire virtue is a person, and there is nothing for a day." The emperor lost his way and knocked on the stone. "Fire has financed human society and is indispensable. However, when using fire, contrary to the law of using fire, sparks that strike stones can also cause fires in the sky.
Here, the function of fire is affirmed, and the danger of fire is also proposed. The key to the occurrence of fire hazards is to "lose your way". This view is in line with Liu Zhao's understanding of "fire loses its nature, it is a disaster", but the difference is that Liu Yuxi is more clear, direct, and straight to the point. This is a further development of the understanding of causes.
In the poem, in response to the specific cause of the fire, Liu Yuxi clearly pointed out that "it was the smoke that came from the morning cook", which was caused by the sparks flying out of the upright chimney when the common people were cooking breakfast.
Although this is a common cause of fire, it is very rare to be so clearly documented in ancient times. And there is no shadow of heaven and God in his exposition. After the fire broke out, "the virtuous shou shirt ren 瘼 (mò), and the smoke stationed in li (lí) horse" and "ordered the libu (juān) to refer to the light city rent", and the prefecture taishou was concerned about the people's welfare, rushed to the fire site to inspect and offer condolences, and ordered a tax exemption and rent reduction. While helping the victims to restore their homes, they also did not listen to feudal opinions such as "Yue Wu" and "Suppressing Fire".
This is another leap in human understanding of fire, and it undoubtedly has a positive role in promoting fire prevention and victory in cognition.
Liu Yuxi (data map)
In ancient China, there was no special fire propaganda and educational institution, and fire-themed literary works were an important channel and way of publicity and education.
Therefore, Liu Yuxi's "Wuling Fire Watching Poem" greatly enriches the theme of ancient Chinese poetry, and uses poetry as a literary form to create a diversified cultural environment for the dissemination of fire culture, effectively broadens the channels of fire culture communication, and provides a new way for fire culture publicity.
Bibliography:
[1] LI Caiqin. General History of Fire Protection in China. Vol. I, chapter IV, 2002
[2] LI Dai, ZHAO Hongyun. Analysis of the Communication Value of Excellent Fire-themed Literary Works: Taking Liu Yuxi's "Wuling Fire Watching Poem" as an example. Journal of Social Sciences, Harbin Normal University.2022,13(05)
[3] Ancient Poetry Network
▌From: China Fire Museum
Source: China Fire Protection