The free-spirited pastoral poet Meng Haoran
Meng Haoran (689-740), also known as Haoran, was a native of Xiangyang County, Xiangzhou (now Xiangyang City, Hubei Province). The famous poet of the landscape pastoral school in the Tang Dynasty was known as "Meng Xiangyang". Because he never entered the court as an official, he was also called "Monsanite".
Meng Haoran was born in a scholarly family, and since he was a child, he has paid attention to discipline, loves to talk about righteousness, and likes to help people. In his twenties, he lived in seclusion in Lumen Mountain (now southeast of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province), and enjoyed himself by composing poems.
Meng Haoran did not travel to Beijing until he was almost forty years old. He once composed poems in Taixue, the highest institution of learning at that time, and suddenly shocked the four places and moved the capital. Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling and the famous poet Wang Wei both admired him.
Once, Wang Wei took Meng Haoran into the Hanlin Academy without permission. It happened that Tang Xuanzong came unexpectedly, Meng Haoran didn't expect to meet the emperor, and hid under the bed in surprise, Wang Wei didn't want to deceive the emperor, so he reported the truth. Xuanzong said happily: "I heard that he has been famous for a long time, and I have always wanted to meet him, why should I hide?" Meng Haoran appeared, Xuanzong asked him to read his poems, and when he read a sentence "Don't give up the master", Xuanzong said unhappily: "You didn't participate in the imperial examination, and I never gave up on you, how can you slander me?" So he let him return to his hometown.
Meng Haoran was in a prosperous era, and when he was young, he was also enthusiastic, wanting to become an official and create a career. So he traveled extensively, submitted poems everywhere, hoping that the powerful could recommend himself to the imperial court, and during this period he met the great poet Li Bai, but the search for office was fruitless. When he met the emperor this time, he touched his head again, so he left Chang'an and continued to travel around, gradually dispelling the idea of entering the office.
A few years later, the local governor of Meng Haoran's hometown, Lord Thorn Shi, admired his talent, so he asked him to meet and prepare to recommend him to the imperial court. When it came to the appointed date, Meng Haoran was talking about poetry with another wave of friends. At that time, someone reminded Meng Haoran that he had an appointment, but he got carried away and said: "I'm drinking and drinking happily now, where can I care about other things?" ”
After this, Meng Haoran traveled to Guangling (present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province) and reunited with Li Bai in Jiangxia (present-day Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province). Li Bai bid farewell to Meng Haoran by the Yangtze River, leaving behind a masterpiece through the ages - "Sending Meng Haoran to Guangling".
In 740, his friend Wang Changling passed by Xiangyang, Meng Haoran had a poisonous sore on his back and was about to recover, but he ignored it and drank with Wang Changling recklessly, which eventually made his condition worse and died.
Meng Haoran has never stepped into officialdom for half a step in his life, and his life experience is relatively simple, so his poems are mostly landscape idylls. In addition, he was in the Tang Dynasty and had a free and easy personality, and his poems reflected the rich natural customs, and he was known as the first person in the Tang Dynasty landscape poetry, and together with Wang Wei, he created the "pastoral poetry school" of the Tang Dynasty.
Cast a pen from Rong's side of the poet Wang Changling
Wang Changling (698-757), also known as Shaobo, was a native of Jiangning County, Shengzhou (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province). A famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, he was known as "the poet's master" and "the seven absolute holy hands".
When Wang Changling was in his twenties, he was driven by curiosity and left his hometown to study Taoism in Songshan. "The immortal rides a white deer, and the hair is short and the ears are long", the poems at this time reflect the leisurely self-satisfaction of being born in the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty. A few years later, Wang Changling embraced a piece of sincerity, chose to put pen to paper, and embarked on the road out of the fortress.
After arriving outside the Saiwai, Wang Changling sighed at Tang Xuanzong's determination to expand the territory and forge ahead, as well as the enthusiasm of the soldiers to defend the country and make meritorious contributions, and was deeply infected by the great spirit of the times, and created a number of famous border poems, such as "Out of the Fortress" and "Seven Songs from the Army". The desolation of the side plug and the hardships of the border are vividly on the paper.
Wang Changling returned to the capital Chang'an at the age of twenty-nine, and then took the Jinshi examination, but his career was not smooth and he was never reused by the imperial court. A few years later, he successfully passed the examination of the Ministry of Officials and was appointed as the county lieutenant of Bishui County (similar to the director of the county public security bureau). Although Wang Changling is talented, because of his bold personality and informality, he was slandered and belittled, so he wrote "A piece of ice heart in the jade pot" to express the depression in his heart.
In 740, Wang Changling met his old friend Meng Haoran in Xiangyang (present-day Xiangyang, Hubei Province). Soon after, Meng Haoran passed away due to an old illness. Wang Changling left sadly, but unexpectedly met Li Bai in Baling (present-day Yueyang City, Hunan Province). The two hit it off at first sight, drank and wrote poems, chatted about the world, and Wang Changling wrote a poem "Baling Sends Li Twelve" to record this acquaintance. Later, Li Bai heard that Wang Changling was demoted, and specially comforted his friends with a song "I heard that Wang Changling moved to the left and Longbiao Yao sent it here". Poetry has become a "wild goose" between poets, making them miss each other.
In the third year of the outbreak of the "Anshi Rebellion", Wang Changling returned to his hometown, passing through Bozhou (now Bozhou City, Anhui Province) on the way, and was killed by the local assassin Shi at the age of 60. Wang Changling's life is full of sadness and twists and turns, although he always encounters the tricks of fate, he has never bowed to fate, but has a pure heart and stands up proud again and again.
Li Shangyin, a master of love poetry who has been down for half his life
Li Shangyin (c. 813-c. 858), also known as Yishan, was born in Hanoi County, Huaizhou (present-day Qinyang City, Henan Province). A famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, he was called "Little Li Du" together with Du Mu.
Li Shangyin's father died when he was young, and he lived in poverty. But he was gifted and intelligent, he could recite scriptures at the age of five, dance and write at the age of seven, and was already known for being good at writing ancient texts in his teens, as well as regular script.
Later, Li Shangyin moved his family to Luoyang, and was fortunate to get acquainted with Linghu Chu, a master of pun style literature. Linghu Chu appreciated Li Shangyin's talent very much and became a bole in his academic career. Under Linghu Chu's care, Li Shangyin was able to work in his shogunate and became friends with his son, Ling (líng) and fox (táo). Soon, Linghu Chu entered Beijing to take up a post, and Li Shangyin had to return to his hometown to prepare for the imperial examination.
In 837, Li Shangyin, who lacked a powerful background, finally passed the Jinshi after several failed exams. The following year, Jingyuan Jiedu asked Wang Maoyuan to hire him as a staff member and marry his daughter Wang Yan (měi) to him.
At this time, the ministers of the DPRK and China formed the Niu Party headed by Niu Monk and the Li Party headed by Li Deyu, which has been in dispute for more than ten years, and is known as the "Niu Li Party Dispute" in history. Wang Maoyuan belonged to the Li Party, Linghu Chu's father and son belonged to the Niu Party, and Li Shangyin's marriage made him bear the notoriety of betraying his teacher and benefactor. In the gap to survive, the career is very difficult.
Li Shangyin was deeply ostracized in officialdom, and once tried to emulate Tao Yuanming and specialize in pastoral poetry. However, Li Shangyin, who was in a chaotic political situation, always paid attention to politics and could not live a peaceful life. He resigned and was later invited to serve as a staff member in Guilin (present-day Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) and Xuzhou (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province), but not for long.
Li Shangyin and Wang Yan respected each other like guests, however, because he had been earning a living outside for many years, and his wife was in charge of housework, the husband and wife got together less and left more. At the turn of the spring and summer of 851, Wang Yan died of illness, Li Shangyin was very sad, and in order to remember his deceased wife, he wrote the sympathetic "Jin Se" with ink. In the winter of the same year, Li Shangyin was invited to Sichuan to serve as a staff member, at this time he had entered his old age, and he had no intention of pursuing success in his career, which was the most dull and stable period in his life. A few years later, he returned to his hometown and died in Zhengzhou (present-day Zhengzhou, Henan Province).
Li Shangyin was one of the few poets who deliberately pursued beauty in the late Tang Dynasty and even in the entire Tang Dynasty, especially his works with the theme of love, which had a hazy sense of artistic beauty, so he was unique.
Bai Juyi prefers Li Shangyin's poems, and once joked: "I hope I can be reincarnated as Li Shangyin's son after I die." Later, Li Shangyin's eldest son was born and named Bai Lao. Unfortunately, this child is not smart enough. Until the youngest son was born, because of his articulate and smart ice and snow, everyone joked: "If Bai Juyi is really reincarnated in your family, it is estimated that he will be your youngest son." ”
This article is excerpted from "Twenty-four Histories Read Now, Language and History Are Progressing" - the ninth volume of "New Tang Dynasty Book", which is officially authorized to be released, welcome to continue to pay attention.