This is a reading note from that year, author: Zhan Furui.
I hope it will be helpful to the original poster. There are many poems about Li Bai’s loneliness.
一
Among the many poets in the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai is the only one who is praised as a romantic who is both chivalrous and heroic. ism poet. In the early days of Tianbao, He Zhizhang, a fanatic from the Siming Dynasty, met Li Bai for the first time and exclaimed that Li Bai was the "immortal in wine". Du Fu's "Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking" also said that Li Bai was the "immortal in wine". He Zhizhang and Du Fu were both friends of Li Bai, and their white eyes were like immortals, which shows that Li Bai indeed had an immortal spirit that was very different from the writers of his time.
Li Bai's legendary life and bold and elegant poetic style have indeed left a very deep impression on people, so much so that when we talk about Li Bai, we can imagine an image of a poet who is unique from others. So far, both the Li Bai described by researchers and the Li Bai living in the hearts of ordinary people are nothing more than this. In fact, Li Bai's image has been finalized since He Zhizhang called Li Bai an immortal. This stereotyped image of a historical figure added to Li Bai's legendary color and made later generations of poets look down on him. However, this stereotyped image of the poetic fairy has also created a distance between people and Li Bai that is almost between a worshiper and an idol, a distance that is out of reach, like seeing flowers in the mist or the moon in the clouds. It restricts us from following the poet's externalized thoughts and emotions - poetry, and entering the abyss of Li Bai's soul.
In fact, Li Bai’s character has both a carefree and free-spirited side and a persistent and deep side. Sentimentality in his emotions also follows joy like a shadow. The contradiction between the poet and society and the reasons of the poet's own character make some of Li Bai's seemingly joyful, elegant and free poems mixed with disappointment, anxiety, pain and loneliness. Whether it is a sigh of despair, a desire to transcend the world, or even an attack on reality, this mentality is often hidden in it. Mr. Pei Fei believes that Li Bai's poetry is full of sadness and he has an extremely deep sense of sadness. This understanding reveals the personality characteristics of Li Bai's poems and Li Bai's mentality revealed in the poems from a deeper level.
When reading Li Bai's poems, in addition to the bold, optimistic, free and easy feelings, I often taste the sadness of being alone, wandering and helpless, and looking around at a loss. Li Bai's poems sometimes seem optimistic and free and easy, but in fact, in the poet's chic smile and the fluttering purple clouds, there is a lonely and painful mentality:
One bottle brings life and death together, and everything is stable. Difficult to judge.
After being drunk, I lost my world and suddenly found myself sleeping alone.
I don’t know that I am here, and this is the greatest joy.
——"Drinking Alone under the Moon" Part 3
After drinking a glass of wine, he forgot about the dangers of life and death, forgot about all the troubles in the world, and forgot about his own existence, so the poet felt the greatest joy. But can this be called true happiness? In fact, it was a smile filled with painful tears. If you force yourself to talk about happiness, then this is the joy of forgetting loneliness. The more the poet wants to obtain this kind of joy, the more deeply the pain of loneliness tortures the poet's soul. There are many examples of such poems.
The spring grass is like a will, and Luo is born in the shadow of the jade hall.
The east wind brings melancholy, and the white hair sits against each other.
Drinking alone to persuade Gu Ying, singing leisurely in the forest.
How does Changsonger know? For whom is Xiaose chanting?
My hands are dancing on the stone to reach the moon, my knees are crossing the harp among the flowers.
Beyond this pot, it is not my heart.
——"Drinking Alone"
The lonely cloud has returned to the empty mountain, and all the birds have returned.
Everything has its own support, but I have no one to rely on in my life.
The moon rises above this stone, and I sing drunkenly for a long time.
——"Drinking Alone in Spring" Part 1
A pot of wine among the flowers, drinking alone without any blind date.
Toast a glass to the bright moon, and look at each other as three people.
The moon does not know how to drink, but its shadow follows me.
While the moon is about to be shadowed, we must have fun until spring.
My singing moon lingers, my dancing shadows are scattered.
They make love together when they are awake, but they separate when they are drunk.
We will travel together forever, and we will meet each other in Miao Yunhan.
——"Drinking Alone under the Moon" Part 1
Gu Ying dances and sings crazily to the moon. This is the unrestrained and unrestrained style unique to Li Bai. But in the vast world and the infinite universe, the poet only has the lonely shadow of the moon as his drinking and dancing partner. In such a free and open world, isn't there an embarrassing loneliness and an incompatibility with the world? Therefore, these poems express a lonely state of mind standing proudly in the universe, helpless and alone. In this state of mind, the poet dances against the shadow, and Gu Yue's unrestrained and romantic way of persuading him to drink further reflects the poet's helplessness in letting go of loneliness.
Loneliness accompanied Li Bai throughout his life, and he never got rid of it until his death. Li Bai's "Song on the Road" written before his death said: "The great peng flies to inspire the eight descendants, but the mid-heaven destroys it but it is unable to do anything. The remaining wind stirs for all ages, and the left sleeve hangs on the fusang. Later generations will pass it on, Zhongni Who is crying? "When Duke Ai of Lu went hunting for Lin in the west, Confucius shed tears when he saw it, because he felt Jiarui's incompetence. Nowadays, poets are like rocs that are destroyed in the sky, but there is no Confucius, so no one laments that such a genius does not come to pass. In his youth, Li Bai once wrote "Ode to a Dapeng Encountering a Rare Bird" to describe his ambition and talent. His poem "Shang Li Yong" also has the poem "A big roc rises with the wind in one day and soars up to ninety thousand miles. If the wind stops and comes down, it can still blow away the Cangming water." The poem expresses his unique "special tune". However, Li Bai, who had great ambitions as a genius, was unable to display his talents and ambitions throughout his life, and his loneliness and sorrow continued to ruthlessly destroy the poet even in his old age. Obviously, this romantic poet, who was proud of carrying the blue sky on his back and carrying the great roc soaring ninety thousand miles, left the world he both hated and loved persistently with a lifetime of loneliness and regret.
II
Li Bai’s loneliness consciousness is mainly reflected in three aspects.
Talent is not appreciated, life is not at the right time, this is a common theme in Li Bai's poetry. Accompanying this constant tone is a sense of political abandonment and a sense of no place to belong. Li Bai was a feudal scholar whose psychological structure was shaped by Chinese traditional culture. Regardless of whether a scholar in China's feudal society received Confucian ideological education, Taoist or even Buddhist ideological education, the main problem he had to think about and solve throughout his life was nothing more than the issue of origin. They may be official or hidden, they may be in office first and then come out, they may be official first and then hidden, they may be both official and hidden, they may be both hidden and official, thus forming various different outlooks on life. Taoists "would rather enjoy themselves in playing dirty games than being restrained by those who have a country" ("Historical Records: Biography of Lao Zhuang, Shen Han"). It is better to "trail the tail in the paint" ("Zhuangzi: Autumn Waters"), "to live in a poor alley, to weave clothes in embarrassment, and to wear yellow clothes", than to be rich and noble like "the one who licks hemorrhoids gets a five-carriage" (" Zhuangzi "Lee Yu Kou") is a typical "hidden" attitude towards life. Confucianism takes it as its own duty to cultivate one's moral integrity, regulate one's family, govern the country and bring peace to the world. "Knowing that something is impossible should be done" ("The Analects of Confucius: Xian Wen"), which is a typical worldly philosophy of life. Unlike Taoism, which completely negates joining the world, Confucianism, while actively advocating joining the world, also found a compromise path for scholars: "If there is a way in the world, you will see it; if there is no way, you will hide it" ("The Analects of Confucius: Qin Bo"). Therefore, Confucius himself "knew that it was impossible but did it." He spent his whole life pursuing his political ideas in misery and panic. If it didn't work in the state of Lu, he went to the state of Qi. When he hit a wall in the state of Qi, he went to Chen, Cai, and Wei. Wait for small countries. On the other hand, he praised Yan Hui's "one basket of food, one ladle of drink, in the back alleys, people can't bear their worries, but they will not change their joy after returning" ("The Analects of Confucius Yong Ye") for his self-righteous attitude towards life. Later generations of scholars, who were either official or reclusive, and had an attitude of being both official and reclusive like the scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, found the spiritual support of their lives from this kind of ideological culture, forming the collective psychological structure of the feudal scholars.
Li Bai had a strong ambition for fame and career when he was young, and "taken himself proud of the affairs of the world" (Liu Quanbai's "Records of Li Junjie, a Hanlin Scholar in the Tang Dynasty"). This strong concept of helping the world obviously comes from the Confucian idea of ??governing the country and bringing peace to the world.
However, Li Bai was not an ordinary scholar. His heroic character and the extraordinary temperament unique to a romantic poet, that is, his rich imagination and unrealistic whims, integrated the Confucian thoughts of saving the world into The catalyst from the poet's own subjective spirit naturally expanded into the arrogance, conceitedness and easy-to-obtain fame of no one else in the world: "I claim that my virtue is based on foreign language and beauty, and I am talented in Kong and Mo" ("Song Dai Fifteen") "Preface to Guihengyue"), he wanted to "apply Guan Yan's talk, seek the emperor's skills, use his wisdom, and is willing to assist Bi, so that the Huan District will be settled and Hai County will be unified." However, Li Bai's arrogance and conceit are often at odds with reality, which puts the poet in a state of helplessness for his political future:
He has no support, and he is far away from home.
Thousands of miles away, I have lost my home and will gather the fallen leaves again.
——"A gift from Yezhong to Wang Daguan to live in seclusion in Shimen Mountain, Gaofeng"
At the beginning of Tianbao, Xuanzong summoned Li Bai to Beijing, and Li Bai thought it was an opportunity to show his lifelong ambition. Already arrived, full of ambition:
It’s not early to go through all the hardships, and ride a horse across a long distance with a whip.
The foolish woman in Kuaiji bought the minister lightly, so I resigned from home and went west to the Qin Dynasty.
Look up to the sky and laugh and go out. How can I be a Penghao person?
——"Nanling Farewell Children Entering Beijing"
When I went out, my wife took my clothes by force and asked me how many days it would take to return from the westward journey.
If you wear the golden seal when you return, you will never see Su Qin not getting off the plane.
——"Farewell to the Expedition"
Thinking that fame is within easy reach. Li Bai's spiritual world is so poetic that the author even believes that in his case, ancient and modern, ideal and reality are often in a state of chaos. Therefore, when he was recruited to Beijing, he thought he was the one who "joined the Six Kingdoms" Su Qin. The higher the expectations for reality, the greater the disappointment, not to mention that Li Bai expected reality based on ideals and assumptions! Therefore, Chang'an was frustrated and deported, and Li Bai suffered a great blow. His ideal of fame and the enthusiasm driven by this ideal were suddenly wiped out. As a result, a strong sense of loneliness and abandonment surged like a tide and flooded the poet's emotional world. . The poem "Drinking Alone under the Moon" quoted above was written during this period. Originally, the poet's political refuge and ideal harbor were in Wei Palace, but now he has to leave here. Like a boat with no leaves attached to it, a ball of autumn leaves separated from its roots, where will it go? The poet was at a loss in his heart. Go into seclusion? "If the Tao fails, I will ride on a raft and float in the sea" ("The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang"). "If you don't have the Tao, you will hide", Confucius once said. Being poor means being alone. This is the only retreat for scholars since Confucius. After being frustrated in Chang'an, Li Bai also declared that he would fly high and travel far:
I also went to the Golden Horse and climbed the same vines.
Where is the lovesickness? The osmanthus tree is in the blue clouds.
——"Gift of Ginseng and Liaozi"
During this period, Li Bai did once seek immortals and visit Taoism: "After Bai Fang returned, he immediately followed his ancestor Chenliu Interviewed by Ambassador Yan Yun, he asked Gao Tianshi from Beihai to teach Taoism in Ziji Palace in Qizhou" ("Preface to the Thatched Cottage Collection"). He also wrote many poems about immortals. However, if these activities of Li Bai are said to be "repelling sorrow and anger" and seeking self-liberation, then it is OK; if they are said to be the ideal refuge of the poet, this is not necessarily the case. Yes, Li Bai did take retirement as one of his goals in life, but that was after realizing his political dream, like Fan Li, Lu Zhonglian, and Zhang Liang, after realizing his ambition to govern the country and bring peace to the world. Before the achievements are made:
If you can’t help others, what’s the point of being good alone?
——"Gift to Secretary Wei Zichun"
However, this ideal arrangement of retiring after success was just the poet's wishful thinking, and it failed to be realized in reality. The reward of gold is not given after success, but before the "Guan Yan Tan" has been applied for, and the "Emperor's Art" has not been planned. At this time, the poet's retreat is not out of his heart, and it is not his true purpose and destination. :
I will not abandon the world, but the world will abandon me.
——"Send Off to the People of Caishan"
This is a last resort expedient after being abandoned by the world, so he feels deeply lonely at this time.
Once you go to the Golden Horse, you will become a flying puff.
The guests were evacuated and the jade bottles were empty.
——"Yin of Dongwu"
The old contacts leave me, and there are few cars and horses in front of the door. This is not the real pain of loneliness, but the pain that penetrates the soul. The poet's political future is like flying leaves and leaving hatred, and he has a sense of helpless wandering and loss. This is the real pain of loneliness and loneliness that makes the poet feel that he has no hope and a slim future.
If the sense of political abandonment and the lonely mentality of no refuge are caused by the conflict between the poet's ideal, the poet's character and the environment, then Li Bai's Yangchun Baixue, He Zhegeiwu, Kuang The loneliness and loneliness felt by the silent poets can only be said to come from the poet's subject and the poet's character itself. The former can be called the loneliness of the exile, while the latter is the loneliness of the poet who is aloof, arrogant and unwilling to go with the world. Let us call it the loneliness of self-exile. The loneliness of self-exile can especially show the strength and brilliance of the poet's character.
Li Bai has a very strong sense of self. His heroic and romantic personality, coupled with his talents and good education, often make him have a pretentious sense of uniqueness and superiority: "He is a person whose appearance is based on nature and appearance is based on Tao. He is unyielding and does not interfere with others." ("Answers of Dai Shoushan") Documents transferred by Meng Shaofu"). "With economic talent, you can resist Chaoyou's integrity, literature can change customs, and learning can study heaven and man" ("A Self-Recommendation Letter for Song Zhongcheng"). "I often want to be a blockbuster and soar to the sky" (Fan Chuanzheng's "Tang Zuo Supplementary Collection of Hanlin Scholar Li Gongxin's Tombstone"). This pretentious self-awareness enables the poet to ideologically separate himself from all living beings, to be independent from ordinary scholars, and to stand out from the society. He looked down upon the path taken by ordinary scholars to obtain official positions through the imperial examination, and even more looked down upon Confucian scholars who spent their lives studying chapters and sentences:
Ashamed to be a student in Jinan, he recited ancient prose for ninety years.
——"Gift to He Qijian Changhao"
He despised Wancheng and despised princes. "The Story of Stele Yin"). His poem goes:
Singing songs and laughing on the golden wall, one is drunk for a long time and the moonlight is lightened by the five princes.
——"Reminiscing about the old travels and sending Qiaojun Yuan to join the army"
Praising the master of the Nine Levels and Thousands of Riders, joking about the red and green waves and the virtuous people.
——"Yin of the Jade Pot"
Holding a chrysanthemum, he made fun of two thousand stones.
——"On the 9th day of Xuancheng, I heard that Cui Sishiyu and Yuwen, the prefect, went to Xiangshan Mountain during the rest of their visit to Jingting. After getting drunk, they sent Cui Shiyu a message after getting drunk."
As for those who rely on cockfighting to get away with horses. The dignitaries who favored the emperor and gained glory and wealth were even more shameful for Li Bai:
In shame, he chased the sons of Chang'an society, and he gambled with red chickens and white dogs for pears and millet.
——"Traveling is Difficult" Part 2
Li Bai's arrogant self-awareness has actually placed himself in a position of spiritual isolation from society. Self-exile based on Li Bai's subjective spirit is certainly the poet's conscious behavioral choice, but this choice will cost him the pain of loneliness.
The phoenix does not peck at millet when it is hungry, but eats only Langgan.
How can I compete with the chickens for a meal?
The trees of Kunqiu sing in the morning, and the mainstay drinks in the evening.
It’s a long way to fly back to the sea, and I’ll stay alone in the windy and cold weather.
——"Ancient Style" Chapter 14
The phoenix in the poem, because of its noble nature, is ashamed to be with the same kind of chickens, so it has to endure "sleeping alone" "The lonely cold. This lonely and proud phoenix is ??the embodiment of Li Bai's soul. Many of Li Bai's poems express the loneliness and ununderstood depression caused by the poet's self-exile.
Ying Ke chanted "White Snow", and the sound flew into the blue sky.
Who in the world can sing this song in vain?
Try to sing for "Ba Ren", and thousands of people will sing.
There is no point in swallowing, sighing is empty and desolate.
——Twenty-one of "Ancient Style"
Smile bitterly at my exaggeration, my close friend is at peace.
——"As a gift to the king's judge, I returned to seclusion in Lushan Mountain with a folding screen"
I have Wu and Yue songs, but no one knows the sound.
——"Gift to Xue Xiaoxiao"
I have green treasures that have been hidden in the mud for a long time.
When people abandoned this thing, it was the same as Yan Shi.
——"Gift to Fan Jinxiang"
Who knows Wolong Guest? Chang Yin worried about the spots on the temples.
——"Travel to Nanxiang"
The beauty is unparalleled, and who can pass on the fragrance?
——Twenty-six of "Ancient Style"
Looking for a bosom friend reflects Li Bai's strong desire to miss the world; and the sigh of having a bosom friend at home reflects the loneliness of having no similar people in the world. Of course, it also shows the pride of Yangchun Baixue.
On the one hand, there is the sadness of loneliness, and on the other hand, he tastes the pride of his own excellence from this loneliness. These may be the two psychological experiences that Li Bai gained from his self-exile. Li Bai's poems often feature some famous politicians, counselors, counselors, strategists, and knights in history, such as Lu Wang, Guan Zhong, Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Fan Li, Lu Zhonglian, Hou Ying, Feng Yuan, Li Shiqi, Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Zhuge Liang, Xie An and so on. These historical figures appear repeatedly in Li Bai's poems. On the one hand, they reflect Li Bai's heroic consciousness. From a psychological point of view, they are also a kind of psychological compensation for loneliness. Li Bai's strong self-awareness led to the lonely consciousness of being outnumbered and not understood by others. On the contrary, he obtained the psychological compensation for his lonely consciousness with his sense of uniqueness and pride. Even the loneliness caused by his political abandonment was offset by this sense of uniqueness and pride and achieved a temporary psychological balance.
Junping has abandoned the world, and the world has abandoned Junping.
——The Twelve of "Ancient Style"
It is not just that the king abandons the world but does not serve, it is also that the king abandons the world and does not serve. This is a two-way abandonment from the individual and society. Li Bai's psychological despair of being exiled from the world was temporarily balanced by his aloofness and self-exile that he did not want to bow down and join in with the world.
The world is full of mourning every day, and the wind disperses the pure source.
If you do not pick fragrant cinnamon branches, you will instead inhabit the roots of bad trees.
So the peach and plum trees spit out flowers without saying a word.
The fortunes come and go, and the crowds are racing.
Return Guangchengzi and enter the gate of infinity.
——The Twenty-Fifth of "Ancient Style"
Born in the troubled times of Jiye, but able to escape from the troubled times;
When he comes out, he pays peace to the princes and escapes Then look down at the nest.
——"Preface to Sending Yan Ziyuan to Yinxian City Mountain on a Winter Night at Mr. Ziyang's Restaurant in Suizhou"
Xie An was forty years old, lying on the white clouds in Dongshan. Duke Huan has fought many battles, but he came together for the sake of the common people... You are a great gentleman, the gods and the underworld are in harmony, and you are right. ——"Preface to the Farewell of Duke Qian from Jiangxia to Return to Han Dynasty"
Yan Ling bowed to the emperor of Han Dynasty, why did he need a long sword and a sword to lean on the jade steps?
——"Reply to the King Drinking Alone on Twelve Cold Nights"
Although he has friends with princes, he maintains his own independent personality, acts unconstrainedly, and walks alone. In Li Bai's heart, he himself was such a unique hero. Therefore, the poet first felt the pain of loneliness, and then experienced the unique joy that others could not experience in the loneliness and arrogance of self-exile.
Some of Li Bai's poems also express the sadness of a solitary journey as a traveler in heaven and earth.
The living are passers-by, and the dead are returnees.
Heaven and earth have gone against each other, sharing the same sorrow for eternity.
The Moon Rabbit makes medicine in vain, but the hibiscus has become a salary.
The white bones are silent, how can the green pines know the spring?
I sighed more and more before and after, how valuable is the glory!
Life is just a solitary passer-by between heaven and earth, walking alone beside the deceased, disappearing in the vast world in an instant, and becoming a new "returner". The illusion of making medicine to seek immortality cuts off all unconventional thoughts about the world of immortals, limiting the solitary journey to a short period of time and becoming a cruel reality that no one can escape. This kind of sadness of a solitary journey between heaven and earth is a profound sense of loneliness that comes from the poet's awakening of individual life consciousness and cosmic consciousness.
The sun rises in the east corner, as if it came from the ground.
It goes through the sky and enters the sea. Is the place where the six dragons are safe?
The beginning and the end are eternal, and people are not vital, so they can linger with them for a long time!
The grass does not thank and thrives in the spring breeze, and the trees do not complain and fall in the autumn.
Who wields the whip to drive away the four fortunes? All things rise and fall naturally.
——"Sunrise and Entry"
Only when the poet realizes the irreversible natural laws of finite life and infinite universe as in the above poem, can it be possible to reconcile the finite and infinite, and the passing of each other. In the strong contrast with eternity, I feel this desolate consciousness of solitary journey.
The solitary travel consciousness has a profound rational spirit of taxi culture. Since the scholars' thoughts in the late Han Dynasty released the shackles of Confucian religious theology in the Han Dynasty, a rational trend of thinking about the value of human existence and the meaning of life has arisen among the scholars. Life and death, existence and nothingness have become the most thrilling themes in literary works since the late Han Dynasty. As early as "Nineteen Ancient Poems", there is a sentiment that life is like a passer-by: "cypresses on the green mausoleum, stones in the Leilei stream. Life between heaven and earth is like a distant traveler", "The vast yin and yang move, and life is like morning dew." . Life is like sending it away suddenly, and there is no solid stone in life." Since then, through the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, this idea of ??impermanence and the awareness of solitary travel has almost become an eternal theme in literary works. "The stormy wind blows in the day, and the scenery flows westward. The prosperous days will never come again, and a hundred years will pass away suddenly. I live in a luxurious house, and return to the hills in pieces." (Cao Zhi's "Honghou Yin"), "Yi and his two or three sons are all entrusted by Qi. Creating truth and exploring profound roots, you are like a passerby. What you know before is not what you expected. The empty room is my home." (Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Poems") (Tao Yuanming's "Drinking Poems" No. 15), "There are no ancients in front of me, and no newcomers in the future. I think about the long journey of heaven and earth, and I shed tears alone" (Chen Zi'ang's "Dengyouzhou Taige"). Time is long, life is like nothing, you never see your predecessors in life, you never see those who come after death, the huge contrast between the infinite universe and the limit of life strongly oppresses the psychology of scholars, creating a huge psychological "hole". Naturally in their works It also reveals the sentimentality of impermanence and the recognition of illusion through rational thinking. Li Bai's tragedy of solitary journey was born out of this group psychology.
Of course, there are also personal reasons for the formation of Li Bai’s solitary journey consciousness. Li Bai never gave up his career ideals throughout his life. It is precisely because of his eagerness to make great achievements that he sees time very urgently and has a keen sense of the passage of time. However, reality has repeatedly shattered his ideal dream, his achievements have been unsuccessful, and time has been wasted. These will inevitably arouse the poet's great concern about life and death, existence and nothingness, and make him have a deep awareness of impermanence and the sadness of life being a lonely journey. feel.
The sky and the earth are like floating clouds, but this body is nothing.
——"Farewell to My Nephew, King Gao"
The Yellow River flows through the eastern sea, and the white sun sets over the western sea.
The passing river and the flowing light are drifting and do not care about each other.
If my spring beauty leaves me, will my youthful appearance remain?
I should ride on the clouds and absorb the scenery and retain its brilliance.
——"Ancient Style" No. 11
The appearance is like flying lightning, and the scenery is like the floating wind.
The grass is green and the frost has turned white, the sun is turning to the west and the moon is returning to the east.
The beautiful hair on the temples cannot bear the autumn, and its rustle has turned into a decline.
The wise and sages from ancient times have succeeded one by one.
——Twenty-eight of "Ancient Style"
Yesterday, the beauty was beautiful, today the hair is white.
The thorns grow in the stone tiger palace, and the deer walks in the Gusu Terrace.
Since ancient times, the imperial residence has been closed by a yellow gate.
If you don’t drink, people in the past will be safe.
——"Wine"
The awareness of impermanence and the sorrow of evanescence expressed in these poems has a profound sense of history and a thrilling awareness of life, the vastness of the world, the present and the past. It is undeniable that these poems also express Li Bai's thoughts of wandering to immortality, revealing the negative emotions of enjoying timely enjoyment. However, if we are not satisfied with the superficial understanding of these poems, we will naturally feel a philosopher's clear understanding of life and the nature of the universe in addition to Li Bai's thoughts and emotions of seeking immortality and pursuing worldly pleasure; we will feel a poet's clear understanding of life and the nature of the universe. Love life, love ideals, but feel helpless anger and sadness; feel the poet's sense of insignificance and loneliness that "this body is nothing" between heaven and earth.
Three
Now, let’s look back at the impact of Li Bai’s loneliness consciousness on his poetry.
First of all, Li Bai's consciousness of loneliness gives his poems a sense of sublimity.
He suffered from loneliness due to the contradiction between his ideal and reality, his strong self-awareness, and his keen life experience, but he could obtain psychological compensation from the self-admiration of his own life; from drinking and singing wildly, dissolute landscapes, and taking elixirs when traveling The pursuit of spiritual liberation gives some of Li Bai's poems the characteristics of being sad but not depressed, sentimental but extremely heroic and cheerful. It should be said that this is one of the reasons why Li Bai's poetry has a bold and elegant style. This phenomenon can easily lead to the illusion that Li Bai's poetry is only full of youth and joy. In fact, this is not the case. Li Bai's works often contain extremely deep sadness. There are many causes of sadness, and awareness of loneliness is one of them. The poet's grief and indignation that his talent was not appreciated and he was exiled politically; his high-mindedness and his sadness that he was not understood by others; and his sentimentality that life is like a lonely journey, always invaded his works, bringing a deep sense of sadness to his works. The poems "Drinking Alone Under the Moon", "Drinking Alone in the Spring", "Yin of Dongwu" and "About to Enter the Wine" all have this sense of sadness. Why was Li Bai's masterpiece "The Road to Shu Difficult" written? What is the theme of the poem? Throughout the ages, there have been many solutions, almost like lawsuits. The author believes that this article is indeed written by the poet who was inspired by his friend's move to Shu, and may not necessarily have any political skills. However, since Li Bai left Shu around the 12th year of Kaiyuan, he traveled all over the feudal lords, met with ministers, and pursued his ideals of fame and fame. He "did not follow his disciples in the south and lost his way in the north" ("Historical Book of Li Chang of Shang'an Prefecture"). Suffering many setbacks, the works of this period often contain the lament that it is difficult to find a close friend and someone can support a lonely sword. In the 14th year of Kaiyuan, Li Bai wrote a poem in Yangzhou called "Huainan Sick Letter to Zhao Zhengjun Rui": "Wu Hui is like a floating cloud, floating like a traveler from afar. Success cannot be accomplished, and time has been rushed. Good plans are abandoned and donated. "The guqin is hidden in a hollow box, and the long sword is hung on an empty wall." This expresses the poet's sadness about his failed achievements, unappreciated talents, and wasted years. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Li Bai intentionally or unintentionally injected the hardships and sadness of the lonely journey into the poem when he wrote "The Difficult Road to Shu". In fact, the words "sigh", "but see", "hear again", "make people listen to this" and so on in the poem are all conscious reminders to the lonely traveler. The poem not only describes the desolate, empty, majestic and dangerous roads of Shu, but also depicts a lone traveler trudging through the desolate and dangerous environment. There is also a sense of helplessness and sadness along with "The road to Shu is difficult, it is difficult to reach the sky." "The main theme runs through the lines of the poem. And this lonely traveler is not so much Li Bai’s friend as Li Bai himself. The sadness of trudging alone along the Shu road that he experienced in his creative fantasy is a reflection of the poet's sadness in real life, which is persistent in his achievements, but his talents are not recognized and he suffers repeated setbacks.
To sum up the above analysis, although Li Bai was a poet, he was not blindly elegant. Deep in his heart, he often had a sense of loneliness that could not be dismissed. This sense of loneliness directly affected his poetry, bringing a sense of sublimity and sadness to his poetry. It should also be pointed out that the bold style of Li Bai's poems has been established. However, the sense of sublimity and sadness brought by the consciousness of loneliness to his works makes a considerable number of his works have the style characteristics of seeing loneliness in the midst of greatness, and sadness in the midst of greatness. This is It cannot be ignored when studying the style of Li Bai's poems.