Xue Tao was born in the fifth year of Dali. At the end of the year, he learned to write poetry and was good at calligraphy. At the age of eight, my father pointed to a buttonwood tree in the yard and said, "There is an ancient buttonwood tree in the yard, which has shrunk into a cloud." She replied, "The branches welcome birds from the north and the south, and the leaves provide air." This later became delirium. Her father died and she had no friends. The "branches and leaves" in the conjunction turned out to be a portrayal of her turning into dust.
Because of his father's death, Xue Tao and his mother had no choice but to join the music club early and become an official prostitute. In the Tang dynasty, there were music officials in both official offices and military towns, among which official prostitutes lived. They are committed to serving the government, performing arts and even beds. At that time, Wei Gao, the highest local official in Chengdu, especially appreciated Xue Tao, who was born in Jiannan, and often ordered her to pour wine and sing, meet guests, and maybe even become a private secretary. Wei Gao is also going to ask the court to appoint Xue Tao as "school assistant". Although it was not approved, people nicknamed her "school book for girls" from now on.
Hu Ceng, a rich boy from Beijing, presented Xue Tao with a poem: "A girl's school book by Wan Li Bridge, loquat flowers behind closed doors. Many people who sweep their eyebrows know that it is better to manage the spring breeze. " Xue Tao loves Lian Shuai, or sings with him, and his poems reach all directions. There are many people asking for help. Bai Juyi gave Xue Tao a poem saying, "If it seems easy to reach the front line, the spring breeze is still separated from Wuling West." Euphemism reveals admiration.
Du Mu's poem "White Zhou Ping" sent to Xue Tao is even more straightforward: "A bird flies in the mountains with red streamers, and a pavilion gathers purple flowers. Jiang in the early Ming Dynasty and Tsinghua in autumn. If you are not tired, you will not be tolerant of smog. "
Although Xue Tao is in and out of power all day, making friends with poetry, giving people a happy and natural image, she is quite tired of her career as a poetess. At the age of 38, she finally met the only true love in her life-Yuan Zhen, a poet in 2000, and started an unforgettable relationship.
Yuan Zhen, a native of Henan, is small in character. At the age of 9, he could read; 16 years old, inspired by classics; At the age of 24, he was awarded the title of provincial school secretary; At the age of 28, he won the first place in the civil affairs department; And the official worships Zuo to collect relics. Bai Juyi was a poet in the middle Tang Dynasty, known as "Bai Yuan". At that time, Xue Tao was already famous in the poetry circle, which made Yuan Zhen admire him very much, but he only hated his absence. It was not until the fourth year of Yuanhe that Yuan Zhen was appointed as the censor and was ordered to tour Sichuan provinces before he had the opportunity to invite the party to know Xue Tao. They fell in love at first sight, met each other late, and fell in love at the same time.
Although Xue Tao is a secular woman, she always leads a totally clean life. This time, everything is different. On the night she met Yuan Zhen, she gave herself to her beloved without reservation. The second day early in the morning, seeking truth made a song "Two Birds in the Pool":
On the double green pool, Qi Fei at dusk;
More lively will be this day, concentric lotus leaves.
Poetry expresses the yearning for a better life and plays the melody of pursuing love. Yuan Zhen was deeply intoxicated by Xue Tao's beautiful feelings, and a poem he left recorded such a love affair:
Everyone is poetic, I only know the exquisite scenery;
Moonlight night, dark flowers, rainy season, willow is a song.
Xue has been in contact for more than a year, spent a year of intimate time and forged sincere feelings. However, after all, they met by chance, completed the mission of Shuzai, and had to say goodbye with tears when they returned to Kyoto. After Yuan Zhen returned to Chang 'an, he asked the customer to send a seven-character poem.
In the poem Farewell, Xue Tao also described the scene after the breakup: "I know you didn't ride Qin Guan, and thousands of people cried in the sun. I don't know military affairs in my boudoir, and the bright moon is still high above the palace. " It can be inferred from the poem that when they broke up, Yuan Zhen promised to get back together with Xue Tao after the business ended. But you never know, the actual situation is not as agreed, which makes Xue Tao can only look at Chang 'an.
From then on, the mountain was difficult to cross, the road was difficult to walk, and Yuan Zhen had a bumpy career and no fixed place to live. For ten years, he was in charge of Dongtai and served as an observer in western Zhejiang. He was recalled to Beijing and demoted to join the army in Jiangling Prefecture. Soon, Bai Juyi was demoted to Jiangzhou for offending powerful people, and Yuan Zhen was implicated and transferred to Tongzhou Sima.
In such frequent transfers, Yuan Zhen, who is 9 years younger than Xue Tao, naturally can't stick to his love. In addition, in the Tang Dynasty, officials and prostitutes were not forbidden to associate, so it is inevitable that Yuan's empathy will change. Although we have kept in touch since we broke up, it seems that we only deal with each other on Yuan Zhen's side, not as promised that day.
Years, like water, gradually took away Xue Tao's hope for his lover. 12 years later, Xue Tao knew he couldn't wait any longer. After all these twists and turns, Xue Tao was depressed and never got married. The scenery in the past communication field, with the beautiful passing away, gradually faded away. In his twilight years, Xue Tao simply built a poetry reading building in the outer suburbs, dressed herself as a female Taoist priest and lived in seclusion in the building, far away from the bustling and dreamy communication places. "The Whole Tang Poetry" said that Xue Tao "retired from Huanhuaxi in his twilight years and wore a crown skirt". Xue Tao often writes poems in two styles: rhythm and unique style. Because the paper in circulation at that time was too big, Xue Tao liked red, so he created a crimson little paper named "Xue Tao Paper".