Wang Anshi was a native of Linchuan, Fuzhou (now Linchuan County, Jiangxi Province), and was one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
After Wang Anshi became prime minister in the second year of Xining (1069), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, he was determined to reform and implement new laws. However, he was firmly opposed by big landowners and big bureaucrats, and he was dismissed from office within a few years. He was bored living in seclusion in the capital and decided to return to Nanjing to see his wife and children.
In the spring of the next year, Wang Anshi went south from Bianjing to Yangzhou, then took a boat back to Jinling (Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province) westward, passing through Jingkou (Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) to Guazhou across the river. At that time, the ship docked and stopped leaving. He stood on the bow of the boat and looked to the west. He saw faint green mountains, surging rivers, green fields in the spring breeze, and a bright moon in the sky. He was moved by the scenery and missed his relatives at Jinling Zhongshan (also known as Purple Mountain) even more. He walked into the ship, took out a pen and paper, thought for a while, and wrote a poem titled "Boat Mooring on Guazhou":
Across the water in Guazhou, Jingkou,
Zhongshan is only separated by several mountains.
The spring breeze comes to the south bank of the river again,
When will the bright moon shine on me again?
After finishing writing, Wang Anshi felt that the word "arrive" in "The spring breeze is green again on the south bank of the Yangtze River" was too rigid, and he could not see what the spring breeze would look like when it arrived in the south of the Yangtze River. It lacked poetic flavor. After thinking for a while, he started writing. Circle the word "to" and replace it with the word "pass". After thinking about it carefully, I felt that the word "pass" was inappropriate. Although the word "guo" is more vivid than the word "arrival", describing the fleeting movement of spring breeze, it is still not enough to express one's eagerness to return to Jinling. So he circled the word "guo" and changed it to the word "ru'" and "man". After changing it more than ten times, Wang Anshi still didn't find the word he was most satisfied with. He felt a little headache, so he walked out of the cabin and admired the scenery. Let your brain rest for a while.
Wang Anshi walked to the bow and looked at the south of the Yangtze River. The spring breeze was blowing, the green grass was swaying, and the wheat waves were undulating. The scenery was even more vibrant and picturesque. He felt refreshed. The spring grass is green. Isn't this word "green" exactly what I am looking for? The word "green" expresses the vibrant and moving scene of spring in the south of the Yangtze River. Thinking of this, Wang Anshi was so unhappy that he rushed into the cabin. , took out another piece of paper, and changed the sentence "The spring breeze comes to the south bank of the Yangtze River again" in the original poem to "The spring breeze turns green to the south bank of the river again".
In order to highlight the hard-won "green" he repeatedly refined. Wang Anshi specially made the word "green" slightly larger, which makes it very eye-catching.
The word "green" makes the whole poem come alive. He became what later generations called the "poetry eye". Later, many articles about calligraphy used him as an example.