Yuan Zhen, Liu Yuxi.
1. Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were equally famous poets in the Tang Dynasty at that time. Their theoretical views on poetry were similar, and they both advocated New Yuefu and formed a They became close friends and the world called them "Yuan Bai". There were often poems sung between the two, and even if they were in different places, they often exchanged letters, and they invented the method of "passing poems through the mailbox".
Once, Yuan Zhen was on an envoy to Dongchuan. Bai Juyi and his good friend Li Jian visited Ci'en Temple together. They missed Yuan Zhen during the dinner, so he wrote "Drunk Reminiscing about Yuan Jiu with Li Shiyi". Later, both of them were demoted one after another and were assigned to serve as officials in other places. So they kept in touch frequently, encouraged and comforted each other, and as Bai Juyi said, the two were "literary friends and poetic enemies" with extremely deep friendship throughout their lives.
Bai Juyi commented on Yuan Zhen: He only made one friend, Yuan Zhen, and then he realized how difficult it is to find a true friend. Yuan Zhen's concern for Bai Juyi was condensed into the eternal masterpiece "Wen Lo Tian teaches Jiang" Zhou Sima".
2. Liu Yuxi and Bai Juyi
Liu Yuxi and Bai Juyi were both great poets in the Mid-Tang Dynasty, and they were born in the same year. Since the two met, they have been exchanging letters, and they have recorded more than a hundred poems and poems. In particular, the meeting between the two in Yangzhou after a long separation in their later years became a good story and became a famous poem.
Liu Yuxi and Bai Juyi, who had exchanged letters, made an appointment to visit Yangzhou and Chuzhou together on their way back to Luoyang. When the two met in Yangzhou, they got together to drink and chat. They talked about the political frustrations of both parties over the years, and then they expressed their feelings.
Bai Juyi wrote the poem "Drunk Gift to Liu Twenty-Eight Envoys" for Liu Yuxi. Bai Juyi expressed extreme injustice and infinite emotion to his friend Liu Yuxi's ups and downs after being demoted for 23 years, and he complained for his friend. At the same time, it actually pointed the finger at the upper-level rulers and criticized those ruling classes who did not value talents or even harmed them.
Liu Yuxi also wrote poems in return for his friends, and wrote "Rewarding Lotte at the First Banquet in Yangzhou" to Bai Juyi. At the end of the poem, Liu Yuxi took advantage of the situation and pointed out the meaning of the repaying question, expressing the poet's renewed devotion. The will to live and the perseverance are also his comfort and encouragement to his friends. Although the whole poem is very emotional, it does not make you feel depressed when you read it. Instead, it is uplifting.
Extended information
Bai Juyi’s thought combines Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, with Confucianism as the leading thought. Mencius said, "If you are prosperous, you can help the world; if you are poor, you can help yourself." This is the creed he followed throughout his life.
His ambition of "simultaneous economic development" is based on Confucian benevolence, and also includes Huang Lao's theory, the art of managing Xiao and the method of Shen Han; his "single kindness" heart draws on the contentment of Lao and Zhuang. , the concept of equality, freedom and freedom, and the Buddhist thought of "liberation". The two are roughly bounded by the fact that Bai was demoted to Sima Jiangzhou.
Bai Juyi not only left nearly three thousand poems, but also put forward a whole set of poetry theories. He compared poetry to a fruit tree and put forward the viewpoint of "root feelings, seedling words, beautiful sounds, and real meanings." He believed that "emotion" is the fundamental condition of poetry, and the generation of emotions is related to events and current affairs. Therefore, poetry creation cannot be divorced from reality and must be based on various events in real life and reflect the social and political conditions of an era.
He inherited the tradition of poetry and poetry since the Book of Songs, attaching great importance to the realistic content and social role of poetry, and emphasizing the function of poetry in exposing and criticizing political shortcomings. He put forward a series of principles in the expression method of poetry. In "Yu Yuan Jiu Shu", he put forward the famous realist creative principle of "articles are written according to the time, and songs and poems are written according to the situation".
His poetry theory is of progressive significance in urging poets to face reality and care about the people's livelihood. It also has a critical effect on the poetic style that has gradually emphasized form since the Dali (766-779). However, over-emphasis on the subordination of poetry creation to the needs of real politics will inevitably constrain the artistic creation and style diversity of poetry.
Baidu Encyclopedia--Bai Juyi