Chao Huang
Waiting for September 8 of the lunar autumn,
Blooming chrysanthemums are in full bloom, Chang 'an is fragrant, the city is bathed in the fragrance of chrysanthemums-Italy, and the land is like golden chrysanthemums.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao's poem "Floating for Waiting"
Chao Huang (? —884), Cao Zhou Yuan Jian (now southwest of Mudan District, Heze City, Shandong Province), was born in a salt merchant family with rich property. I'm also engaged in selling smuggled salt. Good at riding and shooting, love to help the crisis; I also like reading. I got into Jinshi, but I didn't. Huang Chao was dissatisfied with the decadent politics of the Tang Dynasty. In 875, he responded to the uprising in Wang Xianzhi and led the uprising, namely the Huang Chao uprising. After Wang Xianzhi was killed, Huang Chao continued to fight and became a great general, winning the support of the people. In 880, he captured Chang 'an, namely the emperor's position, the title of Daqi and the title of "Jintong". After the failure of the uprising, Huang Chao was killed by traitors.
◆ Precautions
[1] September 8th: In ancient times, September 9th was the Double Ninth Festival, and there was a custom of climbing mountains and enjoying chrysanthemums. Say "September 8" rhymes. [2] Kill: wither. [3] Fragrant array: Fragrant fragrance. [4] golden armor: golden armor refers to the color of chrysanthemum.
◆ Explain
Besides being proficient in martial arts, Huang Chao loves reading and can write poems and essays. He went to the capital Chang 'an to take the imperial examination, but failed. However, the failure of the examination hall gave him another gain: he saw the darkness of the examination room and the corruption of official management, which made him have a further understanding of the nature of Li Tang. After I failed the exam, I was full of pride. I sang chrysanthemums to express my arms.
"Until September 8th in Qiu Lai", it is pointed out that chrysanthemum is in full bloom in autumn. Especially on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, this is the traditional Double Ninth Festival in ancient China, a day for friends and relatives to get together, climb mountains and drink and enjoy chrysanthemums, and a day for chrysanthemums to show their charm and make people admire. This custom was particularly popular in the Tang Dynasty. Didn't Meng Haoran, who was 140 years earlier than Huang Chao, make an appointment with his friend "I'll come back when I have a holiday on the mountain"? Huang Chao particularly emphasized "September 8th" here. The word "stay" is used to express the firm confidence that September 8 will definitely come. People are also looking forward to the Double Ninth Festival, and the word "Liu" has also played a role in urging people to welcome the arrival of this festival, showing people a bright future.
The second sentence of the poem is about the power of chrysanthemum: "I killed Baihua after bloom". There is no necessary connection between the withering of flowers and the blooming of chrysanthemums, but the poem says that chrysanthemums wither as soon as they open, which has become a causal relationship, just emphasizing the power of chrysanthemums. In the Tang Dynasty, peony was advocated and regarded as the national flower. According to Li Zhao's Supplement to the National History of the Tang Dynasty: "For more than 30 years, Jun traveled to the capital. Every spring, if the horses and chariots are crazy, they are ashamed not to play. " Contrary to traditional ideas, Huang Chao praised chrysanthemums. You see, "I Bloom" and "Flowers Kill" are in sharp contrast, which shows that chrysanthemums are full of energy and great power. The Double Ninth Festival is the Chrysanthemum Festival.
Three or four sentences in the poem describe the double ninth festival.
The third sentence says, "Tianxiang pervades Chang 'an". This fragrance is not light or fragrant, but it is "Tianxiang permeates Chang 'an". In feudal society, the sky is sacred and inviolable. It is the supreme authority and the master of all things in the world. Even the feudal emperor, as the supreme ruler of the world, can only be called the "son of heaven". His father, heaven and earth, is commanded by heaven to govern all people. But the fragrance of chrysanthemum can "soar"; Not only "soaring", but also filling the capital Chang' an. A "hurry" and a "transparent" show chrysanthemums, and also reflect the majestic spirit of the poet's contempt for heaven and earth.
The fourth sentence is written in color. If the third sentence is about the "god" of chrysanthemum, then the fourth sentence is about the "shape" of chrysanthemum. "The city is full of golden flowers" and "the city is full of chrysanthemums, all over Kyoto; "Bring the capital" means that all chrysanthemums in Chang 'an are full of golden flowers without exception. Wearing golden armor, standing in the rustling west wind, resisting frost and half cold, proudly blooming, how heroic! How handsome! Moreover, a "full" city is "full", like a cloud, reflecting the sky; Like a fire, it burned all over Chang 'an! What is sung and shaped here is not a chrysanthemum, but a "gathering of heroes" of chrysanthemums.
This poem takes chrysanthemum as the theme to express one's ambition and express one's feelings through things. By depicting the image of chrysanthemum and praising its mighty spirit, it shows the heroic spirit of the author waiting for an opportunity to change the world. When the "Double Ninth Festival" of the peasant uprising came, didn't the feudal ruling class completely lose its reputation and wither like those "flowers blossom"? When the mighty insurgents marched into Chang 'an, the soldiers in military uniforms were not as dazzling and majestic as the chrysanthemums in the city. This chrysanthemum poem is a tribute to the hero of peasant uprising in feudal society.
Although the poem is only four short sentences, it not only writes the spirit of chrysanthemum, but also writes the shape of chrysanthemum, which has both form and spirit; Not only did he write that the chrysanthemum was fragrant, but he also wrote that the chrysanthemum was full of color and taste, and the image was very distinct. The language is simple, magnificent and full of inspiring power.
◆ Poetry criticism
"Stay in Qiu Lai on September 8th? I killed a hundred flowers after bloom. Does Xiang array penetrate Chang 'an? The city is full of golden armor. "This is the" Last Fu Ju "written by Huang Chao after the failure of the imperial examination in Chang 'an. Can write such a domineering flower, the difference between hero's poem and literati's poem is clear at a glance. "I don't send flowers? What should I do if I scare people when I send it? Want to hit the west wind? All dressed in golden armor. " This is a chrysanthemum poem sung by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty many years later. I wonder if it was influenced by Huang Chao's poem. Poetic than Huang Chao's "Floating for Waiting" light, but combative. The ancients said that "writing is like a man", but in life, writing is like a man with different styles, but poetry is like a man, but it will never fail. Perhaps it is because a good poem is often the natural generation of an instant thought, and it is too late to fake it.
Huang Chao loved chrysanthemums all his life, and all that can be determined now are poems about chrysanthemums. In Song Dynasty, Zhang Gui Er Ji recorded that when Huang Chao was five years old, his father and grandfather used chrysanthemums as couplets. Grandpa thought hard and couldn't continue. Huang Chao casually replied: "A hundred flowers blossom, and wearing yellow clothes is a natural gift." His father was very scared and wanted to teach him a lesson. Grandfather said at once, "Sun Tzu can write poems. I don't know whether it's important or not. You can write another one." He replied, "The west wind is rustling all over the courtyard, and cold butterflies are hard to come. If I am Di Qing next year, I will report peach blossoms. " This is another poem in Huang Chao's "Tiju", which is included in the whole Tang poetry. In the Tang Dynasty, peony was advocated and regarded as the national flower. Li Zhao, a native of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in A Supplement to National History: "For more than 30 years, you have been patrolling the capital. Every spring, if the horses and chariots are crazy, they are ashamed not to play. " Against the trend, Huang Chao especially likes chrysanthemums. It seems that there is an innate rebellious gene in his bones.
In 880 AD, Huang Chao's army captured Chang 'an, and Huang Chao proclaimed himself emperor, with the title of Daqi. He finally realized the ideal of "the city is full of golden flowers", but Chang 'an experienced a catastrophe. Huang Chao's troops burned, killed and looted, and did everything they could. Huang Chao killed a comeback after being driven out of Chang 'an by petty Tang Jun for the first time. Huang Chao, who returned to Chang 'an, hated the people's welcome to Tang Jun and ordered the massacre. After the massacre, Huang Chao's troops lost their food sources. Under the encirclement and suppression of Tang Jun, we had to "eat people" for more than a year.
After the defeat and withdrawal from Chang 'an, Huang Chao was once besieged, and the secretariat of Zhao did not retreat. Huang Chao's army is seriously short of food. In the end, the bodies of civilians, prisoners of war and soldiers who died in battle were all eaten as "military food". In June 883, Huang Chao was defeated. In the Wolf and Tiger Valley of Mount Tai, Huang Chao committed crimes against humanity and committed suicide by drawing his sword.
Chrysanthemum is a symbol of noble personality in countless literati's works, such as the chrysanthemum in Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems, but Huang Chao gave it aggressive murderous look. Huang Chao's life came to an end after the city was full of golden flowers.