From: Teacher's Grace by Li Shangyin in Tang Dynasty
Original sentence:
May hard work be turned into showers and peach blossoms.
Translation:
Willing to turn hard work into rain, moisten the peach blossoms below and let them bloom.
Extended data:
Creative background:
In the second year of Wenzong (837), Li Shangyin was admitted to Jinshi. He has failed many times before this. It is difficult to verify the year when Li Shangyin first applied for the World Heritage. Some people think that even before 10, that is, in the second year of Emperor Wenzong Taihe (828), Li Shangyin began his long and arduous road of applying for the World Heritage.
Like most candidates who lack power background, Li Shangyin does not expect to succeed in one fell swoop. There is no mention of this situation in his poems handed down from ancient times, which shows that he is not very concerned about the failure of the first test.
But as the number of failures increased, he gradually became dissatisfied. In the poem "Send Weng Dongchuan to the curtain of Hongnong Shangshu", he compared the examiner who refused to accept him (the seventh year of Taihe) to a villain who hindered his success: "Every time the emperor falls in love, the birds forgive each other."
The failure of English drama will not make Li Shangyin reflect on his lack of knowledge. As early as four years in Taihe, Ling Hu Mao, who had studied with him, was admitted to Jinshi. This is obviously not because Hu Ling Mao's academic talent is better than Li Shangyin's, but because of his father's influence.
Powerful people helped each other and recruited a large number of candidates from the upper-level network, which was a common phenomenon in the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty. Many candidates who lack backers will deliberately make friends before the exam, or try to attract the attention of examiners and celebrities.
According to Li Shangyin's account, he is relatively low-key in this respect (with Tao Jinshi), but it is unlikely that he has never placed hope on Ling Huchu.
It can be seen from Li Shangyin's letter to Hu Ling Mao in the first year of Kaesong that his mood has been quite excited. His two-year bid was the result of the influence of Hu Ling and his son on the examiner on duty.