Ouyang Xiu [Song Dynasty]
Is it true to hear the world say that poets are poor? Most of the poets handed down from the world came from the words of the poor in ancient times. Every scholar has everything he has, but he can't give it to the world. He likes to put it outside the landscape, and he often feels strange when he sees insects, fish, vegetation, clouds, birds and animals. There is pent-up anger in my heart, the joy of complaining and stabbing, and the embarrassment of widows sighing, but I have written human feelings. The poorer you build, the more you do. However, it is not poetry that can help the poor. The poor will have to work in the future.
As a friend of Mei, I seldom take shade as a collector, and I am tired of learning, and I have been stuck in a county for more than ten years. At the age of 50, I still start writing books, helping others, and suppressing what I have stored, so I can't work hard in my career. His home is in Wanling, and he has been used to poetry since he was a child. His words surprised the elders. Since it is a long story, it is to learn from the theory of benevolence and righteousness of the Six Classics, which is an article, simple and pure, and not seeking for the world.
Foreword translation of Mei's poems;
I have heard the world often say that the poet's career is not so prosperous and there are more difficulties. Is that really the case? Probably because most of the poems handed down in the world were written by ancient people in distress. Most literati who hide their talents but can't fully display them in the world like to indulge in wild fun in mountains and rivers. When they see insects, fish, vegetation, birds and animals, they often explore their strangeness.
There is a kind of depression of sadness, emotion and anger in my heart, which turns into poetry, that is, it is pinned on resentment and irony, expressing the lament of the courtier widow and writing the feelings that people can't express. The harder you are, the more skilled you are at writing. In this way, it is not writing poetry that makes people poor, but it is probably after they are poor that they can write good poems.
My friend Mei was a junior official when she was young. She passed the imperial examination many times, but she was always suppressed by the examiner's office, and she was in trouble in the local area for more than ten years. I'm 50 years old, and I have to rely on others to send me a letter of appointment as a clerk. I am trapped in my talent and wisdom, and I can't fully display it in my career.
My hometown is Wanling, and I studied poetry as a child. Writing poems from an early age surprised the elders. When I grew up, I learned the knowledge of the six classics of benevolence and righteousness. The article is simple and pure, and I don't want to please the world. The world only knows that he can write poems. However, at that time, whether people were smart or stupid, it was inevitable to ask Yu Sheng for advice when talking about poetry.