When talking about "Li Du" in literary history, it refers to the great poets Li Bai and Du Fu. So who is the late Tang poet Xiao Li Du? Let’s take a look below. Who is Xiao Li Du, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty?
"Xiao Li Du" refers to the two most famous poets of the late Tang Dynasty - Li Shangyin and Du Mu.
Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin (813-858), named Yishan and Yuxisheng, was born in Hanoi, Huaizhou (now Qinyang, Henan). When he was seventeen years old, his literary talents were appreciated by Linghu Chu, the governor of the Tianping Army. At the age of twenty-five, he passed the Jinshi examination on the recommendation of Linghu Chu's son Linghu Zhuo. Soon, Wang Maoyuan, the governor of Jingyuan, fell in love with his talent and married his daughter to him. But not only did he not achieve great success, but he suffered endless consequences. At that time, the Niu Party, headed by Niu Sengru and Li Zongmin, and the Li Party, headed by Li Deyu, framed each other, resulting in the so-called "Niu-Li Party Struggle" for nearly 40 years. Linghu Chu and his son are important members of the Niu Party, and Wang Maoyuan belongs to the Li Party. In this way, Li Shangyin fell into the whirlpool of cliques and would not be able to escape for the rest of his life. The Niu Clan hated him for being "disloyal" and tried their best to exclude him. Caught in the cracks of clique struggles, he lived a life of dependence on others and poverty, and he only lived forty-six years old.
"I will always recall the rivers and lakes and return to my gray hair, and I want to return to the world and enter the boat." (The general idea is that I hope to do a great cause that changes the world, and then retire and go boating to live in seclusion) This is when Li Shangyin was young ambition. Concerned about politics, he wrote some satirical poems. "A Journey to the Western Suburbs Composing a Hundred Rhymes" describes the dilapidated and desolate scene of the rural areas in the western suburbs of Chang'an, points out that the country's chaos "is caused by people and not by nature", and expresses the people's desire for a peaceful life. But there are very few such works. He was extremely indignant at the eunuch's arbitrary power. In the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs killed thousands of courtiers (known as the "Manna Incident" in history), and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were as silent as a cicada. However, he wrote two poems "Yougan" and "Chong Yougan", resolutely calling for the execution of the eunuchs. His friend Liu Fan was demoted to death, and he also wrote poems to express his injustice. These are the valuable features of Li Shangyin.
"Looking at the virtuous countries and families in the past, success is due to diligence and frugality, failure is due to luxury." The epic poem is the highest ideological and artistic achievement among Li Shangyin's poems. "Southern Dynasties", "Sui Palace" and other collections reveal the historical facts of the debauchery and enjoyment of subjugated kings in past dynasties, which led to the subjugation of the country and their lives. "Jia Sheng" used the underappreciated talent of Jia Yi in the Han Dynasty to criticize the late Tang emperor who "didn't ask about the common people but ghosts and gods", and the discussion was extremely new.
"In the heart of spring, don't let flowers bloom, every inch of lovesickness and every inch of gray." Li Shangyin's love poems that are most recited by people are those with "untitled" as the title, or the first two words of the chapter as the title. There may be a few of them that are written about love and have other sustenance, but there have always been different opinions on which poems "use beautiful women to describe gentlemen". Such as the following song:
It is difficult to say goodbye when we meet, the east wind is powerless and the flowers are withered. The spring silkworm's silk will not be used up until it dies, and the wax torch will not dry until it turns to ashes. Xiaojing (verb, look in the mirror) but sad clouds (soft hair like dark clouds, referring to youth) have changed, and you should feel the cold moonlight when you sing at night. There is no way to get there from Pengshan (a metaphor for the woman's residence), and the blue bird (a metaphor for the person who delivers the news) is diligent in visiting.
The first two sentences describe a pair of lovers who are inseparable, the third and fourth sentences describe the deep longing for the woman after parting, the fifth and sixth sentences imagine that the woman misses him day and night, and the last two sentences borrow from mythology The "Pengshan" and "Blue Bird" in the poem express their desire to exchange news and comfort each other. The whole poem has neat dialogues, novel metaphors, hazy twists and turns, and is thought-provoking. As for who the woman in the poem is and whether she has any political affiliation with the author's life experience, the author refuses to state it clearly, and it is difficult for others to say for sure. In short, this type of "untitled" poem best demonstrates his style and characteristics - he is good at using implicit symbolic techniques, rich imagination, and beautiful language to express his thoughts and feelings in a tortuous and detailed manner. Therefore, he became the one who wrote the most and best love poems among ancient poets.
"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is almost dusk." Li Shangyin's poems about scenery and objects are also original. "Deng Le You Yuan" is one of the masterpieces.
Li Shangyin's poems, especially the Qilu, occupy an important position in Tang poetry and are also distinctive in the entire history of classical poetry. It created a new style and genre of poetry and made new contributions to the art of poetry. However, because he "has never opened his arms in his whole life", his poems express a lot of personal depression and do not reflect a wide range of life. In addition, some poems use too many allusions and are difficult to understand, so while Lu Xun praised his "clear words and beautiful sentences", he was also dissatisfied with him.
Du Mu
Du Mu (803-853), courtesy name Muzhi, was born in Jingzhao (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) and came from an official family. When he was young, he studied Confucian classics, paid attention to finance and military affairs, and expressed deep concern for state affairs. After becoming a Jinshi at the age of twenty-six, he was always unhappy in the officialdom because his thoughts were incompatible with the decadent people in power, and he had an upright temperament and disdain to please. For this reason, he was sad, angry and negative, and often indulged in singing and dancing in prostitutes, killing time in indulgence. "Having dreamed of Yangzhou for ten years and winning the lucky reputation of a brothel" is a portrayal of this kind of life.
Du Mu was erudite and talented, and was good at poetry, prose, poetry, and calligraphy, but he was the most outstanding in poetry. His poetic style is bold and handsome, and he is unique in the poetry world of the late Tang Dynasty. Especially the seven-character quatrains have special achievements.
Du Mu had the ambition to run the country and benefit the world. In the troubled times of the Tang Empire, when internal and external troubles were becoming increasingly serious, he wrote some highly political works in response to the actual ills. "Feelings" and "Drinking Alone in a County House" are masterpieces that express ideals and worries. "He Huang" and "Morning Wild Geese" express the deep feelings of concern for the country and the people. The famous "Afang Palace Fu" uses the style of poetry to describe the luxury of Afang Palace, the characters and treasures inside, and the demise of the Qin Dynasty to warn Tang Jingzong who was carrying out large-scale construction and palace construction at that time. It profoundly summarizes the historical lessons of the collapse of previous dynasties.
His historical quatrains are renowned. For example, one of the "Three Quatrains on Passing the Huaqing Palace": Looking back at Chang'an, there are piles of embroidery, and thousands of doors are opened one after another on the top of the mountain. Riding on the red dust concubine smiled, no one knew it was lychee.
Concubine Yang loved to eat lychees, so Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty did not hesitate to waste time and money by sending a relay from Pegasus, Sichuan, to get fresh lychees for her. This poem is a historical commentary on Tang Xuanzong's licentiousness and obscurity, and it is also a subtle satire on the licentious and hedonistic emperors of the late Tang Dynasty. "Guo Lishan Zuo" condemned the "lone husband" Qin Shihuang and reminded the rulers: "If the people of Guizhou (people) are not stupid, they will be stupid!" This can be said to be a profound warning. Another example is "Red Cliff", where the poet elicited an astonishing comment from a broken weapon that had long sunk on the sandy bottom of the Red Cliff River: "The east wind did not cooperate with Zhou Lang, and the bronze bird spring locked up Er Qiao." (Tongque Tower is in Hebei Province. Linzhang was the place where Cao Cao enjoyed himself in his later years. Erqiao refers to Jiangdong beauties Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, the wives of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu respectively.) The implication is that Zhou Yu's victory in the Battle of Chibi was just a chance. "There are no heroes, so Shuzi (boy) becomes famous" (Ruan Ji's words), this is the heroic spirit that the poet wants to express.
Du Mu's seven unique lyrical descriptions of scenery are most highly appreciated by people, and his artistic achievements exceed those of historical quatrains. His famous works include "Jiangnan Spring", "Mountain at Qinhuai", "Mountain Journey", etc. "Frost leaves are as red as February flowers" in "Mountain Journey" compares the maple leaves in the bleak autumn wind to the spring flowers in February in the south of the Yangtze River. It expresses the poet's bold and upward spirit. It is a famous line with melodious rhyme and rich philosophy.
Disclaimer: The above content comes from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. If there is any infringement of your original copyright, please inform us and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.