Du Mu (803-852), courtesy name Muzhi, was born in Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi) in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dezong was born in the 19th year of Zhenyuan into a family with generations of officials and a strong cultural tradition. His distant ancestor Du Yu was a famous politician and scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty. Great-grandfather Du Hope was a famous frontier general during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong and loved literature. Grandfather Du You was a famous politician and historian in the mid-Tang Dynasty. He served as prime minister in the three dynasties of Dezong, Shunzong and Xianzong. He was eager to learn all his life and was knowledgeable about the past and present. He wrote 200 volumes of "Tongdian". His father, Du Congyuguan, was a member of the driving department, Wailang, and died young. Du Mu was very proud of his family background. He said: "The old gate is open in the middle of Chang'an City. There is nothing in the gate, and the hall is full of thousands of books. There are 200 volumes of family collections, and the king is everywhere" ("Winter Solstice Send to My Nephew") Ayi Poetry").
Du Mu’s childhood life was rich and happy. Du You's Fanchuan villa is located in the south of Chang'an City. The land has the beauty of forest pavilions and deep plants and trees. Du Mei often plays in the garden. After his grandfather and father passed away one after another, his family became increasingly poor, "eating wild wormwood and having no candle at night". In the second year of Mu Zong's Changqing reign (822), when Du Mu was 20 years old, he was already well versed in classics and history, especially focusing on fighting chaos and military affairs. At the age of 23, he wrote "Ode to Afang Palace". In the second year of Emperor Wenzong's reign (828), he passed the imperial examination at the age of 26. In the same year, he passed the examination of Xian Liang Fang Zheng Yan Ji Jian. He was awarded the title of School Secretary of Hongwen Hall and Cao, the guard of Zuowu, joined the army. In the winter, he went to Jiangxi to serve as the observation envoy Shen, and later followed him to Xuanshe to serve as the observation envoy and serve as a staff member. In the seventh year of Yamato (833), the Huainan Jiedushi envoy Niu Sengru was promoted to an official and transferred to the position of secretary. He lived in Yangzhou and was quite fond of banquets and travels. In the ninth year of Yamato, he served as the supervisory censor and was in charge of the Eastern Capital. In the second year of Kaicheng's reign, he entered Xuanhui to observe the envoy Cui Danmu and trained as a judge for the regiment. Xuan Guanzuo Bequ, Shi Guan compiled and compiled, and the Ministry of Food and Beverage Yuan Wai Lang. In the second year of Wuzong Huichang's reign (842), he became the governor of Huangzhou. Later he served as governor of Chizhou and Muzhou. Promote advantages and eliminate disadvantages for politics, and care about the people. In the second year of Dazhong reign of Emperor Xuanzong (848), with the help of the chief minister Bai Zhouchi, he was appointed as Wailang, a member of the Department of Xun, a compiler of the History Museum, and was transferred to Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In the fourth year of Dazhong's reign, he became the governor of Huzhou. The following year, he was called to Beijing to serve as a doctor in the imperial examination and to know how to make imperial edicts. In the third year, he moved to Shushe. He died in Chang'an at the end of the year at the age of fifty. He is the author of "Collected Works of Fan Chuan".
Du Musheng was in an era when the Tang Dynasty seemed to be reviving but was actually hopeless. Facing internal and external troubles, he was worried and eager to turn the tide and help the world and the people. He said of himself in "Drinking Alone in the Junzhao": "How can I hide it in the mountains and forests for my wife's sake? I have five colored threads in my life, and I would like to mend Shun's clothes. String songs teach Yan and Zhao, orchids bathe in the river Huang. The fishy smell is swept away, and the fierceness is covered with it." Fighting. People only sleep and eat, and the rich farmers and merchants in the longevity area. "He advocated the elimination of vassal towns and the recovery of frontiers. His demeanor of "a cheap man from Guanxi, swearing to be a slave to his flesh and blood" is very similar to Yue Fei's later "Man Jiang Hong". He praised Tan Zhong in "Yan Jiang Lu" because he was able to persuade the towns in Hebei not to resist the imperial court. In order to realize these ambitions, he advocated that when reading, one should pay attention to "the traces of the rise and fall of the chaos, wealth and armor, the dangers of the terrain, the distance and the distance, and the gains and losses of the ancients" ("The Book of Li Zhongcheng"). He emphasized that knowing how to fight is related to the rise and fall of a country: "For those who lead the army, if they are sages and wise men who can learn a lot, their country will be established; if they are strong and able to stab the unlearned, their country will be defeated. Then believe in We know that the most powerful soldier is the one who governs the country. A non-virtuous minister cannot be left to his own devices. If he fails to do so, he will be defeated and a true minister will be humiliated. His faith is not false. To this end, he wrote "Original Sixteenth Guards", "Sin Statement", "On Zhan", "Shou Lun" and "Notes on Sun Tzu". Because his talents are not appreciated, his wishes cannot be realized, so he often leads an unruly life. These all influenced his creation.
Du Mu was versatile, good at poetry and prose, and good at calligraphy and painting. His predecessors even said that "in the Tang Dynasty, the only ones who were good at both poetry and prose were Han, Liu, and Xiao Du" (Volume 3 of Hong Liangji's "Beijiang Poetry Talk") .
There are more than 200 of Du Mu's poems in existence. They are all in style, rich in content, bold and hearty in mood, fresh and elegant in style. His modern poetry has always been highly praised by people, especially the seven-character quatrains, which are famous and popular, such as "Quatrains Passing the Huaqing Palace", "Red Cliff", "Ti Wujiang Pavilion", "Bo Qinhuai", "Jiangnan Spring", " "To Judge Han Chuo of Yangzhou", "Mountain Journey", "Autumn Evening", etc. have been recited through the ages and are well-known to every household.
His seven rhymes include "Early Wild Geese", "Hehuang", "Two Poems of Runzhou", "Inscribed on the Water Pavilion of Kaiyuan Temple in Yizhou, Your Excellency Wanxi, the Residents of Jiaxi", "Xuanzhou Sends Judge Pei Tan to Shuzhou, Chapters such as "Shi Mu Wants to Go to Official and Return to the Capital", "Climbing the Mountain in Nine Days", "Climbing the Nine Peaks Tower to Send to Zhang Hu" are also praised by others. As for his five uniques, five rhythms, and five character arrangements, there are also many excellent ones, such as "Autumn View of Chang'an", "Early Fading in the Late Autumn", "Inscribed on Yangzhou Zenzhi Temple", "Thirty Rhymes of Huaqing Palace", " "The Thirty-two Rhymes of the Emperor of the Past" are representative works of these poetry styles. He is also good at writing ancient poems, especially five-character ancient poems, which are excellent in narrative and discussion, and are exciting and touching, such as "Poems of Du Qiuniang", "Poems of Zhang Haohao", "Drinking Alone in a Junzhai", "Feelings of Feelings", etc.
Du Mu’s poems are rich in content and reflect a wide range of aspects. During the late Tang Dynasty, feudal vassals and towns were divided, eunuchs were monopolizing power, party strife was serious, and social unrest occurred. Du Mu had the ambition to run the country since he was a child, but the sinister officialdom and the bumpy official career made it difficult for him to realize his ambition. The long life of a staff and the unstable promotion between the government and the public left him with a lot of emotions. Du Mu's poems can be roughly divided into the following categories in terms of content and subject matter.
The first category is works that care about worldly affairs, are patriotic and concerned about the people. There are not many of them. For example, the "Reflection Poems" he wrote when he was 25 years old is full of narratives and discussions, with vigorous writing. He laments the serious disasters of a weak country and poor people caused by the separatist rule of vassal towns and rapid expropriation and expropriation since the Anshi Rebellion. He also praises Taizong Li Shimin for his compliance with the people's wishes and his literary work. The deeds of governing the world with virtue affirmed Xianzong Li Chun's actions of reducing vassals and suppressing rebellions by force, and hoped that the imperial court would work hard to quell wars and achieve stability and unity. At the same time, it also expresses the depression of having unrealized ambitions. In the poem, lines such as "Yi Di is in full bloom, Li Yuan is getting more and more haggard" are simple, concise, alert and moving. Other examples include "Drinking Alone in the Junzhai", "River Locust", "Morning Wild Geese", "The Thirty-two Rhymes of the Emperor in the Past Stories", etc.
The second category is poetry that criticizes history and uses the past to satirize the present. This is the most eye-catching chapter in Du Mu's poems. There are generally two types of poems of this kind: one is a work on history, represented by Qijue, such as "Red Cliff", "Inscribed on Wujiang Pavilion", "Inscribed on Sihao Temple in Shangshan", "Chunshen Jun", etc. Du Mu paid great attention to studying the experience and lessons of national chaos and economic and military issues, so he often made novel and unique comments in his epic poems. The second is a work that borrows from the past to satirize the present. The poet aimed at the dark politics of the late Tang Dynasty and the decadent and declining social reality, and used the experience and lessons of the rise and fall in history to satirize it. Historical figures such as King Wu Fu Chai, Qin Shihuang, Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, Empress Chen of the Sui Dynasty, especially Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, are all the objects of criticism in the poet's writings. Such as "Passing the Qinzheng Tower", "Passing the Three Quatrains of the Huaqing Palace", etc.
The third category is works that describe scenes, express feelings, record travels and chant objects. There are many such works, and there are many masterpieces. Such as "Deng Le Yu Yuan", "Jiang Nanchun", "Moving at Qinhuai", "Mountain Journey", "Qingming", etc.
The fourth category is poems with female themes. For example, the poems "Inscribed on Lady Peach Blossom Temple" and "Moon" express sympathy for Lady Xi, who was captured by the King of Chu and remained silent for the rest of her life, and Empress Chen, who was abandoned by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and imprisoned in the cold palace. In "Golden Valley Garden" and "Palace of the Palace", he lamented Luzhu who was forced to jump off the building and the palace maid who was like a prisoner. In the long narrative poems "Poems of Du Qiuniang" and "Poems of Zhang Haohao", he used contrasting techniques to describe the ups and downs of the lives of two women, Du Qiuniang and Zhang Haohao, in detail, and reflected the struggles of the court and the changes in society at that time from one aspect. .
The fifth category is works of appreciation and expression. Such as "Send to Judge Han Chuo of Yangzhou" and so on.
Du Mu said in "Shi Xian Qi": "I worked hard on my poems. I originally wanted to be high-end, not fancy, not involved in customs, neither modern nor ancient, so I was in the middle." He admired Li Bai very much. , Du Fu, Han Yu, and Liu Zongyuan: "Li Du Fan is vast, and Han Liu Mo Cang Cang. Looking closely at the four gentlemen, they compete with the ancients" ("Winter Solstice to My Nephew Ayi"). Du Mu is talented and good at absorbing the strengths of his predecessors, forming his own unique style. Hong Liangji said it well: "Du Muzhi was at the same time as Han, Liu, Yuan, and Bai, but his writing was different from Han and Liu's, and his poetry was different from that of Yuan and Bai. Fu Neng was able to form a family of poetry and prose outside the four schools, but Yun Teli He is a solitary person" (see "Beijiang Poetry Talk").
Predecessors commented that Du Mu's poems are "sharp", "majestic", "judicious and lively", "majestic and heroic", "emotional and heroic", "qingqianxiuyan", "heroic" Gorgeous, graceful and graceful" etc.
Li Shangyin once wrote a poem to express his concern and admiration for Du Mu: "The wind and rain in the tall building are gentle, but the short wings are not as good as others. Deliberately hurting the spring and farewell, there is only Du Sixun in the world." ("Du Sixun"). It implicitly and accurately expresses the bold, refreshing, and elegant artistic characteristics of Du Mu's poems, which interweave the grandiose embrace of the country and the people with the tenderness of the spring and farewell.
Du Mu is not only good at using metaphor techniques to express emotions through descriptions of objects, but also good at using line drawing techniques to directly narrate his experiences. He is good at describing characters' stories in a leisurely and subtle way, and is good at capturing the dynamic changes and changes of scenery quickly and vividly. His own momentary feelings; he pays attention to both the combination of narrative and the blending of scenes; he often uses contrasting techniques and cleverly uses numbers in poetry. The language style of Du Mu's poems is both colorful and fresh and natural; it is bright and handsome, yet subtle and euphemistic, it is romantic and gorgeous, and it has a clear and charming charm. As Quan Zuwang said, "Du Mu's talent is the first since Changqing of the Tang Dynasty!" ("Kun Qiting Collection").