After putting on makeup, I asked my husband in a low voice, “How dark is my eyebrows?”
Qi Wan is not worthy enough in the world, but his song is worth ten thousand gold.
These two poems are a duet between Zhu Qingyu and Zhang Ji, poets of the Mid-Tang Dynasty. They are published in Volumes 515 and 386 of "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" respectively. Zhu Qingyu, whose courtesy name was Kejiu and whose name was Xing, was from Minzhong (now Fujian Province) and one from Yuezhou (now Shaoxing City). In the second year of Emperor Jingzong's reign (826) of the Tang Dynasty, he was a Jinshi, secretary of the Provincial School Secretary, and had "Collection of Zhu Qingyu's Poems". Zhang Ji (about 767-about 830), a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name is Wenchang, a native of Wujiang, Hezhou (now Wujiang Town, He County, Anhui Province). His ancestral home is Suzhou and his ancestors moved to Hezhou. He was a Jinshi in the Zhenyuan period of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. He once served as a member of the Ministry of Water Resources, a director of the Imperial Academy, and other positions. He was known as the Ministry of Water in Zhang in the world. The title of Zhu Qingyu's poem is "Girl's Thoughts Presented to Zhang Shuibu". Zhang Ji needs no further introduction. He was a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty and the backbone of Bai Juyi's New Yuefu Movement. His Yuefu poems are as famous as Wang Jian's and are also known as "Zhang Wang Yuefu". Bai Juyi once praised him as "the most outstanding poet in Yuefu poetry, and the most outstanding poet in his generation" ("Reading Zhang Ji's Ancient Yuefu Poems"). His poems are concerned with reality, often use metaphors, are popular and simple, but are profound. For example, "Old Songs of the Wild", "Yan of a Chaste Woman", and "Thoughts of Autumn" were all spread in the music and spread among the people.
General readers may not know much about Zhu Qingyu. He was also an outstanding poetic talent and was well-known in the Tang Dynasty. He was once selected into the "Poets' Host and Guest Picture" by Zhang Wei of the Tang Dynasty, and was called "a person of his own caliber". During the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, his poems were often mentioned and quoted in poetry and literary creation: when Hong Mai of the Southern Song Dynasty talked about "thatched cottage" in his famous note "Rong Zhai Essays", he quoted the poems of first-class poets such as Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen, etc. It also mentions Zhu Qingyu's "calling Zhu Yi into the thatched cottage" (Volume 10 of "Rong Zhai Essays"). Hang Shijun, a native of the Qing Dynasty, said in his "Revised Edition" that he had obtained a poem written by Xu Hun, "The clouds in Xiangtan are gone, and the smoke comes out at dusk." He praised the "smoke" character in it for its wonderfulness, and concluded that "it is undoubtedly Xu's handwriting." People mistakenly change 'smoke' to 'mountain', which is tasteless." Among the evidence, Zhu Qingyu's poem "The smoke in Pujiong and Xiang is dusk, the woods are fragrant and the mountains are full of spring" as evidence to prove that "the fallacy of those who have just realized the change" is used.
Because there are many good lines in the poem and it is exquisitely crafted, it is often used by later generations to collect sentences or couplets. There is a couplet in the Green Cloud Pavilion in the Water Hall of Xiaocun, Yangzhou, which is a collection of poems from the Tang Dynasty. The first couplet is Zhu Qingyu's "The mountains are deep and the pines are green and cold", and the second couplet is Cui Qiao's "The trees are dense and the birds are singing quietly" (Li Dou's "Yangzhou" in the Qing Dynasty "Hua Fang Lu" Volume 15). In the 30th chapter of Tang Xianzu's famous legend "The Peony Pavilion", Du Liniang's ghost and Liu Mengmei use Tang poetry to compare poems. Du Liniang uses Zhu Qingyu's "natural traceless and dustless"; Liu Mengmei uses Linghu Chu's poem "I wonder during the day and dream at night." The thirty-seventh poem at the end of "The Horror": "The wind can't move the hanging silk. It's too late to chant the spring city, and the wind and rain will bury Xi Shi at night." Among them, the second sentence "It's late to chant the spring city and the grass is late" is collected from Zhu Qingyu's poem "Looking for the Monk".
Zhu Qingyu not only wrote good poems, he was also very alert and good at coping. Volume 3 of "Xiaoxiaolu" compiled by Duyiwo retired scholars of the Qing Dynasty recorded such a story:
Yuan Jingwen, a censor named Kai, liked to joke. Zhu Qingyu and he were old friends, and one day he rode a donkey to visit him. Yuan Jingwen came forward to greet him and said, "Zhu Qingyu is a donkey." Zhu Qingyu quickly replied: "This animal is not a donkey, but a Xie Zhi with its horns and ears cut off." Yuan Jingwen deliberately left out the verb between Zhu Qingyu and the donkey to make a joke. Zhu Qingyu, on the other hand, tried to resolve the problem by saying that Po was riding a donkey, implying his nobility. Haechi is an ancient mythical beast in ancient Chinese legends. It is as big as a cow and as small as a sheep. It is similar to a unicorn and usually has a horn on its forehead. It is commonly known as a unicorn. (Yangzhou Ancient Books Publishing House's "View of Notes and Novels").
In particular, Zhu Qingyu, like Zhang Ji, uses analogies as much as he does, with simple and clear words, fresh diction, and detailed descriptions, such as in his quatrain: "The willow rain on the embankment is heavy, and the thousands of strands cause deep hatred."
The sky is full of flying catkins and people are far away, and the east wind has no power to tie the spring heart" (Volume 846 of Hu Zhenheng's "Tang Yin Tong Xuan"). It is also a metaphor for people and a scene to describe the heart, with profound meaning. His "Wish for the Morning" "Only the world can be divided. "Color, forbids the heart of tigers and wolves." Wang Xuan, a member of the Five Dynasties, believed that "this compares to the Ming Lord, who is above, and the villain is hidden" ("Purpose in the Poetry"). "Early Plum": "Since ancient times, spring has been early, and the snow is blooming in severe winter." Wang Xuan believes that "Jinjian means power" ("Poetry"). His "Gong Ci": "The courtyard gate is closed when the flowers are silent, and the beauties stand side by side in the Qiongxuan. "The parrot dares not speak" is not inferior to the famous "Gong Ci" written by Wang Jian at the same time. Because of this, he was appreciated and respected by Zhang Ji, the famous poet of his generation. Li Fang was in Volume 199 of "Taiping Guangji" also specifically records the specific process of Zhang Ji's instruction on Zhu Qingyu's poetry and Zhu Zhongju:
In the mid-Tang Dynasty, Zhu Qingyu met Zhang Ji, a doctor in the Ministry of Water, who knew his friend, and asked Qingyu to read many old and new chapters. Only twenty-six chapters were left in the poem, which was highly praised by people at that time because it had the same name. Therefore, in the early Qing Dynasty, Yu Shang retired modestly and wrote an article called "Girl's Feelings". , to present Zhang and said: "Last night the red candles were lit in the bridal chamber, waiting to pay homage to my uncle and aunt in front of Xiaotang. After putting on makeup, she asked her husband in a low voice, "How dark or light is my eyebrows?" "Ji Hui said: "The Yue girl appears in new makeup, her heart is bright and beautiful, and she is even more thoughtful. Qi Wan is not noble enough in the world, but he can defeat thousands of gold with his rhyme. "The name of Zhu Zhi's poem spread all over the world.
Volume 29 of "Yao Shan Tang Wai Ji" by Jiang Yikui in the Ming Dynasty, and similar records in "General Theory of Confucian Classics" by Pi Xirui of the Qing Dynasty .
The two poems by Zhu Qingyu and Zhang Ji are both in parallel style, with fresh and tortuous words. Zhu Qingyu's poem is also called "Jinshi Xian Zhang Shuibu" and was written to Zhang Ji before the imperial examination. . The reason why Zhu Qingyu presented this poem with the title "Guiyi" is related to the custom of "exerting papers" among scholars at that time. Although China's imperial examination system originated in the Tang Dynasty, it was not completed until the Song Dynasty. To prevent cheating, in addition to centralized closed-end marking and layer-by-level checking by the chief examiner, deputy examiners, and reviewing officers, there are also systems such as "mifeng" and "transcription". The so-called "mifeng" means to record the name of the examinee. The so-called "transcription" means that the scribe will transcribe the candidate's test paper in the same font, and the marking officer will review the transcribed test paper to prevent the marking officer from recognizing the handwriting and cheating. It is also the source of today's "Song Dynasty". Most of these methods are still used in today's "College Entrance Examination" and "Civil Service Examination", but in the Tang Dynasty, the talent displayed in the examination was important, but some people appreciated it. It is more important. And the higher the rank and reputation of the official who recommends you, the more likely you are to win the exam, and the more likely you are to be ranked higher. The great poet Du Fu failed the exam several times. , I don’t know if it is related to the lack of recommendation from capable people, but Wang Wei’s first place in the provincial examination and the first place in the general examination are indeed related to this. More detailed records:
Wei, named Mojie, was born in Taiyuan at the age of nine. , can record several pieces, the new sound of the pipa can play a song, "Tongzhi Jiu Princess Di" Wei is as he said. On that day, all the actors supported Wei to play solo, and the master asked what the name was, and said ""Yulun Pao"", because it came from Poetry volume. The master said, "I am accustomed to satire, so I think this is an ancient work, and it is a perfect work by Zi." "Strongly recommend it. In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, he won the first prize. He was promoted to You Shiyi and moved to Shizhong.
The meaning of this paragraph is that Wang Wei is very smart, he can write articles at the age of nine, and his calligraphy is very good He also knew music and could compose music, so he was appreciated by Xuanzong's younger brother Qi Wang Li Longfan (later renamed Li Fan). Qi Wang Youtian said to Wang Wei: "Select a few of your poems that are beautiful and exciting and compose them into pipa music. The two of us went to visit the Ninth Princess together. "The so-called Ninth Princess is Xuanzong's favorite sister, Princess Yuzhen. She is the ninth eldest. She loves music and is a good Buddhist. She once became a nun on Xuanzong's behalf. After meeting Princess Yuzhen, Wang Wei performed a pipa solo in the band. The music was very pleasant. Princess Yuzhen asked: "What kind of music is this?" Wang Wei replied: "It's called Yu Lun Robe." "As he said that, he took out the poem volume containing these songs.
This is just like a woman who marries into another family. If she is loved by her husband and parents-in-law, her status will be stable and her situation will be smooth. Otherwise, her life will be very difficult. Liu Lanzhi in "The Peacock Flies Southeast" and Lu's wife Tang Wan in "The Hairpin Headed Phoenix" were both abandoned because their mother-in-law didn't like them. The poet's comparisons are derived from real social life, and the use of them is very clever and consistent, and will naturally be appreciated and respected by Zhang Ji.
Since Zhu’s gift poem was written in analogy style, Zhang’s reply poem was also written in analogy style, expressing his opinions skillfully and implicitly. First, he affirmed Zhu Qingyu's moral essay, and then answered his questions to encourage Zhu Qingyu before the exam. The first two sentences of the poem say that Zhu Qingyu has both political integrity and talent, and writes well, but he is not confident yet. Beautiful women come out of Yue, and Zhu Qingyu happens to be from Yuezhou, so this metaphor is more appropriate. The author compares Zhu Qingyu to a girl who has just been dressed up and walked out of the clear and beautiful Jianhu Lake. "Knowing that you are beautiful makes you more thoughtful." On the surface, it means that the girl Cai Ling also knows that she is beautiful, but because she loves beauty too much, she thinks about herself. In fact, it means that although Zhu Qingyu also knows that his article is good, but he still thinks about it. I don’t have enough confidence and I don’t know whether I can be appreciated by the examiner. The last two sentences of the poem closely follow the three words "more thoughtful", giving a positive answer to Zhu Qingyu's doubts, and at the same time revealing the author's admiration for Zhu Qingyu. "Qi Wan is not noble enough in the world", "Qi Wan", the white fine silk produced by Qi Real Estate is extremely exquisite and has been famous since ancient times. This sentence superficially means that although there are many other girls wearing clothes made of exquisite silk and satin produced in Qi, they are not worthy of the world's attention. "Qi Wan" here refers to superficial and fancy things. The whole sentence means that superficial flashy things are not worthy of attention. The implication is that Zhu Qingyu is not a flashy and superficial person. This naturally leads to the last sentence: "A song of diamonds is worth ten thousand gold." An ancient Yuefu title includes "Cai Ling Song", and there are many composers with this title. Here, the author uses "Ling Ge" to compare Zhu Qingyu's article. This sentence closely follows the previous sentence, saying that Zhu Qingyu's article is well written and of great value. The author himself appreciates it very much, so there is no problem in being on the list. Combining the two sentences, the author not only answered Zhu Qingyu's questions, but also affirmed Zhu Qingyu's moral articles, indicating that Zhu Qingyu was not a superficial and flashy person. At the same time, it also shows his admiration for Zhu Qingyu. Naturally, the author's love of rewarding underachievers and cherishing talents are also fully demonstrated. The two poems are sung together, they are a perfect combination, they have different tunes and similar effects, and have become a widely circulated legend in the poetry world.
In this exam, Zhu Qingyu indeed won the Jinshi. Zhang Ji was very happy after hearing the news and wrote a poem "Happy to release the list", which goes: "The east wind is approaching the Qingming Festival, and the horses and chariots are rushing to fill the forbidden city. The twenty-eight people were first listed, and their names have been spread for thousands of miles. Who doesn’t want to borrow a garden to look at? There are many wine utensils everywhere. *** He Chunsi can identify it, and there will be a minister this year.” (Volume 59 of "Tang Poetry Chronicles") Zhang Ji's poem said that he was the winner. Twenty-eight Jinshi, but in my heart I am probably singing mainly for Zhu Qingyu!