This poem was written in the early spring of the third year of Tang Muzong Changqing (823). At that time, Han Yu was 56 years old and served as assistant minister of the official department. Although the time is not long, I am in a good mood at this time. Not long ago, there was a rebellion in Zhou Zhen (now Zhengding, Hebei Province), and Han Yu was ordered to go to Fu Xuan to surrender the rebellion. Mu Zong was so happy that he was promoted from assistant minister of Ministry of War to assistant minister of official department. In literature, he has long been famous. At the same time, he also made achievements in reviving Confucianism. Therefore, although the year is approaching, we are not sad because of the years, but welcome spring with great interest.
This poem was written to Zhang Ji, a poet who worked in the Ministry of Water Resources at that time. Ranked eighteenth among brothers, so it is called "Zhang Eighteen". Han Yu invited Zhang Jichun to travel, but Zhang Ji refused because he was busy with his old age. Han Yu then wrote this poem as a gift, expressing the beauty of the early spring scenery, hoping to arouse Zhang Ji's interest in travel.