Jia paid tribute to Ma Zhiyuan, a famous dramatist in Yuan Dynasty. Ma Zhiyuan, some people say that he is from Dadu (now Beijing), while others say that he is from Dongguang County, Hebei Province.
In the era when Yuan Qu was popular, he, Guan Hanqing, Zheng Guangzu and Bai Pu were also called "four masters of Yuan Qu". In his early years, he was keen on fame, drifted for many years, accomplished nothing, but made extraordinary achievements in drama creation.
His masterpiece is Autumn in the Palace of Han Dynasty, which tells the story of Wang Zhaojun's departure from the fortress in the Han Dynasty. Wang Zhaojun was put in the cold shoulder for refusing to bribe painter Mao Yanshou. He was accidentally discovered by Emperor Han Yuan and was able to leave the cold palace. Emperor Han Yuan cherished his marriage with Zhaojun very much, but it didn't last long. The disposed Mao Yanshou presented a painting by Uhaanyehe, and Uhaanyehe came to see Wang Zhaojun.
At this time, the civil and military officials in the Qing Dynasty were at a loss, but they all urged Emperor Xian of Han to give up Wang Zhaojun in exchange for peace. Emperor Hanyuan was the son of heaven, but he couldn't protect the woman he liked according to his own wishes, so he had to send Wang Zhaojun to his relatives to defend his country.
After Wang Zhaojun left the fortress, Emperor Han Yuan could only miss Wang Zhaojun in loneliness and desolation. The author takes autumn as the background at the end of the whole play, which further exaggerates the bleak atmosphere.
Besides Autumn in the Han Palace, Ma Zhiyuan's most famous poem is Tianjingsha Qiu Si. The title of this poem is Father of Qiu Si, which shows its high artistry. Old vines are faint crows, small bridges are flowing, and old roads are thin horses. When the sun sets, heartbroken people are at the end of the world.
Qiu Si is the miss of autumn. In autumn, the vegetation withers, and the poet's thoughts are full of sadness and loneliness.
How does Ma Zhiyuan show this? He used the expression "Twilight crow of fallen leaves of old vines". This is really a bleak picture of Qiu Jingtu. No matter who it is, it will be involved in sadness and panic by this scenery.
"Small Bridge Flowing Water People", at dusk, passing by a small bridge, there are people gurgling at the end. Home is home, a place to rest, how warm and desirable, but this is not the author's home, so it is not the author's home.
At this time, only the "old west wind thin horse", the lonely and desolate old road and the cold west wind thin horse accompanied the author. For him, there is no place to rest, only running and drifting.
"The sun sets", and the bloody sunset soon sets. The author can't help shouting "heartbroken people are at the end of the world", heartbroken and homesick. Homesickness is walking at the end of the world.
His pain was expressed heartily through this last sentence, but it also came to an abrupt end, so it was full of touching power. It can be seen that the loneliness in the author's heart makes the autumn seen in his eyes more tragic.