Only the true national color of peonies is a poem written by Liu Yuxi, from "Appreciating Peonies".
Liu Yuxi (772-842), whose courtesy name was Mengde, was born in Luoyang, Henan, and in Xingyang, Zhengzhou, Henan. He said that he was "originally in Xingshang, and his native place is in Luoyang" and claimed to be a descendant of King Jing of Shanzhong Mountain in Hanzhong. During the Tang Dynasty, he was a minister, writer, and philosopher, and was known as the "Poetry Hero".
His family is a scholarly family with Confucianism passed down from generation to generation. He advocated political innovation and was one of the central figures in the political innovation activities of Wang Shuwen School. Later, Yongzhen's reform failed and he was demoted to Sima of Langzhou (now Changde, Hunan). According to Mr. Zhou Xinguo, a historian and collector in Changde, Hunan, Liu Yuxi was demoted to Sima of Langzhou and wrote the famous "Spring View of Han Shou City" during his demotion.
The whole poem uses the artistic techniques of personification, contrast, and suppressing each other to affirm the peony's status as a "true national color" in the flower world, and truly expresses the scene when the peonies were in full bloom and caused a sensation in the capital. It captures the ideal personality spirit in the poet's heart.
Creative background
Peony is a famous flower native to China. It blooms in late spring and has large and beautiful flowers. It was transplanted from Fenjin (today's Fenhe River Basin in Shanxi Province) to the capital during the reign of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty. It was still regarded as a treasure during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. This poem describes the grand occasion of peony appreciation in the Tang Dynasty.
As for the time and place of the creation of this poem, the "Chronological Annotation of the Complete Works of Liu Yuxi" edited by Tao Min and Tao Hongyu speculates that this poem was written in the second year of Yamato based on Li Zhengfeng's use of "national beauty" in the poem. (828) to the fifth year (831), the author wrote it in Chang'an.
Qu Huiyuan's "Liu Yuxi's Collection of Notes" believes that this poem was written when the author returned to Chang'an during the Dahe period of the Tang Dynasty; Gao Zhizhong's "Liu Yuxi's Poetry Chronology and Notes" believes that this poem is related to "Hun Shi" "Zhongzhai Peony" was written at the same time; Wu Gang and Zhang Tianchi's "Selected Notes on Liu Yuxi's Poems" suspect that this poem was written during Yongzhen's reform.