It can be seen that poets in the Tang Dynasty were very addicted to alcohol. So why on earth do they love wine so much? This article will analyze the purpose of their drinking. The author divides its purpose into two aspects: one is drinking and entertaining; The second is to drink alcohol to eliminate anxiety.
1. Drinking for fun
What is fun? The simple explanation is: "it helps to increase interest." There are many poems with wine as entertainment in 300 Tang Poems.
For example, Li Bai's "The kind of pillows and bowls that go down to the South Mountain", "I'm glad to have the opportunity to have a rest and chat over wine. ..... When I was drunk, my friend was very happy, and Tao Ran forgot the machine. " (The word "wave", according to the Book of Rites? Note of Qu Ji: Shake off the remaining wine in the cup, which means "swinging", which means drinking here; Tao Ran refers to a harmonious and happy state; To forget the machine is to forget the worldly gains and losses. )
When the poet is happy, he drinks a lot of wine to express his inner peace. At the end of the sentence, "Tao Ran * * * forgot his machine" points out the true meaning of the poem. This belongs to a poet who expresses his inner feelings through wine in the face of the cool breeze and bright moon.
For another example, Meng Haoran's "Autumn Mountain sends Zhang Wu" "I hope you will pick me up and bring a basket of wine to get drunk on the Double Ninth Festival." There is also "We open your window, cross the garden and field, and talk to Sang Ma with a cup in our hand" in "Passing the Old Village". Because these two poems both mention the "Double Ninth Festival", they are all about chrysanthemum wine.
Although the overall tone of the two poems is slightly different, the thoughts and feelings expressed are similar. All poets want to drink chrysanthemum wine with friends, spend the Double Ninth Festival and experience the feeling of tranquility and warmth. Perhaps, at this time, wine is just a medium, a medium for poets and friends to reunite, and the surging mellow, warm and quiet feelings are passed on to each other in the change of one cup at a time.
There are many similar poems, such as Bai Juyi's "A suggestion for my friend Liu"; Meng Haoran's "Banqueting the Taoist Mountain Residence in Mei" and so on.
So, why on earth do poets borrow wine to amuse themselves? The reasons can be divided into two aspects: first, social factors; The second is the role of "wine".
(1) Social factors
The social factors here mainly discuss the wine administration in Tang Dynasty and the trend of the times at that time.
First of all, the Tang Dynasty was rich in fine wine, but it was expensive. This is related to the wine administration at that time. The Tang dynasty liberalized the production and sale of wine, but at the same time imposed heavy taxes on operators. This resulted in the relatively high price of wine in the Tang Dynasty, although it was extremely common. This is a problem for some poor scholars, but it is not a problem for many famous poets in the Tang Dynasty. For poor scholars, you can also drink it often. The reason is that poets in the Tang Dynasty have a high social status and are often invited by dignitaries to eat, taste wine and recite poems. Or, Ji and his own wine, to reduce the cost of drinking. This laid an economic foundation for the poet to "drown his sorrows by drinking".
The above is to analyze why poets in the Tang Dynasty like to "entertain themselves with wine" from the wine administration in the Tang Dynasty, and then analyze the reasons from the trend of the times at that time. Poets in the Tang Dynasty took "romantic poetry and wine" as the fashion of the times, and truly achieved the blending of poetry and wine, forming a unique culture without wine and poetry. This laid a social foundation for the poet to "drown his sorrows by drinking".
(B) the role of "wine"
This can also be analyzed in two points.
First, "wine" can be used as a medium to promote the creativity of poets. As Mr. Isami said: "Wine can be used as a catalyst to make people's emotions and thoughts into a highly active state. In particular, when a poet is drunk but not drunk, he can produce abnormal creative impulses and rich associations, so that inspiration is like a spring. " At this time, wine is used as a catalytic medium.
Second, "wine" can suppress or slowly ease their inner joy. In the poems mentioned above, the emotions conveyed in the poems are either comfortable and clear, or calm and quiet. But no matter what kind of state, it is based on pleasure. Since ancient times, people's methods of expressing pleasure are interrelated. Now, people can express their happiness by singing and eating. The ancients drowned their sorrows in wine. They all rely on one thing to pin and relieve their inner happiness.