No wind stirred my lonely sail until the river bank widened at low tide.
-the style of the Tang Dynasty
The prosperous Tang Dynasty refers to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, which is roughly equivalent to the first half of the eighth century. At this time, the country was unified, the economy was prosperous, the politics was enlightened, the culture was developed, foreign exchanges were frequent, and the society was full of self-confidence, which was not only the peak of the Tang Dynasty, but also the heyday of the feudal society in China. A large number of poets, represented by Li Bai, Du Fu and Wang Wei, emerged in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Together, they started the golden age of magnificent poetry.
The so-called "weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty" focuses on the overall impression of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the style and spirit of the times of poetry are broad, vigorous, far-reaching and detached; Abundant vitality, creative fun, brand-new experience; And through the use of images, the presentation of artistic conception and the combination of melody, a new aesthetic feeling is formed, which together become the characteristics of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty that are different from those in other periods. Wang Wan, a poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "A berth under the North Fort Mountain", which was praised by Zhang Shuo, the prime minister at that time. He copied the necklace hanging on the wall of the yamen as a model poem. (See Yin He Yue Ying Ji Ling) The two couplets in the middle of this poem can be used to describe that era: "Until the banks at low tide widened, there was no wind to stir my sails alone. ... the night now gives way to the ocean of the sun, and the old year melts in freshness. " Those three adjectives: flat, broad and straight, as well as the high-hanging sail, the sea and the sun produced in the dead of night, and the entry of the old year into Jiang Chun all make people feel the breath and poetic style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Please look at the song of the poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty: "Clouds, dreams and fog go around Yueyang." (Meng Haoran's Letter from Dongting Lake to Premier Zhang of the State Council) "Climbing a flight of stairs broadens your vision by three hundred miles." (Wang Zhihuan, In the Lodge of Herons) "I climbed to the top. I investigated the whole world and the river was gone. " (Li Bai's "Lushan Ballad") "We both miss the distance and want to go to the blue sky to embrace the bright moon." (Li Bai's "Xuanzhou Xie Farewell") "Once you reach the top, all the other peaks look pale ..." (Du Fu's "Looking at Yue") "Mochow has no bosom friend in the road ahead, and no one knows the monarch in the world" (Gao Shi's "Biedongda University") In these poems, there is an unstoppable vigorous spirit, which can still make cowards brave and the weak strong after thousands of years. Poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty were not without worries. Li Bai often talked about the words of worries, such as "worrying about illness", "worrying about face", "worrying about heart", "worrying about hair" and "worrying about the intestines". However, as long as we compare Li Bai with Meng Jiao and Li He in the middle Tang Dynasty and Wen Tingyun and Li Shangyin in the late Tang Dynasty, we can feel that Li Bai's grief is powerful and elegant. As his famous saying goes: "But since the water is still flowing, although we cut it with swords, it is even more sad to raise a glass to dispel our worries." (Xuanzhou Xie Farewell School) shows the sadness of the strong, and there is a sense of awe in sadness. Du Fu also wrote about sorrow, which is a great worry about the country and the people, and a great worry about health: "You can't worry about it." ("From Beijing to Fengxian, I recite 500 words")
Poets who embody the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty are often charming figures. For example, Wang Wei, an all-rounder trained in that era, is such a person. His Buddhist attainments are profound, and he can integrate Zen into poetry. He is a calligrapher, musician and painter, and is regarded as the originator of literati painting by later generations. His paintings, according to "Xuan He Hua Pu", were 126 in the court of the Song Dynasty alone. Wang Wei was able to write poems when he was nine years old. His poems on political feelings, landscapes, frontier poems and farewell poems are all first-class. Su Shi said: "There are pictures in poetry, which are fascinating; Looking at his paintings, there are poems in them "("Shu Mo Lan Tian Yan Yu Tu "). Li Bai's charm is unparalleled, and he conquered the readers at that time with a shocking force. He didn't want to take the road of imperial examination for ordinary scholars, but he was directly admitted to the prime minister by his talent and reputation. He often compares himself to Dapeng, wandering freely between heaven and earth. Secretary Jian He first met Li Bai in Chang 'an, reciting his "Difficult Road to Shu". Known as the "fallen fairy", he took off his ornaments and scarabs and exchanged wine for pleasure. Tang Xuanzong also stepped down to meet him and served him with a spoon. Du Fu met Li Bai on his way to Chang 'an to catch the exam, and Li Bai left Chang 'an to roam. He even gave up the exam and followed Li Bai to many places. After that, Du Fu still remembered him and wrote many poems to commemorate him, praising him for "writing a poem that shocked the wind and rain and made him cry." There is also a man named Wei Wan, who followed Li Bai thousands of miles from Song to Song, and finally met him in Guangling, praising Li Bai's poem "possessed by ghosts". The charm of the poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty belongs to them both personally and at that time. Only a glorious era can provide the conditions for brilliant figures to form charm.
As a reflection of the spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty also appeared in calligraphy, painting, music and other art categories. Zhang Xu's cursive script is wild and uninhibited. In To Zhang Xu, Li Jie described his writing style as follows: "Show your head on the bed and call it three or five times. Xing Lai sprinkled the plain wall and waved his pen like a meteor. " Yan Zhenqing's regular script reveals awe-inspiring impenetrable momentum in its solemnity and neatness. Wu Daozi's paintings caused a sensation in Chang 'an. When he painted in Xingshan Temple, he "swept away his pen, and if the wind whirled, everyone would call it God's help." (Zhu's Record of Famous Paintings in the Tang Dynasty). In Luoyang, Wu Daozi once met Zhang Xu, a calligrapher and a sword dancer, and asked Wu to make murals for his dead parents in Tiangong Temple. Wu doesn't accept gold, please dance and strengthen your spirit. "When the dance is over, I'll write well and I'll be there soon." Zhang Xu also wrote a wall there. Luoyang people all say, "You can see three wonders in one day." (Zhu's Record of Famous Paintings in the Tang Dynasty) At that time, there were Cao Ba, Han Gan and Wei Yan who were good at drawing horses. Du Fu praised Cao Ba's paintings as "full of gods" in Introduction to Dan Qing. Said he was a portrait of Xuanzong's imperial horse. "Later, your dragon horse was born from heaven, and ten thousand generations exiled the common horse." Dong is good at playing Hu Jia, and Li Jie describes his music effect like this: "Sichuan is a surf net, and birds are dumb, that's singing." ("Pipa" Dong Jianfa is very good. When she dances, "the audience is like a mountain lost between them, and the sky and the earth move back and forth with her movements." (Du Fu's Watching Gong Sundaniang's Disciples Dance Sword) The appearance of these artists and their use of God's art also show the breath of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
? Second, the new trend of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty
The prosperous Tang Dynasty can be divided into two periods. In the early stage, the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was mainly manifested as: enthusiasm for participating in social politics, high self-confidence and self-esteem. In the later period, Li, Yang and other traitors were quite political. At this time, the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is mainly manifested as: keen insight, daring to expose social contradictions, a sense of responsibility for the country, and anxiety about the upcoming social crisis. For example, Li Bai denounced eunuchs and cockfighting children in the 24th episode of Antique, and exposed political corruption in Answer to the King on Twelve Cold Nights. For another example, on the eve of the Anshi Rebellion, Du Fu exposed such a sharp problem as "the wine in Zhumen stinks and the bones on the road freeze to death" ("From Beijing to Fengxian, I have to recite 500 words"). Nevertheless, they are full of confidence and sense of responsibility for society. At the age of sixty-one, Li Bai also asked to join Li Guangbi's army to crusade against Anshi Rebellion. Although Du Fu is concerned about his country and people, he is not a pessimist. The Northern Expedition, written during the Anshi Rebellion, faithfully recorded the sufferings of people's livelihood in the war, but still believed that the country would be rich and strong. When he was wandering in the southwest, he wrote "Going to the Building". While comparing Datang to the North Star, he lamented "how difficult it is" and believed that it would not sink. He said in Jianghan: "The setting sun is still strong, and the autumn wind is sick." "Phoenix Tower" said: "Prosperity in the light will wash away sorrow." "Washing Terracotta Warriors" said: "Andrew's strong men guard the Tianhe River and don't have to wash the armour." It was in the darkest days of An Shi Rebellion that he sang the strongest voice of the times.
Judging from the poetry creation, there are some new trends in the prosperous Tang Dynasty compared with the previous generation. From these trends, we can also see the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty:
The first is to face the outside world. The development of poetry in the early Tang Dynasty was a great progress from the palace line to the personal lyric line. If you just indulge in personal emotional entanglements and can't face the outside world, it is still very limited. Poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty neither used poems to please emperors, nor regarded poems as decorations for personal enjoyment, but integrated their feelings into universal themes. This universal theme is the social and political theme, and I hope to do my best to create a long-term stable situation. Li Bai holds great ideals, and wants to "help the poor", "secure the country" and "make the Atlas area big and the sea and county clear." Then, like Lu Zhonglian, Fan Li and Xie An, he resigned ("Dai Shoushan answers Meng Shaofu's command"). Du Fu broke through the idea that "poverty is the only way to protect oneself, and wealth is the way to help the world". Although he didn't achieve his goal in his life, he always took the world as his responsibility. The second is to show new experiences. The themes of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty are all platitudes, which are nothing more than feelings, nostalgia, history, landscapes, pastoral, parting, in my heart forever, frontier fortress, joining the army, feasting and so on. In the Ming Dynasty, the Tang Poetry Garden in Zhang Zhixiang collected 28,245 poems by 65,438+0,472 poets, accounting for three-fifths of the whole Tang poetry. This book is divided into 39 categories according to the subject matter, none of which has not been written before. It can be seen that the contribution of poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is not to explore new themes, but to discover and express new experiences on the original themes. Frontier poems, for example, existed as early as the Han and Wei Dynasties and have not been interrupted since then. However, many people may not have been to frontier fortress when writing frontier fortress poems, and most of the frontier fortress poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty came from the poet's personal life experience. Gao Shi tells about the gains and losses of frontier defense from the perspective of politicians, Wang Wei and Wang Changling tell about their complicated feelings from the perspective of soldiers. For example, "half of us were killed at the front, but the other half are still alive, and beautiful girls are still dancing and singing for them at the camp." (Gao Shi's Ge Yanxing) "The desert is lonely and straight, and the long river sets the yen." (Wang Wei's frontier fortress) "On this September night, cold air was blowing on the wheel tower, and the valley was full of pecking-like broken boulders, which fell with the wind." (Cen Can The Journey to the West) Such a true poem was rare before. The third is a big vision and a big pattern. In the early Tang Dynasty, essence was the beauty, and in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, extensiveness was the beauty. Li Bai's vision is simply the vision of the universe. He said, "I will include chunks, integrity and science." ("Going in and out in the daytime") added: "The Yellow River fell into the East China Sea, and Wan Li wrote it in his heart." (To Pei XIV) He is on an equal footing with the universe, that is to say, he has the whole universe in his heart and looks at society and life with such courage. This is a brand-new vision and pattern. As Pi Rixiu said, Li Bai is "speaking out of heaven and earth, thinking out of ghosts and gods." ("Liu Zao Qiang Bei") In addition, such as Zhang Jiuling's "Bright Moon, the sea is full at this time, and the horizon is * * * at this time." (Looking at the moon in Philip Burkart) Wang Wei "This river runs through the world, and there are both mountains and mountains." ("Looking at the Han River") Wang Zhihuan's "The Yellow River is far above the white clouds, and Wan Ren Mountain is an isolated city" (Liangzhou Ci) Du Fu's "The power of Mount Tai! The endless green stretches across Qi and Lu, and the terrain is very high ... "("Looking at Yue "these quatrains in the prosperous Tang Dynasty all show a big vision, a big pattern and great momentum.
Three. Enlightened and enlightened
-the basis of meteorology in the prosperous Tang Dynasty
There are artistic reasons for the formation of meteorology in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, such as the unity of melody, the use of images and the presentation of artistic conception. This has been discussed in many aspects in my book "A Study of China's Poetry Art" and other papers. Due to the limitation of space, I won't repeat it here.
The following only discusses the development of history and culture and the social background at that time.
From the perspective of historical and cultural development, two points are worth noting:
The first is the blending of North and South cultures. China experienced more than 200 years of division and war after its eastward crossing. During this period, the cultures of North and South showed quite obvious differences. In the south, I like to always make it clear and pay attention to the argument of abstract names and reasons; Confucian classics are popular in the north and pay attention to people's code of conduct. The southern style is majestic, while the northern style is simple. Southern calligraphy is more common in posts, while southern posts are elegant; Northern calligraphy is more common in inscriptions, and northern inscriptions are dignified. "Biography of Sui Shu Literature" said: "Jiangzuo Palace is more expensive than Qing Dynasty; He Shuo means sincere and firm, more important than temperament. Temperament is better than words, elegance is better than words; It is a big difference between the poets in the North and the South that they are deep and convenient to use when needed, and those who are literate are suitable for singing. " Obviously, a single southern culture or a single northern culture has its limitations. If it cannot be integrated, it will not be spectacular. The unification of the whole country by the Sui Dynasty and the navigation of the Grand Canal opened the process of cultural complementarity between the North and the South. After the Tang Dynasty and Sui Dynasty, the process of cultural blending was greatly accelerated through the rule of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan. The "literature" of the Southern Dynasties embellished the "quality" of the Northern Dynasties and enriched the "literature" of the Southern Dynasties. "Combining the two strengths will be gentle and perfect." (Preface to Sui Shu Literature) A new culture, which combines the strengths of the North and South cultures and adapts to the political and economic situation in the Tang Dynasty, has reached a mature stage. The weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is the sublimation of this new culture, which has profound connotation. If the Warring States period is an era in which a hundred schools of thought contend, then the prosperous Tang Dynasty is an era in which a hundred flowers blossom.
Li Bai has the romantic pride of Shu, and Du Fu has the simplicity and massiness of the Central Plains. Wang Wei believes in Buddhism, Li Bai worships Taoism and Du Fu respects Confucianism. Many poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty had wandering experience, which was only possible after the reunification of the country. Poets in the Southern Dynasties never set foot on the Yellow River or climbed Mount Tai. Poets in the Northern Dynasties could not see the strange mountains and strange waters in the south. When it comes to vision, mind and knowledge, it is much worse. Poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty can read a trip to Wan Li Road, thousands of books, and Li Bai's quest for immortals in the Five Mountains covers most of China. Du Fu also traveled strongly for a period of time, leaving his footprints up and down the Yellow River and north and south of the Yangtze River. At that time, Dongyue was in the eastern part of Zhejiang, with beautiful scenery. Many poets went there to explore and find inspiration for their poems. Even Meng Haoran, who lived in seclusion at home for most of his life, had a trip to eastern Zhejiang. As for Gao Shi, Cen Can, Wang Changling and others, they went to the northeast and northwest borders, fully experienced the life of the army and witnessed the frontier scenery, and their horizons were even more unusual. Secondly, the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures. At that time, Chang 'an, Luoyang, Yangzhou, Guangzhou and other metropolises were places where Chinese and foreign cultures met. Chang 'an was the largest cosmopolitan city in the world at that time, with a population of one million in the first half of the eighth century. There are many foreign princes, foreigners working in the Tang Dynasty, overseas students, Buddhist monks, foreign musicians, dancers, artists and a large number of foreign businessmen. As for foreign envoys, there is an endless stream. Religion, besides Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism and Manichaeism are also very popular. Introduction to Manichaeism in Dunhuang Grottoes is a classic of Manichaeism in China translated in the 19th year of Kaiyuan. The communication in music, dance and art also injected new breath into the prosperous Tang society.
As early as the reign of Emperor Taizong, ten pieces of music were set up, four of which were from ethnic minorities in the Tang Dynasty and four from abroad. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, exotic dances were also very popular, such as the famous Hu Xuan dance. The murals and sculptures of the Tang Dynasty in Dunhuang Grottoes, with their vigorous spirit, outstanding shapes and rich colors, are far higher than those in other periods. Cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries opened the eyes of the people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and broadened their minds, which undoubtedly played a positive role in the formation of meteorology.
In the final analysis, the appearance of meteorology in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was determined by the economic prosperity, political openness and social stability under the unified situation. I can't imagine what the weather will be like in an era when people's livelihood is depressed, wars are frequent and the country is divided. There are many records about the economic prosperity in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, such as: "The people's grain reserves are for several years." (Yuan Jie "Wen Shi" III) "The Quartet enriches the people. ..... The road is not picked up, and the traveler does not pack food. " According to two books, Tang Shu, Six Codes of Tang Dynasty, General Code, Zi Tongzhi Jian and Tang Yaohui, the population was 3,765,438 in just 50 years from the first year of Emperor Zhong's reign of Shenlong (705) to the fourteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign of Tianbao (755). The population explosion shows social stability and economic prosperity. However, in this case, the price has dropped. In the early years of kaiyuan, "rice fights for thirteen prices, and the dispute between Qing and Qi only exists. A silk 200 yuan. " ("The Book of the New Tang Dynasty, Food Goods I") During the Tianbao period, the per capita grain reached 700 Jin. Du Fu said in Memories of Time Past: "Looking back at the heyday of Kaiyuan, there were still thousands of families in the small town. Rice is fat and white, and public and private warehouses are rich. There are no wolves and tigers on the road in Kyushu, which is a good day to travel. ..... "In addition to Wei Hou, Princess Taiping and other decadent forces, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty also appointed Yao Chong and Song Xianxiang to rectify official administration, improve finance and reform the military system, which effectively promoted economic development and created a broad space for cultural development. It is necessary to mention Yao Chong, known as the "phase of salvation", and Song Yaochong, who is generous, upright, honest and rude in politics. In the first year of Kaiyuan (7 13), Xuanzong decided to appoint Yao Chong as prime minister despite fierce opposition from some ministers. Yao Chong put forward "Ten Words", aiming at the existing problems at that time, he stated his policy agenda from three aspects: stabilizing political situation, rectifying bureaucracy and improving finance, which was supported by Xuanzong. Yao Chong recommended Song Renxiang when he went on strike in the fourth year of Kaiyuan (7 16). Song selfless, outspoken advice, for the effectiveness. For more than three years, we continued to implement Yao Chong's policy, making taxes relaxed, penalties clear and people rich. Yao Chong and Song figures appeared in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and Xuanzong was able to find and use them, which played a great role in the formation of the stable and prosperous situation in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
In a stable situation, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism can be used together, and a relatively free atmosphere has emerged in the ideological circle, which is one of the reasons that can not be ignored in the formation of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The status of Confucianism in the Tang Dynasty has been continuously improved. Xuanzong attached great importance to official study of Confucian classics and allowed private study to carry forward Confucianism. Regarding Buddhism, Xuanzong adopted some restrictive policies in the early years of Kaiyuan, but he still respected Buddhism on the whole, and was particularly interested in the tantric Buddhism introduced in Kaiyuan. Xuanzong worshiped Taoism more than Confucianism, and the imperial examination set up Taoism. Establish a museum dedicated to the Xuan in Beijing; He also personally annotated the Tao Te Ching and presented it to the world. In the atmosphere of freedom of thought, poets can draw nutrition from all aspects. Li Bai believes in Taoism, Du Fu respects Confucianism and Wang Wei respects Buddhism. Their different beliefs have played an important role in forming their own poetic styles.
The expansion of talent development space is the direct factor. Due to the policy of restraining the gentry in the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system was adopted to select scholars, which broke the political monopoly of the gentry and brought a large number of middle and lower-class civilian literati onto the political stage. At the same time, culture shifted from a few literati to middle and lower-class civilian literati. These new people, who grew up after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, have rich life experiences and have a deeper understanding of social reality, political advantages and disadvantages, and people's livelihood. They are ambitious, knowledgeable and capable, and dare to break through the old barriers and open up a new situation. In fact, the culture of the prosperous Tang Dynasty was mainly created by these newcomers, and the weather of the prosperous Tang Dynasty was also the weather of these newcomers.
There was a healthy and harmonious relationship between the literati in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which also contributed to the formation of meteorology.
In "Memories of Time Past", Du Fu recalled the situation in the Kaiyuan period and said that "all friends in the world are glued to paint", which reflected the situation at that time. They feel that someone has been wronged, so they stand up for it and tolerate being unsophisticated. Du Fu complained for Zheng Qian: "The governors of all provinces took the stage, but Mr. Wenguang was cold. The first-class people are tired of eating Liang's meat, but Mr. Wang can't eat enough. Mr. Wang has a way out for the emperor, and Mr. Wang has talents in the Song Dynasty. The generation of virtue and respect is often bumpy and has a long history. " ("Drunk Songs") Li Bai is unfair to the king. Twelve: "You can't learn cockfighting at a golden distance, just sit and hum and blow the rainbow. You can't take a knife at night in Qinghai and wear a purple robe at the West Stone Castle like Shu Ge. Poetry is not as good as a glass of water in the north window. " (Answer the King at Twelve Nights) And when they admire a person, it is a heartfelt compliment. From He and Du Fu's admiration for Li Bai and Li Bai's praise for Meng Haoran, we can see the good atmosphere of the literary world in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Du Fu's Song of Drinking Eight Immortals depicts the madness of He, Li Bai and Zhang Xu when they are drunk, and their appreciation and admiration are beyond words. There is another person to mention in particular, that is, Zhang said that he was a key figure in the transition from the early Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. His poems are still stiff in the early Tang Dynasty, but not as bright and brilliant as those in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. However, he "grasped the three major policies before and after" and wrote all the "great books" of the court. "Poets all over the world satirize them." (Biography of Zhang Shuo in Old Tang Dynasty) He is particularly backward, and Zhang Jiuling and more than 30 scholars can understand him. Others, such as Fang Fang, were once famous for their literature and later became famous for their achievements. It has become a tradition that he and Zhang Jiuling were promoted by Zhang and then rewarded, for example, he was to Li Bai and Zhang was to Wang Wei.
From the above examples, we can see how generous the literati in the prosperous Tang Dynasty were. The situation of the literary world in the prosperous Tang Dynasty can be described by two sentences in Cao Pi's Essays on Canon: "A virtuous man rides a thousand miles alone and keeps pace with the times."
In short: Enlightened and open is the foundation of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Only open-mindedness can change the old clouds and clouds, but only openness can make all rivers flow into the sea. The prosperous Tang Dynasty only lasted for 50 years, with strong national strength and magnificent weather, which is not only a bright spot in the history of China, but also an honor worthy of our pride in the history of the world.