Of course, it's not that he doesn't want to participate, but that life doesn't allow it. Fortunately, taking the official career is not just the road to the imperial examination. Later, we learned that Li Bai had a hard time on the other road. It was not until the age of 42 that he was favored by the emperor and was able to worship the Hanlin.
Then, at the age of eighteen or nineteen, what is our great genius Li Bai doing when most young artists are studying hard at the cold window and taking exams for fame and fortune?
Well, Li Bai is also studying hard at this time. The difference is that he studies in the mountains.
Without the pressure of exams, Li Bai did not give up his studies. He lived in seclusion in a big mine and studied under his teacher.
His teacher Zhao Kun was a famous Taoist priest and strategist in Tang Dynasty. He is very talented and learned. He didn't go until the emperor summoned him many times, so he lived in seclusion. It can be said that fame and fortune are really like clouds in his eyes.
Later, some of Li Bai's ideas, such as his attitude of treating money like dirt and wealth like nothing, were more or less influenced by his teacher, so he said, "Since God has given talents, let them be employed!" , spin a thousand silver, all come back! " And "if fame and fortune increase, Hanshui should also flow northwest."
And Li Bai's heart of seeking Tao has long been planted here. According to textual research, one of Li Bai's earliest extant poems was also written in this period. This poem is about meeting the Taoist priest: "Dai Tianshan meets the Taoist priest".
Today's popular online phrase "See deer in the deep forest" is learned from this poem. It can be seen that the network language is not completely uneducated.
Daitianshan Mountain is located in Jiangyou, Mianyang, Sichuan, also known as a big mine. During this period, Li Bai lived in seclusion and studied on this mountain.
In this poem, Li Bai used the first three lines of pen and ink to describe in detail the natural scenery like a paradise where Taoist priests were hiding: walking up the water, the sound of water mixed with faint dog barking, and the peach blossoms on both sides of the river were more colorful against the rain. Going deep into the Woods, you can see free wild deer walking leisurely from time to time; When I came to the stream at noon, I couldn't hear the temple bells. All I can see is the lush wild bamboo cutting through Yun Lan, and a wisp of flying spring hanging on the Qingshan Peak.
The modern catchphrase "seeing deer in the deep forest" is transformed from "seeing deer in the deep tree". At first, netizens used the phrase "See deer in the deep forest", but Zhang Shujun was quite puzzled. He didn't understand what they were saying. Later, he learned that the phrase "See the whale when the sea is blue, and see it when you wake up" means that you can only see the deer when you go deep into the forest, the whale when you sink into the deep sea, and you can only see you when you wake up, indicating that you love deeply. It is used to describe deep thoughts and love that goes deep into the bone marrow.
Of course, Li Bai obviously didn't think so much a thousand years ago. He just used this sentence to write that Taoist priests live in the depths of the forest, the environment is natural and quiet, isolated from the world, and they are bent on seeking Tao, without the charming thoughts of netizens at all.
The fourth part is intended to be lyrical. The result of the poet's visit to the Taoist priest is "unexpected". No one knows where he went, perhaps in this mountain. "How can I tell it clearly through such cloudy weather?" . For this result, the poet leaned sadly against the pine tree.
Waiting, emptiness, or thinking, the poet came to an abrupt end here.
As Li Bai's early poems, the fresh style has been seen in his poems, and the purpose of "clear water produces hibiscus, natural carving" has been achieved, and the scenery is naturally fresh and simple. The complex of yearning for hermit life revealed in it can also be seen in the subsequent life track.
However, in this poem, Li Bai's unique style of heroism and dry clouds has been lost. Li Bai's grandiosity, arrogance, passion and heroic breath have disappeared at this time. It can be seen that Li Bai's poetry writing at this time is still very low-key and restrained.
If it was later, he wouldn't just write "Flying Springs Hanging Blue Peaks", but would write "Snowflakes in Yanshan Mountain are as big as seats, and pieces of them blow down the Xuanyuan Terrace" and "Flying down three thousands of feet, it is suspected that the Milky Way has fallen for nine days". The formation of self-personality, arrogant talent and strength do not allow him to keep a low profile.
There are many contradictions in Li Bai's life, including the contradiction between his great ambition and his desire to save reality and its darkness, and the contradiction between his ambition and his seclusion through seeking official positions. These contradictions constitute the rich themes and contents of his poems.
However, no matter how the theme and content change, the freshness and brightness of Li Bai's poetic language has never changed. This feature has already been seen in this poem written by him at the age of eighteen or nineteen.
Sometimes I wonder, if it weren't for later life experience, would Li Bai be another reclusive Tao Yuanming? Probably not.
They lived in different times. Although Li Bai "collects fairy grass, looks for immortals and makes an alchemy", he has always had the ideal and ambition of "helping the poor never too late". There is a fire in his heart, burning in his poems, branded with distinct Li Bai style.