To understand Wang Changling, you must start from the age of fifty; when writing about Wang Changling, you can never avoid his murder.
The Anshi Rebellion broke out in 755. The following year, Wang Changling, who was nearly 60 years old, was on his way back to his hometown when he passed through Haozhou and was killed by Lu Qiuxiao, the governor of Haozhou. To this day, Lu Qiuxiao's motive for killing Wang Changling has still not been found. There is a sentence in "The Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty" that is thought-provoking: "Returning to his hometown at the time of sword fire, he was killed because of the jealousy of the governor Lu Qiu Xiao." The jealousy here means jealousy, and the implication is that Lu Qiu Xiao Jealous of Wang Changling's talent. But this is a bit unclear, because Wang Changling was already well-known at that time, and Lu Qiuxiao could not be stupid enough to bear the eternal infamy by killing a man who was nearly sixty years old and had no strength in his hands and was famous all over the world. On the other hand, Lu Qiu Xiao wanted to curry favor with Wang Changling before it was too late. Since this is the case, there is only one explanation, and that is that Lu Qiu Xiao was discovered by Wang Changling or accidentally learned the ulterior secret, which led to his death. Of course, this is just my absurd guess.
Zhang Hao was very angry when he heard that Wang Changling had been killed by Lu Qiu Xiao. Later, due to Lu Qiu Xiao's delay in fighting, Zhang Hao fell into the hands of Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao finally executed Lu Qiu Xiao for the crime of delaying military aircraft. On the occasion of the execution, Luqiu Xiaofu Wei finished his begging and said: "I have relatives, and I can survive by borrowing money." ?Zhang Hao replied coldly: "Who do you want to raise Wang Changling's relative?" On the surface, Wang Changling's revenge has been avenged. However, how can this eternal hatred be stopped by killing one more person?
Every time I read this, I don't feel relaxed or happy. Instead, I feel even more sad. Since ancient times, China has used the method of destroying the body to destroy the soul, and this method of revenge continues to this day.
Some people say that Wang Changling’s life is like cheating. ?Actually, just the opposite.
Some people envy Wang Changling for living in seclusion in the mountains at a young age, willing to be an idler, searching for immortals and asking questions, and he is quite like an outsider, but this is not the case. I mentioned before that Meng Haoran has lived in seclusion for many years. The real reason is that he is so poor that his family can't reveal the truth. If he doesn't live in seclusion, why should he come out and make trouble? Wang Changling's so-called seclusion was just for survival.
Unable to live in seclusion any longer, Wang Changling began to serve as a soldier. We know that a good horse cannot be nailed, and a good man cannot be a soldier. If they were not so poor that they had no other choice, who would be willing to go to the border of the desert, sleep in the open air, and live a life of near death with Huma Leng Yue? Those who envy Wang Changling's free and unrestrained life have either mud or water in their minds.
Wang Shaobo, who has been a soldier for several years, finally started to take the road of officialdom. In the previous chapter, I said that no matter how good you are in the literary world, if you don’t have a clan and family power, you will eventually become an official. But he got a small official, which is also confirmed by Wang Changling.
In the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan (727), after Wang Changling returned from serving as a soldier, he passed the Jinshi title and was awarded the title of Secretary Provincial Secretary (Guan Bin Shuiwei, Xiao Shulang). This kind of official position of Secretary is He was in the ninth rank, to put it mildly, and worked as a librarian. The young uncle was unwilling to give up, so in the 19th year of Kaiyuan, he was admitted to the imperial examination with his erudite and broad words, but he only became the police chief again. ?Think about it, it’s really ridiculous. And his good friend Wang Wei was determined to be the number one scholar without taking any exams, and then worked his way up to the prime minister level. Sometimes, talent is just a decoration.
Wang Changling was not a big official, but he was repeatedly demoted. This is equivalent to traveling from the county to the countryside, from a busy place to a wild place, which is really interesting. It is said that once, Wang Changling was demoted to the place "Longbiao", which is today's Huaihua area in Hunan. Fortunately, Wang Changling had such an experience, so our Taibai Shixian even wrote a poem to send Wang Changling to the left to move to the dragon's standard:
When the poplar flowers fall, they crow, and when I hear the dragon's standard crossing the Five Streams.
I send my sorrowful heart to the bright moon and follow you until the end of the night.
When it comes to poetry, especially farewell poems and frontier fortress poems, whether Li Bai or Du Fu, in terms of Qijue, they must kneel at the feet of Wang Changling. The literary world evaluates Wang Changling's poetry as "the emperor of poets and the master of seven unique things". It’s not a waste of fame:
The bright moon of the Qin Dynasty and the Pass of the Han Dynasty, and the people who marched thousands of miles have not yet returned.
But the flying generals of Dragon City are here, and Hu Ma is not taught to cross the Yin Mountain.
Qinghai is covered with long clouds and covered with snow-capped mountains, and the isolated city looks at Yumen Pass in the distance.
Huangsha wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will never be returned until it is broken!
The horse is newly riding on the white jade saddle. After the battle, the moon is cold on the battlefield.
The sound of iron drums on the city wall is still vibrating, and the blood of the golden sword in the box is still wet.
The desert is windy and dusty, the sun is dim, and the red flag is half-rolled out of the camp gate.
The former army fought in Taohebei at night and reported that Tuyuhun was captured alive.
......
Wang Shaobo's frontier fortress poems are not only heroic, but his farewell poems are also unique:
Cold rain continues on the river night After entering Wu, I saw off my guest Chu Shangu in the morning.
Relatives and friends in Luoyang are like asking each other, with a heart of ice in a jade pot.
Yuanshui Tongbo picks up Wugang and sees you off without realizing it.
The green mountains are together with the clouds and rain, but the bright moon has never been the two towns.
Farewell to the fragrance of orange and pomelo in Jianglou, the river breeze brings rain into the cool boat.
I recall you far away in the Xiaoxiang month, and worry about listening to the ape's dream.
......
During the 2019 COVID-19 epidemic, Japan wrote on the anti-epidemic materials donated to us that "the mountains and rivers are in different places, the wind and the moon are in the same sky." These eight words come from Wang Shaobo's "The green mountains are together with the clouds and rain, but the bright moon has never been two towns." ?It’s just that Chinese people are gradually abandoning and abandoning classical culture, but people in island countries have preserved it. It’s sad.
At a time when frontier poems and farewell poems were being written with great proficiency, his poems about boudoir resentment were also unique:
The young woman in the boudoir knows no worries, and goes up to the green building with makeup in the spring.
Suddenly I saw the color of willows on the street, and I regretted teaching my husband and son-in-law to find a title.
When the broom is opened, the golden palace is opened, and for the time being, the ball fan is wandering around.
The jade face is not as bright as the color of a jackdaw, but still carries the shadow of the sun.
......
If poetry is discussed in terms of circle friends, then Wang Changling's circle was the highest camp in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Li Bai, Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Zhang Jiuling (the big star at the time of the bright moon on the sea, the end of the world), Wang Zhihuan, Cen Shen, Gao Shi, every name here is worthy of our recall, and every poem makes We were so intoxicated that Wang Shaobo, in the name of his poetry, made the whole world look up to him. Fortunately.
"The Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty" describes Wang Changling as follows:
Changling, named Shaobo, was from Taiyuan. In the 15th year of Kaiyuan, Li Yi was awarded Jinshi and was awarded the rank of Sishui Lieutenant. He also became a scholar in Hongci and moved to the school. Later, he was demoted to Long Biaowei for not protecting his conduct. At the time of sword fire, when he returned to his hometown, he was killed by Lu Qiu Xiao, the governor of the country. Later, Zhang Hao was stationed in Henan. During the Xiaodu period, he was about to kill him. He resigned and begged for forgiveness. Hao said: "Who does Wang Changling's family want to raise?" Xiaoda was very embarrassed. Changling's poems are meticulous and clear in thought. He was called "Poet Master Wang Jiangning" at that time, and was later called Jiangning Ling. He had close friendships with the scribes Wang Zhihuan and Xin Jian, both of whom were exemplary, and his reputation was so important. There are five volumes of poem collections, which also describe the rhythm, mood, and style of the poems. There are 14 chapters in total, which are one volume of "Poetry", one volume of "Poems' Secret Purpose", and one volume of "Ancient Yuefu Jietie" , and it is passed down now. Since Yuanjia returned, within four hundred years, Cao, Liu, Lu, and Xie had lost all their strength. When I caught Chu Guangxi and Wang Changling, they had quite a few traces of each other. The two sages had the same spirit but different bodies. Wang Shao's voice was solemn and his strange sentences were very elegant, which shocked the ears and the eyes. However, if you don't pay attention to small details on the late journey, the slanderous discussions are boiling, and the two are wandering around, making those who know the sound sigh and sigh, it is not a painful way to return to the whole world.
For Xin Wenfang, who cherished words like gold, he actually used hundreds of words to write about Wang Changling. It can be said that the ink is heavy and the meaning is profound.
Wang Changling was a man who loved life. Although he was poor, he was inevitably killed in the end. ?It is said that after Wang Changling was demoted to Longbiao, the daughter of a local chief admired Wang Changling's talents and begged her father to invite Wang Changling to his home. She put on her most beautiful clothes and asked Wang Changling to write a poem for her. Wang Changling took up the pen and wrote happily:
The lotus leaf skirt is cut in one color, and the hibiscus is spread to both sides of the face.
I couldn’t see anyone entering the pool, but when I heard the song, I realized someone was coming.
Only those who love life can write about the beauty of girls in such a passionate style. Only those who deeply understand and love life can portray people in the world so profoundly. Although Chang Ling has passed away, love will remain for thousands of years.
The little deer in Xiangjian丨 Bao Rong in "The Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty"
The little deer in Xiangjian丨Lu Xiang in "The Biography of Talented Scholars in the Tang Dynasty"
The little deer in Xiangjian丨" Cui Guofu in "The Biography of the Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty"