How did the Tang Dynasty poets who spent hundreds of thousands on epitaphs after their death make money?

Poetry in the Tang Dynasty occupies the first place in the history of China's poetry, which depends not only on the national strength of the Tang Dynasty at that time, but also on many outstanding literati at that time, such as the famous poet Li Bai and the poet Du Fu. But these famous poets, in addition to their unexpected poems, often have a common feature, that is, their lives are unstable and they are not well off. Li Bai and Du Fu, in particular, had no fixed abode in their later years and finally died in a foreign land. But there are exceptions, including a poet whose epitaph is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars after his death. The poet's name is Yuan Zhen. Why did he spend so much money to write an epitaph? Where did his money come from?

Romantic talent

When you mention the name Yuan Zhen, you may have a little impression on him, but you don't know much about him. Everyone's understanding of him will generally focus on two places. First, as a poet, there are nearly 900 poems handed down from generation to generation, which is similar to the number of poet Li Bai; Second, is he from the Tang Dynasty? New Yuefu Movement? One of the leaders, including his good friend Bai Juyi. In fact, Yuan Zhen has many interesting places. We know about it, but we don't know what it has to do with him.

Do we know each other? Matchmaker? This character knows that he is a character in The West Chamber, which was written by Wang Shifu in the Yuan Dynasty. But few people know that the blueprint of The West Chamber is actually Yuan Zhen's autobiographical novel Yingying Biography, in which the story of Harmony is actually the true story of Yuan Zhen, but Yuan Zhen finally married a woman named Wei Cong. What about Song? Once the sea was difficult for water? It was written by Yuan Zhen for the deceased Wei Cong.

Yuan Zhen is a man with rich emotional life. Who invented it? Xue Tao? Xue Tao, a poetess, and Tang Dynasty poets were both confidants of Yuan Zhen.

After a rich official.

After Yuan Zhen became an official, his ancestors can be traced back to the royal family in the Northern Wei Dynasty. His ancestor's surname was Tuoba. Later, Emperor Tuoba Hong of Wei Xiaowen changed his surname to Yuan in order to change customs. In Yuan Zhen's father's generation, his family was still an official in the Tang Dynasty, but when Yuan Zhen was 8 years old, his father died. Many articles before Camel mentioned that in the Tang Dynasty, the decline of a family was often after the children were underage and the father died. So is Yuan Zhen's family.

Without the protection of his father, Yuan Zhen's family soon fell into poverty. In order to shine again, Yuan Zhen chose the exam to be an official. Because he was eager for success, he chose the relatively easy Ming Sutra instead of the more difficult Jinshi. As a result, although admitted to the system, it has not been reused. Later, I participated in several further studies (exams) within the system before I slowly entered the door. Among his colleagues was Bai Juyi, who was already very famous. Because they had the same interests, they soon became friends.

With the help of Bai Juyi and his own efforts, he slowly began to show his talents. As the saying goes, man's way must be done, but he has more than enough. In other words, the more advantages a person has, the easier it is to get more resources. The young and promising Yuan Zhen, a passerby who has never been taken care of, has gradually become the object that can be wooed by the powerful people in the DPRK. At that time, a senior official named Wei married his daughter Wei to Yuan Zhen, which also expanded Yuan Zhen's friends.

Lose the East and Gain the West-Make up for the loss of swinging at the roundabout

After marrying Yuan Zhen, Wei was very happy, but his quality of life declined a lot. Finally, her untimely death was inseparable from Yuan Zhen's poverty. Yuan Zhen was brilliant, and he was not without helpers in the DPRK, but was repeatedly relegated because of his youthful spirit. Later, his edges and corners gradually disappeared and began to become mellow, so after being demoted many times, his official position was promoted. When his official position reaches a certain level, he should not be too short of money, but in fact his life is not particularly rich.

Then why did the family take out so much money after his death? Camel, this is about how ancient literati made money. The biggest source of income of ancient literati (not counting the salary after being an official) is actually a person's literary accomplishment, including not only his paintings and calligraphy, but also his poems and songs, as well as inscriptions and epitaphs. At that time, Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi initiated it? New Yuefu Movement? Therefore, he should belong to the first-line literati at that time, so his embellishment should not be cheap.

Judging from his poems handed down from later generations, he should have written more at the beginning, and most of his income should come from this. Camel had better say one more word. It was his good friend Bai Juyi who wrote the epitaph for him. Bai Juyi, like Yuan Zhen, was not successful in his official career, but he earned a lot of extra money because of his outstanding literary talent and reputation. After receiving the reward from Yuan Zhen's family, Bai Juyi did charity instead of using it for himself. (donated to Xiangshan Temple in Luoyang).