Traveling through the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, we arrived at the cool Mid-Tang Dynasty. We couldn’t help but stop here. When we looked up, we saw that Bai Letian had been waiting for a long time.
Bai Juyi (772-846), courtesy name Letian and Xiangshan Jushi (died in Luoyang and buried in Xiangshan.) was born in Xinzheng, Henan Province. He was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty. Judging from the dates of his birth and death, , he was born 2 years after the death of Du Fu and 10 years after the death of Li Bai. In any case, he can only be behind them and is listed as one of the three great poets of the Tang Dynasty. Like the "Immortal of Poetry" and the "Sage of Poetry", Bai Juyi is known as the "Poetry Demon" and the "Poetry King", and he has not wronged this great poet.
Bai Juyi's poetry has a wide range of themes, diverse forms, and simple and popular language. Different from Li Du, he was a Hanlin bachelor and doctor Zuo Zanshan, and was a great talent among officials. Unlike Li Du, Bai Juyi has a large overseas fan base, especially the Japanese who admire and follow him to this day.
Children are familiar with Bai Juyi's famous poems starting from "Li Li Yuan grows grass, one year old and one year old". His singing style is particularly famous, and "Pipa Song" and "Song of Everlasting Regret" were selected in high school textbooks.
Sometimes the love for a person is unabashed, and sometimes it is subtle and restrained. I like Bai Letian's creative idea of ??"writing articles to suit the occasion, and poems to suit the occasion"; I like his simple language style, indifferent and leisurely mood; I like his beautiful and popular language, harmonious tone and vivid image. I like that he incorporates elements of art and even life into his poetry.
You Xi recited the whole text of "Pipa Xing" that I talked about today, and every word fell into my heart.
Bai Juyi lived in the Mid-Tang Dynasty, which was transitioning from prosperity to decline. At that time, national conflicts and class conflicts were very acute. Foreign nations have been invading continuously. Since the Anshi Rebellion, the country has been in turmoil for years. The people are in dire straits. The factional disputes within the ruling class have become increasingly intensified. The political economy of the entire society has declined day by day, and people's lives have been miserable. Bai Juyi avoided the chaos in Jiangnan in his early years and stayed close to the people. He was deeply aware of the political chaos and the people's suffering. In the 10th year of Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, the important ministers of the DPRK who colluded with Wu Yuanji, the feudal vassal town who supported the separatist regime, sent people to assassinate the prime minister Wu Yuanheng, and the city of Chang'an suddenly fell into chaos. Bai Juyi was demoted to Sima Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) for being accused of overstepping his duties. Regarding this demotion, the poet was both sentimental and indignant, and also felt the harshness of the world. Full of resentment, he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he wrote the famous long poem "Pipa Xing" the next year.
What I like most is that Bai Letian goes straight to the point, not as good as the rest of the features. His poetry creation, even if it is a long poem, is not comprehensive, or even "extraordinary". The concentration of themes is one of the artistic features of his allegorical poems. This kind of "focus" seems easy, but in fact it is not. At least I have the problem of writing articles in a rambling way. Bai Juyi is different. He usually only chooses the most typical thing to highlight a theme. As the saying goes, "One sad thing, one chant", the theme is very clear. For example, his "Charcoal Seller" exposes the reality of social corruption, and his "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" talks about Li Yang's love. Another example is the sad voice behind the saying in "Pipa Xing" that "we are all fallen people at the end of the world"...
Bai Juyi is indeed a master. In order to convey the theme to the readers more clearly, a small preface may be added under the title of the poem to highlight the theme, or the theme may be highlighted by "the final chapter shows one's ambition".
The most gratifying thing is that he can always grasp the characteristics of the characters and use line drawing to outline vivid and vivid characters, and more or less the shadow of the characters can be found in himself.
All of the above are reflected in "Pipa Xing". To name a few.
A small preface before the poem. The preface explains the time, place, characters and the outline of the story, summarizes the sad life experience of the singer, explains the background motivation of the writing, and also sets a sad and sad emotional tone for the whole poem.
Pipa music at the head of the Xunyang River, looking for a close friend in the mountains and flowing water.
The story is very simple: the poet was exiled to Jiangzhou, saw off guests by the river on a moonlit night, met a pipa girl by chance, and listened to pipa music, which triggered a strong emotional excitement, which he recorded in poetry.
I don’t know how many lonely and helpless hearts have been melted by the sentence "We are all fallen people at the end of the world, so why should we meet before?"
In those days, the pipa girl was so beautiful that she excelled in the capital, her art was admired by everyone, and she laughed every year; now, she is old and beautiful, and is neglected in front of the door. She is devoted to businessmen, guarding the empty boat alone, and no one can understand it. .
In the past, Bai Juyi was in an important position, poetry and wine were lingering, silk and bamboo were endless, guests were packed, and he was enjoying himself; now he is just relegated to bed and sick, with wine and no fun, seeing off guests sadly, and his mood is sad and empty. Leave a legacy.
We can’t help but ask: Bai Juyi is a court official, and Ms. Pipa is a Jianghu artist. One represents the bureaucracy and the other represents the common people. Why were they also "reduced"? What is the fundamental reason behind it?
Individuals are always small and powerless in the face of the times. As we have explained before, Bai Juyi lived in the Mid-Tang Dynasty, which was a period of transition from prosperity to decline, with social unrest, court chaos, political darkness, and people suffering. Faced with this, they are unable to control and change, and can only be abandoned by the years and become the wandering children of the times.
The poet and the lute girl are close friends because they also see their own misfortunes in each other's life experiences. Although the poet does not express it as clearly as Pipa Girl, he can still understand the source of the misfortune of both parties from the lines of the poem.
From this, we can deeply feel that political clarity and national stability are related to everyone's survival and destiny. Just like now, without the support of a strong country and a reasonable social system, it is difficult to imagine what kind of disasters and misfortunes people should suffer. Therefore, we should feel lucky to be in peaceful times and be proud that we have a great motherland. Why don't we study hard and do our jobs well? "We are both lost in the world, why should we meet before?" This article seems to be about finding a close friend after traveling thousands of miles, and it is also about the root and essence behind the loss of a close friend, triggering social thinking.
Originally two people with no intersection, originally from two different worlds, they still inadvertently opened each other's hearts. Perhaps this is fate, there is no one step too early or one step too late. Pipa Girl was waiting there silently for Bai Juyi. One is good at playing, the other is good at listening, and they have so many similar background experiences. What could be more heart-warming than this, in this ruthless world?
A pipa song, a music that has been known to me for thousands of years.
The Xunyang River sees off guests on the first night, and the maple leaves and flowers rustle in autumn. How lucky they were to meet by the river on a moonlit night, how wonderful they both knew the music and sympathized with the hardships. This rare understanding of giving and receiving will eventually be carried into each other's years.