The most famous of his poems is:
"The Burning Book Pit"
The emperor's business has been wiped out by the destruction of bamboo, silk and smoke, and the ancestral dragon's residence is locked in the Guanhe River.
Shandong was in chaos before the ashes were cold, and Liu Xiang did not study. [1] As the books ("bamboo and silk") turned into smoke and disappeared, the foundation of the "Eternal Emperor's Industry" was also emptied out. This means that Qin Shihuang's attempt to use the barbaric method of burning books to fool the people may have succeeded, but the foundation of his power (called "legitimacy of the regime" in modern times) was also destroyed at the same time.
[2] The arrogant Qin Shihuang expected to rely on force to maintain his "eternal foundation", which was just wishful thinking. Zulong: Qin Shihuang. Saying "ancestor" implies "descendants will be emperors forever". Guanhe: Generally refers to the natural barrier that defends the capital ("Ancestral Dragon Residence"). It can also be extended to allude to Qin's unprecedentedly powerful state machine.
[3] You see: before the ashes in this pit ("Book Burning Pit") are cold, there is already an anti-Qin "rebellion" in Shandong; and (finally destroyed the powerful Qin ) Xiang Yu, Liu Bang and others are not among the scholars who "sneer at government affairs and confuse people's hearts"! The last two sentences are very cold and can be seen as a ruthless ridicule of the tyrannical ruler. This poem makes a bitter mockery and ruthless condemnation of the turbulent situation in the late Qin Dynasty and Qin Shihuang's brutal act of burning books.
In the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shihuang (213 BC), he adopted the proposal of Prime Minister Li Si and ordered that Confucian "Poems", "Books" and books of hundreds of schools of thought be collected and burned nationwide. Thirty years after the order, Those who did not burn the sun were punished with hard labor in building the city, causing a cultural catastrophe in Chinese history.
The "Book Burning Pit" is said to be a cave where books were burned. The former site is on Lishan Mountain in the southeast of Lintong County, Shaanxi Province today. Zhang Jie may have been there, touched it with his eyes, and felt emotional about it, so he wrote this poem.
The poem touches on the subject at the beginning. The first sentence uses slightly exaggerated language to reveal the contradiction: the bamboos and silks turned into ashes and disappeared, and Qin Shihuang's empire also perished, as if what was burned in the book burning pit was his Great Qin Dynasty. This sentence is a combination of narration and discussion, explicit statement and covert discussion, with some truth and some falsehood. "Bamboo and silk cigarettes are sold" is a real description and can be seen in images. "Bamboo and silk" are the materials for writing books in ancient times, here they refer to books. "Emperor's industry is empty" is a fictitious writing. This kind of expression technique that alternates reality and reality is very charming.
The second sentence takes the meaning of "the emperor's career is empty" to a deeper level, saying that although the river is dangerous, it cannot protect Qin Shihuang's palace in the capital. "Guanhe" mainly refers to Hangu Pass and the Yellow River, but also includes other passes and rivers, such as Sanguan, Xiaoguan, Jinghe, Weihe, Xiaoshan, Huashan, etc. Jia Yi's "On Passing the Qin": "The land of Qin is considered solid by mountains and rivers, and it is a country with four fortresses." The word "Guanhe" summarizes all the geographical dangers that can be relied upon. Although Xianyang, the capital of Qin, is surrounded by many mountains and rivers, it still cannot be defended. Therefore, "On the Passage of Qin" also says: "The people of Qin did not guard against dangers, nor did they close the pass beams, nor thrust their halberds, nor their powerful crossbows." Shoot. The Chu army went deep and fought at Hongmen. No matter how strong the "fence" was, it could not stop the insurgent army from advancing. The poem summarizes the entire historical facts of the turmoil in the late Qin Dynasty and the demise of the Qin Dynasty with the sentence "The Guanhe River is empty and locks the ancestors of Longju". It is simple and profound; it also expresses it vividly, making the abstract concept of "empty emperor's industry" emotional and emotional. The scenery, with description and commentary, is very memorable. "Ancestral Dragon" refers to Qin Shihuang. The use of "ancestral dragon" instead of "first emperor" here is by no means a pure pursuit of allusion, but out of the need to express expressions. "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin" records a legend: In the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor's reign, a divine man said to the Qin envoy: "This year Zulong died." The envoy reported back to the First Emperor. After hearing this, the First Emperor did not speak for a long time, and later made his own explanation. Said: "The ancestor of the dragon is the ancestor of man." Qin Shihuang was determined to be the ancestor of all "dragons" for generations to come. Now that the country has changed hands, the word "ancestral dragon" has been used in reverse, adding new meaning, and has become a wonderful satire of Qin Shihuang. It is also full of twists and turns, and is in line with the charm of poetic language.
The third sentence question further uses historical facts to judge the "book burning" incident. Qin Shihuang, Li Si and others regarded "books" as the source of disasters and thought that burning books would eliminate disasters and bring peace to the world. The result was counterproductive, and the Qin Dynasty soon fell into a precarious and precarious situation. "Not cold" is an exaggerated statement, aiming to highlight the absurdity of the book burning behavior. In fact, there was a gap of four years from the book burning to Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's first raising of the righteous flag in Daze Township.
The last sentence expresses discussion and emotion. The Shandong Rebellion lasted for a period of time, and the Qin Dynasty finally fell at the hands of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. One of these two people had been hanging out in the market for a long time, and the other was from the army. Neither of them was a scholar. It can be seen that "books" are not necessarily the source of disasters, and "book burning" is not necessarily an effective measure to consolidate "the inheritance of descendants and emperors for eternity" ("Guo Qin Lun"). It is said that "Liu Xiang did not study at first", but he was able to destroy the Qin Dynasty by "burning books". The whole sentence is purely teasing and ridiculing, and contains extremely bitter irony. It starts from "bamboo and silk" and ends with "book". The beginning and end are connected like a ring, which looks round and natural. Argumentative poetry must not only analyze facts but also display images, which is really not easy. This poem adopts an almost comic expression technique: revealing contradictions and putting Qin Shihuang in a position of self-denial. Writing this way may seem tactful and calm on the surface, but in fact the attitude of opposition and feelings of hatred are very clear. If this is the expression of "resentment without anger", then it can also be regarded as a successful artistic technique.