Why study Bai Juyi?

As we all know, poetry flourished in the Tang Dynasty, especially in its heyday. Although the poems in the mid-Tang Dynasty are not as melodious and lofty as those in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, they are a little more sad, deep and distant. Bai Juyi's creation embodies this point.

Before Bai Juyi was demoted, there were wars for years, and the social contradictions at that time were extremely sharp, so he made a careful observation of the society and made a profound analysis of his life. As a scholar, he was deeply influenced by the Confucian thought of "reaching the peak and saving the world". He took literature as a sharp weapon to help the world, and took it as his duty to help the poor and improve his life. In his poetry creation, he tried his best to "make up for the current situation" and "release human feelings" and practiced the creative concept of "writing with the times, combining songs with poems". Then this self-conscious theoretical consciousness broke through the fact that some poets specialized in romance after Dali. It is noteworthy that Bai Juyi's allegorical poems can reflect the people's livelihood of the country and play a political role.

After being demoted, Bai Juyi's social ideal of "helping the world" suffered a devastating blow and failed miserably in the struggle of political ambition. Therefore, his creative concept has undergone tremendous changes, and he has to take Laozi's "contentment without humiliation" as a magic weapon to avoid disasters. From the positive thought of "helping the world at the same time" in the early stage, it has changed into the negative thought of "being alone". Bai Juyi turned to Buddhism in his later years, advocating Buddhism, and the thought of lust and emptiness occupied the mainstream. He holds an all-inclusive position on Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Specifically, he lived on Confucianism, used the wisdom of Laozi for personal gain, and entertained himself with Zhuangzi's thoughts.

Throughout Bai Juyi's life, it is not difficult to see that in the middle Tang Dynasty after the chaos, the society was relatively stable, the economy improved, people who yearned for ZTE had a trend of social change, and the poet's personality and artistic style were diversified. This undoubtedly influenced the poet Bai Juyi. Suffering from troubled times, he has a deeper understanding of the times, and his literary attitude is quite serious, earnest and profound. He is the backbone of the New Yuefu School in the middle Tang Dynasty. Studying Bai Juyi's poetry creation has a soul-stirring power for China people who have just entered the new world.