Verses describing "bitterness":
Poor, I am wearing only a single coat, I am worried that the weather will be cold. ——Tang Dynasty: Bai Juyi's "The Charcoal Seller"
In prosperity, the people suffer; in death, the people suffer! ——Yuan Dynasty: Zhang Yanghao's "Sheep on the Hillside·Tong Guan Guan"
Introduction to "Sheep on the Hillside·Tong Guan Gu":
1. "Sheep on the Hill·Tong Guan Gu" is written by Zhang Yanghao, a Yuan opera writer of Sanqu works. This was done when he passed through Tongguan on his way to Shaanxi for disaster relief.
2. This song recalls the present and recalls the past, from the rise and fall of dynasties in the past to the suffering of the people. It points out the opposition between feudal rule and the people to the point, and expresses the author's thinking about history and sympathy for the people. The starting point of this kind of sympathy and concern is the Confucian idea of ??managing the world and benefiting the people. It is common in traditional five or seven character poems, but it is rare in the Sanqu of the Yuan Dynasty.
3. The whole song adopts a layer-by-layer approach, starting from describing the scenery to nostalgic past, and then triggering discussions. It perfectly combines the vast scenery, deep emotions and refined discussions, and has a strong appeal. The words are full of vicissitudes of history and the sense of the times. They have both the characteristics of nostalgic poetry and a distinctive melancholy style.
Creative background:
Zhang Yanghao is an honest official and loves the people like a son. In the second year of Tianli (1329), due to the drought in Guanzhong, he was appointed as the Prime Minister of Taizhong in Shaanxi to relieve the victims. After he lived in seclusion, he decided not to be involved in official career. However, when he heard that he was called back to help the hungry people in Shaanxi, he accepted the call regardless of his old age. During his mission to the Western Qin Dynasty, he witnessed the people's severe disasters. He sighed with emotion and became indignant. He then dispersed his family wealth and tried his best to provide disaster relief, but he died in the line of duty due to overwork. After his death, "the people in Guanzhong mourned as much as their parents" ("Yuan History·Biography of Zhang Yanghao").
"Shanshan Sheep Tong Guan Guan" was written on the way to Guanzhong in response to the call. "History of the Yuan Dynasty·Biography of Zhang Yanghao" says: "In the second year of Tianli, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong, and the hungry people ate each other. I specially worshiped Zhang Yanghao as the Prime Minister of Taichung in Shaanxi Province. He boarded the car and went to the road. If he met the hungry, he would help them and the dead would be buried." Zhang Yanghao I wrote this song "Sheep on the Hillside" during the "Severe Drought in Guanzhong".
Zhang Yanghao has been a scholar since he was a child. He once presented a letter to Pingzhang Buhumu and was promoted. He later served as Tangyi County Yin, Supervisory Censor and other positions. He was dismissed from office for commenting on current affairs and offending those in power. In order to avoid Due to misfortune, he had to remain anonymous; he was later summoned and became the Minister of Rites.
When he was 50 years old, he resigned and lived in seclusion in Yunzhuang, Jinan. He was reappointed during the Guanzhong drought and rushed to Shaanxi to rescue the victims. Years of ups and downs in officialdom have allowed him to experience fame, wealth, and honor, and he no longer cares about the ruler's judgment of himself; the life of seclusion in Yunzhuang, Jinan, not only allows him to appreciate the natural scenery, but also allows him to understand the hardships of people's livelihood; Mencius' people-oriented thinking gave him a deep understanding of the importance of people's livelihood; his upright and outspoken character gave him the courage to face reality and express his true thoughts. The suffering of people's lives in the Yuan Dynasty was expressed by writers in the form of nostalgia.
This kind of concern for the people made him "in the fourth month of his official career, he spent all his money to provide relief to the victims. He cried bitterly every time, and then fell ill and couldn't afford it." This is the true nature and truth of a conscientious scholar. His life was also rare in society at that time.
The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty implemented a policy of ethnic discrimination against scholars. It was not until the second year of Yanyou (1315) of Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty that the imperial examination system was officially implemented. Moreover, this system was also unfair, which caused the lower class to Scholars had largely lost confidence in the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty and lacked a sense of responsibility for society. Therefore, the nostalgic works of other writers of the same period were deeply marked by the times: they either lamented the fall of the ancient dynasty and expressed their nostalgia for the past; or lamented the past and present. The dramatic changes reveal the fear of uncertainty about worldly affairs and life; or the feeling of the passage of time expresses the sadness of personal decline and misfortune. Only "Tong Cares about Ancient Times" is filled with a heavy sense of vicissitudes and times.