The influence of Li Bai's poetic style on his official career

Li Bai is not ambitious and often compares himself to Guan Zhong and Zhuge Liang. He thinks that he is "rich in economic talents, resistant to nesting festivals, capable of changing customs and learning to study heaven and man". (Song Zhongcheng's Self-recommendation Form) He hopes to gain the appreciation of the emperor by relying on his own talents. Like most literati in China, Li Bai's thoughts are deeply influenced by Confucianism. The greatest ideal of his life is to "secure the country" and "help the poor" and to be an assistant minister of "Yao and Shun" (Ode to Buddha in Chongming Temple is better than Dalagni House). But Li Bai's pursuit of ideals is different from that of ordinary literati. On the contrary, he achieved it step by step through the imperial examination. His career path shows a clear sense of self-design, and he is determined to "treat the face and seek the emperor's skill." Brave, he is willing to help him, so that the Atlas area will be solved and Hai Xian County will be clear. "("Dai Shoushan answers Meng Shaofu's transfer document ") He doesn't ask for a small official, but wants to be a counselor, just like a historical figure who is often compared with himself, by displaying his talents and establishing meritorious deeds through a special opportunity. Such an ideal was possible in the pre-Qin period, even in the era of Xie 'an and Zhuge Liang, but it was unrealistic in the Tang Empire where he lived. Therefore, all his life, he was caught in the conflict between strong desire to be an official and reality, and the tragedy of fanatical ideals ran through his life.

When this contradiction constantly impacts the poet's heart, when the ideal tragedy repeats itself again and again, I am afraid that the only things that are most suitable for venting emotions and soothing the soul are wine and poetry. Therefore, in the first year of Bao (742), 42-year-old Li Bai was recommended by Taoist Wu Jun, and was recruited into Beijing by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He immediately returned to his hometown in Nanling and bid farewell to his children, with great satisfaction, and wrote a poem entitled "Children of Nanling Go to Beijing": "The white wine is freshly cooked in the mountains, and the yellow chicken pecks the millet, and the autumn fat. Calling the boys to stew yellow chicken for me, the children shouted my cotton cloth with a smile. Qing Qing Shuang sang drunk to comfort, drunk dancing won the glory in autumn and dusk. The king of great powers struggled for a long time and rushed to the ground to catch up. Quidditch's fool looked down on poor Zhu Maichen, and now I have left my hometown to go to Chang 'an and go to Qin in the west. Go out laughing, we are Artemisia people. Seeing that the ideal of "helping the poor" and "securing the country" is about to come true, the poet is almost crazy and excited, and can only express it by drinking to the fullest.

Li Bai, who first arrived in Chang 'an, was spoiled for some time. Li said in the preface to the collection of thatched cottage: "In Tianbao, the ancestors of the emperor sent letters to Jinma and came down to meet them, as if they saw Qi and Hao. Give the food to the Qibao bed, give it to the royal hand with a spoon, and say,' I know your name, you are not a moral person. Why is this? "I put it in the golden palace, went in and out of the Hanlin, asked the national government, and sneaked into the grass to write the imperial edict. No one knows. "Li Bai's" Giving Yangshan People after Driving to the Hot Spring Palace "describes the state at this moment:" The teenager is down and out between Chu and Han, and the dust is bleak and bitter. I said I didn't care who Ge was, and urged him to close the door. The king wiped away and lost his heart. Suddenly, the scenery during the day came back and went straight to Qingyun with wings. Fortunately, I accompanied Luan out of Hongdu and rode a flying pony. Princes attract each other with colors, gold medals and purple ribbons. At that time, there were many friends, and the only way to get along with each other was Jun. When I finished reporting to the Lord, I would lie with you in the white clouds. "It is conceivable that Li Bai at that time was full of ambition and pampered. The courtesy of Xuanzong certainly touched Li Bai. He worked hard for several years and got nothing. Taking Xuanzong as his confidant, he repeatedly expressed his desire to repay his kindness in his poems. But at this time, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had lost the spirit of making great efforts in his early years and was immersed in debauchery. In addition, Li Bai's arrogant personality is intolerable to the dignitaries. Soon, Li Bai was "refunded" and squeezed out of Chang 'an, and the poet's political ideal was shattered. In disappointment and resentment, Li Bai wrote poems such as Difficult to Go and Drunk Gift from My Nephew Gao Zhen. In the poem, Li Bai once again used "wine" to describe his suffering incisively and vividly-"The cost of pure wine is a golden cup, ten thousand copper coins and a hip flask, and a jade plate is rich and precious. I threw away my food sticks and cups. I couldn't eat or drink. I pulled out my dagger and I peeped in four directions in vain. " (Difficult to Go) "I want to invite singers to drink sad songs, just like I have no money to drink." "And I will change the wine and get drunk with you. I will be with Wu Zhuzhu when I am drunk." From "singing drunk" to "building a sad song", Li Bai fell from the peak of ideal to the abyss of reality, and experienced such ups and downs, great joy and great sorrow. Without wine, it is hard for us to imagine how Li Bai would dispel his depression and grievances and how to continue his life.

It can be seen that Li Bai's life, whether it is the success of Qingyun or the wandering in the rivers and lakes, can not be separated from wine; Whether it is "laughing at the sky" or "playing sad songs", Li Bai's poems should be lyrical with wine. In the course of life, Li Bai found the perfect life that can best express himself-poetry and wine.

-Quoted from Wang's On the Image of Wine in Li Bai's Poems