Why are these two lines of Li Bai's poems in "Three Hundred Tang Poems" called "Eternally Beautiful Lines" by Hengtang retirees?
Li Bai's quatrains have been praised by famous writers of all ages throughout the ages. In the catalog of seven-character quatrains in "Three Hundred Tang Poems", Li Bai has selected two poems, one is "Early Departure from Baidi City" and the other is "Send Meng Haoran to Guangling from Crane Tower", of which the first two lines of the latter are Editor Sun Zhu calls it "a beautiful sentence through the ages". What is the truth behind the evaluation of Hengtang retired scholars? Let’s take a look at this poem first: "The Crane Tower Farewells Meng Haoran to Guangling": The old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and the fireworks descend to Yangzhou in March. The shadow of the lonely sail in the distance is gone in the blue sky, and only the Yangtze River can be seen flowing in the sky.
First of all, from the perspective of the entire poem, the best part of this poem is the last two sentences, not the first two sentences. The four sentences are all uttered by the person who is seeing off the guests. The first two sentences are narrated, and the words "ci" and "下" are highlighted. The third sentence is repeated, and the last sentence is left blank, using the poetic meaning of Cao Zhi's "Love is so deep, but hope is so painful", which is desolate. The feeling of farewell is beyond words. Some poems have good sentences but the whole poem is not very good, and some poems have good whole poems but no surprisingly good sentences. The good thing about Li Bai's poem is that "it has both sentences and chapters". Not only are the first two sentences good, the third and fourth sentences are even more open-minded and have a profound aftertaste.
It’s not surprising that the first sentence is a narrative. To be precise, it’s the second sentence that stands out: Fireworks descend on Yangzhou in March. The reason why it is a beautiful sentence is because it uses the image of "fireworks" to describe the beautiful spring, especially because the place of separation is the Yellow Crane Tower, where gods and celebrities once visited, and the destination is the coveted ancient Yangzhou. Yellow Crane Tower, Fireworks in March, and Yangzhou, the combination of three wonderful images has created an eternal poem.
After the opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, ancient Yangzhou gradually became rich and became the economic center and transportation hub of the southeast. In this "Fireworks in March" season, Meng Haoran went boating eastward from the Yellow Crane Tower to Yangzhou. He enjoyed the great rivers and mountains along the way, leaving the poet looking at the river and the sky with longing and longing like flowing water.
It was not difficult for the ancients to write poems with gorgeous language. There is another more important reason why it can become an "eternal and beautiful line" that is praised and sung by people. Hu Yinglin's "Shisou·Neibian" once said: "The quatrains of Taibai are composed of words. The so-called people who have no intention of working but do not work hard." Wang Shimao of the Ming Dynasty wrote in "Yipu Yiyu": "(quatrains) in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, only Qinglian ( Li Bai) and Long Biao (Wang Changling) are extremely accomplished. Li Gengzi, formerly of Wangshang, said the same thing, that is, Li Bai's quatrain was "naturally" composed, "There is no intention to work but nothing is done without work." , the ancients deliberately pursued "craftsmanship" when writing poems, but they lost too much carving marks and fell into the habits of craftsmen. The reason why Wang Shimao believes that Li Bai's quatrains ranked first in the Tang Dynasty is because "Li Gengzi, the former residence of the king."
There is some controversy over the year when this poem was written. Some records are that it was in the 18th year of Kaiyuan (730) ) in March, some records are 726 years, and some records are 728 years. This is the most beautiful era of the entire Tang Dynasty. Li Bai was between 26 and 30 years old at this time and had not yet become famous, while Meng Haoran was 12 years older than Li Bai, so he was about 40 years old. AD 728 was an important period for Meng Haoran, when he failed in the imperial examination. Regardless of whether this poem was written before or after his defeat, Meng Haoran at this time still had ambitions and was determined to become an official. Although Li Bai's poem does not deliberately describe the image of Meng Haoran, "going down to Yangzhou" amidst the beautiful scenery of "Fireworks in March" shows that the mood and style are still good, and both the guest and the host are full of longing for the future. The farewell words uttered from Li Bai's mouth did not show sadness, but they were majestic and rich in the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. This is the difference between the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the poetry of the middle and late Tang Dynasty.
After failing the imperial examination, Meng Haoran traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and returned to Chang'an to take the examination in 734. Unfortunately, he failed again, basically ending his dream of becoming an official in the imperial examination. The next year, Meng Haoran went to Xiangyang, and soon met Li Bai again. Li Bai wrote a famous five-character poem "Gift to Meng Haoran": I love Master Meng, and he is famous all over the world. The beauty abandons the crown, and the white head lies in the pine clouds. The moon is drunk and the saint is in the sky, and the flowers are not in your way. The mountains are safe and you can look up to them, just to bow to the clear fragrance. Meng Haoran was in his old age at this time, and died a few years later (740). Two years later, on the recommendation of Yuan Danqiu, Li Bai was appreciated by Princess Yuzhen, and was summoned by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty to the Jinluan Hall, where he was ordered to wait for the imperial edict and entered the peak of his life.
Recalling the moment when the two of them parted at the Yellow Crane Tower, during the "Fireworks in March", two great poets who have been famous throughout the ages said goodbye reluctantly, one was a fledgling and full of ambition, and the other was in his prime and graceful style. Under the Yellow Crane Tower, while chanting, the river flows eastward, and the silhouette of a lonely sail in the distance looks like a fairy. When future generations read this poem, as it is now, they call it an eternal poem, which is really appropriate.
Note 1: The first sentence of this poem, "An old friend left the Yellow Crane Tower in the West," uses the word "人" in the rhyme, making it a rare example of seven-character quatrains included in "Three Hundred Tang Poems". The five-character quatrains in "Three Hundred Tang Poems" include ancient-style poems and modern-style poems. The seven-character quatrains are almost all standard modern-style poems, except for Li Bai's poem and Wei Yingwu's "Chuzhou West Stream".
Note 2: "Gift to Meng Haoran": I love Master Meng, and he is known all over the world. The beauty abandons the crown, and the white head lies in the pine clouds. The moon is drunk and the saint is in the sky, and the flowers are not in your way. The mountains are safe and you can look up to them, just to bow to the clear fragrance. The third sentence and the fourth sentence have similar meanings. The beauty abandons the crown and the flower is not the king both express the meaning of retreat and should be avoided when composing poems.