Relegation is an important political phenomenon and a unique cultural phenomenon in the ancient history of China. Many officials who have been demoted are actually literati with profound knowledge and good literacy in high school. Therefore, although these literati are displaced, they have more time to think about social life, enhance their ideological depth and spiritual realm, and then create many brilliant masterpieces.
For example, when Liu Zongyuan lived in Yongzhou, he wrote Jiang Xue and Eight Records of Yongzhou. When Su Shi lived in Huangzhou, he wrote classic poems such as Niannujiao Chibi Nostalgia and Chibi Fu. In this paper, let's take a look at Lu You's ideological depth and spiritual realm at that time through his classic poem "Traveling to Shanxi Village" after he was dismissed from office.
1 164, the second year of Longxing in Song Xiaozong, actively supported the general Lu You's Northern Expedition against Jin. However, after the failure of the Northern Expedition, he was excluded by the pacifists and capitulationists, and was dismissed from his post and went home on the charge of "protesting, clamoring for right and wrong, and urging Zhang Jun to fight". Lu You's inner anguish and anger at that time can be imagined.
However, the frustration of official career did not discourage Lu You, but poured the hope and light ignited in his heart into his own poetry creation. Travel Notes of Shanxi Zhuang is the representative work of Lu You in that period. Although it is a travelogue, it only describes the daily life in the countryside, but two sentences in it, "The mountains are heavy and the water is doubtful, but there is no way out, and there is another village", are undoubtedly open-minded and full of hope, inspiring generation after generation.
Tour of Shanxi village
Don't laugh at the farmhouse music brewed in the muddled month. In the harvest month, the dishes for guests are very rich.
There is no way to go because of the winding water flow in the mountains, and a mountain village suddenly appears in the willow-green flower bay.
The day of playing flute and drums is approaching, and the villagers are still dressed simply.
In the future, if you can go out in the moonlight, I will knock on your door at any time with my cane.
In the first pair of couplets, "Don't laugh at the muddy wine of the peasant family, and leave enough chickens and dolphins in good years", that is, the muddy wine brewed by the peasant family in the twelfth lunar month. In a good year, the dishes provided by the farmhouse are rich enough. A word "foot" can be said to express the hospitality of farmers incisively and vividly. But Lu You can say the word "don't laugh", which shows his appreciation of the simple folk customs in rural areas. In addition, the word "bumper year" here also plays up the happy atmosphere in the countryside, paving the way for the further description of local customs below.
Zhuan Xu's "There is no way to recover, there is another village in the dark" is not only a description of the scenery on Lu You's journey, but also an expression of his mood after he retired from office and returned home. Lu You was worried about overlapping mountains, winding streams and illegible mountain roads, but he found a bright and dark scene in front of him and he met another village. In fact, if there are people who have played in the mountains, I believe that this kind of scene will not be unfamiliar, and often some roads will be blocked by stones or flowers and trees.
But when you choose a direction and move on, you will find that the road will naturally appear. For Lu You, what is expressed here is that after he was dismissed from office and went home, he did not give up on the uncertain future and firmly believed that he would make contributions to the country. For us, these two poems have brought hope to countless people. Because no matter what kind of difficulties you encounter, as long as you persist and move on, there will always be a moment when you will be suddenly enlightened and get out of the predicament. So these two poems have been widely quoted for thousands of years.
The neck couplet "Xiao Gu follows the Spring Society, and the clothes are simple" echoes the "bumper year" in the first couplet, depicting the custom of praying for a bumper harvest in the local rural sacrifice society. That is, the day of playing flute and drums, worshiping the land god and praying for a bumper harvest in the coming year is approaching, and the ancient custom of villagers' simple clothes is still preserved. "Spring Festival society" refers to the fifth day after the beginning of spring, when people hold festivals to pray for a bumper harvest. This tradition was first recorded in Zhou Li. Lu You focuses his writing here to express his praise of local customs and his concern for rural people.
The couplet says, "From now on, if I ride the moon leisurely, I will knock on your door all night with a crutch." That is to say, if I can walk leisurely in the bright moonlight in the future, I will knock on your door with a crutch at any time. Judging from the meaning of these two poems, Lu You must have spent a whole day chatting with farmers, so he had the idea of visiting again. In addition, the seemingly leisurely travel here is actually an account of the people's feelings, indicating that Lu You was dismissed from office and went home, but he did not forget the state affairs. The image of a poet who loves his country and his people will come to the fore.
Looking at this poem by Lu You, we can not only see the beautiful rural natural scenery and simple local customs, but also appreciate Lu You's open-minded ideological realm. What he wrote, "There is no doubt that there is no road, and there is another village in the future", which has undoubtedly inspired generations.