Anecdotes and allusions
1. Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were famous poets in the Tang Dynasty at that time, and their views on poetry theory were similar. * * * advocated a new Yuefu, and formed a friend who never turns his back. The world called them "Yuan Bai". There are often poems between them. Even though they live in different places, there are often letters, and they invented the "mailbox to deliver poems". Once, when Yuan Zhen was sent to Dongchuan, Bai Juyi traveled to Jionji with his good friend Li Jian. During the dinner, he missed Yuan Zhen and wrote "Memories of Yuan Jiu with Li Eleven": "When you spend flowers, you are drunk and break the spring sorrow, and you are drunk and fold the branches to make wine." I suddenly remembered my old friend and went to the sky, and I went to Liangzhou today. " At this time, Yuan Zhen, who was in Liangzhou, was also missing Bai Juyi. On the same night, he wrote a song "Liangzhou Dream": "The dream gentleman traveled around Qujiangtou and also traveled to Ci' en Hospital. The pavilion official called for the horse to be sent, and suddenly he was shocked in Guliangzhou. "
Later, both of them were demoted successively, and they were placed in other places as officials. So they often contact, encourage and comfort each other. As Bai Juyi said, the two have been "literary friends and poetic enemies" with profound friendship all their lives. Bai Juyi wrote in a poem: "You write my poems to fill the temple wall, and I write your sentences all over the screen;" When I meet you, I know where, and the two-leaf duckweed is in the sea. "
Bai Juyi commented on Yuan Zhen that "Yuan Jun is the only one who gains, but it is difficult to know how to make friends", and said that their friendship is "one is a concentric friend, and the other is a fragrant age." Spend a ride on the pommel horse, and have a glass of wine in the snow. Hengmen meet each other, without belts and crowns. Sleep in the spring breeze, and watch the autumn moon at night. Not for the same degree, not for the same officer. The combination is in the square inch, and there is no heresy in the heart. " Yuan Zhen's concern for Bai Juyi is even more condensed into an eternal masterpiece "Wen Letian awarded Jiangzhou Sima".
2. Yuan Zhen and Cui Yingying
Yuan Zhen's original wife was Wei Cong, who had an affair with a woman before marrying Wei Shi, and this woman was Cui Yingying. About Cui Yingying, Yuan Zhen's Biography of Yingying (also called Hui Zhen Ji) has been described more, and Yingying Biography has become the blueprint for Wang Shifu to write The West Chamber.
In the 15th year of Tang Zhenyuan (799), Yuan Zhen took a small post in Puzhou (now yongji city, Shanxi) and fell in love with a girl named "Shuangwen" who was a distant relative of Cui (that is, Cui Yingying in the legendary novel Yingying Biography). Cui Yingying is both talented and handsome, and his family is rich, but after all, he has no power, which is far from Yuan Zhen's ideal marriage. According to the system of promoting scholars in the Tang Dynasty, the person who is the best scholar still needs to pass the official examination before he can formally appoint an official position, so Yuan Zhen went to Beijing for an examination in the 16th year of Zhenyuan (8). Since taking the exam in Beijing, Yuan Zhen, with his outstanding literary talent, was appreciated by Wei Xiaqing, the new Beijing Zhaoyin, and made friends with Wei Men's children. As a result, he learned that Wei Cong, the daughter of Wei Xiaqing, had not yet been betrothed to others, and realized that this was an excellent opportunity to take the road and climb the heights. In the 19th year of Zhenyuan (83), Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi entered the secretarial province as school bookkeepers. Yuan Zhen, who was eager to be an official, considered that although Cui Yingying had both talent and beauty, it didn't help his career progress much, so he weighed the gains and losses and finally abandoned Yingying and married Wei Cong. Perhaps it was condemned by conscience, or it was unforgettable for Cui Yingying, his first love. So many years later, Yuan Zhen took his first love as the prototype and created the legendary novel The Legend of Yingying, the predecessor of The West Chamber.
in the biography of Yingying, Yuan Zhen wrote at the beginning: "In the Tang Zhenyuan, there was Zhang Sheng, who was gentle and handsome." When Zhang Sheng swam in Pu, he protected his cousin Cui, who was widowed and weak, during the military riots and looting, thus knowing his cousin Cui Yingying. Cui Yingying's beauty of "hanging over her face, her face red" and her beauty of "bright colors, brilliant and moving" made Zhang Sheng suddenly love him. Later, with the help of Yingying's maid, the matchmaker, Zhang Sheng and Yingying had a private meeting in the west wing, which became a sex affair. Since then, Yingying has "hidden in the morning and hidden in the evening" and had a private meeting with Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng in Biography of Yingying is actually the story of Yuan Zhen himself and Cui Yingying, and Zhang Sheng lived for Yuan Zhen himself.
in a brief history of Chinese novels, Mr. Lu Xun said: "Yuan Zhen lived by Zhang Sheng and described his personal experience." Yuan Zhen also wrote "I am lazy to look back on the flowers, and I am half-cultivated and half-cultivated", which means that he has no attachment to other women, and there is no woman who can make himself emotional except "Jun".
3. Yuan Zhen's half-life relationship with Wei Cong
Yuan Zhen's half-life relationship with his wife Wei Cong is deeply talked about. Yuan Zhen once left a beautiful sentence "It was once difficult for the sea to touch the water, forever amber", which was written by Yuan Zhen in memory of his dead wife Wei.
In the 18th year of Zhenyuan in Tang Dezong (82), Wei Cong, the youngest daughter of Prince Shaobao Wei Xiaqing, married a 24-year-old poet Yuan Zhen. This marriage has a lot of political elements. At that time, Yuan Zhen, who was 24 years old, failed in the imperial examination. However, Wei Xiaqing admired Yuan Zhen's talent and believed that he had a bright future, so he betrothed his youngest daughter to him, and Yuan Zhen got a chance to climb up through this marriage. However, they were full of love and affection after marriage. With Wei Cong's family background, marrying Yuan Zhen was like a heavenly girl coming down to earth for Yuan Zhen at that time. She is not only virtuous and dignified, but also familiar with poetry and prose. More importantly, she was born with wealth, but she was not rich and vain. Judging from several poems left by Yuan Zhen at that time, it was the time when he was frustrated and lived a poor life. Wei Cong came to this poor family from a rich family, but she had no regrets. She tried her best to care for her husband and was indifferent to the poverty of life. Yuan Zhen originally thought that this was just a way of political promotion, but he didn't expect Wei Cong to be such a gentle woman and considerate wife. As the old saying goes, Yuan Zhen is useless as a scholar. After her marriage, she was busy taking exams, and Wei Cong did all the housework at home. Before her marriage, she was the daughter of a large family and her father loved her. Wei Cong's virtuous and virtuous can be imagined, so after a few years, Yuan Zhen always couldn't help but think of his wife Wei Cong, who was poor with him.
In the fourth year of Yuanhe in Tang Xianzong (89), Wei Cong died of illness at the age of 27. At this time, 31-year-old Yuan Zhen has been promoted to supervise the censor, and a happy life is about to begin, but his beloved wife has died, and the poet is extremely sad. When Wei Congying was buried, Yuan Zhen couldn't go in person because he was involved in supervising the affairs of Dongtai, so he wrote a poignant eulogy in advance and asked someone to read it before Wei Congling. But even so, on the day of burial, Yuan Zhen still couldn't help himself, so he wrote three more mourning poems, which is the most famous "Three Mournings" (that is, "Three Mournings"). Yuan Zhen has always had a deep yearning for his wife and an unforgettable sadness. Wei Cong suffered with him for seven years, but he left him when he was about to rise in the official career. What Yuan Zhen can do is to pay homage to his dead wife and write down his thoughts in his poems. "this is a sorrow that all mankind must know, but not as those know it who have been poor together", poor couples are always like this. Although they love each other, they can't make their loved ones happier because of the poor material conditions. Wei Cong will always stay in the hearts of later readers because of several groups of affectionate poems.
4. The love story between Yuan Zhen and Xue Tao
Yuan Zhen and Xue Tao, a talented woman in the Tang Dynasty, is one of the most famous love stories in the literary and art circles in the middle Tang Dynasty. Although this love ended in nothing, it was even more "aftertaste" because there was no result.
Xue Tao was a famous poetess in the Tang Dynasty, and her "Notes on Xue Tao" has been passed down to this day. She is talented and beautiful, not only intelligent and poetic, but also full of political mind. Although I am a musician, my heart is higher than the sky, and I despise those corrupt officials and dignitaries.
in March of the 4th year of Tang Yuanhe (89), Yuan Zhen, a poet who was at the height of his power at that time, was ordered to go abroad as a supervisor of the imperial history. He has long heard the name of Xue Tao, a poet in Shu, so he specially asked her to meet him in Zizhou after he arrived in Shu. As soon as he met Yuan Zhen, Xue Tao was attracted by the handsome appearance and excellent talent of this young poet who was only 31 years old. The two discussed poetry and politics, and their friendship gradually deepened. With the support of Xue Tao, Yuan Zhencan was severely punished as a rich and heartless Dongchuan, thus offending powerful people and transferring from Sichuan to Luoyang. From then on, the two men parted, and the mountain was separated forever.
parting is inevitable, and Xue Tao is very helpless. To her delight, she soon received a letter from Yuan Zhen, also with a deep affection. Lao Yan is separated, and the two feelings are far apart. At this time, only one poem can be entrusted with her lovesickness. Xue Tao is addicted to writing stationery. She likes to write quatrains in four words, and she often writes only eight sentences in regular poems, so she often thinks that the paper used to write poems is too large. So she transformed the local paper-making process, dyed the paper pink and cut it into exquisite narrow notes, which were especially suitable for writing love letters, and were called Xue Tao notes. A gifted scholar is affectionate and philandering, but Xue Tao's thoughts about him are unforgettable. She is full of bitterness and longing, and she has gathered into a famous poem "The Poem of Spring Hope" which has been passed down through the ages.
Because of the great age gap between them, Yuan Zhen, who is 31, is in the prime of his life, while Xue Tao is eleven years older even though he is charming. In addition, more importantly, Xue Tao's musical background is equivalent to a dusty woman, which has only a negative effect on Yuan Zhen's career and no positive energy. For these, Xue Tao also can understand, don't regret, very calm, there is no general little girl that a lovelorn and suicidal manner. So Xue Tao took off her favorite red dress and put on a gray cassock, and her life changed from fiery to indifferent. There was still traffic and people coming and going beside Huanhuaxi, but her heart stuck to a clean place.