When the ancients wrote poems, there was a game called "Competition on the same topic". As the saying goes, literature has no first place, so it is very difficult to compare the level of two literati. But what if you insist? Then write the same poem. Similar customs also existed during the Jian 'an period. After the completion of Tongquetai, Cao Cao ordered Cao Zhi and other brothers to write "Ode to the Stage", which was obviously a test. Similarly, one day after the early dynasty, Jia Zhi wrote a poem "Daming Palace in the Early Dynasty", which was quite proud. Taking advantage of his advanced age, he asked his colleagues to write a poem on the same topic, entitled "Daming Palace and Jiashe People in the Early Dynasty". I think there were many harmonies at that time, and it is estimated that there were dozens. But there are four songs that have been handed down so far, namely Jia Zhi, Wang Wei, Cen Can and Du Fu. At that time, I didn't know what the evaluation result was, but later generations also liked to compare these four songs, and there were different opinions. Even many papers were written on this basis. Generally speaking, the conclusion is that these four songs are of similar level, and whoever is the best is the best ... But only Cen Can and Wang Wei were selected in "Tang Li San", while Du Fu and Jia Zhi were unsuccessful. I don't know why. This is a legacy.
Competition on the same topic can also be carried out in a broader time and space. Since the birth of Han Yuefu, poets of all ages have liked to write poems with the same topic, topic and content on Han Yuefu poems. The poet kept this habit until the prosperous Tang Dynasty, when he came to Du Fu's place and created a new topic because of something. Later, Bai Juyi and others developed this habit of creating new topics. There is a topic here called Wushan Gao. From the Han Yuefu to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, hundreds of poems with this theme have been circulated. It is conceivable that more have not been handed down.
In the Tang Dynasty, a poet named Huang Furan also wrote such a poem "Wushan Gao". It was so well written that it was selected in Miracle between ZTE, and the evaluation was: "Wushan is a wonderful poem." Since the Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen and Sui Dynasties, countless collectors have made up for the vacancy and won pearls, which made the former sages out of step, but the later generations have stood firm. Since it is not a natural holiday, how can we catch Si? "You see how high this evaluation is." The former sages lost their steps and the younger generation stood up. "It is simply the first poem in ancient and modern times. But Tang Sanbai didn't choose this poem. In fact, the benefits of this poem, or why this poem was praised as the first in ancient and modern times by the author's contemporaries, can only be understood if we fully understand the background. To put it simply, the background is this: this poem has been a hot topic since the Han Dynasty, and many people have written it, especially in the Tang Dynasty; Writing this topic, the content is limited, and it must be related to Wushan Goddess. Knowing these two points, it feels really good to read this poem again. It is really "making the younger generation stand" and it is difficult to surpass it. Is this a relic?