To Wangwu Mountain native Meng Darong
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
I used to go to the East China Sea to eat in Zi Xia. Seeing the public in peace, eating dates is as big as melons.
Middle-aged people pay homage to the Lord Han, but they are not satisfied and return home. Zhu Yan Xie Chunhui, white hair sees life.
As expected, we will fly to the cloud car. I would like to follow the master on the Temple of Heaven and sweep the fallen flowers with the immortals.
Appreciation
Wangwu Mountain, located in the northwest of Jiyuan City, Henan Province, has been a holy place of Taoism since ancient times, and is known as "a small cave with a clear void", ranking first among the top ten caves of Taoism. During the Kaiyuan period, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty built a Yangtai Temple in Wangwu Mountain for Sima Chengzhen, a Taoist master of the Qing Dynasty. Sima Chengzhen was a poet friend of Li Bai, probably at his invitation. In the winter of 744 (Tianbao three years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty), Li Bai crossed the Yellow River with Du Fu and went to Wangwu Mountain. They wanted to visit Taoist Hua Gaijun, but they didn't meet him. Perhaps it was at this time that they met a man named Meng Darong, who shared the same interests, so Li Bai wrote this poem to him.
It is worth noting that Li Bai did not recite poems on the spot when he was in Laoshan (another way of writing "Laoshan" in ancient times), but wrote them in a style of recollection shortly after he left Laoshan. Ironically, most of the emperors in the Tang Dynasty regarded Taoism as the state religion just because they thought they were descendants of Li Yong, the founder of Taoism, and respected Laozi as "the Emperor of the Supreme Yuan Dynasty". What is even more ridiculous is that Li Bai went to join in the excitement of "Taoism first" just because he was also surnamed Li. He went to Laoshan because of the encouragement of Wu Yun, another veteran of the Tang Dynasty. Wu learned the Tao because he was a poor scholar. Before he met Li Bai in 744, he had been to Songshan and Maoshan for many years. When Li Bai arrived at Laoshan Mountain, he was more impressed by the sea than the mountain. Therefore, he first said "East Sea" (the sea in the east, in general, rather than the "East Sea" as a proper term nowadays), and then said "Laoshan Mountain".
Food culture is an important part or core part of China culture. So many things, or many experiences of things, are compared with diet. "Dine in Zi Xia" is a poem written by Yan Yannian, "Dine in". This compares Zi Xia to food. In the eyes of westerners, this metaphor must be quite indecent. But in China, because diet is culture, and it is elegant culture, you can eat anything, which means everything can be culture; Therefore, Li Bai's Zi Xia-like chewing with his mouth wide open in Laoshan Mountain is not a move to stop the scenery, but an out-of-touch fairy spirit. Next, write about eating. Li Bai used to exaggerate. There used to be such a crazy analogy as "Yanshan snowflake is as big as a seat". Although comparing dates to melons is not so arrogant, it is also exaggerated enough. Some people argue from a realistic point of view that Laoshan Mountain is rich in soil and water, and dates are really as big as eggs. Such a defense is not only unnecessary, but also a misunderstanding of Li Bai's creative style. In my opinion, if it comes from Li Bai's mouth, then it is ok to say that "Laoshan dates are as big as chickens".
Besides, this metaphor comes from the legend about An Qi Gong. According to "Historical Records", the dates eaten by the public in An period are as big as melons. "An Qi Gong" was originally a hermit in Langya County. He lived by selling medicine at the seaside, but he was old and never died. Later, he became immortal, and he was called "Chitose Weng". He is a legendary figure, eating legendary dates; The dates eaten by a 1-year-old person may have a growth period of several decades, if not 1 years. It is not surprising that dates for decades look like eggs.
Qin Shihuang divided the world into 36 counties, one of which was Langya County. At that time, not to mention Laoshan, even Qingdao belonged to Langya. The last stop of Qin Shihuang's east tour was Langya, and he once summoned an Qi Gong, who lived 2 years longer than Peng Zu, and had a secret talk for three days and three nights. When An Qi Gong left, he left a message to Qin Shihuang, "After a thousand years, please beg me at the foot of Penglai Mountain." Therefore, there is a legend that Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu and others to the sea to seek this "chitose man". When Li Bai arrives at Laoshan Mountain, he will of course hear about or think of this legendary Taoist fairy, but it is absolutely impossible to say that he "saw the Duke of An Qi personally". Then, someone said that what Li Bai saw was another man named "An Qi Gong". Are you tired of this explanation? When Li Bai said "personally", must he have seen it with his own eyes? Not necessarily. Tianmu Mountain Ascended in a Dream said, "holy cock-crow in space." Did a chicken really appear in the sky, and Li Bai really heard its crow? Some people have to count the 3 poems of "Li Bai's 3 poems about fighting with wine" in a poor way, or to prove that "Zhang" in "White Hair 3, Zhang" is the unit of measurement in the Tang Dynasty, so as to prove that "3, Zhang" is a real reference. These are all the thoughts of humble Confucianism. This kind of thinking is very different from that of poets.
Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow begins with "china's Emperor, craving beauty that might shake an empire". Look, "I'm not mocking you Li Longji, but a bad king in the Han Dynasty. Don't bother me, let me have a word lawsuit. " This is equivalent to giving * a vaccination. The emperor Li Bai visited was Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The time of his visit was
742. At that time, he was 41 years old, so he was called "the middle-aged emperor of Han Dynasty". Li Bai firmly believes that he is a genius and that "I am born to be useful"; Therefore, he was called into Beijing with great ambitions; But when he arrived in Chang 'an, he found that it was not the case at all. At this time, Emperor Xuanzong himself was addicted to debauchery, and he only wanted Li Bai to be a ci minister and give him *, *, so he only gave a vacant post in the Imperial Academy. How can Li Bai stand such cowardice? Therefore, he feels quite "uncomfortable". After three years of idleness and absurdity in Chang 'an's restaurants and brothels, he was desperate and tired. He told Tang Xuanzong that he wanted to return home. Tang Xuanzong knew that he had made up his mind, and that he didn't really want to go back to his hometown, but wanted to indulge in the mountains and rivers, so he wrote a handwritten note to him, "Grant the gold back to the mountain." People who indulge in mountains and rivers regard mountains and rivers as their home, so "returning mountains" means "returning home"
Seeing that you are old, your career is no longer promising; As a result, Li Bai's ambition to help the world turned into a thought of being born. "Bao Puzi" said that people can become immortals after taking the gold liquid, and they can walk on clouds. In ancient times, there was a legend that immortals used clouds as vehicles. By the time the poem was written here, Li Bai had lost himself in his imagination, even the car was ready for himself, and even the work in the sky was found for himself-sweeping the fallen flowers with the immortals. How relaxed, comfortable and carefree.
Tang Xuanzong was a fans of Li Bai's poems. Li Bai left Chang 'an, but his poems reached the emperor's ears in time through various channels. This poem inspired Tang Xuanzong's strong interest in Laoshan. Four years later, he sent several Taoist priests to Laoshan to collect medicine and named Laoshan "Auxiliary Tangshan", which simply regarded Laoshan as his left arm and right arm. Laoshan is famous for its upward mobility and downward mobility. This cannot but be attributed to Li Bai's poems.