"Little Li Du" are the poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu. They are all famous poets in the Tang Dynasty of my country, and "Xiao Li Du" is the nickname people give them.
Li Shangyin (about 812 ~ about 858), whose courtesy name was Yishan, also named Yuxisheng and Fannansheng, was originally from Hanoi, Huaizhou (now Qinyang, Henan), and his ancestors moved to Xingyang (now Henan). Due to the influence of the Niu and Li party disputes, he was ostracized and lived in poverty for the rest of his life. He is good at rhythm and jue, rich in literary talent and has a unique style. He is the author of "Li Yishan Poems Collection". His representative works include "Jin Se", "Night Rain Sends to the North", etc. Untitled poems are the most distinctive part of Li Shangyin's poetry.
Du Mu (803-853 AD), courtesy name Muzhi, was born in Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi) and was the grandson of Prime Minister Du You. It is especially famous for its seven-character quatrains. He was good at poetry, and his "Afang Palace Fu" was passed down to future generations. There are twenty volumes of "Collected Works of Fan Chuan" handed down to the world, compiled by his nephew Pei Yanhan, including four volumes of poems. There are also one volume each of "Fan Chuan Wai Ji" and "Fan Chuan Bie Ji" supplemented by the Song Dynasty.
So why do people call them "Little Li Du"? I think there are several reasons.
The first is to distinguish everyone’s memory. Li Shangyin was an influential poet in the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that he is as famous as Du Mu, and together they are called Li Du. However, in order to distinguish him from his contemporaries Li Bai and Du Fu, he is also called Xiao Li Du.
The second is from the perspective of literary achievements. Li Bai, the "big Li Du", is a romantic poet, and Du Fu is a realist poet. They are both absolute masters in the history of Chinese literature, and it is difficult for others to surpass them. Li Shangyin and Du Mu can only be ranked behind them, so they use "Little Li Du" to separate them from "Big Li Du".
Sanxuan respects the long-term. Li Bai and Du Fu are in front, they are older than Li Shangyin and Du Mu. In any case, it is impossible to call Li Bai and Du Fu the little Li Du and the later Li Shangyin and Du Mu as the big Li Du. Therefore, according to Chinese custom, Li Shangyin and Du Mu can only be called "Little Li Du".
Why are Du Mu and Li Shangyin collectively called Xiao Li Du? There are mainly the following reasons:
First, they represent the highest achievements of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the late Tang Dynasty respectively [renwugushi.com]. The two peaks of Li Bai and Du Fu stand side by side, each with its own merits. They represent the spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and have reached a height that is unprecedented and unprecedented. By the late Tang Dynasty, the literary style had declined, reaching a point where the east wind was powerless and the flowers were withered. Xiao Li Du can be regarded as a reflection of the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. It has some brilliance, but compared with the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it is far behind. Therefore, the word "little" refers not only to the difference in their ages and times, but also to the difference in achievements.
Secondly, history is so magical, such a coincidence, so interesting. Li Bai and Du Fu were friends and sent poems to each other. Du Gongbu wrote more poems to Taibai, which shows that Du Fu had a deep love for him. And Xiao Li and Du were also friends, and they also exchanged poems. Li Shangyin sent two poems to Du Mu, but Du Mu did not send them to Yishan. It can be seen that Li Shangyin was more sincere. One of the poems given by Yishan to Du Mu is:
The wind and rain in the tall building are graceful, but the short wings are not as good as others. Deliberately hurting spring and hurting farewell, there is only Du Sixun in the world.
The first two sentences are very polite, saying that I have short wings and cannot fly high. Compared with Du Mu, I am far behind. The last two sentences express my strong admiration for Du Mu.
Thirdly, Xiao Li Du’s poetic style is quite similar to that of Li Bai and Du Fu. Li Shangyin is close to Du Fu, and his poems are neat, rigorous and powerful. However, Li Shangyin was trapped in the dispute between Niu Dang and Li Dang. He lived in poverty all his life and could only hide in the bitter chant of love. His poems mostly used symbolic techniques and mysterious images. Representative poems include: "Untitled", "Jin Se", "Jia Sheng" and "An Ding Tower". His works: Feeling unwell in the evening, driving to the ancient plains, Feeling unwell in the evening, just near dusk, are very popular. They are not only a portrayal of his own spiritual journey, but also a summary of an era.
Du Mu is close to Taibai, extremely talented, bold and elegant. Du Mu was born in a family of prime ministers and had ambitions to help the world. He studied and annotated "Sun Tzu" and wrote many strategies to change the local separatism. However, it was of no use in the end. He angrily wrote the poem "Qing Huai": The down-and-out Jianghu contains a wine shop. , Chu waist is slender and light in the palm. After ten years, I dreamed of Yangzhou and won the reputation of a brothel.
His "Mountain Journey", "Jiangnan Spring", "Red Cliff" and "Passing through Huaqing Palace" are all familiar and auspicious poems. The old man Gu Sui admired Du Mu's "Deng Le Yu Yuan" alone:
The lonely bird disappeared in the sky, and the eternity disappeared into it. See what kind of career the Han family has. There are no trees in the Five Tombs, but there is an autumn breeze.
How keen is the poet’s feeling? From the lonely bird disappearing in the sky, I thought about how people are not like this. How many emperors and generals. Now, there is not even a tree on the graves, only the empty autumn wind is mourning, and a burst of sadness bursts out.
It can be seen that Xiao Li Du is the lingering voice of the Tang Dynasty. Although he is not as good as Li Bai and Du Fu, he definitely has a place in the colorful garden of Tang poetry.