The popularity of poetry in the Tang Dynasty also gave those people in the market a certain amount of cultural accumulation. Even thieves and robbers might be able to
recite a few poems. The poet Li She once encountered a robber. At this critical moment, Li She said that he was a poet. Fortunately, the robber really understood poetry and had read the poems written by Li She, so he happily let him go.
Li She (lived around 806) was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The name is unknown, and he named himself Qingxizi. He was from Luo (now Luoyang, Henan). When he was young, he visited Liangyuan. During the war, he took refuge in the south and hid under the Xianglu Peak of Lushan Mountain with his younger brother Li Bo. Later he came out to work as a staff member. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, he served as Prince Tongshiren. Soon after, he was demoted to Sicang in Xiazhou (now Yichang, Hubei Province) and joined the army. He worked in the gorge for ten years. He was pardoned and released. He returned to Luoyang and hid in his young room. During Emperor Wenzong's reign (827-835), he served as Dr. Guozi, known as "Dr. Li" in the world. He is the author of one volume of "Li She's Poems". Save six poems.
Interesting fact introduction: According to "Yunxi Youyi" written by Fan Xuan in the late Tang Dynasty, in the second year of Changqing, Li She, who was a doctor of Taixue, went to Jiujiang to visit his younger brother Li Bo, who was the governor of Jiangzhou. When the boat arrived at Huankou, it suddenly encountered a group of thieves who were robbing homes. Dozens of thieves, armed with swords and guns, ordered them to stop the boat. After the boat stopped, the robbers asked: "Who is on the boat?" The boatman replied: "It's Dr. Li She." After the bandit leader heard about it, he ordered his subordinates to stop the robbery and said: "If it is really Dr. Li, we will not rob him." "But we have heard of his poems for a long time, and I hope he can write a poem for us." After hearing this, Li She spread out the rice paper and wrote a quatrain: "Jinglan Shasu Encountering Night Guests at Muyu Xiaoxiao River." In the upper village, the wealthy people in the green forest know the news at night. He didn't have to escape from his last name, and now he is the king for half of the world. The bandit leader was overjoyed to receive the poem. Instead of robbing Li She of his money, he gave him a lot of property. It can be seen that Li She was very famous at that time. There are other versions of this matter, but the general idea is this. Regarding this poem, there is an interesting record in "Chronicles of Tang Poems": "Shechang passed through Jiujiang and arrived at Wankou (in today's Anqing City, the ferry where Wanshui enters the Yangtze River). When he met a robber, he asked: "Who is it?" "The follower said: "Dr. Li (She was once a doctor of Taixue)." The noble chief said: "If it is Dr. Li She, there is no need to plagiarize it. I have heard the name of the poem for a long time, and I would like to write an inscription on it. ‘She presented a perfect cloud. "This anecdote not only vividly reflects the widespread influence and universal respect received by the poets of the Tang Dynasty in society, but also shows the wide application of Tang poetry in social life--it can even be used to entertain "green forest wealthy people" . However, the popularity of this poem is not simply due to its miraculous "skill", but because it contains quite serious social content and realistic sentiments in its improvisational humor.
Excerpted from "Dictionary of Appreciating Tang Poetry"