To truly understand the theme of Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow, we must first have a certain understanding of Bai Juyi.
Bai Juyi (772 ~ 846) was born in Xinzheng (now Xinzheng County, Henan Province), whose ancestral home was Taiyuan, and later moved to Xia 'ao (now Weinan, Shaanxi Province). When he was eleven or twelve years old, he moved to Vietnam to escape the war, and then went to Xuzhou, Xiangyang and other places, leading a wandering life and having a deep understanding of the people's sufferings. In the 16th year of Zhenyuan (800), Bai Juyi was a scholar. Three years later, he was awarded an excellent degree in calligraphy in China and the title of secretary of provincial proofreader. In the first year of Yuanhe (806), he and Yuan Zhen spent many months discussing various social and political issues at that time, and wrote 75 articles covering almost all the major social, political, economic and cultural issues at that time, as well as their own solutions, such as DUZH's On Hongzhen Temple. If you inherit the policy of Kaiyuan, you will think of Yao and Song Zhijia, and you will live a long life. "("Celine IX: Peaceful and Calm "). This shows that Bai Juyi intends to become a political and political leader. In addition, many of Bai Juyi's poems have similar performances, such as "I hate Lingyange, I can't draw fame." ("Old Photo Map"); I handed it over to Qilin Pavilion, and the plan has not been completed for a long time. How to use photos? "These poems all express that Bai Juyi wants to be a great politician to show his ambition in life.
From his youth until he was demoted to Jiangzhou Sima at the age of forty-five, Bai Juyi had high hopes for feudal kings and was very enthusiastic about participating in politics. "If something goes wrong, you must obey the rules, and if it goes against the rules, you must remonstrate" (The Book of Records of Collection). He wrote many articles, pointing to Chen, and advocated levying taxes, forbidding maids, restraining eunuchs and folding the court before the emperor. At the same time, he also wrote a lot of satirical poems, such as Qin Zhongyin and New Yuefu, which dwarfed them all. In this state of mind, Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow cannot but be influenced. Zhang Lun put it well: "The Song of Eternal Sorrow by Bai Letian tells the whole story of the Ming emperor and Yang Fei, although historical biographies can't describe it. Gai refers to his cover of China, relying on poetry to satirize the monarch and hanging down to the afterlife. " (nymph essay)
Studying the theme of Song of Eternal Sorrow is inseparable from the background of Bai Juyi's time. At that time, in the Tang Dynasty, the political ills were becoming more and more obvious. Xianzong intended to reopen the wind of coachable, and he was also very concerned about the chaos in Kaiyuan and Tianbao. For example, he once asked Li Jiang, who was in the same period as Bai Juyi, about the problem of "controlling chaos in Kaiyuan Tianbao" (see page 4288 of Old Tang Book for details). It can be seen that the political hotspots at that time were concentrated here. Therefore, it is a bit strange to say that Bai Juyi didn't notice this when he wrote Song of Eternal Sorrow, but only showed great interest in the love between Li and Yang.
In addition, from the perspective of "Song of Eternal Sorrow" itself, it also clearly embodies the author's intention to satirize and advise the emperor not to be confused by poetry.
At the beginning of Song of Eternal Sorrow, he bluntly said, "Emperor China, lust may shake the beauty of an empire, and he has been in office for many years, but he has never found it." The image of a dissolute and lecherous feudal king came to the fore. According to Bai Juyi's Shang Yang White-haired Man, Ming Taizu "selected more than 100 people" at a time.
The poem "spring night is short, the sun rises too early, and the emperor never listens early" also describes how Tang indulged in beauty after winning Yang Guifei.
For another example, this poem describes the power of the Yang family, saying that "all brothers and sisters are in harmony, because she is so glorious", and even "she brings happiness to every father and mother in the world to have girls instead of boys", and writes Tang's love for Yang Guifei from the side.
Examples like this can be seen everywhere in the whole poem. Therefore, the Biography of the Song of Eternal Sorrow, written at the same time as the Song of Eternal Sorrow, also said that this song "not only feels this, but also wants to punish the stunner, smothering the chaos and hanging the future", which is the best interpretation of the Song of Eternal Sorrow.
Through the above analysis, the theme of Song of Eternal Sorrow should be to satirize and advise you not to be confused.
There is another problem, that is, the understanding of the lingering love description of Li and Yang in the second half of the sentence (from "there is a Tianke Taoist in Lingqiong" to "sharing the same land, one tree and two branches." ). This is also the place where contradictions among literati in past dynasties are concentrated. Because this part doesn't seem to be in line with the main idea of the last part. Was Bai Juyi moved by the love story of Li and Yang and changed the theme of the poem? This is the view of the dual theme theory. However, if we study Bai Juyi's creative characteristics, we will find that the dual theme theory is untenable.
In the fifth chapter of Bai Yuan Poetry Essays, Mr. Chen Yinque talked about a difference between Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi when they created a new Yuefu:
"About the comparison of the two works, there is something to say. The poems in Yuanshi County are complicated, and the white articles have their own purposes, and they are not mixed or chaotic.
……
... "Bai Changqing Ji" and "Shang Tang Qu" are two clouds:
I became A Qin Yin Zhong, and I sang a sad story. '
Yin Ke case: Although "a sad story" is the general rule of ten poems in Lotte's Qin Zhongyin, in fact, fifty poems in New Yuefu are no exception. ..... Every article only recites and recites the gist, and nothing else is mixed. This is called not dyeing. When this article is finished, its purpose is not complicated, and it is called no longer entering other articles. "
It can be seen that the theme of Bai Juyi's creation is single and simple, so Song of Eternal Sorrow should not be double-themed. So how should we understand the touching description of Li and Yang's love in this poem? Is the theme of Song of Eternal Sorrow about the love between Li and Yang?
We think it should be considered from the following aspects.
First, Bai Juyi's basic evaluation of Tang Dynasty.
"When Emperor Taizong and Xuanzong were in the reign of Emperor Taizong, they held the civil and military resources of the Holy Spirit, and used the home of the Song Dynasty to seek Qi Wo without hesitation; Deze did something inappropriate, so the punishment measures were welcomed by the people, the soldiers were suppressed, and the people were happy, without anxiety or fear. Although he has become Kang Wenjing, he is unparalleled. He is recorded in the national history and your majesty knows it well.
I heard that Taizong, with the posture of SHEN WOO, cleared the chaos of the world; Xuanzong made the world fat with the virtue of holy books. Two cases, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, far from dissatisfaction, close to reconciliation. Zhenguan's achievements have been completed, and he is willing to do it. Although the six generations are beautiful, they are all cited; The theory of kaiyuan was established and the ceremony was prosperous. Although the three kings are well prepared, they are all just talking. Etiquette and law are so harmonious, Chinese and foreign music is so peaceful, so the soldiers are restrained and the whole country is pregnant, the punishment is clear and the people make it themselves, and the vegetation is so salty and comfortable. Although it is because of Kang Wenjing, it is impossible to do so! "("Bai Evergreen Collection "Volume 48" It is a practical policy to be both talented and knowledgeable ")
In this passage, Bai Juyi compared Huang Ming in the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Taizong, a recognized model emperor in the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that Tang's evaluation is extremely high.
But "The Strategy of Unity of Knowledge and Action" is also like the following passage:
"YueTianBao drop, politics and religion pacified, KouJian xing, soldiers also, soldiers dew kou, KouSheng in soldiers, soldiers still phase, fifty years. Finance is important, so is manpower. There is no peace in the world, although I supervise the mulberry class, but my career is not solid; There is no fixed fee in the world, and although the laws are strictly controlled, the annual plan is not sufficient. Daylight cuts off the sundial, so that half of it is used up! The so-called fatigue of the minister is also the cause of illness, isn't it?
From the point of view, the people rely on taxes, taxes rely on soldiers, soldiers rely on the sound of bandits, and bandits rely on lack of government. However, I hope that Kourong will sell it without learning politics and religion, but I hope that Ge Bing will be free without selling Kourong, although Taizong can't. Without stopping the military reform, he sought to levy a province, but without saving the province, he sought the security of Li Shu, although Xuanzong could not. "
This passage is a criticism of Tianbao's political situation during the Tang and Ming Dynasties. Words like "politics and religion are quiet" are also in line with the actual situation of Tianbao political situation.
It can be seen that Bai Juyi's view of Tang Dynasty is divided into two parts: the early stage of affirmation and the late stage of criticism. The affirmation of the previous paragraph can not but be reflected in the poem, that is, describing Tang as a sad king who was confused by the country, which was deeply confused and somewhat moved. In fact, Tang also had a slight explanation.
Second, Bai Juyi's writing motivation
From Bai Juyi's life experience and the political environment at that time, we can see that Bai Juyi thought that the key to a feudal king to be like the emperor of the early Tang Dynasty was "not confused". Because "no confusion" is the condition and prerequisite for appointing sages. This requires learning from Tang's later life.
Bai Juyi warned the current king to take a warning by shaping such a compassionate and tragic king. Therefore, some problems in the poem are easy to understand, such as writing that Yang Guifei is "raised in the inner room and no one knows her", avoiding the historical fact that Tang robbed his daughter-in-law and purely describing their love; I still don't understand when I wrote about the death of Ming Di in the Tang Dynasty. I want to stage a standard "ghost-haunted" love tragedy to show readers what an infatuated monarch is. But it was because he was the monarch that his infatuation and heavy color led to the decline of the country.
From this point of view, after understanding Bai Juyi's views on Tang and his writing purpose, it is not difficult to see that the apparent contradiction is actually not a contradiction, but the author's ingenuity.
From the above analysis, we can draw a conclusion that it is more reasonable that the theme of Song of Eternal Sorrow is fable.