Red bean shrub
(Tang) Wang Wei
When those red berries come in spring, they flush on your southern branches.
People who want to miss them collect more, and Mix red beans have attracted people's attention.
Meet Li Guinian at the lower reaches of the river
Du Fu (Tang Dynasty)
In the Qi family, I often see your performances; Before urging the wine hall, I praised your art many times.
Never thought, in this Jiangnan scenic area; It is the season of falling flowers, and I can meet you, an old acquaintance.
Why do you want to read these two poems together?
Because they are written for the same person, the people who wrote poems are the two most famous poets in the Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei and Du Fu, which shows how old this person is. He is Li Guinian, a singer and musician in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Guinian's position in the Tang Dynasty is probably equivalent to today's national first-class artist, and he may be a higher-level figure than David Jiang and Yu Junjian today. Because Xuanzong personally accompanied him and Li Bai wrote lyrics for him, he can be said to be the top star of the Tang Dynasty.
As a royal artist, he is closely related to princes, nobles and officials. At that time, Wang Wei was a well-known figure who could represent the poetry creation in the Tang Dynasty, and his poems were praised by most people. Although Li Bai and Du Fu are famous in this world, their fame at that time was probably slightly lower than that of Wang Wei. Wang Wei is also proficient in music. He must have a close relationship with Li Guinian, and Li Guinian especially likes singing Wang Wei's poems. The last two songs he sang before his death were poems by Wang Wei.
Wang Wei's Red Bean, also called A Gift from the River to Li Guinian, may be a poem written by Li Guinian when he was preparing to travel to the south. Perhaps when the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he wanted to flee to the south and Wang Wei went to see him off. Wang Wei may have planned to leave Chang 'an, but he hasn't set a time yet. Old friends go first, and naturally they will get one free. May be this delay, Wang Wei was later captured by An Lushan.
Back to the point. This poem first imagines how many red beans have been made in Jiangnan. I hope you can pick more when you arrive, because it can best represent your homesickness. On the surface, it is to persuade each other to think more about themselves, but in fact, it is also to express that they will miss each other very much.
Du Fu's poem says that when Li Guinian was exiled to the south, he was also exiled here. Maybe he accidentally looked back at a street pub and found someone he once knew.
Du Fu first wrote that in the past, the occasions when the two met were in the powerful mansion, but now the occasion of meeting is the outdoor in the late spring in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also the time when life is frustrated and down. This sharp contrast suddenly expressed the unhappiness of both of us-the sadness of eternal life.
The emotions contained in these two poems are quite different. Wang Wei's poems regard Li Guinian as an equal close friend, and write good parting and kind words between friends. The relationship between Du Fu and Li Guinian is roughly equivalent to an acquaintance relationship, and close friends may not be mentioned. This poem is about the depression of people who also live on the street.
In any case, these two poems series the life trajectories of Li Guinian, Wang Wei and Du Fu, presenting us with vivid fragments submerged in the historical torrent.