The short-lived political reform in the first year of Shunzong Yongzhen (805) was an event of great influence. Liu Yuxi, Liu Zongyuan and others were active participants and victims of this political struggle. Their unfortunate fate also made their literary career successful, making them unique outside the Han and Meng poetry schools and the Yuan and Bai poetry schools.
(772～842), courtesy name Mengde, a native of Luoyang, was a Jinshi in the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793). In the first year of Yongzhen's reign, he participated in the Wang Shuwen Group and implemented the New Deal. After the failure, he was demoted to Langzhou Sima.
In December of the ninth year of Yuanhe (814), he was ordered to return to Beijing. The following year, he was demoted again because his poems offended those in power. After working abroad for more than 20 years, he was recalled to Luoyang in the second year of Baoli (826), and served successively as governor of Suzhou, Ruzhou and Tongzhou, guest of the prince, secretary and supervisor of the branch of Dongdu, and chief inspector of the school's Ministry of Etiquette.
If the most impressive thing about Liu Yuxi is his optimism.
Liu Yuxi has simple materialist philosophical thoughts. On the basis of inheriting Xunzi's idea of ??"man can conquer nature", he put forward the view of "the interaction between nature and man". He believes that nature and society have their own rules, and they are different and mutually exclusive. dependent. Under the influence of this kind of thinking, he has always been full of confidence and enterprising spirit in life, and is quite resolute and heroic.
After the reform failed and he was demoted for ten years, Liu Yuxi was recalled to Beijing, so he wrote "A Play for Gentlemen Who Watch Flowers", alluding to the new nobles of the imperial court:
Because of his "speech involving ridicule", Liu Yuxi Demoted again. Twelve years later, Liu Yuxi was recalled again, and he wrote "Revisiting Xuandu Temple", still using the peach blossom as a metaphor to mock those passers-by in the political arena:
Political attacks one after another have stimulated It aroused his stronger indignation and resistance. This is the poet's spirit!
Most of Liu Yuxi's poems are concise, lively, and charming. They infiltrate the wisdom of the philosopher and the sincerity of the poet, and are full of artistic tension and majestic momentum. For example:
Liu Yuxi’s works of chanting history and remembering the past are the most praised. He often transcends the time distance between history and reality, uses nostalgia to reflect on the present, and develops the understanding of the long life in the blend of ancient and modern:
The poem takes the Western Jin Dynasty as its theme to achieve unification by destroying Wu, praising the political situation of "home all over the world", and clearly criticizing the separatist situation of vassal towns at that time. The whole poem is filled with a spirit of sadness that never fades, and worry that makes it stronger.
Liu Yuxi was relegated to the south for a long time, so there are still some poems inspired by folk songs, such as "Zhuzhi Ci":
(773～819), Zihou, Hedong ( Today's Yongji, Shandong) people.
Liu Zongyuan was smart since he was a child. He experienced rebellions in various towns in Hebei Province when he was young, so he set an example for "the promising people of the past" at an early age. In the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793), he and Liu Yuxi were ranked as Jinshi. In the first year of Yongzhen (805), he was appointed as Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Rites. After the failure of the reform, he was demoted to Yongzhou Sima. In the 10th year of Yuanhe (815), he was recalled to Beijing, but within a month he was released as the governor of Liuzhou. During his term in office, he was praised locally for his beautiful policies. He died in Liuzhou in November of the 14th year of Yuanhe.
Liu Zongyuan was a famous thinker in the Tang Dynasty. In terms of philosophical thought, he was a simple materialist and affirmed the "distinction between nature and man." In politics, he proposed a view of historical development driven by "the will of strangers" and believed that history does not depend on saints but on public opinion.
Liu Zongyuan's poems were mainly composed after he was demoted, and have a unique style. He often expresses his personal ambition in plain descriptions, and the poetic scenery is handsome, scattered and meaningful.
Liu Zongyuan's poems are simple yet profound, sometimes shown through the contrast between the inside and outside of his mood. They may seem indifferent, but they often have unusual connotations.
In addition to wanting to be indifferent and unable to calm down, Liu Zongyuan often uses plain landscape pictures to highlight the author's ups and downs of mood, which can also form a simple and profound style.
When he was demoted to Yongzhou and Liuzhou, he wrote many travel notes and landscape poems expressing his love for the mountains and rivers:
Under the influence of the poet's subjective emotions, the natural scenery is mixed with coldness. The desolate mood reflects his sad and lost heart.
"Snow on the River" uses thousands of mountains and thousands of paths to express the vastness of space, and also uses the shadow of birds and the disappearance of people, leaving only a small boat fishing for an old man, showing the author's ultimate loneliness.
(772～811), named Heshu, had good relations with Liu Yuxi and Liu Zongyuan. In the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan (798), he became a Jinshi. In the autumn of the third year of Yuanhe (808), he was demoted to the governor of Daozhou because of a rift with Prime Minister Li Jifu. Later, he was renamed Hengzhou. He had a very virtuous reputation. Some of his poems are quite heroic:
(787~849), courtesy name Wenrao. During the Niu-Li Party struggle, he was the leader of the Li Party and was demoted many times.
His poems basically do not involve politics, but mostly write about personal life emotions:
Most of his excellent works were written after he was demoted:
Zhenyuan to Yuan Dynasty During the He period, there were a large number of relegated poets, including many with outstanding literary talent. Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi, etc. all had a strong desire to save the times and a critical spirit in their early years, but they were repeatedly demoted later. They entered the political arena due to the short-term peace of the Mid-Tang Dynasty, and experienced many ups and downs because of the inability of the rulers to use virtuous people. Their works constituted the short-lived neon of the Mid-Tang Dynasty, but achieved eternal brilliance in the history of literature.