The story of Zhaojun, the Queen of the Han Dynasty, who married Huhanxie, the Xiongnu Chanyu, has been widely circulated among the people since the Han Dynasty because of its wonderful story and rich meaning. An enduring creative theme among literati. Over the past thousands of years, many touching folk legends have been produced, and countless poems, novels, and dramas have been created based on Wang Zhaojun's story. "Two Poems by Wang Zhaojun" by Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, is a representative work in this regard.
In 752 and 753 AD (the eleventh and second years of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty), Li Bai followed his trip to Youzhou and made another trip to Mobei. He left Youzhou and went south to Wei County and then went north along Taihang, entering Hedong Road, to Yunzhong County, and then went north to Shanyu Duhu Mansion to pay homage to Zhaojun's tomb and wrote "Two Poems of Wang Zhaojun". Because Li Bai was full of regret for Zhaojun's departure, the whole poem is filled with a sad and sentimental atmosphere.
The first poem uses the word "moon" at the beginning to highlight the sad theme of Zhaojun marrying the Huns: the moon of the Han family in the Central Plains, its brilliance follows Zhaojun who marries the Huns. However, as soon as she set foot on the road to Yumen Pass, it was like she had gone to the end of the world and would never return. "Moon" here represents not only the moon in hometown, but also hometown and motherland. However, a small Yumen Pass can ruthlessly block all of this. Looking back at my hometown, the full moon is about to disappear forever before my eyes. This feeling of separation between life and death cannot help but add a bit of melancholy.
Then the poet used the word "moon" to express a sad sigh: The moon of the Han family will rise from the East China Sea tomorrow, but Zhaojun's marriage to the west will never return. This kind of separation made the poet feel helpless and hopeless, so he became more sad. The poet also mentioned Yanzhi Mountain. In the poet's opinion, the Yanzhi Mountain where the Xiongnu lived was extremely cold all year round, with no vegetation and only falling snow making flowers. Therefore, the poet imagined that when Zhaojun married the Xiongnu, even the beauty that once captivated the country and the city would not be the same. Also haggard and old, buried outside the wall of rolling yellow sand. The main culprit of all this was the painters of the harem of the Han Dynasty. Zhaojun had no gold to give to the painters of the harem during her lifetime, and she only left a green tomb after her death, which made future generations mourn and sigh.
About "Wuhua Pictures", there is a legend that Zhaojun once served as Ye Ting to wait for the imperial edict and was selected into the harem of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. At that time, in order to win favor as soon as possible, other palace ladies bribed the palace painter Mao Yanshou with gold, hoping to paint themselves beautifully and be selected by the emperor. Wang Zhaojun was the only one who relied on her beauty and was unwilling to pay bribes, so Mao Yanshou put a mole on her portrait. Zhaojun was demoted to the cold palace for three years and had no chance to meet him. Although it is a bit far-fetched to connect Zhaojun's so-called "tragedy" with the court painter, it can deepen the theme of sadness.
The second poem writes that Zhaojun brushed his saddle, got on his horse and headed west with tears in his eyes. "Today" is still a palace member of the Han Dynasty, and "in the Ming Dynasty" they are the wives and concubines of the Xiongnu Chanyu. According to Mr. Ding Qizhen, when the poet came to write the second poem, he seemed to be overwhelmed and could only barely complete a five-character quatrain, which was different from the five-character quatrain of the first poem.
The story of Zhaojun’s expedition has always been written on various themes. Although Li Bai's two poems follow the path of compassion and sadness, they are still sad and touching when read. "Classification Supplementary Notes on Li Taibai's Poems": Xiao Shiyun's Note: These two chapters borrowed from Han events to chant about the princess who was married to a foreign country at that time.
"Tang Shiyuan": There are many people in the Tang Dynasty who chanted Zhaojun, but none of them are as simple and wonderful as Taibai's poem.
"Poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties": contains many famous articles. This is only finished with a cross, and the meaning of the words is twice as intense as the sentence "Today is still in the Han Dynasty, and tomorrow will enter Huguan" (the second sentence of "Today").
"Li Taibai's Poems": Yan Yun: It is lamentable and shocking to be late in everything (the second sentence of "Today").