Li shangyin
Xuan Shi asked for a virtuous visit,
Jia is even more incoherent.
The poor seat was empty before midnight,
Don't ask people, ask ghosts.
Appreciation of Li Shangyin's Poems
Jia Yi was not only a famous writer in the early Han Dynasty, but also a precocious politician. He became a doctor in his twenties and within a year. Wendi was surprised by his talent and planned to make him a public official. Later, because he was jealous of the powerful minister, he was dismissed as the teacher of Changsha Wang, and only went to Beijing to meet him a few years later. At that time, Emperor Wen had just presided over the sacrificial ceremony, and was deeply touched. He talked with him about ghosts and gods in the mysterious room in the front hall of Weiyang Palace, and many people asked. Jia Yi answered them one by one, which made Wendi unconsciously move his knees to listen. He said with emotion, "I haven't seen Jia Sheng for a long time, and I thought I had gone too far, not as good as now."
This is exactly what Li Shangyin wrote in this poem, except that he did not report the encounter between the monarch and his subjects with admiration or admiration like ordinary scribes, but profoundly expounded the matter from the opposite angle, thus giving the poem a unique connotation.
At the beginning of the poem, the story of Emperor Wen calling Jia Yi at night was written directly. Words such as "seeking the virtuous" and "visiting the courtiers" describe Wen Di's eagerness to seek the virtuous, and courtiers' "being talented but irrelevant" is the reason why he called at night. As I said before, Jia Yi was young and talented, but he was poor because of his talent. This is proof. Now, Wendi is calling at midnight. Isn't there a plan to stand up alone and start using ministers again? After reading these two sentences, people can't help waiting. But this is the genius of the author: first accumulate enough momentum and then turn around, paving the way for highlighting the last two sentences. Because the fact is that Emperor Wen summoned officials at night, not to listen to the plan of how to govern the country and the people, but because he was only interested in ghosts and gods. So this thirst for talent is enough to prove its political ignorance and weakness; His advice to courtiers was enough to fool and insult courtiers. Imagine Jia Yi's ambition to take the world as his own responsibility when he was young and had high self-esteem. Now Wendi doesn't ask him about the strategy of governing the country and the people, but asks him about ghosts and gods. Isn't he listed with Wu Zhu? What kind of talent is more painful and frustrating than being left out? Jia's rough experience of being demoted has aroused the "sympathy" of people of all ages. They lamented that Jia held the country's talents empty and lamented his unfortunate ending. However, their eyes will never jump out of the circle of poverty and knowing honor and disgrace.
This poem by the author shows that whether a person is poor or appreciated depends on whether his own political ideas are adopted and whether his political talents are brought into play. This view implied in the poem cannot but be said to be superior.
It must also be pointed out that the author's comments are not directed at Wendi, because Wendi just had a sacrificial ceremony, which made him feel like a ghost. He asked Jia Yi that he was not obsessed with ghosts and gods, nor could he assert that he didn't care about the whole world. What's more, Wendi in history was a monarch with great vision and ambition. He inherited the foundation laid by Gao Zu and implemented the policy of "sharing interest with the people" in view of the comfortable situation of the people at the beginning of the world. The author is not unaware of this. The reason why he wrote this way is to borrow the past to satirize the present, borrow the past of the previous dynasty, and contain realistic feelings. The writer is a poet in the late Tang Dynasty. In the late Tang Dynasty, many emperors neglected political affairs because they worshiped Buddhism and were obsessed with Taoism and took medicine to seek immortality. They are the people who "don't ask ordinary people to ask ghosts and gods", and they are the people he really wants to satirize.
The profound implication is the greatest feature of this poem, and the author can be said to have taken great pains here. He doesn't pursue the abrupt transformation of the front and back parts of the poem, but only uses the words "pity" and "emptiness" to shift gently. "poor"
That is, pity is not as strong as the words "hateful" and "sad", but it can make people realize the coldness of the author's emotions. "Virtual" is empty self-assertion. Inadvertently using this word, Wendy's "Banquet" was suddenly knocked down, and the reader's psychological shock reached its climax.
It should be said that it is rare for a poem like this to convey a profound subjective feeling in ordinary words, and to convey it so euphemistically and without revealing the angle. Wang Anshi also wrote a poem on the same topic in the Northern Song Dynasty: "Who can say that Wang Bo Jia Sheng?" The title of title has been abolished since Gao Ci, and it has a unique view, which is contrary to Shi Li's view. However, as far as artistic expression is concerned, one of his comments is bold and frank, profound and vivid, although his words are sharp and cadence, which is obviously different from Shi Li.