First, the poet Li Bai
Li Bai, known as a poet, was recognized and accepted by people when he was alive. Li Bai, with little talent and great ambition, did not take the road of ordinary imperial examination, sought immortality and visited Taoism, traveled all over the world and held public office. In the early years of Tianbao, he went to Chang 'an to meet He, a fanatic of Siming at that time, in order to introduce him. As soon as they met, they appreciated his writing style and saw his poem "Difficult Road to Shu", which was called "Death Immortal", so they had the beautiful thing of "a beetle for wine", which became a household name in Chang 'an. Li Bai mentioned this in his poem. He said in one of "Two Stories of Drinking and Prison": "There are fanatics in Siming, and the celebration season is really romantic. Chang 'an calls me a fairy as soon as we meet. What used to be a good cup turned into Panasonic dust. Scarab changed wine, but she remembered tears and towels. "Since then, his name has become a household name in the dynasty. On this matter, Du Fu also mentioned it in "Send Li Twelve White and Twenty Rhymes", saying: "There used to be fanatics named immortals. Put pen to paper shocks the wind and rain, and poetry becomes tears. Since then, fame has never spread. Extraordinary literary talent, communication will be unparalleled. "It can be seen that Du Fu's admiration for Li Bai is a great admiration for Li Bai. At that time, Huzhou Sima asked who Li Bai was. Li Bai said in the poem "Answering the Question of Sima Bai in Huzhou": "The violet layman was demoted to a fairy and the restaurant was hidden for 30 years. Huzhou Sima why ask, Jin Su Tathagata is back. "
On the recommendation of Princess He, he was recruited into the DPRK to offer sacrifices to the Hanlin, and was given food by Ming Chengzu, who personally served it to him with a spoon. When Xuanzong and imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan were playing in Chenxiang Temple, they called Li Bai to entertain them with poems. Li Bai was drunk and composed three qingping tunes, praising the imperial concubine, who personally offered wine. In court, Li Bai told Gao Lishi to take off his boots and Xuanzong wiped his towel. This is not done by ordinary people, and this is not something that ordinary people can enjoy. Li Bai is as charming as a fairy. After his death, in the mid-Tang Dynasty, the literati admired his good name, and regarded Li Bai's songs and poems, Pei Min's sword dance and Zhang Xu's cursive script as the three wonders of his imperial edict, and became a national quintessence called stipulation, not immortals. How can we do that? Such an honor, how many people can there be in the world? At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the poet Wang Zhenbai wrote a poem "Pan Hujing" (the title of the poem is incomplete), saying, "Who knows the immortal if you don't welcome guests?" Probably because his career is not smooth, no one appreciates his feelings. Even so, it can be seen that Li Bai's reputation as an immortal is well-known.
From the above, we can see where Li Bai's title of "Poet Fairy" began, and it has been accepted and recognized by everyone through the prosperous, middle and late Tang Dynasties. He disdained the imperial examination road that scholars were keen on at that time, traveled around famous mountains and rivers, sought immortals to visit Taoism, took Dan medicine, and believed in Taoist thought and magic. He was worldly, dismissive, drunk all day, and the son of heaven couldn't get on the boat. Xuanzong gave food, his wife served wine, and Lux took off his boots. He has unlimited scenery, is on cloud nine and is independent. His poems, especially the ancient style, are free and elegant, writing thousands of words, without thinking, making the gods cry, which can be described as fantastic and natural. The poet Li Bai deserves it.
Second, the poet Du Fu
Du Fu, known as "the sage of poetry", is also called Du Li with Li Bai, and there is a generation of "history of poetry" in the poetry circle. At that time, unlike Li Bai, in the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu's reputation was far less resounding than that of later generations, and the title of "Poet Saint" was obtained after 800 years of precipitation.
Du Fu lived in Chang 'an for ten years, and was down and out, even struggling all his life. When he was near-re-embodiment, there was nothing to make the gods cry, and the influence was not great at that time. His poems, which are concerned about the country and people, reflect practical problems and expose current disadvantages, were born in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but they are not the spirit and bearing that poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty should have. Du Fu was named after An Shi Rebellion. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty is gone forever, and the prosperity of Kaiyuan can only exist in the poet's imagination. When the country was in danger, Du Fu's poems inspired people and won the sympathy and recognition of many poets. In the middle Tang Dynasty, it was recognized by the poetry circles at that time. Yuan Zhen commented on Du Fu's poems in Preface to the Epitaph of Du Jun, an inspector of the old school in Tang Dynasty: "The top is thin and coquettish, the bottom is Shen Song, and the ancient is nearby, and Cao Liu is taken away, which covers up the loneliness and beauty, and adopts the wind of ancient and modern times, and everyone is unique." Obviously, the evaluation is very high. In the middle Tang Dynasty, Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi were both called "Bai Yuan". Coupled with his high position, his evaluation has naturally been recognized by everyone. Although Du Fu was not directly called "Poet Saint", he already had this meaning in his comments.
In the middle Tang Dynasty, Han Yu advocated the movement of ancient prose, which caused quite a shock in the poetry circle. For a time, his creative tendency was to tell the truth about his shortcomings, and he advocated that poetry should pay attention to revealing and responding to reality. This ethos has been hanging up to the Song Dynasty, and six of the eight masters in the Tang and Song Dynasties were in the Song Dynasty. After the promotion of Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi and Su San, it has become a common practice and is reflected in poetry. Du Fu's poems have undoubtedly become the "Bible" in their hearts and a guide to worship and study. In addition, the poetic style in the late Tang Dynasty was beautiful and dull, while that in the early Song Dynasty was boring and disgusting. Li Bai's poems and songs are so elegant that most people can't learn them. If they can't imitate them, Du Fu's poems are different. His poems are painstaking, the laws are strict, the words are carefully chosen, and the laws are cautious. Therefore, for a period of time, Du Fu's poems swept up and down in the ruling and opposition circles, overshadowing Li Bai and becoming idols in the minds of many poets, just like "Confucius in the poetry circle". Although Du Fu's poems have been unanimously recognized and enjoyed unprecedented status, the title of "History of Poetry" has not yet appeared.
The name "Poet Saint" was not officially famous until the Ming Dynasty. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Chen Xianzhang, the leader of Baisha School since Wu Zongshi, said in the Sixth Essay: "Zi Mei's poems are sacred, but Fu Yao's biography is more important. Later, those who fuck John can have both. " Chen Xianzhang had a high position in the poetry circle of Ming Dynasty at that time, and his evaluation officially gave Du Fu the title of "Poet Saint". Since then, Du Fu, a poet and saint, has been officially named.
Thus, Du Fu's Poet Sage: Fame came not overnight, but after a long period of accumulation, selection and final confirmation. Du Fu is a staunch believer in Confucianism. He took salvation as his creed and worked tirelessly all his life. Confucianism believes that "the rich help the world, and the poor are immune to it", while Du Fu only believes in "helping the world". Du Fu has been active at the bottom of society because of his difficult career experience. His poems, which are famous works, pay attention to the sufferings of ordinary people and the crisis of the imperial court, express the disadvantages of the times directly, observe the people's feelings, and have a deep sense of hardship. There are many discussions on the characteristics and artistic achievements of Du Fu's poems in the history of literature, so I won't elaborate on them. In a word, Du Fu is worthy of his reputation as a poet.