Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty was not only a famous poet, but also an upright and honest official. He was also rare in Chinese history and perhaps the only one who consciously declared his personal income and property to the society through his poetry works. of ancient officials.
When he first entered his official career, Bai Juyi served as a clerk in a government agency. He was a "secretary" who copied and wrote. He said in his poem: "Fortunately, in the Taiping Dynasty, the emperor was fond of literary scholars, and it was difficult for small talents to be put to great use. , Dian Xiao was the secretary. His salary was six thousand, and his monthly allowance was more than enough, so the young man's heart was like Yan Ru every day." When he was serving as Zuo Shiyi, he wrote: "Yue Shao's remonstrance paper. Two thousand pieces of paper are worthy of an annual salary of three hundred thousand."
When he was the governor of Suzhou, he also wrote: "One hundred thousand households in the state are very expensive, but two thousand shi of salary can't be said to be poor."< /p>
When he was the prince's young master, he wrote: "The monthly salary is hundreds of thousands, and the imperial court hired me as an idler."
When his life was about to come to an end, He wrote: "First I sold ten acres of garden in Nanfang, then I sold five hectares of land in Dongguo, and then I sold my house at the same time. It seems that I got two or three thousand yuan... But I am afraid that the money will not be used up, so I will return to Yequan first." Bai Juyi dared to announce his personal income and personal property status to the court and the whole society, which fully demonstrated his noble sentiment of being honest and self-sufficient.
As a feudal official, it is very commendable that Bai Juyi always had the common people in his heart, and often linked his salary income with his new daily necessities and the suffering of the people. When he took up the post of Prince Guest in Luoyang, he was already 75 years old. In a poem he wrote during this period, he wrote: "If you don't plant a field, there will be more millet in the barn; if you don't pick a mulberry branch, there will be more food in the box... ...One hundred households are taxed, and guests are paid for one year...Ask yourself at this time, when will it be enough?"
One winter, Bai Juyi bought a new cotton coat made of silk and silk. After he put it on, he immediately thought of the suffering of the people, and wrote: "The people are so cold that there is no way to save them, so what's the point of being alone in the warmth! In my heart, I miss the farmers and mulberry trees, and in my ears I feel like I hear the sound of hunger and cold. I won a great victory." The Qiu is ten thousand feet long and covers the city of Luoyang with your capital.
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Like Bai Juyi, he dares to disclose his income, and “his heart is what the people think, his power is used by the people, and his feelings are tied to the people”