The Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of Chinese poetry, with famous works by famous writers emerging one after another. However, due to various reasons, many poems were lost.
But in such an era where superstars are shining, it is really not advisable to compete with numbers. For example, this man named Jin Changxu, whose life is unknown, only has one poem left, but it is a good and widely circulated poem.
Spring Resentment
Jin Changxu
When you beat up the oriole, don’t teach it to sing on the branches.
When I cry, I startle my concubine in my dream, and I cannot get to western Liaoning.
This poem depicts the image of a missing woman. But how cleverly he expressed it: I want to pick up a pebble to drive away the oriole on the branch in front of the window. Who let it sing in front of my window and wake me up from my dream? So I watched everything turn into a phantom before my eyes, and I would never go to Liaoxi to meet my husband again.
——She turned her longing for her husband and all her true feelings into an unreasonable resentment. When love is so intense, where is the need for reason?
There is also a poet who left two poems, one of which is called "the only poem in the entire Tang Dynasty". This poem is "Spring River Flower Moonlight Night". Mr. Wen Yiduo once commented that it is a poem among poems, the pinnacle among peaks, and any admiration in front of it is just talkative.
So all the poems we can read now are only a small part of the Tang poems that are as bright as the stars. They are a small part of the vast stars that are facing us and can be seen by our naked eyes. However, their brilliance has made us unable to open our eyes, and we are so awed that we dare not breathe.
The poet we are going to get to know today has few records of his life and only six surviving poems. However, this poem of his is like a branch of red dew and the fragrance lingers in my mind. In the territory of memory, it will never fade.
When I first read the sentence "The human face and the peach blossoms complement each other, I was so stupid. To describe it in today's language, it was so beautiful that I cried." The fresh girl's face and the peach blossoms in the refreshing wind complemented each other, and at that moment, my eyes were confused.
Later I learned that comparing girls to peach blossoms started in the Book of Songs.
Peach Blossoms
"The Book of Songs"
The peach blossoms burn brightly.
When the son returns home, it is suitable for his family.
The peach is actually fén.
When the son returns home, it is suitable for his family.
The peach is young, its leaves are pure (zhēn).
When the son returns home, it will be a good time for his family.
Whether you understand the meaning of each sentence or not, who can not see a girl as bright and ruddy as a peach blossom and full of youthful spirit among such pronunciation and glyphs? It is not an exaggeration to say that this poem is the "ancestor of the eternal poetry that praises beautiful women". All the metaphors we use today for beautiful women and flowers are the wisdom of picking up their teeth.
The human face and the peach blossoms complement each other in red - in short, I have never read a poem as bright, fresh and full as it!
However, such a flowery beauty was already last year. This year, the girl as beautiful as the peach blossoms has disappeared, leaving only the clusters of peach blossoms on the tree, still as red and beautiful. It didn't understand my sadness at all and just smiled in the spring breeze. When I think of the scene where the male protagonist is heartbroken and lovesick, I feel more and more that the word "laugh" is so cruel. It vividly expresses the protagonist's pain, obsession, and hatred. The more beautiful the peach blossoms are, the warmer the spring breeze, the brighter the scenery, the more heartbroken, lost and melancholy the male protagonist becomes. The human face has gone nowhere, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.
Did you find any? The concept of this story is very similar to Ouyang Xiu's Sheng Chazi. "On the night of the Lantern Festival last year, the lights in the flower market were like daylight, the willow branches were above the moon, and people were meeting after dusk." This is a set of shots that express the beauty of the past. "On Yuan Ye this year, the moon and lights are still the same. I don't see the people from last year, and my spring shirt sleeves are wet with tears." This is the second set of shots, today’s heartbreak, today’s tears.
From last year to this year, the flowers are similar every year, but the people are different every year. This poem externalizes the confusion and resentment of things and people in a particularly easy-to-understand image. The emotions are universal and the scenery is ordinary. Therefore, this poem is even more fascinating. Ming.
Later, I read records about the background story of this poem in some unofficial histories, and I was immediately stunned. This story is called Cui Hu Qiu Jing. It records the poet's adventures, or romantic encounters.
One spring, Cui Hu passed by the south of the capital city and went to a house to ask for a drink of water. As a result, he saw a beautiful girl under the peach blossoms. There are records saying that this girl's name was Jiang Niang, and her name had a bit of a meaning to the Peach Blossom Fairy. As a result, under the peach tree and among the peach blossoms, the girl with bright eyes and white teeth fell in love with Cui Hu at first sight. However, due to etiquette, Cui Hu had to say goodbye in a hurry and went home to continue studying hard. However, the girl's figure kept lingering in Cui Hu's heart. So, when the spring breeze blew and the peach blossoms bloomed the next year, he couldn't help but come to Nanzhuang, the capital, again, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the lovely girl. He saw the peach blossoms, blooming wantonly in the wind. . Cui Hubei came from this, so he picked up his pen and left this poem on the wall. A few days later, he couldn't help but came here again, but heard someone crying inside the door from a distance. It turned out to be an old man.
The old man told Cui Hu that his daughter had been out a few days ago and when she came home, she saw Cui Hu's poem. She thought she had missed it and regretted it. She fell ill and died just now. When Cui Hu heard this, he was shocked and rushed to the inner hall. His tears fell on the girl's face, and the girl miraculously came to life, married Cui Hu, and grew old in love with each other.
This story is truly moving and full of legends, so Mr. Ouyang Yuqian once wrote a Peking Opera "Human Facial Peach Blossom" based on this story. The phrase "human face with peach blossom" has gradually evolved into an idiom, used to describe a woman's beautiful face, and also generally refers to a woman whom she admires but cannot see again. In short, there is beauty, love, regret and hatred in the human face.
A few days ago, I was looking through old photos and joking with my family to see my youthful appearance.
Beautiful poems will always wake up unconsciously.
They are the eternal youth.
Attached is the original text of "Cui Hu Qing Jing":
Boling Cui Hu had very beautiful qualifications, but was aloof and uncooperative, so he was promoted to Jinshi. On Qingming Day, I traveled alone to the south of the capital and settled in Renzhuang. The one-acre palace is surrounded by flowers, trees and grass, as if there is no one around. After knocking on the door for a long time, a woman peeked out from the door and asked, "Who is it?" The guard responded with his last name and said, "Walking alone in spring, I am thirsty for wine." The woman came in and brought a glass of water. Open the door, set up the bed and order to sit down. Standing alone leaning against the small peach, Xie Ke stands alone, but the meaning is very thick, the charming posture is charming, and there is more than enough beauty. Cui used words to challenge them, but it was wrong. They looked at each other for a long time. Cui resigned and sent him to the door, where he entered as if overwhelmed with emotion. Cui Yi returned home and never came back again. On Qingming Day next year, I suddenly thought about it and couldn't control my feelings, so I went to look for it. The gate and courtyard remain as before, but they have been locked. Cui Yin wrote a poem on Zuofei and said: "On this day last year, in this gate, the human face and the peach blossoms reflected each other's red color. I don't know where the human face has gone, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze." In the next few days, he occasionally went to the south of the capital and went back to look for it. Hearing the sound of crying among them, he knocked on the door and asked about it. An old man came out and said, "You are not Cui Huye?" He said, "Yes." He cried again and said, "You killed my daughter!" Cui was shocked and didn't know what to answer. My father said: "My daughter learned about the book in her 19th year, but it was not suitable for people. Since last year, she has been in a trance as if she had lost something. When she went out with the sun, and when she returned home, she saw words on the left leaf. After reading it, she fell ill when she entered the house, and went on a hunger strike for several days. I am old, but I have only one daughter, so if I don’t marry, I will ask a gentleman to take care of me. If I die now, should I not be killed by you?" He held Cui again and cried loudly. Cui was also in mourning and asked to come in to cry. Shang seemed to be in bed. Cui raised his head to rest on his buttocks, cried and wished, "Here he is!" After a moment, he opened his eyes. After half a day's resurrection, the old father was overjoyed and returned with his daughter.
(From Tang Dynasty Meng Qi's "Poetry of Poem·Emotion"