The first of the fourteen poems about immortals introduced here is a summary of all the poems and has programmatic significance. It can be seen that although the theme of the poem is "wandering immortals", it is not addicted to the illusory fairyland completely divorced from the world. The author combines seclusion with wandering immortals, and the two are often inseparable. The emotions expressed are the pain of living in turbulent times and the yearning for the living world, but there are deep contradictions that can't really forget the world. This is the origin of so-called generosity.
The first two sentences are twofold, comparing the two different lifestyles of "Beijing Ranger Cave" and "mountain seclusion". The ancients often looked at this phenomenon from different angles. Here, it mainly refers to the behavior of aristocratic children whistling and spending money in the wine market, just like Cao Zhi's "Mingdu" wrote, "The sword is like gold, and the clothes are beautiful. Cockfighting in the eastern suburbs, a long journey "that kind of scene. Compared with this passionate, romantic and enjoyable life, hermits in the deep mountains are lonely and cold, far from the world. How does the author choose between the two? "Zhu Men He Zurong" is the negation of the former, and "not believing in Penglai" is the affirmation of the latter. After the double spring, one raises and one suppresses, and turns to the theme. Penglai is a legendary fairy mountain on the sea. Its contrast with the "doors" implies that although the doors are glorious and expensive, they have suddenly died and do not have an eternal world. So, what is the relationship between "Mountain Forest" and "Penglai"? It can be said that seclusion is the premise of seeking immortality, and it can also be said that seclusion and seeking immortality are the same thing in the sense of transcending the glitz and noise of the world and exploring the essence of existence. Immortals who don't eat earthly fireworks really don't have to.
The following four sentences in "Forest Garden" describe the life of a hermit in detail. They drink the clear waves in the clear water, climb high mountains and eat the newly born Ganoderma lucidum, which is said to prolong life. "Lingxi" and "Selected Works" are quoted in "Jingzhou Ji", saying: "There is a Lingxi in the west of Dacheng." "Ladder", Shan Li's note: "According to legend, all immortals ascend to heaven because of clouds." There is something wrong with these two notes. "Lingxi" is not necessarily a proper noun, but only refers to a stream in a deep valley. The aura of mountains and rivers can nourish nature, so it is called "Linxi". "Ladder" can't even refer to the road to immortality, otherwise "climbing the ladder safely" as a negative sentence directly conflicts with the title of the poem. In fact, riding the cloud as a metaphor for political success has a long history. In the Biography of Historical Records and Fan Ju, "Don't expect you to be above the sky" is what it means. The meaning of these two sentences is that the top of the mountain is deep, so you can linger, and you don't have to bother for money. You are above the green clouds.
However, why on earth must we give up the road to being an official? Then, the poet quoted the case of ancient Tessa to illustrate. "Lacquer Garden has a proud official" refers to Zhuangzi, who worked as a junior official in Lacquer Garden. Note that "proud official" focuses on "pride" rather than "official" in order to be opposite to "easy wife". Because Zhuangzi is an official of the lacquer garden, he is not an official at all, and he totally opposes it. According to Records of the Historian, Chu Weiwang heard that Zhuangzi was a wise man, so he sent an emissary with a large sum of money to hire Zhuangzi to go to Chu. He replied: Although Qing Xiang is honored, he is like a sacrificial cow, fat and strong. Speaking of slaughter, he wants to be a wild boar, and he can't do it anymore! "Lai's" means Lao Laizi. According to Biography of Women, he lived in seclusion and devoted himself to Mengshan. Later, at the request of the king of Chu, he prepared to be an official. His wife advised that eating meat and drinking wine today will be restricted by others tomorrow, which is bound to be a disaster. Lao Laizi listened to his wife and still lived in seclusion. Both of these stories emphasize the loss of freedom and the great danger on the career path. Therefore, the so-called wealth and honor are just bait to make people lose their free nature. It is not difficult to imagine the poet's deep fear in connection with the sinister situation in political life since Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Literally, these meanings are not clear, but only in recognition of Qiyuan's "proud official" and Lai's "easy wife" as their role models. Then use the allusions in Zhouyi to point out the reasons. "Zhouyi Gan" 92 cloud: "Seeing the dragon in the field is good for seeing adults." The "Shang Liu" cloud in the Book of Changes "Dazhuang" says: "A sheep can't retreat, and it can't be completed." "If you enter, you will see the dragon, but if you retreat, you will touch the Buddha", which means that a hermit, if he continues to seek official positions, may be like the appearance of a hidden dragon, with heavy scenery for a while, but once he is in trouble, he will no longer be able to save himself, just like the horn of a strong sheep stuck on a fence, he can't enter or retreat. Therefore, in the choice of life, we should not only see the glory of "seeing the dragon", but also foresee the dilemma of retiring and "touching the norm". There is a sense of "worrying about life" in turbulent times.
After the above thinking, the author draws a clear conclusion: "I will thank Yiqijiu for crossing the dust." The sages Boyi and Shu Qi, praised by the ancients, once gave way to the throne and fled to Xibochang (Zhou Wenwang); Later, in order to be loyal to the Shang Dynasty, they starved to death in shouyangshan. However, in the view of Wei Jin people, this sense of righteousness and wisdom is still bound by the world network, and the nature of disability in life is just a poor face of a sheep touching Tibet. It is far better to be above the world and get rid of all worldly fetters.
Sadly, although Guo Pu was ambitious, he could not get rid of his official position and live in seclusion. Later, he was killed for opposing Wang Dun's rebellion, and the lofty sentiments of "wandering immortals" were turned into lamentations by the sword. Only in his poems can that generation of literati feel the feelings of hurting the world, the expectation of pursuing liberation, and the sigh of advancing and retreating. In terms of writing techniques, this poem quoted Zhuangzi's deeds and thoughts, and quoted the words of Zhouyi, so as to express his own outlook on life and reflect the literary flavor of the rise of metaphysical poetry.