After graduation, Meng Jiao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a four-line poem when he took part in the imperial examination in the 12th year of Zhenyuan (796). The first two sentences of this poem compare the author's frustrated situation in the past with his proud situation of gaining fame today, highlighting his boiling thoughts when he jumped into a new world today.
The last two sentences say that he galloped triumphantly across the horse in the spring breeze and saw the flowers in Chang 'an in one day, showing an extremely happy mood. The whole poem has a brisk rhythm and is accomplished in one go. It is unique in the poetic style of "thinking hard and strange", and developed by Du Fu and Han Yu, forming a unique gloomy and vigorous poetic style.
Appreciation of this poem;
Expressing emotions: This poem expresses the author's pursuit of fame and self-confidence in his talents by describing the happy mood of Jinshi and later. The whole poem is full of excitement and joy, which shows the author's happy mood at important moments in life.
Artistic technique: This poem adopts the technique of contrast and exaggeration, and makes a sharp contrast between the past frustrated situation and today's proud situation, highlighting the emotional changes. At the same time, the poetic emotion is further sublimated by rendering the scene of spring breeze accompanied by galloping horses.
Cultural background: This poem reflects the influence of the imperial examination system on intellectuals in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination was an important way for intellectuals to enter the official career, and learning meant making important achievements in the official career. So this poem also embodies the pursuit and dream of intellectuals at that time.
Historical Value: This poem not only has high literary value, but also has important historical value. It reflects the characteristics of the imperial examination system and the mentality of intellectuals in the Tang Dynasty, and also presents the social features and cultural background at that time.