Original text:
Wang Bo was an orphan and a poor man. He visited the Mulan Courtyard of Huizhao Temple in Yangzhou and had a meal with the monks. The monks were tired of being lazy, and when the news arrived, they were done eating. In the second century, Bo Zi returned to the town to visit Shibang. Because he visited old places, all the questions he asked were covered with green gauze. Bo continued with two quatrains and said: "Twenty years ago when I visited this courtyard, the Mulan Flower Hair Academy was newly built. Now when I return to the place where I walk, I see an old tree with no flowers. The monk has a gray head. I have already gone to the west and east, and I feel ashamed that Jia Li is bellowing after dinner. . After twenty years of dust, now I have a green sarong.”
Translation and related information are available for reference:
Wang Bo was very poor when his parents died. Went to Mulan Courtyard in Huizhao Temple in Yangzhou and ate vegetarian food with the monks. The monks disliked him and ignored him. Often when Wang Bo went to eat, the meal was already finished. Later, Wang Bo came down from his important position and came out of the capital to guard this place. After visiting the places he had visited before, he found that people admired the words he had inscribed before and covered them with tulle.
Explanation:
1. Solitary and poor: poor because both parents died.
2. Nuanlai: disgust and neglect.
3. Important position: important position.
4. State: city.
5. All: all.
6. Mu Qi: Admire it (and cover it with gauze).
Reference materials:
Wang Bo (759-830), courtesy name Mingyang, his ancestors were from Taiyuan, Shanxi, and his family later moved to Yangzhou, Jiangsu. He was born in the Qianyuan period of Suzong (758-760), but his parents passed away soon after. In addition, his family's conditions were really poor, so Wang Bo, who loved reading, only got a job in a local school called Huizhao Temple. Borrowed to study in the monks' dormitory of Mulan Yuan. The abbot and some monks began to treat each other politely, thinking that the other party was a scholar. Maybe one day he would become successful, which would also be good for the temple. So after internal "research and study" by the temple leadership, Wang Bo was allowed to live and eat.
There is a rule for dining in this temple, that is, the eating time of three meals a day is fixed after the monk rings the bell. Due to the large number of people, this approach is not only understandable, but also shows some unique experience in the management of the temple. Wang Bo naturally followed the bell and quickly put down the book in his hand to eat "as he pleased". But not long after, things became bizarre.
One day at noon, Wang Bo, who was immersed in the joy of reading, felt a constant ringing in his stomach. He knew that he was already hungry, because he didn't eat much that morning because he was not feeling well, so the sun was already a little westward at that time, so one can imagine his hunger. But what is strange is that the bell for dinner has not yet rang in the temple!
What can be done? As a scholar who lives under someone else's roof and is powerless, he still has some initiative in judging people's faces. He really can't think of anything and is too embarrassed to take the initiative to ask what's going on today. So Wang Bo immersed himself in the book again. He naturally knew that the best way and the most fun would be to immerse himself in books in order to learn more knowledge. Only by showing off his skills in the examination hall in the future can he finally get out of this embarrassing situation. After Wang Bo reviewed the scroll again, Wang Bo, who was overly hungry, heard the sound of a bell ringing.
Wang Bo is so excited! Isn't this the key to unlocking the problem that I am currently trying to solve? He rushed towards the canteen even more excitedly than usual. However, the scene in the cafeteria made him feel like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him from head to toe on a cold day, because lunch had already been eaten! He looked at the cafeteria chefs in surprise and shyness, thinking that maybe he would find clues about the reason for this change in them. However, their gloating expressions clearly told Wang Bo: Where else do you want to eat? You kid, just wait!
In an instant, Wang Bo understood everything. He knew that the monastery was tired of him having nothing to do here. His eyes were filled with tears of humiliation, but he still resisted letting them flow out. He glared hard at the huge dining hall, immediately returned to his residence to pack his simple luggage, angrily wrote a poem on the temple wall, and then strode away without looking back.
More than 20 years later, during Wenzong’s Yamato period (827-835), ① Wang Bo, who was quite proud of his official career, happened to be sent to Jiangsu as a military and political officer. One day, he suddenly thought of visiting the monastery where he stayed to see what kind of development it had become. The monks of Mulan Temple of Huizhao Temple, who had already heard that Mr. Wang was coming to "inspect the work", started to rush into chaos. Not only did they renovate the place where Wang Bo lived in those years, but the leaders of the temple also asked people to quickly write down his angrily words. Put down the wall where the poems were written, gently dust them off with a whisk, and then cover them with fine blue gauze to prevent them from being eroded by dust again.
When Wang Bo came to the temple that had inspired him to work so hard, he had mixed feelings. Looking up suddenly, he found that his satirical poems had been treated favorably by such a green gauze, but he could not have a satisfying meal back then. This made him even more emotional! Wang Bo, who was full of thoughts, ordered his people to bring pen and ink, and immediately continued writing at the end of the original poem without even rolling up his sleeves, in order to record his emotions about the different experiences he encountered.
His poem goes:
Twenty years ago I visited this hospital and the Mulan Flower Hair Academy was newly built.
Now when I return to the place where I walk, the tree is old and the monk has no flowers and his head is white.
After writing this poem, he felt that the meaning was still unfinished, so Wang Bo wrote the following famous poem that made him even more melancholy:
I went to the hall and went to the east and west, feeling ashamed of Jia Li After dinner bell.
After twenty years of dust, now I have a green sarong! ②
Then he sighed and left sadly.
And later generations used it as material in many literary works. Su Shi's "Shita Temple" said:
It is useless to feed people in the kitchen, but only to cause trouble.
It is known that after dinner, the clock bell will appear and the eyes will be covered with lids.
In the poem with the same title, the Suzhou poet also lamented again and again:
I am so hungry that my eyes are dazzled, and I have forgotten my poetry.
Although you know that a lamp is fire, you don’t realize that a clock is not a meal.
Needless to say, all of the above are old stories about Wang Bo. As for Sun Zhan, he directly used Wang Bo's person and story in his poem:
Xuan Zhi is not Tang Wang Bo, and he is ashamed of the eminent monk protecting Bisha.
It can be seen that Wang Bo’s experience aroused many far-reaching and profound emotions from future generations!
Admittedly, there are still many other related statements, but they are undoubtedly sighing. ③While Wang Bo’s incident truly reflects the human condition of the world, for those who want to make a difference, it also prevents them from self-improvement.
Because he has to stand up for himself and seek to change the bad status quo, he undoubtedly deserves people's special respect!