In prosperous times, he is a fire cook; in troubled times, he is calm and sober.
01
That year, the Tang Dynasty, which had experienced the Anshi Rebellion, had just calmed down.
In the suburbs of Chang'an, at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, the door of a villa was closed.
A group of people gathered outside the door. Some people even brought quilts with them. They had obviously waited here all night. There was a sign under their feet that read: Stand in line, ten taels of silver.
It was already dawn, and the crowd began to become anxious and whispering among themselves.
Suddenly, the door opened. A book boy held a trash can and dumped a pile of waste paper outside the door. The crowd rushed forward and everything was sold out in an instant.
Some people shouted: Wow! It's a painting, a draft of "Wangchuan Picture", and I'm getting rich.
Some people shouted: "There are no people in the empty mountain, but you can hear people's voices." Wow, this is a poem.
Someone shouted: It’s actually music score! My son’s Pipa can pass level 8, oh yeah.
Of course, some people were disappointed. When they opened the paper, they saw "Death to the paparazzi" written on it, or the Wi-Fi (wireless network) password and the like.
An hour later, the crowd slowly dispersed, and silence returned to the entrance of the villa.
An uncle pushed open the door, poured out the tea residue, and glanced at the lawn that had been trampled by the crowd: Haha, I can’t even think about it.
This villa is called "Wangchuan Villa". This uncle is the owner, his name is Wang Wei.
02
As we all know, there is a market for "chicken soup literature" in any era.
Wang Wei’s landscape idyll has always been regarded as a pot of old chicken soup. People folded their bracelets, held teacups, recited a few words, "Walking to the watershed, sit and watch the clouds rise," and then fell asleep to the sound of domestic steamrollers. When I woke up the next day, my insides were still swollen.
However, this is not how Wang Wei’s poems are read.
That year, fifteen-year-old Wang Wei went from his hometown in Shanxi to Chang'an to seek fame. Unlike his fellow coal bosses, Wang Wei set his ambition from the beginning:
I want to conquer the world with my talent.
He didn't brag. Since the age of nine, Wang Wei has been proficient in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and he also plays the pipa in his spare time. While other children are still watching cartoons, little Wang Wei is already a top student. At the age of seventeen, while other children were still reading the Excellent Composition Anthology, Wang Wei had already become a first-line Internet celebrity by virtue of "thinking about family more during the holidays". At the age of twenty, Wang Wei's life has already been derailed. In the poetry world, he put forward the refreshing "Red beans grow in the South, and a few branches will bloom when spring comes"; in the painting world, his works surpassed many seniors and repeatedly set auction records for living painters; in the music world, his "Yulun Robe" became popular From all over the country, from square dance to "Datang Spring Festival Gala", they are all the finale tracks.
He is an all-around player.
And his circle of friends also extends from the middle class to the celebrity class. Xuanzong's brothers, King Ning, King Xue, and King Qi, and his sister, Princess Yuzhen, all supported him. Li Guinian, the king of the Tang Dynasty, was proud to sing his lyrics.
At this time, Li Bai, Gao Shi, and Meng Haoran were still sending resumes everywhere, and Du Fu's kid was still carving the word "Morning" on his desk.
With the recommendation of many big players, Wang Wei was successfully promoted to the top pick. A new star rises slowly in the night sky of the Tang Dynasty, exuding sexy brilliance.
Every night when night falls, there will be voices scolding children in the homes of Chang'an citizens: Look at other people's children.
When you see this, do you feel particularly envious and jealous: Why don’t I have Wang Wei’s talent?
Don’t worry, there is something more enviable for you.
03
From the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, China had five famous families: Cui, Li, Lu, Zheng, and Wang. Among them, there are two surnames Cui, two surnames Li, and seven surnames, abbreviated as: Five Surnames and Qiwang.
When children from famous families get married, they should pay attention to being well-matched. Otherwise, even if you have five houses in Chang'an, you won't be able to marry their girl.
In Yuncheng, Shanxi, a young man from the Wang family married a girl from the Cui family. Their eldest son is Wang Wei. Wang Bo, Wang Zhihuan, and Wang Changling also belong to the Wang clan in Taiyuan with Wang Wei.
So, if you travel to the Tang Dynasty and meet someone named Wang or Cui, don't call them "Old Wang" or "Xiao Cui" randomly, otherwise the consequences will be serious. If your neighbor happens to be the "Pharaoh next door", you must also maintain good neighborly relations.
In short, with his noble background, all-round talent, and his "young and white" appearance, young Wang Wei can be called a perfect man.
So, after women scold their children, they will also take their husbands with them: Look at Wang Wei.
For a time, no matter men or women, they were always ready to kneel down when they heard Wang Wei.
At celebrity parties, poetry symposiums, and music festivals, you can often hear conversations like this: "Excuse me, sir, what is your last name?"
Wang Wei waved his hand:
"Don't kneel down. My surname is Wang."
04
Become famous at a young age, and be proud of the spring breeze.
At this time, Wang Wei was exuding murderous aura, and every word in his works was filled with passion. He wants to make great achievements:
Ten thousand wine fights between Xinfeng and Xianyang rangers.
When we meet, we drink for you with our spirit. We tie our horses to the weeping willows of tall buildings.
I'll pay for the fine wine worth ten thousand dollars a bucket. Come on, young man, it doesn't matter if you're drunk, the BMW is parked downstairs.
Yu Linlang was born as an official in the Han Dynasty. He first fought with the hussar in Yuyang.
Who knows how painful it is to go to the side court? Even if you die, you can still smell the fragrance of the chivalrous bones.
I, a member of a distinguished family, joined the Imperial Guard when I first entered the workplace, and followed the general to fight in Yuyang. If you don't let me go, I won't be happy. Even if I die, I still have backbone.
There are also "Looking back at the place where the Eagle Shooting, thousands of miles away, the clouds are flat", "A horse is running for ten miles, and a whip is whipping for five miles". Wang Wei's murderous poems are even placed in a first-class frontier fortress. In poetry, it is not weak at all.
However, fate is like a crosstalk actor, and it will make you a joke out of nowhere.
Just when Wang Wei was about to reach the peak of his life, the Anshi Rebellion broke out.
05
As we all know, the Anshi Rebellion was equivalent to weapons of mass destruction for poets, and neither Li Bai nor Du Fu escaped.
The same goes for Wang Wei.
The great warlord An Lushan invaded Chang'an and looted it. At first glance, he could capture a super big shot alive. Without explanation, Wang Wei was taken to the army and imprisoned.
In prison, Wang Wei did not have a spoon or brother Michael, and he failed to escape from prison several times.
After the An Lushan Group collapsed, the imperial court settled accounts and wanted to behead Wang Wei as a rebel.
At the critical moment of life and death, Wang Wei took out a poem from his pocket: Your Majesty, I really swore to the death and did not become a rebel.
This poem called "Ningbi Pond" is very patriotic and touching:
Thousands of households are sad and smoke is growing wild, when will hundreds of officials turn to the sky again?
The autumn locust leaves fall in the empty palace, and the orchestra plays on the head of the Ningbi Pond.
Xuanzong had abdicated at this time, and the new emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty was so moved that he burst into tears when he saw the poem. He immediately promoted Wang Wei to the fourth rank and became Shangshu Youcheng.
Well, if Li Bai had done the same thing, he might not have been exiled to Yelang.
However, there will be no "a thousand miles of Jiangling returned in a day".
06
Although there was no danger, Wang Wei had already seen through it.
The Tang Dynasty at this time was no longer the prosperous Kaiyuan era of Xuanzong. The officialdom is full of intrigues, villains are in power, and the bosses only listen to praises, not what others say.
Countless nights, Wang Wei came home from get off work, sat in the car, and silently lit a cigarette. The cigarette butt flickered out, revealing a middle-aged and tired face:
It’s okay not to live in such a carefree life.
So Wang Wei started another life.
The young man who sang little love songs disappeared, and the angry young man who drank heavily and killed enemies with a long sword disappeared. He plunged into the countryside and filled the screen with country ballads.
For a time, people seemed to have drunk nourishing chicken soup: I also want to be indifferent to fame and wealth, I also want to drink tea and play with bracelets, and I also want to be indifferent to the situation.
Every time at this time, Wang Wei would smile slightly: If you haven't experienced the ups and downs, how can you be calm?
Because people only see him "walking to the waterless place and sitting and watching the clouds rise", but they don't see him "occasionally visiting Lin Sou, chatting and laughing forever."
This is the willfulness that can only be achieved after achieving financial freedom and not having to work.
People only saw him "sitting alone in the dark bamboo", but they could not see him "playing the piano and roaring loudly".
That is the youthful whistle of a young man who has been away for half his life and is still a teenager when he returns.
People only see an uncle "leaning on his stick outside the firewood door, listening to the cicadas at dusk in the wind", but they don't see him "getting drunk after his father-in-law's return, singing wildly in front of the five willows".
That is the laughter that comes after a happy life.
People only see "After the new rain in the empty mountains, the weather comes late in autumn", but they cannot see "The spring fragrance rests at will, and the kings and grandchildren can stay".
This is the scene he painted at Zhongnan Mountain in Wangchuan Villa. What is the concept of having a villa in Zhongnan Mountain, Chang'an? Think of Sheshan in Shanghai and Xishan in Beijing. If you are not a wealthy businessman or a child of a noble family, can you "stay on your own"?
Have you seen it? You think he is aloof from the world by burning incense and chanting Buddha's name. In fact, he just blocked his circle of friends. You don't have to go to classes you don't want to go to; you don't have to see people you don't want to see.
He can chat with the woodcutter and village woman, or go fishing with the nobles. When he was happy, he would "untie his belt in the wind of the pine trees, and play his harp in the light of the mountain moon"; when he wanted to be quiet, he would "travel to the mountains and high mountains, come back and retreat".
Wang Wei at this time has just not been the eldest brother for many years.
Actually, he is still the eldest brother.
07
In terms of poetic talent, Wang Wei is slightly inferior to Li Du, but in terms of wisdom in life, he can kill all the big names in an instant.
In prosperous times, he is a fire cook; in troubled times, he is calm and sober.
The reason why Wang Wei's demeanor is charming is because he once dominated the world.
It is hypocritical to look down on the situation without achieving anything; to look down on the fame after you achieve success is the realm.
So, the correct posture for reading poetry is this:
If you are a young man, read Li Bai, he will make you arrogant and bloody; if you are middle-aged, read Du Fu, he will give you humanistic care and Sense of responsibility; as for Wang Wei, you can read it anytime.
He will tell you how to enter the world with great vigor and how to be born dignifiedly.