This sentence means that articles should be written for current events, and poems should be created for reality.
This sentence comes from "The Nine Books of the Yuan Dynasty" written by Bai Juyi, the advocate of the New Yuefu Movement. Bai Juyi inherited the realist spirit of Han Dynasty Yuefu's "promoted by events". Starting from the social reality of the Mid-Tang Dynasty, he proposed that "articles are combined to be written for the time, and poems are combined to be written for the event." This is an extension of the theory of realist poetry. Great contribution.
The full text (excerpt) is as follows:
My family is poor and has many stories, so I was born in the countryside. After that, although he concentrated on scientific examinations, he did not give up poetry. By the time he was awarded the title of Shulang, there were already three to four hundred poems. Or it may be shown that making friends is like a junior, and everyone calls it work, but in fact, it has not penetrated the author's domain.
Since ascending to the throne, I have grown older and read more and more things. Every time I talk to people, I always ask about current affairs; every time I read history, I always ask for truth. Only then did I realize that articles were written to fit the time, and songs and poems were written to fit the occasion. At that time, when the emperor first came to the throne, there was a gentleman in the prime minister's office. He repeatedly sent letters and letters to people who were suffering from sudden illness.
The translation is as follows:
Because my family was poor and had many accidents, I did not take the Jinshi examination until I was twenty-seven. After passing the exam, although he concentrated on taking the subject exams, he still did not stop writing poetry. By the time he became a school clerk, he had written three to four hundred poems. Sometimes I show it to friends like Shishita. Everyone said that the writing was skillful upon seeing it, but in fact I am not at the level of a poet author.
Since I became an official in the imperial court, I have grown older and experienced more and more things. Whenever I talk to people, I ask more about current affairs. Whenever I read history, I explore more about the principles of governing the country. Only then did I know that articles should be written for current events and poems should be created for reality. At this time, the emperor had just succeeded to the throne, and there were upright people in the government who issued edicts many times to investigate the people's sufferings.
Extended information:
Bai Juyi talked about his diligent study, his concentration on poetry creation after becoming an official, and the huge influence of his works. When summing up his creative experience, he focused on literary creation. The relationship with reality leads to the conclusion that "articles are written for the time, and songs and poems are written for the occasion."
He talked about his process of "studying hard to learn Chinese literature", saying that after the age of 20, he "taught poems in the daytime, wrote books at night, and taught poetry in between, without skipping a break. His mouth and tongue became sores, The elbows are calluses, the skin is strong but the leather is not plump, the teeth and hair are prematurely graying before old age, and the look is like a fly hanging beads in the eyes, and there are thousands of them moving around." The description is specific and vivid, and it is touching after reading it.
Baidu Encyclopedia - "Nine Books of the Yuan Dynasty"