Poetry originated from The Book of Songs, and it really developed in the Tang and Song Dynasties. As the saying goes, Tang poetry and Song poetry are Yuanqu and Ming and Qing novels. In the whole Tang culture, the great works of poetry appeared in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. During the change of writing style in the early Tang Dynasty, the four great poets removed the long-standing poetic style since the Six Dynasties and injected the magnificent and prosperous atmosphere that the Zhenguan in the prosperous Tang Dynasty should have. But as far as they are concerned, they mainly focus on parallel prose and fu. The best parallel prose in the world is Preface to Wang Tengting, and Luo, Lu and Yang Jiong's Fu to Jingshi, Fu to Chang 'an and Fu to Tingju are also excellent parallel prose in the early Tang Dynasty. In addition to the four outstanding poets in the early Tang Dynasty, there is another one who is unique in the whole early Tang poetry circle. He innovated the style of writing in the early Tang Dynasty and played a key role in the real rise of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. After the prosperous Tang Dynasty, a generation of great masters, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Han Yu, whose writing style declined for eight generations, all admired him and were called the "poetic bones" of a generation of literati. This is Chen Ziang. But before he was eighteen, Chen Ziang was illiterate, because he had another dream, Li Baiyou, Wang Weiyou, and so did we.
Chen Ziang, whose real name is Apollo, is from Shehong County, Sichuan Province. From the economic point of view, Chen Ziang was born in a relatively good family, and his ancestors were wealthy local gentry. Compared with the four outstanding figures in the early Tang Dynasty, Wang Yang and Luo Lu were brilliant since childhood, while Chen Ziang's childhood seems to have nothing to do with his future achievements. When Chen Ziang was born, he was sickly, so his family asked him to practice martial arts to keep healthy. Although Chen Ziang was not a great swordsman when he was young, he was also a brave and heartless man. Besides, his father, Chen, is a great hermit in Shu. He is a brave man and often gives generously to help his neighbors. Therefore, he made a remarkable statement nearby, showing the chivalrous spirit from Chen Ziang. With the growth of age and fencing, his hidden dreams of Jianghu began to flood. Of course, as a rich second generation, his idea is simple. He packed his bags, traveled around the world, saw the scenery he had never seen before, watched the world he had never seen before, listened to the wind and watched the sunset, and met an old friend in the sunset. Maybe he can meet a beautiful girl and form a pair of chivalrous couples to wander the rivers and lakes together. As he later wrote,
Judging from this poem, he has traveled from south to north at least, including places with strong chivalrous colors such as Hunan, Hubei and Hebei. During this period, Chen Ziang basically did two things. First, when he encounters injustice, he draws his sword and helps the world to be just. Second, wherever he went, he found a swordsman to kick the pavilion, just like Bruce Lee in the early Tang Dynasty, in order to prove his swordsmanship. But in the pursuit of martial arts, he lacks a higher understanding of martial arts, which is of course attributed to his lack of pen and ink at this time. Release your horse to the Jianghu, and there will be infinite happiness in the days of enjoying life. However, Chen Ziang soon realized that Jianghu is not about fighting and killing people, but about the world. In the process of the ranger, Chen Ziang compared the sword to a sword fairy, and Chen Ziang stabbed each other with only three strokes, which shows that Chen Ziang's swordsmanship is comparable to that of the purple sword fairy in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. But loyalty belongs to loyalty, and no matter how powerful it is, it is still under the control of the government. Soon, Chen Ziang got into trouble because of this, and his father spent a lot of money to help him. Through this incident, Chen Ziang began to rebuild his life goals, and also understood why his father taught him the belief of self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world. And the first thing to achieve this goal is reading. Chen Ziang used to have a sword in his hand, but he didn't have one in his heart, so he didn't know what to do with it. If he can understand that the sword is used to defend the country, then he can also take the road of martial arts, and maybe a great Tang Dynasty star will be born in the future. But what is even more admirable and unimaginable is that this prodigal son who has accomplished nothing can turn back to become a scholar. According to what we are saying now, his three views and his ability to pursue a stable life have taken shape, which is really difficult to change. But genius is genius. As long as you think about it, you can put down your sword, hold the book on your knees, and the prodigal son will turn back and become a scholar. After Chen Ziang re-established his ideals and beliefs, he declined his former sword-practicing friends and began to study hard behind closed doors.
Chen Ziang ended his prodigal career, studied behind closed doors, and soon showed his talent in reading. Immersed in the Four Books, Five Classics and Confucian Classics all day, in just a few years, he has surpassed what his father has learned for half his life. It seems that some people are born to read, while Chen Ziang is completely idle in others' eyes. Beowulf, who can only dance swords, has turned into a gifted scholar who has read many poems and learned many things. In 679, the first year of Tiaolu, Chen Ziang, who was 265,438+0 years old, was like another sword. Grinding once every three years, frost blade waiting to try. When the Tang Dynasty rose in Ran Ran, Chen Ziang's spirit of serving the country and making a difference was born. He decided to go to Chang 'an to take the imperial examination. He said goodbye to his parents and packed his bags. At this moment, he has ideals in his heart, light in his eyes, and no confusion when he went out in the past. Since ancient times, it has been a long and dangerous journey from Sichuan to Shanhaiguan, and it takes several months to walk. On the way, a few bad guys may die, but this is a cinch for Chen Ziang, who is proficient in fencing. Out of the Three Gorges, when he was in Jingmen, Hubei, he had traveled for half a month. Looking at the sunset and his lonely figure, homesickness came to mind. Now he is no longer the illiterate, so he touched the scene and wrote the first famous homesick poem in his life.
One landscape after another, Journey to the West and Chen Ziang finally came to Chang 'an, Tang Dou, the political, economic and cultural center of the country at that time. At the same time, he also officially became the "northern drift" of the imperial city. Hungry, he didn't have time to appreciate the prosperity of Chang 'an at the moment. He immediately rushed into the restaurant and ordered a steamed bun with cold skin and a foam set meal. After satiated with food and drink, Chen Ziang came to imperial academy, the highest institution of learning in the Tang Dynasty at that time, and studied hard for a year. In 680, he entered the examination room for the first time in his life. But unfortunately, he didn't enjoy the spring breeze in the future like Meng Jiao. Of course, he didn't appreciate the flowers in Chang 'an in spring. After returning to Sichuan, Chen Ziang studied harder and continued to study classics and history. Later generations once commented that Chen Ziang made great progress in his studies this year. "Over the past few years, there have been hundreds of classics and history, but I have never seen them. Especially good for writing, elegant as the wind of clouds. " Compared with Sima Xiangru's Han Fu, Chen Ziang is really good.
68 1 year, after studying for one year, Chen Ziang once again went north to Chang 'an to participate in scientific research. It seems that not everyone is good at exams, even Chen Ziang is no exception. Just like Zhang Xuefeng's famous cross talk said, "Learning to bully is called learning, but I know how to take the exam" is still reasonable. As a result, Chen Ziang failed in the imperial examination again in World War II. As for why he failed, there is no detailed record. At that time, there were still some problems in the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty. Whether the questioner asks questions according to his own preferences, or the examiner is petty and secretly accepts gifts, or various factors such as Gates and the world are indifferent at that time will affect everyone's performance. Since ancient times, there have been many things of cheating in the examination room. In any case, Chen Ziang failed again. He was depressed and studied hard for many years. Do you want to mention the sword he put down in the past and be a dude who hates others? Unwilling, he lingered at the corner of Chang 'an Avenue, thinking about what to do. Suddenly, not far ahead, many people were watching, and he stepped forward curiously. It turned out that a person was buying a huqin, but it was too expensive, with a price tag of 1 million, and it was clearly stated that it would not make a counter-offer. If you have money, you can buy it, but if you have no money, you can go. Everyone is clamoring for what kind of piano you have, and you dare to charge millions. Chen Ziang found that people who buy pianos have great personality. Chen Ziang touched the piano and said simply, "OK, I'll take it!" " At the same time, I also tell you that the next day we will hold a banquet to play for you in Xuanyangli, Chang 'an. Please join us. Being rich is willful, but now Chen Ziang is not the wayward prodigal son before 18 years old. He has his own unique calculations in mind.
The next day, when everyone was waiting for Chen Ziang to go to Yang Xuan to play, he broke the Hu Qin in half in public and said loudly, "Chen Ziang, a Schumann, a hundred axes, nobody. This kind of joy is cheap, you should pay attention. " To put it bluntly, this is a marketing performance planned by Chen Ziang. The reason why he failed many times before was because he was not famous and had no background in Chang 'an. Almost all the poets we are familiar with in the early Tang Dynasty were child prodigies, and they didn't become popular until the Tang Dynasty. Chen Ziang didn't start studying until he was eighteen, so he started late, so he came up with a coup. First, I bought millions of violins, which became the headline of Chang 'an that day and successfully attracted a group of celebrities from Chang 'an to watch. Then, after breaking the Hu Qin, he sent them his works, which is similar to the way of self-recommendation. Sure enough, he became popular in Chang 'an that day. Of course, he is also very powerful. Wang Shi, the fourth husband of Zhao Jing, exclaimed after reading it: "This person must be a scholar in China."
As the saying goes, it is not easy to be famous. With this wave of marketing hot spots, in 684, the first year of Guangzhai, Chen Ziang took part in another scientific research in Luoyang, the capital of East China, and eventually became a scholar. After entering the official career, Chen Ziang positively evaluated current affairs, cared about state affairs, and called a spade a spade in politics for many times. But at that time, the court was in a "dispute between Wu and Li", and the power center gradually moved to Wu Zetian, so no one cared about his petition for the country and the people. Instead, it offended many officialdom colleagues. In the same year, with the death of Emperor Tang Gaozong, Wu Zetian, who was in power, prepared to let Emperor Gaozong return to Chang 'an and be buried in Ganling. Due to the famine in Guanzhong area at that time, people's livelihood was relatively depressed. Chen Ziang called on people to write a book "The Spirit of remonstration goes to Beijing". After seeing it, Wu Zetian appreciated his talent very much. Although his suggestion was not adopted in the end, Emperor Gaozong was buried in Ganling, but she also promoted Chen Ziang to give us orthography, and rose to the right to collect the remains, similar to the assistant of the procuratorate.
Chen Ziang, who was reused by the Queen, felt that she had a chance to realize her political ambitions, so she continued to write to Emperor Wu, criticizing her shortcomings and stating the general plan of governing the country. But these were not worth mentioning in the eyes of the real politician Wu Zetian, and Chen Ziang also targeted her Wushi Group everywhere, which made her very dissatisfied and gradually alienated Chen Ziang. At the same time, in order to crack down on Li Tang's influence and consolidate her own regime, she reused brutal officials and made everyone feel insecure for a while. Chen Ziang was also accused of knitting and sent to prison. It seems that imprisonment is a matter for writers in the early Tang Dynasty, and Luo is no exception. In prison, Chen Ziang was arrogant and never gave in. Finally, due to insufficient evidence and Chen Ziang's reputation in Beijing, he was forced to be released. After two years in prison, he left 38 famous stories.
From then on, the Tang Dynasty really had its own poetic style, which was magnificent and profound. The extravagant style of writing in the Six Dynasties suddenly collapsed under Chen Ziang's pen, which is why he was called "poetic bone" by later Buddhas.
After he was released from prison, Chen Ziang was extremely disappointed with his career. Staying in this nominal position has made him lose his authenticity. Just when he was confused, the recruitment advertisement on the streets of Chang 'an once again attracted him. When Robin was in his fifties, he was going to be a soldier, when he was only 27 years old. In the first year of Tian Tong, when the Qidan cavalry invaded the border and made an insurrection, Wu Zetian decided to send troops to suppress it. Patriotism rekindled, and he resolutely joined the army, following another major force of Wu at that time-Wu Youyi, king of Jian 'an County. Chen Ziang, who is willing but unable to do so, doesn't know that this war, which seems to resist foreign enemies and protect our mountains and rivers, is actually mixed with power and politics. Wu Zetian, who just came to power, was eager to consolidate his political power and let his Wu Shi Group establish its prestige in the DPRK, so he sent more than 50,000 people to hunt down Yingzhou at all costs, and Chen Ziang, as the shogunate sent by the emperor, was of course responsible for Wu Yousi's military intelligence.
Wu Youyi, who was born in a noble family, was arrogant, extravagant, reckless, uneducated, not to mention knowing the art of war and working for him since he was a child. Because of his headstrong and command mistakes, 50,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 forwards soon fell into the trap. This made Wu Youyi, who was as timid as a mouse, stop. He didn't want success, but he wanted nothing, so he put the army in Youzhou and stopped. This made Chen Ziang, who was born as a swordsman and was familiar with the art of war, very dissatisfied. It would be even more dangerous if he gave up 10,000 strikers and waited for the Khitans to eat before coming back to deal with them. So I advised Wu Youyi to volunteer and lead an army of 10,000 to save the striker. However, Wu Youyi, who was as timid as a mouse and did nothing, not only failed to take his advice, but demoted him to a sergeant and was not allowed to participate in any decision. Chen Ziang's burning blood suddenly dropped to freezing point, and the burning heart of serving the country was doused.
The double disappointment of official career and battlefield made him gradually lose his faith and become more helpless and lonely in reality. When the army was living in Youzhou, one day he came to Youzhou Taiwan, also known as Huang Jintai, where he looked at himself alone between heaven and earth and could not help but burst into tears.
The evaluation of this poem by later generations is also extremely high. Huang once said in the Tang Poetry Express: "There is no one in my chest." Indeed, at that time in Youzhou, no one could understand Chen Ziang's mind. It is a kind of grief greater than the death of one's heart, a disappointment that all kinds of talents are neglected, and a helplessness and loneliness of disillusionment and loss of faith. He looked at everything around him, and he hoped to return to that changeable era, that era of longing for and respecting talents. Through the clouds of history, I spent a lot of money here to revive Yan State, and won the participation in the drama "Xin", thus revitalizing Yan State. Unfortunately, in such a prosperous Tang Dynasty, no one was Yan Zhaowang. He is both miserable and helpless. He finally shouted out that famous poem!
In 698 AD, the first year of Wu Zetian, Chen Ziang, who failed to join the army, gave up the power struggle in disappointment and returned to her hometown in Shehong, Sichuan, to serve her elderly father and died. At the same time, like other poets, he returned to the mountains and nature and prepared to spend the rest of his life in this idyllic landscape. However, the sinister officialdom and people's hearts once again entangled him. The wealth left by his father after his death made Duan Jian in Shehong county insatiable, so he colluded with Wu's consort who had offended in Beijing at that time and falsely accused him of being put in prison. Many years ago, Chen Ziang stuck to his true intentions in Chang 'an Prison and never gave in to those evil forces. But this time, although he let go of the heart of being an official, his lofty aspirations and transcendental soul remain unspoiled. But he didn't make it, and finally died of grief in Shehong prison at the age of 38.
Throughout his life, Chen Ziang was a fencing master who was obsessed with martial arts when he was a teenager. Suddenly repent as an adult, turn around and study hard. Although his career was gloomy, his ending was also awkward. But it will eventually become a generation of literate Sect with a long history. The most rare thing in life is the return of the prodigal son. If you are still confused and dissatisfied with yourself at this moment, you must make a change like Chen Ziang. When you change, you will find a different self. The process of change is bitter, and the journey may be far away, but this is the meaning of turning back: that is, constantly trying to find the true self!