Chapter 30 Chapter VIII The Fate of the Great Poets
In June of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Empire fled to Shuzhong in a hurry, and Chang'an, the capital of the capital, was captured by the Anlushan rebels without bloodshed.At this time, there were still many princes and ministers stranded in Chang'an City. These people naturally fell into the hands of the rebels, and some famous cultural celebrities were also among them. Among them were Wang Wei and others.The great poet Du Fu was also captured by the rebels and escorted back to Chang'an.Miraculously, Du Fu, who was still unknown at the time, managed to escape from the capital in disguise and wrote the most thrilling and legendary stroke in his life.However, Wang Wei and Zhang Yu were escorted to Anlu Mountain in Luoyang because they were too famous and belonged to celebrities at the time.An Lushan cherished their talents, imprisoned them in Luoyang Pushi Temple, and forced them to become "false officials".
There is an idiom called "Two-pronged approach", which tells the story of Zhang Yan.Guo Ruoxu of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Pictures and News Records·Story Supplements": "The Tang Dynasty Zhang Yuyuan's paintings of landscapes, pine and rocks are more famous in the world. Especially for painting pine, he has a special image. He can hold two pipes in one hand. It is said that Zhang Yan has a unique skill in painting creation, he can hold a brush in each hand, and draw two pine trees at the same time: the pine tree drawn by one stroke "moistens with spring", It is full of vitality; the pine tree in another stroke is "as miserable as autumn", haggard and dry.The two different images are equally vivid and lifelike. People are all amazed by his "two-pronged approach" ability.Before the Anshi Rebellion, Zhang Yuguan went to Wailang, a member of the ancestral hall, and Judge Yantie.
Wang Wei, courtesy name Mojie, was called "Wang Youcheng" because he later became an official in Youcheng.Wang Wei's grandfather was an official in charge of music, his father died early, and his mother was a devout Buddhist.Wang Wei was talented and intelligent since he was a child, and he was able to write articles at the age of nine.At the age of seventeen, he wrote the famous "Recalling Brothers in Shandong on September 9th": "I am a stranger in a foreign land alone, and I miss my relatives every festival. I know that my brothers climbed to a high place, and there is one less person who planted dogwood everywhere." The noise for a while showed Wang Wei's outstanding talent.
Due to the influence of his family, Wang Wei was proficient in temperament and good at playing the pipa. Qi Wang Li Fan (Xuanzong's fourth brother) used him as an actor (that is, a musician).In the spring of the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), King Qi Li Fan held a banquet in the mansion of the Nine Princesses. Wang Wei played the new pipa song "Yulun Robe" solo, "the tone is sad, and the audience is moved."The princess greatly appreciated it.Wang Wei presented his poems to the princess.The princess was horrified, and said: "I have always recited and practiced them all. They are often called the masterpieces of the ancients, and I am my son!" She always thought it was written by the ancients.So he ordered Wang Wei to change the actor's clothes and sit at the guest table.Afterwards, the princess summoned an examiner to the first place, recommended him to be the leader, and made him a Jinshi in one fell swoop.
Because of his outstanding literary talent, Wang Wei was able to visit the homes of princes and generals as a scribe, and had many contacts with the princes of the Tang Dynasty. There was also a story about him writing poems to help people reunite, which was passed down as a good story.Ning Wang Li Xian is Xuanzong's elder brother, because he once let Xianzong support his third brother Li Longji to be the crown prince.Once, when King Ning Li Xian was shopping, he found a cake seller's wife who was slender and beautiful. When he saw it, he was very moved and promised a lot of money to the cake seller.The cake seller was so greedy for profit that he agreed to sell his wife to Ning Wang Li Xian.Ning Wang Li Xian brought the cake seller's wife back to the mansion as a concubine, "doting more than others".But the cake seller's wife is always unhappy.Li Xian, the king of Ning, noticed something, and asked, "Do you recall the baker?" The wife of the baker didn't answer in silence.Ning Wang Li Xian sent someone to summon the cake seller.The cake seller's wife couldn't forget her old love. She looked at her ex-husband and burst into tears on the spot.At that time, many scribes were guests in Ning Wang's mansion, and they felt sad when they saw this situation.Wang Wei was also there at the time, and wrote a poem about it, saying: "Don't be spoiled by the present, and you will never forget the kindness in the future. Seeing the flowers full of tears, I don't share the words of the king of Chu." As soon as the poem came out, the audience was shocked.King Ning was greatly moved, and ordered other scribes to compose poems, but no one dared to respond. They were all worried that they would be inferior to Wang Weishi if they had Wang Weizhuyu in front of them.So King Ning returned the cake seller's wife to the cake seller, "to end his ambition".Since then, Wang Wei has become well-known among officials and ministers for his poems and books.
After that, Wang Wei passed the Shi Brown Examination of the Ministry of Officials and was awarded the title of Tai Le Cheng.In the Tang Dynasty, there was Taiyue Department, which was in charge of presiding over the singing, dancing and playing music at national sacrificial banquets, and managing musicians and actors.Tai Lecheng is the deputy chief of the Tai Le Department, in charge of music.This official position coincided with Wang Wei's interests and strengths, but an accident happened soon after. The actors in Wang Wei's office danced the yellow lion without authorization, because the yellow lion dance is the music and dance used by the emperor, and the emperor must be present to watch it. Dance is beyond the standard, Wang Wei was implicated for this, was demoted to Jeju (now Jining, Shandong) Sicang to join the army.
In the spring of the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan (726), Wang Wei left Jeju and came to Luoyang to be a candidate.At that time, Wei Kang knew about the election and saw that Wang Weicai had learned a lot, so he was elected to serve in the imperial court.During his stay in Luoyang, when Wang Wei was 30 years old, his wife died of illness.He had a deep affection for his wife and never married for the rest of his life.After his wife passed away, Wang Wei felt that "there are so many sad things in his life, and there is nowhere to go to Buddhism", so he began to learn Buddhism.Wang Wei's word "Majie" comes from "The Sutras Said by Vimalakirti".Vimalakirti, also known as the Golden Millet Tathagata, is said to have extraordinary intelligence, enjoy the wealth and honor in the world, and is good at discussing Buddhism, which is deeply respected by the Buddha.Wang Wei regards Vimalakirti as a role model in his heart.
In his youth, Wang Wei had the ambition and enthusiasm of a man in a prosperous age. He was still quite enthusiastic about politics, and he also hoped to contribute to the country.This can be seen from his many poems about frontier fortresses and rangers.Either write about the heroism of a young man, or about the heroic generals, or about the suffering of conquests, or about the joy of triumph, all of which show heroism and patriotic enthusiasm.Such as "Longtou Yin":
Some of his frontier poems are heroic and vigorous, reflecting the vigorous and aggressive spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and they are all very high in art.
In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734), Zhang Jiuling served as the Minister of Zhongshu and Tongping Zhangshi.Wang Wei presented two poems, Shang Zhang Ling Gong and Xian Shi Gong, which were appreciated and recommended by Zhang Jiuling.During this period, he got acquainted with Meng Haoran who went to Chang'an to seek a way out.
Meng Haoran is famous for writing landscape and pastoral poems. Before he was forty, he lived a life of a hermit.However, Meng Haoran's choice to become a hermit is actually a "shortcut" similar to seeking immortality and Taoism.People at that time, if they wanted to make a difference in politics, they usually took the road of imperial examinations.In addition, you can also expand your influence through the secluded life of seeking immortality and visiting Taoism, attracting the attention of the court, and you may also be called to be an official.This is the so-called "shortcut to the south".When Meng Haoran was forty years old, he was already well-known all over the world, but he never received an imperial edict asking him to contribute, which made him a little restless.So, he went to Chang'an to look for opportunities.There was a gathering of literati in the capital, and Meng Haoran's eloquent words immediately shocked everyone.Scholars competed to make friends with him, including Zhang Jiuling and Wang Wei.
Wang Wei and Meng Haoran had a great intention of seeing each other later.One day, Wang Wei invited Meng Haoran to the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a guest.The two were chatting excitedly when Xuanzong came suddenly.With such a great opportunity, Meng Haoran panicked and hid under the bed in a hurry.Xuanzong came in and found that something was wrong in the house, so he questioned Wang Wei.Knowing that it was Meng Haoran who was here, Xuanzong said happily: "I have heard of this person's poem name but have never met him. Why do I hide?" After speaking, he asked Meng Haoran to come out.Meng Haoran paid homage to the emperor.Xuanzong asked Meng Haoran to recite his favorite poems.The critical moment to determine the future has arrived, and the hope of worshiping the prince is just around the corner.Meng Haoran was both excited and nervous.After thinking about it carefully, he chose "Return to Nanshan" with profound meaning:
This poem expresses his thoughts of frustration in his official career in the form of self-pity.Meng Haoran's original intention was to show that his desire to seek an official position was still alive, and he hoped that the emperor would reuse him.However, what he didn't expect was that the good wish of becoming an official was cut off in this poem.When Xuanzong heard the sentence "If you don't know the master, you will abandon it", he suddenly changed his face and said: "If you don't ask me, I will abandon you? Why don't you say, 'The air is steaming in the clouds and dreaming, and the city of Yueyang is wavering!'" (Ming Jiang Yikui "Yao "Shan Tang Wai Ji") was released and returned, but no longer appears in the record.
After experiencing this incident, Meng Haoran was hit hard and felt that he had lost his status as a hermit, so he became discouraged and began to let loose.Later, the interview brought Han Chaozong to Beijing, and he decided to take Meng Haoran with him in order to recommend it to the imperial court.But Meng Haoran missed the departure time because he was drinking with others.Han Chaozong was very angry and left alone. "Hao Ran does not regret it."Perhaps by this time, he finally understood that writing poetry and being an official were two different things.
However, Zhang Jiuling did not forget this poetic "Master Meng".After he was dismissed from the position of prime minister and demoted to be the governor of Jingzhou, he also hired Meng Haoran as the shogunate.The shogunate is equivalent to doing copywriting work such as the current secretary.
Meng Hao later died of illness in his prime, but it was because of eating the wrong food.At that time, Wang Changling, the most famous poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, came to Xiangyang. After hearing that Meng Haoran was dismissed because he wanted to be an official, he immediately came to visit, showing sympathy for each other.At that time, Wang Changling was hailed as the master of seven masters, and his name was all over the world.He has famous works:
The artistic conception is lofty, the momentum is vigorous, and the style is high, and it is regarded as the masterpiece of the Tang Dynasty.There is a proverb "Fell Wang Changling alive" ("New Words of the Tang Dynasty"), which is specially used to satirize those ordinary people who steal articles from famous scholars, which shows that Wang Changling was famous at that time.
The two famous poets hit it off.Regardless of recovering from a serious illness, Meng Haoran flirted with Wang Changling and ate more raw and fishy food, which caused him to die of an old illness at the age of fifty-two.
Wang Changling, courtesy name Shaobo.In the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan (727), he was promoted as a Jinshi, and was awarded the secretary and supervisor of the school as the secretary, and Lijiang Ningcheng.Because Wang Changling was informal, he was repeatedly reprimanded, and was later demoted to be a captain of Longbiao (now Qianyang County, Hunan Province).Li Bai heard that he was demoted, and wrote a poem "Wearing that Wang Changling Zuo Qianlong Biaoyao has this message", which is quite a pity for the same disease.The poem says:
Wang Changling's ending was extremely tragic, and he died indirectly under the lead of the Anshi Rebellion.In the second year of Zhide (757), Wang Changling abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown in order to avoid the disaster of swords and soldiers in the Anshi Rebellion. Unexpectedly, he was killed by Lu Qiuxiao, the governor of Haozhou (now Fengyang, Anhui). He was about 60 years old.
According to historical records, Lu Qiuxiao was a man who was "unruly and violent, controlled his little grace, and liked to be alone".Lu Qiuxiao killed Wang Changling, I don't know if it was because of old grievances or jealousy.Lu Qiuxiao later refused to send troops to rescue Zhang Xun in Suiyang, which led to Suiyang being captured by the Anlushan rebels, and Zhang Xun and others died heroically in the city.In a rage, Zhang Hao, the Jiedu envoy of Henan, killed Lu Qiuxiao with a stick.Before Lu Qiuxiao died, he pleaded to avoid death because there were still relatives in the family.Zhang Hao sneered and said: "Wang Changling's relatives, who do you want to raise with?" There are still relatives in Wang Changling's family, so Lu Qiuxiao was speechless and closed his eyes to die.
Back to the topic of Wang Wei.After Wang Wei was promoted by Zhang Jiuling, he was in high spirits and was preparing to show his ambitions.At this time, a major event happened suddenly, which not only changed Wang Wei's life, but also changed the political situation of the entire Tang Dynasty.Zhou Ziliang, the supervisory censor, was dissatisfied with Li Linfu's monopoly and Niu Xianke, so he wrote a letter to impeach Niu Xianke, which angered Xuanzong and "ordered Yu Chaotang to kill him" ("Old Tang Book Volume Ninety-nine Zhang Jiuling Biography") ).Zhang Jiuling was also implicated, and was dismissed from his position on the charge of "sitting and attracting someone other than himself", and moved to the left to become the governor of Jingzhou.
In the history of China, there are many examples like Zhou Ziliang - those who dare to put forward different opinions are often ruined and ruined.This makes some people deliberately hide their true faces, so "in ancient and modern China and abroad, only China has a lot of facial makeup, which makes foreigners amazed."Zhou Ziliang's murder and Zhang Jiuling's resignation had a great impact on Wang Wei, and he completely changed his face because of this incident.
Wang Wei respected Zhang Jiuling very much, and admired Zhang Jiuling's integrity.After Zhang Jiuling became the chief historian of Jingzhou, Wang Wei wrote a poem "Send Jingzhou Prime Minister Zhang": "Where are you thinking? I look deeply at Jingmen. There is no acquaintance in the world, and I miss the old kindness all my life. Fang will be with the farm and plant the old Qiuyuan. How can you send a message to see the flying geese in the south?" Wang Wei was promoted by Zhang Jiuling, after Zhang Jiuling lost power, Li Linfu took control of the government, Wang Wei naturally received a cold reception.
Making meritorious deeds is the greatest wish of Chinese literati, and being loyal to the emperor and serving the country is just a form of endorsement for this wish that conforms to internal ethical concepts and external moral evaluations. When literati fail to achieve smooth sailing in their official careers, they can only feel sorry for themselves at the edge of the times , and the by-products of borderline emotions are often poetry.This is especially evident in Wang Wei. After being frustrated in politics, the content and style of his poems have undergone major changes. "Moon" ("Yan Branch") etc. are gradually disappearing, and replaced by "In old age, I only like to be quiet, and I don't care about everything. There is no long-term strategy for self-care, and empty knowledge returns to the old forest. The pine wind blows the belt, and the mountain moon shines on the piano. You ask the poor. Li, fisherman's songs enter Pushen." ("Rewarding Zhang Shaofu") This kind of landscape poem that is indifferent to the world.
In order to avoid the real political struggle, Wang Wei also began to devote himself to Buddha.When he was in the capital, he often communicated with famous monks, donated money and food to monks in temples, and only "enjoyed talking in mystery" every day.And he himself lived an ascetic life.In his residence in the capital, there were only tea pans (tea-making utensils), medicine mortars, scripture cases, rope beds, and no other luxurious things, which did not match his celebrity status.Whenever he retreated from the court, he lit incense, sat alone, and read scriptures as his business.After the death of his wife, he did not remarry anymore, and had no children. He had always been "alone in one room, shielded from dust and dust" ("Old Tang Book Volume 190: Biography of Wang Wei").In such a mental state, Wang Wei's life can be said to be uneventful.He no longer has any sense of responsibility to the country and the people, so even if Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong came to power successively, the political struggle to the death did not affect him.His whole life could have been spent comfortably.However, Wang Wei, who doesn't care about everything, still can't escape the impact of the turmoil of the times-the Anshi Rebellion broke out.
In June of the first year of Zhide (756), the Anlushan rebels captured Tongguan, and Xuanzong fled to Shuzhong in a hurry.At that time, Wang Wei was in the middle of the war in the capital, so he had no time to escape from Chang'an and was captured by the rebels.He deliberately took laxatives and pretended to be dumb.Knowing his talent, An Lushan welcomed him to Luoyang, detained him in Pushi Temple, and forcibly awarded him to Shizhong.
Once, An Lushan held a banquet at Ningbi Pool in Luoyang and called Xuanzong's Liyuan disciples to play music.At that time, the country was in ruins, and the disciples of the Liyuan wept, and had no intention of playing music.The musician Lei Haiqing couldn't bear the grief and indignation. He dropped his instrument and wept westward.An Lushan was angry and "tied him in front of the horse-testing hall and dismembered him".Wang Wei was very sad when he heard this, so he wrote a poem: "Thousands of households are sad and smoke wild, when will all the officials come to the sky again? Autumn locust leaves fall into the empty palace, and the head of Ningbi pool plays the orchestra." Expressing his love for Tang Ting meaning of remembrance.This poem later spread to Suzong's ears, and he was very moved, so it became Wang Wei's later life-saving straw.
After the Tang army regained Luoyang, the eastern capital, Wang Wei was imprisoned by the Tang army in Yang Guozhong's old house in Xuanyang, waiting to be dealt with, because he had accepted a fake official and had "dishonest" behavior.Wang Wei couldn't help panicking.Prime Minister Cui Yuan knew that Wang Wei was good at painting, so he called Wang Wei and three others to paint murals in his private residence.At that time, Cui Yuan made great achievements and was very favored. Wang Wei counted on Cui Yuan to save him and say a few good words for him in front of the emperor, so when he painted, he was "exquisite in thinking and extremely capable".
After the Tang court regained the two capitals, Emperor Suzong returned to Chang'an, and all officials who served in the puppet court of Anlu Mountain were demoted or killed.Because Suzong had read Wang Wei's "Ningbi Poetry" and his younger brother Wang Jin rescued him vigorously, Wang Wei was not punished and was still granted the crown prince Zhongyun.Eighteen of those who fell into "thief officials" were beheaded, seven of them committed suicide, and the rest were punished with sticks.Zhang Tan, who fell into the hands of the rebels together with Wang Wei, was demoted to Sima of Hengzhou and Sima of Zhongzhou.But the more this is the case, the more Wang Wei is highlighted. Wang Wei is so ashamed that he will be ashamed all his life.
In the Qianyuan period, Wang Wei moved to be the son of the crown prince Zhongshu and the scholar of Zhongshu, and soon moved to Shizhong and transferred to Shangshu Youcheng.Even so, Wang Wei became more passive and withdrawn after experiencing the chaotic situation.He is still an official of the Tang court in name, but actually lives in seclusion.The Lantian villa he once obtained from Song Zhiwen was located in Wangchuan (in today's Lantian County, Shaanxi Province), surrounded by green trees. Scenic spots, and Taoist friend Pei Di "going on a floating boat, playing the piano and composing poems, singing and singing all day long", expressing love for mountains and rivers, and escaping into Buddhism.He also collected and compiled the poems written by friends gathered in his countryside, titled "Wangchuan Collection", most of which were pastoral landscape poems.Most of Wang Wei's later works are negative and low-key, because of their high artistic quality, they are easy to infect readers, especially those frustrated literati.
The Wang Wei brothers all practice Buddhism and Taoism. They usually only eat vegetables and vegetarian food, rarely eat meat and fish, and do not wear Wencai and brocade clothes.
In the second year of Shangyuan (761), Wang Wei died of illness at the age of 61.When he was dying, Wang Wei suddenly had a feeling, so he asked left and right for pen and ink, and wrote a farewell letter to his younger brother Wang Jin who was in Fengxiang. He also wrote several farewell letters to his relatives and friends in his life. "Purpose of Cultivating the Mind", without any mention of political affairs or family affairs, after finishing writing, he solemnly stopped writing and died.At this time, his heart should be as calm as water. During the sixty years of boundless years, he had dreamed, pursued, fought, and given up. In the end, everything drifted away like a cloud of smoke.
Not long after Wang Wei's death, Daizong, who was in power, loved literature and said to Wang Jin, who had become prime minister: "Qing's uncle, the name of the poem in Tianbao, I have heard its music from all the thrones. How many anthologies are there today, Qing You can come in." Wang Jin said: "Brother Kaiyuan, there are more than one hundred thousand poems in Kaiyuan, and after Tianbao, there is not one out of ten. Compared with the relatives and compilations between Chinese and foreign relatives, there are more than four hundred poems." ("Old Tang Dynasty") Book Volume One Hundred and Ninety Two Biography of Wang Wei") So Wang Wei's poems were played.Daizong spoke highly of Wang Wei's poems, and considered him "the emperor of the world".
Wang Wei is a representative of poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He was an official in the capital for many years, and he often made friends with princes and noble lords.He is good at writing five-character poems. Because he is proficient in rhythm, his five-character poems are easy to enjoy, so he has a wide spread and a high reputation.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Liyuan disciples still sang Wang Wei's quatrains, which shows its profound influence.Most of the landscape poems he wrote are scenes and wins.Yin Fan commented on his poems: "Wei's poems are beautiful and elegant, with new ideas and rationale. They are pearls in the spring, and they are painted on the wall. Every word and sentence is out of the ordinary world."
Wang Wei is versatile, proficient in music, as well as cursive and official calligraphy, especially famous for poetry and painting.The highest state of Chinese painting is manifested as "landscape", and "landscape" is a new life created by Wang Wei.Wang Wei first adopted the new technique of "breaking ink" to render landscapes with thick and light ink, breaking the shackles of heavy green colors and line outlines, greatly developing the new artistic conception of brush and ink in landscape painting, and preliminarily laying the foundation for Chinese ink landscape painting. "Pomo" refers to a technique of using ink that uses thick and light ink to break and infiltrate to cover up, so as to achieve the effect of nourishing and fresh.Wang Wei's ink painting style has almost influenced the entire history of the development of Chinese landscape painting since the mid-Tang Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that the literati paintings that occupy the mainstream of ancient Chinese landscape painting have been greatly influenced by Wang Wei.Su Shi, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, praised Wang Wei as "there are paintings in poems, and poems in paintings", and Dong Qichang promoted him as the pioneer of Nanzong landscape painting.
Notes:
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