Chapter 25 Chen Ziang

Chen Ziang (661-702), courtesy name Boyu.A native of Shehong (now Sichuan) in Zizhou.Because he once served as You Shiyi, later generations were called Chen Shiyi. Probably influenced by the cultural relics of Sichuan mountains and rivers, Chen Ziang and Li Bai were very similar when they were young.The difference is that Li Bai disdained imperial examinations and took the "shortcut" of retiring first and then becoming an official, while Chen Ziang became a Jinshi at the age of 24 and entered the official career. There are as many officials and scholars in Chang'an as crucian carp crossing the river. According to "Taiping Guangji", Chen Ziang "lived in the capital for ten years and was unknown."How to improve their popularity?Chen Ziang played a game of throwing pianos.He bought a violin at a sky-high price of millions of dollars in the downtown area, and then invited everyone to his house to listen to him play.When all the people arrived, he took out the Qin, but instead of playing it, he broke it in public.In everyone's astonishment, he said: "I have a hundred scrolls of writing, but no one knows about it. Playing the piano is a cheap thing for musicians, so it's not worth paying attention to." So he distributed the poems he had prepared to everyone.This surprising move really made him "full of Beijing in one day" (see "Duyi Ji").

However, it is necessary to have confidence in doing so, that is, the poems and essays distributed to everyone are really good. Chen Zi'ang served as Lintai Zhengzi and You Suyi in the Wu Zetian Dynasty. He dared to speak out, so he offended some dignitaries and was framed by Wu Sansi and imprisoned.Later, in the name of his elders, he begged to return to his hometown, and was killed by Duan Jian, the county magistrate, who was ordered by Wu Sansi to die in prison. Jin Yuan Haowen said in the 30 poems of "On Poetry Quatrains": "Shen Song galloped in the field of calligraphy and ink, and Qi Liang was not abandoned at the beginning of the romance. If the merits of the discussion can be compared with Wu Li, co-authored gold cast Ziang." "Ping Wu Li" In the Spring and Autumn Period, Fan Li was the number one hero in defeating Wu by Goujian, king of Yue.Gou Jian killed Wen Zhong, who was also a hero, but Fan Li's retreat no longer posed a threat to Gou Jian, so Gou Jian cast a statue of Fan Li in gold to commemorate him.Yuan Haowen meant that if the first hero of Tang poetry was judged by his contribution to the development of poetry, it was not Li Bai or Du Fu who should be cast in gold, but Chen Ziang.

Strictly speaking, Chen Ziang's poems are not very good, far behind Li and Du.However, he pointed out a correct path for the development of Tang poetry in the midst of the melodious voice of "the wind will not abandon Qi Liang at the beginning", that is, the "Xingji" that he said in "The Preface to Xiuzhu" should be carried forward. Tradition and the "Han and Wei style character" of Jian'an Zhengshi.Although this was an incomplete innovation under the retro banner, it had a deafening effect at the time. Among Chen Ziang's poems, the thirty-eight poems of "Ganyu Poems", seven poems of "Jiqiu Langu" and "Taiwan Song of Dengyouzhou" are the most famous.

His "Poetry of Feeling Encounters" was not written at one time and one place, but is very rich in content. It exposes the social malpractices of Wu Zetian's dynasty from different angles.Among his poems, the most widely read is the "Taiwan Song of Dengyouzhou":