This Shiyin's career is in a mess, but he has the strongest circle of friends in Datang
In the Tang Dynasty, which was rich in poets, Meng Haoran was called a "weird person".
He is a "fancy boy" who pursues poetry, casualness and freedom. He likes to linger in the mountains, rivers and countryside, but he is extremely utilitarian and has a bumpy road to pursue an official career.
He is arrogant and arrogant, and he is not so peaceful, but he has become good friends with many famous writers: Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei... Meng Haoran wrote poems to them, and they also wrote poems to Meng Haoran. The world once described it as: Du Fu wrote to Li Bai He wrote a lot of poems, but Li Bai rarely wrote them to Du Fu, because Li Bai wrote all his poems to Meng Haoran.
How does a man whose career is a mess, write those idyllic poems that are light and natural?
Living in seclusion in Lumen Mountain, writing famous sentences through the ages
Meng Haoran's talent is known to the world.
Born in a scholarly family, he has been reading poetry and books since he was a child. When many young people have been studying poetry and books for ten years, he chose to be a "Li Ziqi of the Tang Dynasty" and his friend Zhang Zirong. Living in seclusion in Lumen Mountain, traveling in the mountains and rivers every day, reading books and writing poems, is very enjoyable.
The bells of the mountain temples are chiming in the daytime, and the fishing beam crossing is making noise.
People followed the sand road to Jiangcun, and Yu also returned to Lumen by boat.
Lumen's moon opened the smoke tree, and suddenly came to Panggong's hidden place.
Yan Fei pine path is long and lonely, only quiet people come and go at night.
——Meng Haoran, "The Song of the Deer at Night"
Meng Haoran's poems are mostly five-character quatrains, mainly expressing his own seclusion life. The style of poetry is light and natural, and he loves the landscape, just like the freehand brushwork of landscape painting. .
Yu Qinghui is in the fall, and he takes care of the rivers and rivers lightly.
Hong Cheng loves water and things, and he is willing to be with you.
A white-headed fisherman, a newly-dressed woman.
They seem to know each other, but they are speechless.
——Meng Haoran, "Ye River Rafting"
There is such a picture in front of me: the afterglow of the sunset, the fishing boat singing late, the clear water is clear, the boat is rafting in the clear stream, very calm and leisurely, the white-headed old man is sitting on the shore fishing, the young girl with fresh makeup is washing her clothes by the water, looking at each other as if Once acquainted, but we can only see each other and have no chance to chat.
And Meng Haoran happened to pass by, so he recorded this beautiful moment.
Life in Lumen Mountain is beautiful.
One morning, Meng Haoran woke up, pushed open the door and walked out. It was full of spring outside, and everything looked like he had just woken up. Xinxin opened his eyes.
Meng Haoran's thoughts flowed, and he walked back into the house and wrote this famous sentence:
Chunmian does not realize the dawn, and hears birds chirping everywhere.
The night comes wind and rain, Whispering Colour.
——Meng Haoran, "Spring Dawn"
What Meng Haoran didn't expect was that today, more than a thousand years later, as long as we mention Tang poetry, the first thing that children of a few years old will memorize is still "Spring Dawn".
We don't know how long Meng Haoran stayed in Lumen Mountain, but it must have been the happiest time of his life.
The strongest circle of friends has spawned a series of shocking "farewell poems"
Meng Haoran's talent has attracted many fans, and even the famous Li Bai, Du Fu, Zhang Jiuling, Wang Wei, and Wang Changling have become close friends with him.
As a result, the most powerful "circle of friends" in the Tang Dynasty was born. Because of these friendships, Meng Haoran also created a series of "farewell poems" that were astonishing.
The first to bid farewell to her seclusion life was Zhang Zirong, Meng Haoran's friend.
In the autumn of AD 711, Zhang Zirong decided not to travel with Meng Haoran anymore. He went to Beijing to take the exam to get a name, and bid farewell to Lumen Mountain, where he lived in seclusion with Meng Haoran.
"Why did you just leave? Why did you betray our ideals back then?" Meng Haoran, who was heartbroken, wrote this verse:
The Xihu Mountain was extinguished, and the guests were sent out of the Chaimen.
In melancholy, farewell in the wild, and diligently ask the road.
Maolin breathed a sigh of relief, and Qiao Muer flew over.
There is no way to make Gu Feng blame, but friends must be kept.
——Meng Haoran, "Send Zhang Zirong Scholars to Elevate"
Ah, goodbye friends, ah, goodbye friends, I wish you a long journey and a gold medal title, I will continue to live in seclusion in this forest, if you succeed in the exam, please do not forget that our friendship will last forever.
Sure enough, Zhang Zirong was admitted to the jinshi examination, but the officialdom was not smooth. After several setbacks, he was demoted to the lieutenant of Lecheng, in today's Yueqing City, Zhejiang Province.
When Meng Haoran learned that his friend was demoted, he immediately set off to visit. At this time, they had been separated for 15 years.
This meeting was full of emotions. Meng Haoran wrote several poems to commemorate their reunion.
Where the reverse travels meet, the sunset in Jiangcun.
The mountains are far away to wine, and the lonely island has a total of poems.
The house is adjacent to the Jiao's room, and the people are connected to the island.
The township is more than 10,000 miles away, and it is sad to lose the road.
——Meng Haoran's "Following Zhang Bazirong in the Shangpu Pavilion of Yongjia"
Although they haven't seen each other for more than ten years, the friendship has not been alienated. This is the friendship between Meng Haoran and Zhang Zirong. This is his lifelong best friend.
Meng Haoran's second best friend was the great poet Wang Wei.
After the age of 40, Meng Haoran finally lived what he hated the most: bid farewell to her seclusion life, and went to Beijing to take the imperial examinations to gain fame.
The first half of my life was free and easy, but I was about to fall into the mundane world. Naturally, it was difficult to adapt, and I ran into obstacles everywhere.
In 729 AD, Meng Haoran entered Beijing for the first time to take the jinshi examination. His name fell to Sun Shan.
In the days of Beijing, he was accompanied by his friend Wang Wei.
Before leaving, he gave Wang Wei a poem:
What does Jiji wait for, Chao Chaokong returns to himself.
If you want to go to find herbs, it is a pity to go against your old friend.
When the road is false, the bosom friend is rare in the world.
Should only be lonely, but also cover the door of the hometown.
——Meng Haoran, "Leaving Farewell to Wang Wei"
Wang Wei and Meng Haoran were both pastoral poets and knew each other. Wang Wei did not persuade Meng Haoran to stay and continue to struggle. He knew that the landscape was Meng Haoran's destination.
Therefore, Wang Weidi wrote:
Du Men does not come back, and has been estranged from the world for a long time.
Taking this as a good policy, I persuade you to return to the old house.
Drunk singing the farmhouse wine, laughing and reading ancient books.
It's good to be a lifelong thing, no labor and nothing.
——Wang Wei "Send Meng Liu to Xiangyang"
Wang Wei persuaded Meng Haoran to go back to his hometown and live in seclusion!
The turmoil in the world is too complicated.
Meng Haoran accepted the advice of his good friend and returned to the landscape.
Wang Changling, who held a banquet, died without a relapse of an old disease.
In the spring of 735 AD, Han Chaozong, the prefect of Xiangyang, was going to the capital. He was going to take Meng Haoran and recommend him to his colleagues in the court to find him a half-official position.
When it was time to leave, he couldn't wait for the left or the right. Inspector Han was in a hurry and sent someone to rush him, but Meng Haoran replied, "I'm drinking with a good friend. I'm very interested, and I don't have time!" This is not Meng Haoran. Willful, drinking with him is the famous "poetry fairy" Li Bai.
Li Bai was unruly and arrogant all his life, and many people ignored him. His predecessor Li Yong, his peers Wang Changling, Gao Shi, and his younger Du Fu could hardly see that Li Bai praised the poetic talents of these people. Only for Meng Haoran, who was 12 years older than him, Li Bai instantly became a "little fanboy".
To this end, Li Bai also wrote a well-known farewell poem to Meng Haoran:
The old man left the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and fireworks went down to Yangzhou in March.
Lonely sails far into the blue sky, only the Yangtze River can be seen in the sky.
——Li Bai's "Yellow Crane Tower Sending Meng Haoran's Guangling"
The affection of a friend is all in this famous sentence.
Meng Haoran's poems, in love with the mountains and rivers, express personal feelings and sentiments, and brought fresh breath to the literary world of the Tang Dynasty at that time. The verses are worthy of being passed down." Meng Haoran like this, even if he has no fame, has already achieved fame.
In 740, the great poet Wang Changling went to Xiangyang to visit Meng Haoran.
At this time, Meng Haoran contracted a disease called "carbuncle", a bit similar to the current septicemia. The doctor told him not to eat fish and shrimp, otherwise it would endanger his life.
The outspoken Meng Haoran was very happy to see the arrival of his friends. He held a banquet and entertained them. The two of them had a good chat at the table. Before the banquet, a famous Xiangyang dish was served on the table - the Hanjiang Chatou bream. This is a delicious dish. of fresh water.
The willful and forgetful Meng Haoran ate a lot, drank a lot of wine, and recited a lot of poems.
A few days later, Meng Haoran's carbuncle recurred and he closed his eyes forever. He was 52 years old.
When Wang Wei learned that his old friend died, he cried very sadly. He wrote the last poem for his friend:
The deceased cannot be seen, and the Han River flows eastward.
By asking the old people of Xiangyang, the rivers and mountains are empty of Caizhou.
——Wang Wei "Crying Meng Haoran"
For Wang Wei, when high mountains and flowing waters meet bosom friends, after Meng Haoran leaves, it will be hard to find people who understand each other in the world.
This is the best friendship that can be learned from time to time.
Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Wang Changling, Zhang Jiuling... This is the super "circle of friends" created by Meng Haoran, the "fancy boy". It does not pave Meng Haoran a road to fame and wealth, but it allows us to see people The real friendship in the world, feeling the mutual sympathy among the literati, left behind a series of quatrains through the ages.
Text and photo/Peng Xiaole