Li Shangyin's Life
Li Shangyin was a scholar in Tang Wenzong for three years (AD 847). He was a judge of Hongnongwei, Sasuke shogunate and Dongchuan Festival. In the early days, Li Shangyin won the appreciation of Ling Huchu, an important member of the Cattle Party, because of his literary talent, and Wang Maoyuan of the Li Party married his daughter because he loved him, so he was rejected by the Cattle Party. Since then, Li Shangyin struggled for survival in the struggle between Niu and Li factions, worked as an aide in various provinces, and was frustrated and down and out for life. Tang poetry in the late Tang Dynasty has a downward trend in the light of its predecessors, while Li Shangyin pushed it to another peak, and Du Mu was the most famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty. They are also called "Little Du Li" and have poems by Li Yishan.
Li Shangyin once claimed to belong to the same clan as the royal family in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Caitian's textual research confirmed that he was a distant imperial clan in the Tang Dynasty. But there is no official document to prove this, so it can be considered that this blood relationship between Li Shangyin and the royal family in the Tang Dynasty is quite distant. Li Shangyin affirmed his imperial clan status many times in his poems. However, this did not bring him any real benefits.
Li Shangyin's family can be traced back to his great-grandfather Li She. The highest administrative post that Li She once held was Meiyuan County Order; Great-great-grandfather Li Shuheng (uncle) is an Anyang county commandant. Grandfather Li Biao, a former Xingzhou document, joined the army; His father, Reese, is a royal adviser in the temple. When Li Shangyin was born, Li Siren was ordered by jia county (now jia county, Henan).
Around 10, Li Shangyin's father died in the shogunate of Zhejiang, and he returned to his hometown in Henan with his mother and younger siblings, living in poverty and relying on relatives for help. At home, Li Shangyin is the eldest son, so he also bears the responsibility of supporting the portal. Later, he mentioned in his article that he was a "bookseller" when he was young, that is, copying books for others to earn money to supplement his family.
Li Shangyin's poor life in his early years had a great influence on the formation of his character and thoughts. On the one hand, he is eager to be an official as soon as possible to honor his ancestors. As a matter of fact, he did try to shoulder the responsibilities of the family. As an adult, Li Shangyin used the time of his mother's death to move the coffins of relatives buried in various places to Xingyang. Chen Yiyun believes that this is not only dominated by the patriarchal ideology, but also because he was lonely and poor since childhood, so he paid more attention to the love of flesh and blood. On the other hand, his early experience made him develop a hesitant, sensitive and lofty character, which was not only reflected in his poems, but also reflected in his tortuous career.
Li Shangyin's enlightenment education probably came from his father, and the teacher who had the greatest influence on him was his uncle who was the same clan after he returned to his hometown. The uncle went to imperial academy, but he never became an official and lived in seclusion. According to Li Shangyin's memory, this uncle was very accomplished in Confucian classics, primary school, ancient prose and calligraphy, and was highly valued by Li Shangyin. Influenced by him, Li Shangyin "can write ancient prose, but he doesn't like accidentally". At about the age of 16, he wrote two excellent articles (the theory of genius and the theory of holiness, which no longer exist), and won the appreciation of some scholars. Among these scholars, Tian Pingjun was the envoy of Linghu Chu.
Linghu Chu is another important figure in Li Shangyin's study career. He is an expert in parallel prose and appreciates Li Shangyin's talent very much. Not only taught him the writing skills of parallel prose, but also subsidized his family life and encouraged him to make friends with his children. With the help of Ling Huchu, Li Shangyin's parallel prose writing has made rapid progress, from which he gained great confidence, hoping to develop his career with this ability. During this period (in 830, the fourth year of Taihe), Li Shangyin's gratitude and self-satisfaction to Linghu Chu were beyond words: "There was never the slightest neglect to offer Long Tao an empty pen and ink stone. Since I deliver books in the middle of the night, I don't envy Wang Xiang for having a sword. "
In the Tang Dynasty, intellectuals who lacked family background all wanted to develop in their official career. There are two main entrances: imperial examination and shogunate. The former is considered as the qualification to enter the officialdom and the official recognition of its administrative ability; The latter is a political team cultivated by some powerful bureaucrats themselves. If they perform well, they can often become official officials of the court through the recommendation of these bureaucrats. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, many officials not only had the qualification to take the imperial examination, but also had the experience of being aides.
Li Shangyin was appreciated by Linghu Chu when he was young. He had the opportunity to learn Liu Siwen from him and naturally became Linghu Chu's assistant. However, it is precisely because of this experience that he has been entangled in the political whirlpool of the party struggle between Niu and Li all his life.
The dispute between Niu and Li originated from the imperial examination in the third year of Yuanhe (808). Li Jifu, then prime minister, attacked candidates Niu Senru and Li Zongmin because they severely criticized him in the examination paper. As a result, Li Jifu made enemies with Niu Sengru, Li Zongmin and others, and was later inherited by Li Deyu, the son of Ji Li Fu. The "Niu Party" led by Niu Senru and Li Zongmin and the "Li Party" led by Li Deyu attacked each other and fought endlessly for decades, which became the political history of the late Tang Dynasty.
Classic
According to the style of some of Li Shangyin's poems, it is inferred that he is introverted (Yuan XIngpei, editor-in-chief: Chapter IV Xi of China Literature History). This guess is somewhat arbitrary. If we look at Li Shangyin's other lively and humorous works, we can draw a completely opposite conclusion. Existing materials (mainly his own poems and articles) show that Li Shangyin has a wide range of social activities, and he is a sociable and popular person.
The characters in Li Shangyin's social circle are divided into four categories:
People related to career and people's livelihood. Including Ling Huchu, Hu Ling Mao, Cui Rong, Wang Maoyuan, Li Zhifang, Lu Hongzhi, Zheng Ya, Liu Zhongying, Li Hui, Du Yan, Xiao Huan, Yang Yuqing, Yang Sifu, Zhou Yong, Yao He, Sun Jian and others. Give to each other and make friends with poets. Including Du Mu, Wen, Bai Juyi and others.
Friends with similar political views or beliefs. Including Liu Geng, Taoist Yong, Cui Jue, Li Ying and others.
A courtesy connection between friends or relatives. Including all stages of Ling and his colleagues.
Contact with ling huchu
After his father died, Li Shangyin accompanied his mother back to his hometown in Henan, which was a completely strange and quite difficult environment for him. Without the influence of family or clan, he naturally entered a social circle during his growth. Li Shangyin established his own social network by virtue of his talent, character and personality. As early as the age of sixteen, he began to associate with some local intellectuals, distributed his works to them for reading, and gained a certain reputation-perhaps this is why he attracted the attention of Ling Huchu.
Knowing Linghu Chu is one of the most important events in Li Shangyin's life, and his later life state is largely related to it. Linghu Chu helped Li Shangyin to enter the social class of scholar-officials, but at the same time, he was also involved in the whirlpool of party struggle. From 829 (the third year of Emperor Wenzong's reign) when Ling Huchu hired him as his aide to 837 (the second year of Emperor Wenzong's reign) when he died, they maintained a very close relationship. Li Shangyin won the trust of Ling Huchu with humility and sincerity. One thing can illustrate the degree of this trust: Linghu Chu called Li Shangyin to his side on his deathbed and asked him to write a suicide note on his behalf-this is not an ordinary suicide note, but a political suicide note to be presented to the emperor. Linghu Chu himself is a master of this style, and he would rather let Li Shangyin help him complete the summary of his life. On the other hand, there is a very subtle sense of distance between them. Li Shangyin called Linghu Chu "four zhangs" on some occasions, which seemed quite close, but he never relaxed and forgot to express his gratitude from time to time. Of course, rather than Li Shangyin keeping his distance carefully, Linghu Chu's attitude gave the two sides a boundary for communication.
In the process of associating with Ling Huchu, Li Shangyin learned how to get along with people who both have status and appreciate their talents. Such a person has multiple identities for him: Bole, teacher, elder, boss and patron ... In short, it will have a great impact on his personal career and life.
love
Li Shangyin's portrait "Li Shangyin's Love Life" has attracted the attention of many researchers, to a certain extent, because Li Shangyin's poems, represented by "Untitled", show a complex and delicate feeling, which is easily regarded as the expression of rich love experience.
There are many speculations about Li Shangyin's love than the actual evidence, but this does not prevent people from relishing it, and even trying to analyze his poems like reading detective novels, hoping to find tangible evidence. The following women are considered to have had emotional entanglements with Li Shangyin:
The name of willow branches appeared in a group of poems (five willow branches) written by Li Shangyin in the first year of Kaicheng (836). He also wrote a long preface for this group of poems, telling the story of Liu Zhi: she is the daughter of a rich merchant in Luoyang, lively and lovely, cheerful and generous. By chance, she heard Li Shangyin's poem (Poems of Yantai). She was fascinated and took the initiative to date him. But Li Shangyin stood me up. He later learned that Herry Liu was taken as a concubine by a powerful man. The two never met again. If Li Shangyin hadn't made it up, this fruitless relationship would probably be his first love.
Song Huayang. Li Shangyin studied Taoism in Yuyang Mountain as a teenager, so some people suspect that he had an affair with a female Taoist during this period. Li Shangyin mentioned the name of "Song Huayang" in his poems, such as Moonlit Song Huayang Sisters' Meeting, Presenting Huayang Song Zhenren and Sending Qing Jingshi Mr. Liu, so Song Huayang was regarded as Li Shangyin's lover. Another exaggeration is that Li Shangyin once fell in love with Song Huayang and her sisters at the same time. Su imagined this story to the maximum extent in the Mystery of Yuxi's Poetry [5].
Jinse. Li Shangyin has a famous poem "Jinse". Liu Ban mentioned in "Zhong Shan Shi Hua" that some people speculated that "Jinse" was the servant of Linghu Chu family. Li Shangyin fell in love with Hu Ling when she was studying at home, but it didn't work out in the end.
Lotus. According to folklore, before he married the king, he had a lover nicknamed "Lotus", and they were very loving. One month before he went to Beijing to take the exam, Lotus suddenly became seriously ill, and Li Shangyin spent his last time with Lotus. This tragedy dealt a great blow to him. In his later poems, he often took lotus as the topic, which was also an attachment to old feelings.
Wang. Wang is Li Shangyin's wife. However, some people infer that Wang is Li Shangyin's remarried wife from Li Shangyin's Book of Sacrificing My Nephew and Little Nephew (Don't Want to Marry, Not Stand Up). If this view holds, Li Shangyin should still have his first wife, but the information about this is almost blank. Li Shangyin has a very good relationship with Wang. After Wang died, he wrote mourning poems such as "Song" in his room, with sincere feelings and painful meanings. Among them, the most famous one is what he wrote on his official tour of Sichuan: "After my death, I went to Shu Dong and went to Sanguanxue": "I am far away from the army, homeless, and I am sending clothes. Sprinkle three feet of snow and dream back to the old machine. " There is also speculation that Jinse is also written to commemorate the death of his wife, and the broken string is used to compare his wife's death.
The most famous research on Li Shangyin's love life is Su's Love Story Research (1927). This book was reprinted on 1947, and changed its name to Yu Xi's Poem Mystery. Su's research has inherited the achievements of harmony and broadened and enriched the content of this field. For example, through her research, most people accepted Li Shangyin's love experience with a female Taoist. However, Su's speculation and reasoning were almost unrestrained, which led to several bizarre relationships, including his relationship with a maid-in-waiting.
[Edit this paragraph] Poetry
Li Shangyin is generally regarded as the most outstanding poet in the late Tang Dynasty. His poetic style is deeply influenced by Li He, and his syntax, composition and structure are all influenced by Du Fu and Han Yu. [6] Many critics believe that among the outstanding poets in the Tang Dynasty, his importance is second only to Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei and others. As far as the uniqueness of poetic style is concerned, he is not inferior to any poet. Those who appreciate Li Shangyin's poems and those who criticize him are all aimed at his distinctive personal style. Many poets in later generations imitated Li Shangyin's style, but none of them were recognized.
According to the arrangement and research of Liu and Yu Shucheng [7], there are 594 poems handed down by Li Shangyin, of which 38 1 basically determines the writing time, and 2 13 cannot be classified as a specific year. In addition, there are more than a dozen poems suspected to be Li Shangyin's, but the evidence is insufficient.
Judging from the theme of chanting, Li Shangyin's poems can be mainly divided into several categories:
Politics and reciting history. As an intellectual who cares about politics, Li Shangyin wrote a lot of poems in this field, and about 100 poems have been handed down. Among them, Bai Yun in the Western Suburb, Shi Dong Sui and Two Feelings are more important works. Li Shangyin's early political poems were mostly based on Chen's current situation, and their harsh tone of grief and indignation and sense of self-expectation reflected his mentality at that time. In poems about political and social contents, it is a feature of Li Shangyin's poems to borrow historical themes to reflect his views on contemporary society. Fu Hou, two poems of Northern Qi Dynasty, Mao Ling, etc. It is a representative.
Express one's feelings and recite things. Li Shangyin's career was bumpy all his life, and his ambition could not be realized, so he used poetry to dispel his depression and anxiety. Ding An Tie Tower, In Spring, Happy Garden and Du Gongbu in the Middle of Shu are the most popular songs. It is worth noting that many seven-character poems in this kind of works are considered as important successors of Du Fu's poetic style.
Emotional poetry. The works that chant inner feelings, including most untitled poems, are the most distinctive parts of Li Shangyin's poems, and they are also the most concerned parts of later generations. Jinse, Poems of Yantai Mountain, Three Poems by Bi Cheng, Return to the Temple of Our Lady, etc. , has always maintained a style similar to untitled poetry. Five Willow Branches, Sending Friends to the North on a Rainy Night, Mourning for the Past and Going East, Three Passes of Snow, etc. It embodies the artistic conception of another style of Li Shangyin's emotional poems.
Socializing and communicating. Among Li Shangyin's poems used for communication, several poems addressed to Hu Ling Mao (seeing off to fill a vacancy, sending a message to Secretary Ling Huchong, paying for a doctor, sending him to be a bachelor, dreaming of being a bachelor, and Hu Ling Scheeren saying that the drama on the moon last night was a gift) are particularly eye-catching, which provides an explanation for his relationship with Hu Ling Mao.
Poetic style
His poems reflect his thoughts, and his basic ethics thoughts basically belong to Confucianism, but he is practical and has a certain critical spirit to Confucianism. He believes that it is not necessary to take Confucius as a teacher and "forbearance" as the holy thing. He also has Buddhism and Taoism, advocating "nature" as his ancestor.
Li Shangyin's poems have a distinctive and unique artistic style, beautiful words and profound meanings. Some poems can be interpreted in many ways, while others are obscure. There are about 600 existing poems, especially untitled poems, the most prominent of which is his love poems. Li Shangyin is good at writing seven laws and five-character laws, and there are also many excellent works in seven-character poems. Ye Xie, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, commented on Li Shangyin's Seven Musts in his original poem as "affectionate entrustment, tactfully worded, but unparalleled in a hundred generations."
His metrical poems inherit Du Fu's tradition in technique, and some of his works are similar to Du Fu's in style. Similar to Du Fu, Li Shangyin's The Book of Songs often uses allusions, which is more profound and difficult to understand than Du Fu's allusions, and every sentence often uses allusions. He is unique in the use of allusions, likes to use various symbols and metaphors, and sometimes he doesn't know what the purpose is when he reads complete poems. The meaning of allusions themselves is often not what Li Shangyin wants to express in his poems. For example, "Chang 'e", some people intuitively think it is a work praising Chang 'e, Ji Yun thinks it is a work mourning, some people think it is a description of a female Taoist priest, or even a poet's self-report, and there are different opinions.
It is also his style of using allusions that forms his unique poetic style. According to Huang Jian's note "Yang Wengong Yuan Tan" in Song Dynasty, every time Li Shangyin wrote a poem, he would consult a large number of books, and the room was littered with stalls, which was compared to "Rex sacrificing fish". Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty also said in a joking tone: "Rex Festival was once held in Ao Yun, and it was a piece of brocade." Criticism [8] thinks that he sometimes uses too many allusions and makes obscure mistakes, which makes people unable to understand his poems. Mr. Lu Xun once said: "Yu Xi was born with clear pronunciation and beautiful sentences. How dare he compare with others? I am dissatisfied with too many allusions." (Letter to Yang Jiyun in February 1934)
In addition, Li Shangyin's poems are gorgeous and good at describing and expressing subtle feelings.