The case of Li Bai

Li Bai (701-762), courtesy name Taibai and Qinglian Jushi, was born in Chengji, Longxi (now Qin'andong, Gansu), and was born in Suiye City (then part of the Anxi Protectorate, now Balkhash, Hunan). Chu River Basin), and later moved to Jiangyou, Sichuan. At the beginning of Tianbao, when he entered Chang'an, He Zhizhang saw him and called him a banished immortal. He recommended him to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and waited for an imperial edict. Later, he wandered around the rivers and lakes, and was hired by Yong Wang Li Lin as his staff. Lin raised an army, was defeated, and was exiled to Yelang (in today's Guizhou Province). He was pardoned on the way, and when Tu Yi Li Yangbing arrived, he died soon after. He was a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty and author of "The Collection of Li Taibai". There are already legends about Li Bai's lyrics in the Song Dynasty (such as the first volume of Wen Ying's "Xiangshan Wild Records"). This is proved by Cui Lingqin's "Jiaofang Ji" and the Dunhuang scrolls handed down today. The lyrics already existed in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. However, it is difficult to determine whether the chapter in this biography actually originated from Taibai. I still record one song each from "Bodhisattvaman" and "Recalling Qin'e".

Li Bai's life

Li Bai, also known as Taibai and Qinglian Jushi, was a great poet in the Tang Dynasty of my country. His poetic style is majestic and unrestrained, his imagination is rich, his language flows naturally, and his music is harmonious and changeable. He is good at absorbing nutritious material from folk songs and myths to form his unique magnificent colors, which is a new peak of positive romantic poetry since Qu Yuan. Together with Du Fu, he is also known as "Li Du".

1. He likes to be a chivalrous person and likes to be free and powerful

Li Bai was born in Suiye, the Western Regions, in the first year of Chang'an of Wu Zetian (701 AD). When he was five years old, he settled with his family in Changlong (now Sichuan). Qinglian Township, Jiangyou County).

When Li Bai was young, he liked to be a knight, and he liked to be in control. The Mianzhou area where Changlong is located has been a place where Taoism has been active since the late Han Dynasty.

Therefore, since Li Bai was a boy, he often went to Daitian Mountain to find Taoist priests in Taoist temples to talk about Taoism.

Later, he lived in seclusion in Mianshan with a hermit named Dongyanzi, devoted himself to studying and did not enter the city for many years. They raised many exotic birds in the mountains and forests where they lived. These beautiful and docile birds, because they are used to being raised, fly here regularly to beg for food. They seem to understand people's language. With a call, they fly down from all directions and fall in front of the steps. They can even peck at grains from people's hands. Grain, not afraid at all. This incident was spread as an anecdote far and wide, and eventually the governor of Mianzhou went to the mountains to watch the birds eating. Seeing that they could command the movements of birds, the governor thought that they had Tao skills, so he wanted to recommend them to take the Tao exam. However, both of them politely refused.

The famous strategist Zhao Rui at that time was also Li Bai's good friend. In the fourth year of Kaiyuan (716 AD), he wrote ten volumes of "The Long and Short Classics". Li Bai was only sixteen years old at that time. Zhao Rui's strategist-style work extensively studied the similarities and differences of the Six Classics, analyzed the world situation, and emphasized the rise and fall of chaos, which aroused Li Bai's great interest. In the future, he was determined to make great achievements and loved to talk about the ways of kings and dominators. It was also influenced by this book.

2. Traveling far and wide with a sword

In the 13th year of Kaiyuan (725 AD), Li Bai left Shu, "going to the country with a sword, saying goodbye to relatives and traveling far away". He took a boat out of the gorge along the river and went further and further away. The mountains of his hometown gradually disappeared and became unrecognizable. Only the water flowing out of the Three Gorges still followed him, pushing his boat forward and taking him to a strange and distant place. Go to the city.

1? A lucky encounter with Sima Zhen in Jiangling

Li Bai did not expect to have an extraordinary meeting in Jiangling. He actually met Sima Zhen, a Taoist priest revered by three generations of emperors.

Tiantai Taoist Sima Ji not only learned a complete set of Taoist spells, but he was also good at writing seal script and his poems were as elegant as immortals. Xuanzong respected him very much. He once summoned him to the inner palace to ask for advice on Buddhist scriptures. He also built a balcony for him and sent his sister Princess Yuzhen to learn Taoism from him.

Li Bai was naturally very happy to see this favored Taoist priest, and even sent his own poems for his review. Sima Zhen admired Li Bai's majestic appearance and extraordinary talents at first sight. When he read his poems and essays, he was even more amazed and praised him for his "immortal style and spirit, which can be compared with the spirit of the eight extremes." Because he saw that Li Bai not only had extraordinary appearance and bearing, but also had extraordinary talents and writings, and he was not obsessed with the honors and officials of the world. This was a talent he had not seen in the government and in the public sector for decades, so he used the highest Taoist Praise him with words of praise. This means that he has "immortal roots", that is, he has the innate factors to become an immortal. This is similar to He Zhizhang's later praise of him as an "immortal", which means that he is regarded as an extraordinary person. This is the general impression that Li Bai's demeanor and poetry style give people.

Li Bai was delighted by Sima Zhen's high evaluation.

He is determined to pursue an eternal and immortal world like "Wandering to the Eight Extremes of the Divine World". When he was excited, he wrote a great poem "Ode to the Dapeng Encountering a Rare Bird", using the Dapeng as a metaphor for itself and exaggerating the size and speed of the Dapeng. This is Li Bai's earliest famous article.

From Jiangling, he began his journey of thousands of miles.

The following is the poem "The Dapeng Encounters a Strange Bird":

The poem "The Dapeng Encounters a Strange Bird" with the Preface

In Jiangling, I met Sima Zi on Tiantai Wei, it is said that I have immortal spirit and Taoist bones, which can travel with the spirit to the eight extremes. Because the big roc encounters a rare bird, it gives it self-expansion. This Fu has been passed down to the world and is often seen in the world. I regret that he did little work and failed to realize his grand purpose, so he abandoned it in his middle age. When I read the Jin Dynasty, I saw Ruan Xuanzi Dapeng praising him, and I despised him. Then I updated my memory and found that the old version was mostly different. Now that the collection has been restored, how dare you pass it on to the authors? I am just a descendant of the common people.

The words are: Nanhua Immortal, discovered the secret of heaven in Qiyuan. He spoke of noble opinions and spoke of mighty wonders. The expedition is strange to Qi Xie, and we talk about the fish in Beiming. I don't know how many thousands of miles it is, but its name is Kun. Transformed into a Dapeng, the essence is condensed into a muddy embryo. He took off his mane on the island and spread his feathers at the gate of heaven. The spring flow of Bo Bo River is flowing, and the fusang trees are blooming in the morning. It is as bright as the universe, and its mausoleum is as tall as Kunlun. A drum and a dance, the smoke is hazy and the sand is dim. The five mountains were shaken by it, and all the rivers collapsed.

You are digging into the thick ground and exposing Taiqing. The sky is high and the sky is high, and the sky is high. Stimulate three thousand to rise, and conquer ninety thousand quickly. The Cui Wei of Taishan Mountain is carried on its back, and its wings are lifted up by the long clouds. Turn left and right, suddenly dark and bright. After a long period of sweat, it has been corrected in its early years, and it is majestic and majestic. To win over Hongmeng and slap Thunder. The sky is shaking, the mountains are shaking and the sea is falling. There is no fighting in anger, no fighting in heroism. You can certainly imagine its potential, just like its shape.

If it is enough to linger in the rainbow, your eyes will shine in the sun and the moon. Procrastination and procrastination, squandering and squandering. If you blow the air, clouds will form in the sky, and if you sprinkle the hair, the snow will fly thousands of miles away. Miao is in the wilderness of the north, and he will be poor in the south. Yun Yihan beats by the side, and the drum rushes and drives for a long time. The candle dragon holds the light in its mouth to illuminate things, and the missing people use whips to start the journey. You can see three mountains from a block, and you can see five lakes from a cup. His movements are in response to the gods, and his actions are consistent with the way. Let the public stop fishing when they see it. If you are poor, you will not dare to bend the arc. Don't throw your pole and miss the arrowhead, and raise your head with a long sigh.

You are majestic and majestic, rolling over rivers and rivers. The sky is covered with green grass above, and the sky is covered with mountains below. Pangu opened the sky and looked straight at it, while Xihe leaned against the sun and sighed. It is so colorful that it covers half of the four seas. When the imagination is hidden, it is like confusion and uncertainty. Suddenly it turns around, and the clouds spread out and the fog disperses.

2? Friends buried in Dongting

Li Bai went south from Jiangling, passed through Yueyang, and then southward, he arrived at one of the destinations of his trip.

But while boating in Dongting, an unfortunate thing happened. Li Bai's traveling companion from Shu, Wu Guanzhi, died of a sudden illness. Li Bai was so grief-stricken that he fell beside his friend and cried loudly, "all his tears were followed by blood." Because he cried so painfully, passersby shed tears when they heard him. Encountering such misfortunes on the journey, Li Bai had no choice but to temporarily bury Wu Guide at the Dongting Lake and continue his eastward journey, determined to carry his friend's bones after his southeast trip.

Li Bai came to Lushan and wrote the popular poem "Looking at Lushan Waterfall".

3? A trip to the south of the Yangtze River

Li Bai arrived at Jinling, the ancient capital of the Sixth Dynasty. The country here is majestic, the tiger is sitting on the dragon's plate, and the experience of the palaces of the Six Dynasties is vivid. This not only aroused many emotions in Li Bai, but also aroused his pride in the era in which he lived. He believed that the capital in the past was in a state of decline, and there was nothing to admire, and it was not as good as the peaceful scene that the current emperor ruled from the top, and the world was peaceful.

Although Jinling's domineering power has disappeared, the children of Jinling received Li Bai affectionately. When Li Bai bid farewell to Jinling, Wu Ji poured wine, and the children of Jinling greeted each other attentively, frequently raising glasses to encourage people to drink. The feeling of farewell flowed through people's hearts like a river flowing eastward, making it unforgettable.

After Li Bai said goodbye to Jinling, he headed for Yangzhou from the river.

Yangzhou was an international city at that time. Li Bai had never seen such a lively city before and spent some time with his fellow travelers. In midsummer, Li Bai and some young friends tied their horses under the willow trees and held cups on the side of the road. Seeing green water in the sky and green mountains in the sea, it’s so pleasant. In the autumn, he fell ill in Huainan (where his governance was in Yangzhou). Lying ill in a foreign country, he had many thoughts. He lamented that his hope for success was slim, and he missed his hometown deeply. The only thing that could bring him some comfort were letters from friends far away.

After Li Bai recovered from his illness in Zhunnan, he went to Susu again.

This is the place where King Wu Fu Chai and the beautiful lady Xi Shi sang and danced day and night. Li Bai felt nostalgic about the past and wrote an epic poem "Wu Qi Qu". This poem was later praised by He Zhizhang, saying that it "can make ghosts and gods weep". From this point of view, although Li Bai's Yuefu poems sometimes use old titles, they often have new ideas.

The historical relics in Suzhou certainly aroused Li Bai's nostalgia for the past, and the beautiful and innocent Wu Ji and Yue Nu made Li Bai praise him endlessly. At the foot of the Nitaluo Mountain in Huansha, Xishi in the past, Li Bai left beautiful sketches of the Yue girls on the Huansha Stone with his wonderful pen.

Li Bai returned from Yuexi and returned to Jingmen.

He stayed in Jingmen for three months. Although he was homesick, he had no achievements in his career and found it difficult to return home. Finally, he decided to wander again.

First, he came to Dongting Lake and moved the bones of Wu Guide to Jiangxia (now Wuchang, Hubei). He met Seng Xingrong in Jiangxia and learned about Meng Haoran's personality from him, so he went to Xiangyang to meet Meng Haoran, and thus wrote the famous five-rhythm poem "Gift to Meng Haoran"

Soon, Li Bai arrived Anlu settled down at the Taoist temple in Xiaoshou Mountain. However, living in seclusion here was not a long-term solution. He still wanted to look for opportunities to advance in his official career. While living in seclusion in Shoushan, Li Bai used lobbying methods to make friends with officials and improve his reputation.

Li Bai's literary talent was appreciated by Xu Yushi, the prime minister of Empress Wu, and he was recruited as his son-in-law. Li Bai and his wife Xu lived a happy married life under the Peach Blossom Rock in Baizhao Mountain, which is close to Xu's family. However, the beautiful married life did not weaken Li Bai's ambition to wander around in pursuit of success. Based on his wife's family in Anzhou, he traveled several times and got acquainted with some officials and noble princes. In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734 AD), he paid an audience with Han Chaozong, the governor of Jingzhou and the governor of Xiangzhou.

3. Entering Chang'an

Feudal emperors often hunted in winter. After Xuanzong came to the throne, he went on many hunts, and each time he brought foreign envoys with him to show off his power and frighten neighboring countries. In the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan (AD 735), Xuanzong went on another ferocious hunt. It happened that Li Bai was also traveling to the West. He wrote "The Great Hunting Fu" in the hope of winning Xuanzong's appreciation.

His "Great Hunting Fu" aims to use "the great road to help the king and show the vastness of things", and "the holy garden is desolate and the world is exhausted". It has a vast territory and the situation is much different from that of the previous dynasties. It is different. It boasts that this dynasty is far superior to the Han Dynasty, and preaches Taoism at the end to fit in with Xuanzong's mood of advocating Taoism at that time.

The purpose of Li Bai's coming to the west was to offer gifts. In addition, he also took the opportunity to visit Chang'an and appreciate the scenery of this imperial capital where "all nations worshiped". He lived at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain and often climbed to Zhongnan Mountain to overlook the distance. When he climbed to the north peak of Zhongnan Mountain, the scenery of a vast country appeared in front of him. He deeply felt that living in such a country was extraordinary, so he felt quite proud. But when he thought that there were factors of decay within this prosperous empire, his high spirits were hit again."

After entering Chang'an, Li Bai met Wei Wei Zhang Qing, and through him he presented Princess Yuzhen with a gift. The last two lines of the poem say "When the Queen Mother meets her when she is young," he wishes her to become a Taoist and become an immortal. Li Bai also stated in his poem to Wei Wei Zhang Qing that he was in a very difficult situation and hoped to be recommended to the imperial court. As a result, he gradually approached the upper class of the ruling class.

Li Bai also met He Zhizhang in Chang'an. Li Bai once went to Ziji Palace and unexpectedly met He Zhizhang there. He Zhizhang admired "The Road to Shu is Difficult" and "Wu Qi Qu" and excitedly took off the golden turtle from his belt. He asked people to go out to exchange wine and have a drink with Li Bai. He Zhizhang was so surprised by Li Bai's magnificent poems and the brilliance of Xiaoshachen that he actually said: "Have you descended from the Taibai Venus to the earth?"

One As the year passed, Li Bai still visited Chang'an and had no chance to take office. He felt a little depressed. His friends sincerely invited him to live in seclusion in Qingshan Zhiyang, but Li Bai had no intention of going to Chang'an this time. Li Bai felt disappointed and a little angry that his ideal of making achievements was not fulfilled. He went to the prince's door to ask for help, but he was extremely dissatisfied. He could only leave Chang'an with the sigh of "It's hard to go back." < /p>

4. Hanlin Consecration

In the first year of Tianbao (742 AD), due to the praise of Princess Yuzhen and He Zhizhang, Xuanzong read Li Bai's poems and admired him very much. Summon Li Bai into the palace.

On the day when Li Bai entered the palace for an audience, Xuanzong came down to greet him, "put food in front of him on a seven-treasure bed, and spooned the soup with his own hands." Xuanzong asked about some contemporary affairs, and Li Bai, relying on his half-life study and long-term observation of society, was confident and answered fluently. Xuanzong greatly appreciated it and immediately ordered Li Bai to serve in the Hanlin Academy. His duties were to draft proclamations and accompany the emperor. Whenever Xuanzong had a banquet or outing, he would order Li Bai to serve as his attendant, and use his agile poetic talent to compose poems to record the events. Although it is not a record of meritorious service, his writings will be passed down to future generations and will be used as a grand event to show off to future generations. Li Bai was so favored by Xuanzong that his colleagues were envious, but some also felt jealous because of it.

In the early days of Tianbao, every winter Xuanzong took his chiefs and envoys to the Wen family for hunting. Li Bai naturally accompanied him and wrote a poem on the spot to promote Xuanzong's virtues and praise the power of the Holy Dynasty, which won Xuanzong's appreciation. . At this time, Xuanzong doted on Yang Yuhuan. Whenever he played with her in the palace, Xuanzong asked Li Bai to write some music lyrics and compose new songs to sing. Li Bai wrote these poems with the feeling that "I always bow to the kindness of the country's scholars, and a strong man reveals his heart to his bosom friends".

When he was in Chang'an, in addition to serving the Imperial Academy and accompanying the emperor, Li Bai often walked in Chang'an City. He discovered that the country's prosperity was hiding a deep crisis. Those were the tyrannical eunuchs and arrogant relatives who were closest to the emperor. They enveloped Chang'an and China like dark clouds, giving Li Bai a strong sense of depression.

At the same time, Li Bai's dissolute behavior was slandered by Zhang Tan, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, and some rifts arose between the two. Being favored by the eunuchs and relatives suddenly cooled down Li Bai's enthusiasm for "helping the common people". Although he was in Chang'an, he had no chance to use his skills of management and administration.

Li Bai was deeply saddened by the corruption of the government and the slander of his colleagues. He wrote a poem "The Hanlin Reading Words are presented to Jixian Scholars" to express his intention to return to the mountain. Unexpectedly, at this moment, he was given gold and returned, which seemed to surprise Li Bai. It seems that Li Bai said something inappropriate when he was given the gold release this time.

This return to the mountain is really a more dignified exile.

5. Traveling far away again

1? Roaming in the Liang and Song Dynasties

In the summer of the third year of Tianbao (744 AD), Li Bai arrived in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Here, he met Du Fu, who was having a hard time. Two of the greatest poets in the history of Chinese literature met. At this time, Li Bai had become famous throughout the country, while Du Fu was in his prime, but he was trapped in Luocheng. Li Bai was eleven years older than Du Fu, but he did not use his talent and reputation to be arrogant in front of Du Fu; and Du Fu, who was "rich in nature and addicted to alcohol" and "all his friends were old", did not bow his head in praise in front of Li Bai. The two of them established a deep friendship as equals. When they were in Luoyang, they made an appointment to meet in Liang and Song Dynasties (today's Shangqiu area of ​​​​Kaifeng) to visit Taoism and seek immortality.

In the autumn of this year, the two of them arrived in Liang Song Dynasty as promised. The two of them expressed their feelings and emotions here, and used the past to comment on the present. They also met the poet Gao Shi here, who did not have a salary at this time. However, the three of them have their own ambitions and the same ideals. The three people had a great time traveling, commenting on articles and poems, and talking about the general trend of the world. They were all worried about the hidden dangers of the country. Li and Du were both in their prime at this time, and their creative discussions would have a positive impact on them in the future.

In the autumn and winter of this year, Li and Du broke up again, and each went to find his Taoist disciples to make Zhen Zhen (the secret text of Taoism) and teach Tao Zhen. Li Bai went to Qizhou (today's Jinan area of ​​​​Shandong) and was taught the Taoist teachings by Gao Tianshi Rugui, a Taoist priest from the Ziji Palace in Ziji Palace. From then on, he officially fulfilled the Taoist rituals and became a Taoist priest. Later, Li Bai went to Anling County, Texas, and met Gai Liao, a man in this area who was good at writing talisman and seal scripts, and built the Zhenhuan for him. This time, Li Bai achieved perfect results in his quest for immortality.

In the autumn of the fourth year of Tianbao (745 AD), Li Bai and Du Fu met for the third time in Donglu. In just over a year, they met twice and met three times, and their friendship continued to deepen. Together they searched for the hermit master, and also went to Qizhou to visit Li Yong, a world-famous essayist and calligrapher at that time. In the winter of this year, the two broke up, and Li Bai prepared to revisit Jiangdong.

2? Go east to Wuyue

Li Bai left Donglu and took a boat from Rencheng to Yangzhou along the canal. Since he was in a hurry to go to Kuaiji to meet Yuan Danqiu, he didn't stay much longer.

When he arrived in Kuaiji, Li Bai first went to pay homage to the deceased He Zhizhang. Not long after, Kong Chaowen also arrived in Kuaiji, so Li Bai, Yuandanqiu and Kong Chaowen visited historical sites such as Yu Cave and Orchid Pavilion, went boating on Jinghu Lake, traveled to Shanxi and other places, wandered through the mountains and rivers, and impromptuly described the scenery in this area. Beautiful mountains and beautiful women.

In Jinling, Li Bai met Cui Chengfu. Both were politically frustrated, and their sentiments were even more congenial. Every time you play, swim to your heart’s content, regardless of morning or evening. They went boating on the Qinhuai River and sang all night long, which astonished people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and clapped their hands to cheer them on. Because the two had similar personalities and similar experiences, they had a closer understanding and deeper friendship than ordinary friends. Therefore, Li Bai tied Cui Chengfu's poems to his clothes and recited them whenever he missed him.

3? Exploring Youyan and Traveling to the South of the Yangtze River

Li Bai roamed in Wuyue for several years, wandering. At this time, the country was in chaos, and the situation was getting worse year by year. Guided by the mood of taking the rise and fall of the world as his own responsibility, he decided to go to Youyan (today's Beijing area) to explore the truth.

After arriving at Youyan, Li Bai saw with his own eyes the troops in Anlu Mountain. The situation was very critical, but he was powerless. Two or three years before the Anshi Rebellion, Li Bai roamed around the Xuancheng, Dangtu, Nanling, and Qiupu areas. He still had enough to live and feed, and often wrote poems and sent them to local officials for help.

During this wandering, Li Bai died of illness due to his wife Xu, and he married Zong again. The family was changing and the country was troubled. Li Bai sought immortality and learned Taoism while trying to make contributions to the country. He was very concerned about the safety of the country. Although he was still wandering around, it was different from the past.

6. On the way to death of illness

In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, the Anshi Rebellion broke out, and Li Bai took refuge in Lushan. At that time, there were always two contradictory thoughts in his mind: retreating and helping the world. At this time, King Yong Li Li sent his troops to patrol the east, and Li Bai was invited to attend.

Behind the scenes, Li Bai urged King Yong and King Qin to destroy the traitors, and he also conducted self-examination for his political lack of foresight. Xiao Yingshi, Kong Chaowen, and Liu Yan who were also in Jiangnan were also invited by King Yong but refused to participate in order to avoid disaster. Li Bai was obviously inferior to them in this regard.

King Yong was defeated soon after, and Li Bai was imprisoned in Xunyang Prison. At this time, Cui Huan promoted Jiangnan and recruited talents. Li Bai wrote a poem asking for help, and his wife Zong also cried for help. Song Ruosi, who stationed three thousand Wu soldiers in Xunyang, rescued Li Bai from prison and allowed him to join the shogunate. Li Bai became Song Ruosi's staff, wrote some essays for Song, and followed him to Wuchang. Li Bai was highly regarded by Song Ruosi and recommended him to the court again in the name of Song, hoping to be appointed by the court again. But for some unknown reason, not only was he not appointed, but he was replaced by Changliu Yelang (now Zitong, Guizhou), which was completely unexpected. Because at that time Junba, the general under King Yong's rule, was reused. The reason why things changed may be related to the loss of power of Cui Huan and Zhang Hao.

In the winter of the second year of Zhide (757 AD), Li Bai traveled from Xunyang Road to Yelang, his place of exile. Because the crime he was sentenced to was a long-lasting crime that would soon be gone forever, and Li Bai was already in his twilight years, and he couldn't help but feel even more sad when he said, "You have traveled thousands of miles to the west, and you will grow old when you travel west."

Because Li Bai was well-known in China, he was entertained by local officials along the way. Everyone respected him and did not regard him as an exiled sinner.

In the second year of Qianyuan (759 AD), Li Bai traveled to Wushan. Due to a severe drought in Guanzhong, the court announced a general amnesty, stipulating that the deceased should be exiled, and those below were fully pardoned. In this way, Li Bai finally gained freedom after a long period of wandering. He immediately sailed down the Yangtze River, and the famous song "The Morning Fare from the Imperial City" best reflected his mood at that time.

When he arrived in Jiangxia, Li Bai stayed for a while because his old friend Liang Zai was working as a prefect there. In the second year of Qianyuan, at the invitation of a friend, Li Bai once again went boating with the demoted Jia Zhi to admire the moon in the Dongting, thinking about the ancient feelings and composing poems to express his feelings. Soon, I returned to my old travel places of Xuancheng and Jinling. For almost two years, he traveled between the two places, still relying on others to make a living. In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Bai, who was in his early sixties, returned to Jinling due to illness. In Jinling, his life was quite difficult, and he had no choice but to seek refuge with his uncle Li Yangbing, who was the county magistrate in Dangtu.

In the third year of the Yuan Dynasty (762 AD), Li Bai was seriously ill. While he was ill, he gave the manuscript to Li Yangbing, composed the "Death Song" and passed away at the age of sixty-two.

Li Bai’s poems

More than 990 poems by Li Bai exist today. There are a large number of political lyric poems, which fully express the poet's extraordinary ambition, unrestrained passion, and heroic spirit. They also represent the typical high-spirited tone of the poetry of the Tang Dynasty. Li Bai had a strong self-awareness and compared himself with the Dapeng many times. "The Dapeng rises with the wind in one day, and its fortunes rise ninety thousand miles" in "Li Yong".

However, Li Bai returned frustrated after three years in Chang'an. When his passionate political enthusiasm was collided with reality, he turned into a sad and angry song of unrecognized talent. He burst out from his chest: "The road is like the blue sky. I can't reach it alone. I am ashamed." "In the middle of the Chang'an society, red chickens and white dogs play for pears and chestnuts, they play swords and sing songs and make bitter sounds, and they drag their trains to the royal family, which is not suitable for them." Li Bai also wrote joyful drinking poems to relieve the sorrow of not being able to realize his talents. "About to Enter the Wine": "If you are happy in life, you must have all the fun. Don't let the gold bottle stand empty against the moon. I am born with talents that will be useful. I will come back after all the gold is spent. I have fun cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle. I will drink three hundred cups at a time." In line with this bold and unrestrained emotional momentum, the distinctive characteristics of Li Bai's poetry in terms of artistic techniques are: magical imagination, unprovoked changes, vertical and horizontal jumps in structure, and scattered sentence lengths, forming a majestic and elegant poem. style. Throughout his life, the poet has been praising the ideal life with his innocent heart. No matter when and where, he always embraces the whole world with enthusiasm, pursues full performance, meritorious service and enjoyment, and has a keen sense of all beautiful things. Feel, grasp reality without being satisfied with reality, plunge into the rapids of life but transcend the worries of suffering, and realize your own value in a high and exciting mental state. If ideal color is the main feature of the poetic style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, then Li Bai was at the forefront of the times with his more promising ideal singing.

The themes of Li Bai's poems are diverse. Representative works include: seven-character ancient poems ("The Road to Shu is Difficult", "The Journey is Difficult", "Sleepwalking Tianmu Yin Leaves", "About to Enter the Wine", "Liang Fu Yin", etc.), five-character ancient poems (59 poems in "Ancient Style"); The Yuefu folk songs of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, such as "Changgan Xing", "Midnight Wu Song", etc., and seven-character quatrains ("Wanglu Mountain Waterfall", "Wangtianmen Mountain", "Early Departure from Baidi City", etc.) have become famous in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Chapter. Li Bai was already famous in the Tang Dynasty. His poems were "uncollected and published in every family".

Li Bai's poems enriched and developed the poetry of the Tang Dynasty. The artistic theme of heroism. Like other scribes of his generation, he had grand ambitions. The so-called "Shen Guanyan's talk, the art of seeking emperors, and his wisdom are willing to serve as assistants." "Qingyi" ("Dai Shoushan's Reply to Meng Shaofu's Transfer of Documents") is his most persistent belief in life. Whether Li Bai has the actual ability to engage in political activities in a complex power structure may be very doubtful, but as a poet, This belief became more and more the starting point for him to pursue and praise the magnificent life. He drew strength from the demeanor and style of countless ancient heroes, projected realistic ideals into history, and thus established a gallery of heroic characters in his poems. . He praised the heroes who rose up in the grassland and met the wind and waves. For example, "Liang Fu Yin" wrote about Taigong Wang: "I don't see you, I slaughtered the old man and said goodbye to Jijin. I came to the Weibin from the eighty-year-old. I would rather be ashamed and my white hair shines in the clear water. I am strong enough to think about economics at the right time." Zhang Sanqianbaidao, Fengqi secretly married Prince Wen. The great virtuous tiger turned stupid and unexpected, and he was quite like an ordinary person at that time. There is a suave life, and Lu Lian is so wonderful. When the moon rises from the bottom of the sea, it shines brightly. Later generations look up to it and give it a gift. I also look at the plains and smile. The British master who loves talents and is courteous to virtuous corporals is like in the second part of "The Road is Difficult": "Don't you see that in the past, the Yan family valued Guo Wei, and there was no doubt about it. Ju Xin and Le Yi were grateful, and they had a liver transplant and anatomy The courageous and talented people. The bones of King Zhao are lingering in the grass, who can sweep the golden platform?" Praise for the famous ministers who are arrogant and uphold the dignity of the common people, such as Li Shiqi in "Liang Fu Yin": "You don't see the drunkards in Gaoyang, who are always bowing to Shandong!" Long Zhun Gong did not worship Cheng's eloquence at the beginning, and the two women left the bath to follow the wind. They commanded the Chu and Han Dynasties like a whirlwind. It's not like this, let alone the heroes who are among the heroes! He was a dominating figure on the historical stage during an extraordinary period of turmoil and chaos, and he was integrally integrated with the lyrical protagonist. For example, he said in a poem to a friend: "Feng shui is like seeing talents, and throwing poles to help the emperor." ("Giving to Xuejian by Wang Sima and Yan Zhengzi of Houfang Prefecture") "I said that Guan and Ge Jing are the ones who promised it. I should not go into seclusion even if I have long hair." ("Gift to Yangshan people after driving to the hot spring palace") After waking up from drunkenness Later, he expressed his ambition: "Fu said that he was a minister, and Li Si was an eagle and a dog. He raised the Kuang State and restored the hardships." ("Winter Night Drunk Longmen Jue Qi Zhi") The Anshi Rebellion started, and Li Bai regarded the situation as Chu. The Han Dynasty was fighting, and Zhang Liang and Han Xin said: "It's quite like the Chu and Han Dynasties, the overthrow was unpredictable. Passed Bolangsha in the morning, and entered Huaiyin City at dusk. Zhang Liang did not meet Han Xin, and Liu Xiang's life and death depended on the two ministers. I went to Xiapi for a while to receive the military strategy, and came to vote for Piao Mu as my master.

" ("Tiger Walking") After he entered the Yongwang Lin shogunate, he compared himself to Xie An: "But I use Dongshan to thank Anshi, and talk and laugh for you in the quiet Husha. "(Part 2 of "The Song of King Yong's Tour to the East") Until he surrendered to the army at the age of sixty, he still used Meng Zi, a hero in the Western Han Dynasty, to promise: "I returned from illness after half a day, but there was no reason for the southeast expedition. Yafu didn't see him, so Ju Mengzhu went ahead. "("I heard that Lieutenant Li led millions of Qin soldiers to the southeast...") Li Bai, who was born in the prosperous times, paid tribute to the heroes of troubled times. Of course, he was not just thinking about the ancient times. Because through such characters, the poet can express his emotions better His "ambitious" spirit and enthusiasm reflect his life desire to establish glorious achievements in history and actively create self-worth.

Li Bai's ideal of solving problems and solving problems and his uninhibited personality. Unify freedom in order to achieve a perfect life. His design of the path of life is carried out in two steps: first, to establish great achievements, as the saying goes: "If you can't help yourself, what's the point of being good alone?" "("Gift to Secretary Wei Zichun") "When two dragons fight, the heaven and earth are shaken. Drinking heavily and dancing with long swords, hastily resolved the disputes of the Han Dynasty. " ("Send Zhang Xiucai to the Prime Minister of High School") After becoming successful, he did not covet wealth and fame, but made "Five Lakes" and "Cangzhou" his home, yearning for a free life. In his early years, when he was seeking an official position in Qianye He does not shy away from this point: "After success, he brushes off his clothes and sways beside Cangzhou. "("Bitter Rain at Princess Yuzhen's Pavilion") Don't give up on this point when you are most proud of your official career: "Thank the world for your success, and you will just throw yourself into fishing from now on. "("Hanlin Reading Words") "When I finish my duty, I will report to the Lord, and then we will lie together in the white clouds. " ("Giving a gift to the people of Yangshan after driving to Hot Spring Palace") Until his later years, he still remained determined: "Finally, I will settle down with Sheji and go to the Five Lakes successfully. "("Gift to Secretary Wei Zichun") This ideal of life embodies the poet's consciousness of "being ashamed of his virtues" and loving freedom: "I can win Liaocheng merit with one arrow of writing." Finally, I was not rewarded, and I was as ashamed as the people of the time. "("Donglu Traveling in May and Replying to Wen Shangweng")

"I just died in the grass, and I didn't ask for a life under a golden cage. "("Set up evil tricks to encourage pheasant spots") These poems are the self-expression of the poet's thoughts. Because his sense of freedom is so strong, when he encounters the obstruction of the ugly forces in real life, his anger and resistance will

Li Bai's personality

In his life, he did not show his fame, but he had high expectations. He despised the powerful and unscrupulously ridiculed political power. The central hierarchical order criticized corrupt political phenomena and promoted the heroic spirit in the culture of the prosperous Tang Dynasty with his bold resistance.

Li Bai's anti-powerful ideology followed his life practice. In the early days, it was mainly manifested in the equality requirements of "not yielding to oneself and not being intrusive to others" and "being equal to the princes". As he said in the poem: "In the past, I was drunk with flowers and willows in Chang'an, and there were five princes and seven nobles." Same glass of wine. The Qi shore is far ahead of the powerful, but the romantic is willing to lag behind others! "("Liu Yelang Presents to Judge Xin") "Praising the Master of the Nine Levels of Ten Thousand Vehicles, mocking the virtuous people in the waves, red and green. " ("Yin of the Jade Pot") He sometimes made lofty words that disdained the powerful, such as "The gold and white jade bought songs and laughed, and I was drunk for a long time and looked down on the princes" ("Recalling the Old Travels and Send Qiao County Yuan to Join the Army"), etc., but mainly Showing his inner arrogance. As he understood the actual situation of the high-level power groups, he further revealed the opposition between the common people and the powerful: "Pearls buy songs and laughs, and chaff nourishes talents. "("Ancient Style" No. 15) "The phoenix nests in the sycamore tree, and the mandarin duck nests in the mandarin thorn tree. " ("Ancient Style" Thirty-Nine). He also made a mockery of the ugly behavior of those who stole power by flattering the emperor, such as: The carts are flying dust, the pavilions are dark at noon, and the streets are dark. There is a lot of gold in the middle, and the clouds are connected. On the way to Kaijia House, I saw a cockfighter with a shining crown, and all the passers-by were wary of him. Who knew that Yao and Zhi were saying goodbye in "Dream Walking Heaven"? "", he made the loudest cry: An Neng can bend his eyebrows and bend his waist to serve the powerful, which makes me unhappy!

The meaning of this art summarized in Li Bai's poems is just like Du Fu's famous line "The rich family is drinking and eating." "It stinks, there are frozen bones on the road" ("Five Hundred Words of Ode to the Emperor from Beijing to Fengxian") is equally important in Du's poems. In the increasingly deteriorating political situation at the end of Tianbao, Li Bai linked anti-establishment with widespread social criticism. For example, "Reply to the King Drinking Alone on Twelve Cold Nights" not only fights for the wise man who died, but also expresses his disappointment and contempt for the court: If you don't see Li Beihai, where will your heroism and heroism be now? If you don't see Pei Shangshu, there will be three earthen graves. The young man has long wanted to go to the five lakes, and when he saw this, he would like to see the bells and tripods scattered. In poems such as "Letter to Cai She Renxiong", "Ancient Style" Chapter 51, "Climbing the High Hill and Looking at the Far Sea", Li Bai wrote: He even used the past to satirize the present and made a sharp rebuke to Xuanzong himself.

In short, it can be said that he developed the theme of anti-power in Tang poetry to the fullest extent. Ren Hua said that Li Bai "has been a guest for decades and has never lost his dignity for a day" ("Miscellaneous Words to Li Bai"). This kind of consciousness of not yielding in front of the powerful and having the courage to resist in order to maintain self-dignity is what has been valued since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It is under the new historical conditions that Li Bai inherited and carried forward this excellent tradition and became a poetry superstar.