Li Bai’s life story

Li Bai (February 28, 701 - 762), also known as Taibai and Qinglian Jushi, was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. He was known as the "Poetic Immortal" and the greatest romantic poet. Han nationality, born in Suiye City in the Western Regions (today's Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan). At the age of 5, he moved with his father to Changlong County, Mianzhou (Brazil County), Jiannan Road (renamed Changming County in 712, now Qinglian, Jiangyou City, Mianyang, Sichuan). Township), his ancestral home is Chengji County, Longxi County (now south of Jingning County, Pingliang City, Gansu Province). His father, Li Ke, raised two sons (Boqin and Tianran) and one daughter (Pingyang). There are more than a thousand poems and essays in existence, and his representative works include "The Road to Shu is Difficult", "The Journey is Difficult", "Sleepwalking Tianmu Says Farewell", "About to Enter the Wine" and other poems. There is also "The Collection of Li Taibai" handed down to the world. His first wife was married to Li Bai

through his friend Meng Haoran in Xiangyang, Hubei in 727 AD, and she married the granddaughter of former prime minister Xu Yushi. Since Li Bai lived in his father-in-law's house for ten years after his marriage, the feeling of living under someone else's roof already made him very depressed, and he had no time to think about other things. This was Li Bai's first marriage. Maybe he still treated it with a very responsible attitude. Judging from the fact that he had two children after marriage, a boy and a girl, the marriage life of both parties was still very harmonious. His son's name: Bo Qin (small character Mingyue Nu); his daughter's name: Pingyang. Xu died in 738 AD. Second wife: In 739 AD, 12 years after his first marriage and one year after the death of his first wife, Li Bai married a woman named Liu. Soon, because Liu looked down on Li Bai, Li Bai left angrily. The third wife, in 745 AD, Li Bai married a local woman in Rencheng, Shandong. At this time, Li Bai had just come out of the capital Chang'an, carrying a large bag of gold and silver treasures, and traveled all the way to Shangqiu, Henan with Du Fu and Gao Shi, where they stayed for a long time. After breaking up with him, Li Bai went to Mount Tai to obtain Taoist teachings. Passing through Rencheng, he met this woman and the two fell in love. Li Bai's wife gave birth to a son for him, and Li Bai bought a large amount of land in Yanzhou, Shandong. After that, during his wandering life, these lands were handed over to his wife. It can be seen that Li Bai had great trust in his wife. Unfortunately, this wife died five years after their marriage. The fourth wife, in Kaifeng, Henan, Li Bai met Zong, the granddaughter of Zong Chuke, the prime minister of Wu Zetian's time, in Kaifeng, Henan. The acquaintance between the two is quite romantic. It is said that Li Bai was drunk in Liangyuan, and his poetry became popular. , he wrote the famous "Liang Yuan Yin" on the wall. After writing, he probably found a corner to urinate, then picked up his gown and staggered away. Not long after leaving, Zong came here with his servant. After seeing this poem, he couldn't let it go for a long time. It happened that people in Liangyuan saw it and wanted to wipe it off immediately. Zong asked not to wipe it off and spent thousands of gold to buy the wall. So this story of "a thousand gold buys a wall" remains. In many historical records, it is described that this Zong family is a lady of great talent and beauty, and the Zong family's beauty is also a loyal believer in Taoism. It can be said that she and Li Bai are like-minded. When Li Bai was imprisoned for the Li Lin case and sent to Yelang, Zong rescued him many times, and the two never saw each other again. Li Bai was very fond of his last wife, Zong, and once wrote a poem "Gift from the Generation" to express his longing for his wife.

Children

The eldest son, Boqin, was born to Xu. He died 30 years after Li Bai's death. The eldest daughter Pingyang, born to the Xu family, died after getting married. The second son, Ziran, was born to a woman when Li Bai was in Donglu and has disappeared.

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Young and promising

Li Bai studied a wide range of subjects in his boyhood. In addition to Confucian classics and ancient literary and historical masterpieces, he also browsed various scholars The book of hundreds of schools of thought, and "good swordsmanship" ("Book of Jingzhou with Han"). He believed in the Taoism that was popular at that time very early and liked to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, seeking immortality and learning Taoism. At the same time, he also had political ambitions to make contributions. He claimed that he wanted to "apply Guan Yan's talk, seek the emperor's skills, and develop his wisdom. He is willing to serve as an assistant and make great achievements." Huan District Dading, Hai County Jingyi" ("Dai Shoushan's Reply to Meng Shaofu's Transfer Document"). On the one hand, one has to be an otherworldly hermit and immortal, and on the other hand, one has to be the monarch's assistant and minister. This creates a contradiction between being born in the world and joining the world. However, actively participating in the WTO and caring about the country were the mainstream of his life's thoughts and the ideological basis that formed the progressive content of his works. Very few of the poems written by Li Bai in his youth in Shu have survived, but pieces such as "Visiting Dai Tianshan Taoist No Encounter" and "Mount Emei Moon Song" have shown outstanding talent.

Say farewell to relatives and travel far away

In the thirteenth 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. Taibai Zuo Qingping Tiaotu

What Li Bai never expected was that he would have an extraordinary meeting in Jiangling. He actually met Sima Chengzhen, a Taoist priest revered by three generations of emperors. Sima Chengzhen, a Taoist priest from Tiantai, 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 poems and essays for his review. Sima Chengzhen 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 that can travel to the eight extremes of the world." 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 Chengzhen'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. Li Bai went south from Jiangling, passed through Yueyang, and then headed south, he arrived at one of the destinations of his trip. However, while boating on Dongting Lake, an unfortunate thing happened. Li Bai's traveling companion from Sichuan, Wu Guanzhi, died of a sudden illness (or was beaten to death). Li Bai was so grief-stricken that he fell beside his friend and cried loudly, "weeping all the way and then bleeding." Because he cried so painfully, passersby shed tears when they heard him. Encountering such a misfortune on the journey, it was really helpless. Li Bai had no choice but to temporarily bury Wu Guide by the Dongting Lake, and continued his eastward journey, determined to carry his friend's luggage again after the southeast trip. Bones. Li Bai came to Lushan Mountain and composed the popular song "Looking at the Lushan Waterfall" here. Li Bai arrived at Jinling, the ancient capital of the Sixth Dynasty. The mountains and rivers here are majestic, tigers and dragons sit on top of each other, and the palaces of the Six Dynasties are clearly visible. 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 of the past was in a state of decline and there was nothing to see and it was not as good as the peaceful scene that the current emperor ruled from the top down 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 bid farewell to Jinling, he prepared to go to Yuezhou. However, he fell ill while passing through Huainan (where Yangzhou was the administrative center). 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 Huainan, he went to Yuezhou (Shaoxing), a prosperous international city. The scenery in Yuezhou was unparalleled in the world, which made Li Bai forget to leave, especially Kuaiji Mountain, Jinghu Mountain, Tianmu Mountain, Lanting, and Dongshan. In other places, Li Bai and He Zhizhang had been friends for many years, and he wanted to imitate Xie An and make contributions. He was even more envious of Wang Xizhi and other romantic figures in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He searched for immortals in Yuezhong and was intoxicated by the mountains and rivers of Yuezhou. He left behind nearly a hundred In this poem, Li Bai later visited Yuezhou several times. At the foot of 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 Wu Guanzhi's bones to Jiangxia (today's 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 in Anlu, in Xiaoshou Mountain. The Taoist temple stayed. 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 made friends with officials through lobbying to 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 grandson-in-law. Li Bai and his wife Xu lived a happy married life under the peach blossom rock in Baizhao Mountain, which was 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.

First visit to Chang'an

Feudal emperors often hunted in winter. After Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he went on many hunts, and each time he brought foreign envoys with him to show off his power and intimidate neighboring countries. In the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan (AD 735), Xuanzong went hunting again. Li Bai happened to be traveling to the West, so he wrote "The Great Hunting Fu" in the hope of winning Xuanzong's appreciation. His "Great Hunting Fu" intends to use "the great road to support the king and show the vastness of things", and "the holy garden is in the wild and the world is desolate". It has a vast territory and a situation that is very different from that of the previous generation. It boasts that this dynasty is far away. Victory over the Han Dynasty, and preached Taoist Xuanzang at the end to fit Xuanzong's sentiments 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 the top of Zhongnan Mountain to look into the distance. When he climbed to the north peak of Zhongnan Mountain, the scenery of a vast country appeared before his eyes. He deeply felt that living in such a country was extraordinary, so he was quite proud of it. Feeling of pride. But when he thought that there were factors of decay within this prosperous empire, his high mood was hit again. After entering Chang'an, Li Bai met Wei Wei Zhang Qing, and through him he presented poems to Princess Yuzhen. The sentence says "when there are young people, the queen mother should meet again", which is to wish her to become an immortal. Li Bai also stated in the poem to Wei Wei Zhang Qing that he was in a difficult situation and hoped to be recommended and willing to serve the court. From this, he took a step forward. Li Bai also met He Zhizhang this time in Chang'an. Li Bai once went to Ziji Palace and unexpectedly met He Zhizhang there. He had already read He Zhizhang's poems. This encounter was natural. He immediately came forward to pay homage and presented the poem in his sleeve. He Zhizhang admired "The Road to Shu" and "Wu Qi Qu" very much. He excitedly took off the golden turtle on his belt and asked people to go out to change wine and have a drink with Li Bai. . He Zhizhang was so surprised by Li Bai's magnificent poems and his unrestrained style that he said, "Are you descended from the Taibai Venus to the earth?" "A year has passed, and Li Bai is still a guest in Chang'an. He has no chance to take up the post, and he feels a little depressed. His friend sincerely invites him to live in seclusion in Qingshan Zhiyang, but Li Bai has no intention of going. This time he went to Chang'an. Li Bai was disappointed and a little angry because he had the ideal of making great achievements but had no success. 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 home". .

Given gold and returned it

The 42-year-old Li Bai was recommended by Princess Yuzhen, the sister of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (it is said that she was introduced by the Taoist priest Wu Yun). When he arrived in Chang'an, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty praised Li Bai. Talents are appreciated and treated with great courtesy. Li Yangbing's "Preface to the Collection of Thatched Cottage" says: "The chariot comes down to welcome you, as if you see Qi Hao (one of the "Four Hao's in Shangshan" in the Qin and Han Dynasties)" Of. ". But Tang Xuanzong only asked him to serve the Imperial Academy and be his literary attendant. Three years later, Tang Xuanzong "gave him money and released him". Pictures of Li Bai

Three years of living in Chang'an made Li Bai aware of all kinds of things in the court. He became more aware of corruption and darkness. Being "granted and released" by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was a watershed in Li Bai's political career. In the first year of Tianbao (AD 742), Xuanzong looked at Li Bai due to the praise of Princess Yuzhen and He Zhizhang. He admired Li Bai very much for his poems and poems, so he summoned Li Bai to the palace. Xuanzong was greatly impressed by his extensive knowledge and long-term observation of society, and he was very knowledgeable. His duties were to draft proclamations and accompany the emperor at banquets or outings. , compose poems and record them.

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. 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 contained a deep crisis, and that was 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. Li Bai was deeply moved by the corruption of the government and the slander of his colleagues. He wrote a poem "The Hanlin Studying 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.

Traveling afar again

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 naughty. 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's Immortal Statue

Li Bai is eleven years older than Du Fu, but he does not use his talent and reputation to be arrogant in front of Du Fu; while Du Fu, who is "a wealthy man and an alcoholic" and "all his friends are old" , and 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 the same 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 look for Taoist teachers to make Zhenlu (the secret text of Taoism) and teach Taoism. 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 (AD 745), 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. After Li Bai left Donglu, he took a boat from Rencheng and followed the canal to Yangzhou. Since he was in a hurry to go to Kuaiji (Shaoxing) to meet Yuan Danqiu, he didn't stay much longer. When he arrived in Kuaiji, Li Bai first went to pay his respects 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 Jing Lake, traveled to Yan River and other places, wandered in the mountains and rivers, and impromptuly described the beauty of this area. Mountains, rivers and historical heritage. 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.

Invited to the curtain

In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), 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. Yongwang Li Lin happened to be on an eastward tour at this time, and Li Bai was invited to join the show. Li Bai went behind the scenes and urged King Yong and King Qin to destroy the thieves. He also made 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, instead of being appointed, he was replaced by Changliu Yelang (now Tongzi, Guizhou), which was completely unexpected. 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 was a long-lasting crime that would soon be gone forever, and Li Bai was already in his twilight years. "The wanderer wanders thousands of miles in the night, and the journey to the west makes people grow old." He couldn't help but feel even more sad.

Died of serious illness

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 and stipulated that the deceased should be exiled. pardon. In this way, Li Bai finally gained freedom after a long period of wandering. He then sped down the Yangtze River, and the famous song "Early Departure from Baidi 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. He gave the manuscript to Li Yangbing on his sick bed, composed the "Death Song" and passed away at the age of sixty-one. Regarding Li Bai's death, there have always been different opinions and no consensus. Overall, it can be summarized into three ways of death: one is death by drunkenness; the other is death by illness; the third is death by drowning. The first way of death is found in the "Old Book of Tang Dynasty", which states that Li Bai "died in Xuancheng due to excessive drinking"; the second way of death is also found in other official histories or research by experts and scholars. It is said that when Li Guangbi was in the east town of Linhuai, Li Bai ignored the 61-year-old age and went to ask for a tassel to kill the enemy after hearing the news. He hoped to do his best to save the country from danger in his twilight years. He returned due to illness and died of illness the next year. The magistrate of Dangtu County, Tang Dynasty The most famous seal calligrapher of the time, Li Yang Bingchu; the third way of death is often found in folklore, which is very romantic. It is said that Li Bai was drinking on the Dangtu River, jumped into the water to catch the moon due to drunkenness, and drowned, which is very consistent with the poet's character. . But no matter which way he died, it was directly related to his participation in Yong Wang Li Lin's rebellion. Because Li Bai exiled Yelang, and soon after he was pardoned, his legendary and bumpy life ended. This is an indisputable fact.