Poetry of the Early Tang Dynasty

This is the preparatory period for the prosperity of Tang poetry. Important poets include Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and Luo Binwang, who are known as the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty". In addition, Chen Ziang, Shen Quanqi, Song Zhiwen, etc. The poetry in the early years of the Tang Dynasty still followed the inertia of the poetry of the Southern Dynasties, and was soft, delicate, and lifeless. The emergence of the "Four Elites" began to change this trend. They were talented and dissatisfied with the status quo. They expressed their anger and heroic embrace through their poems, and broadened the subject matter of their poems. For example, Yang Jiong's "Walking from the Army": "The beacon fire shines on Xijing, and I feel uneasy... I would rather be a centurion than a scholar."

This exciting and heroic style was popular in the poetry world of the early Tang Dynasty. A breath of fresh air. The poem expresses the young people's desire to join the army and make contributions to the frontiers, unwilling to be lonely. I would rather be a low-level officer (centurion) than a scholar and die under the window. Following the "Four Masters" was Chen Zi'ang, who theoretically criticized the declining poetic style since the Southern Dynasties. He believed that such poems exclusively played with gorgeous rhetoric and had empty content, abandoning the tradition of emphasizing ideological importance in the Book of Songs. He was deeply concerned about this and advocated learning the "style of the Han and Wei dynasties" and restoring the poetic style of the Jian'an era. His 38 "Gan Yu" poems put his own ideas into practice and had a great influence. His "Taiwan Song of Dengyouzhou": "There are no ancients in front of me, and no newcomers in the future. I think about the long journey of heaven and earth, and I shed tears alone." It is desolate and vast, sad but not sad, and is considered to be the swan song of nostalgic poetry. Han Yu once said: "When a country's dynasty flourishes with its articles, its disciples begin to dance high", commenting on his important role in the development of Tang poetry. The contributions of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen were mainly in terms of poetry rhythm. They summarized the results of poets' exploration of poetry rhythm since the "Yongming Style", and used their own poems to promote the final shape of "Modern Style Poetry".

To appreciate Tang poetry, you must first have a general understanding of the differences between "modern poetry" and "ancient poetry". By mastering their respective characteristics, you can better appreciate their beauty.

Folded ancient poetry

It is also called ancient poetry or ancient style. This concept is different from the commonly referred to as "ancient poetry". It is a special term that specifically refers to a style of poetry that was popular before the Tang Dynasty and continued to be popular in the Tang Dynasty. It exists relative to the modern poetry formed in the Tang Dynasty. The characteristics of ancient poetry are: there is no limit to the number of sentences in each sentence, and there is no limit to the number of words in each sentence. It may or may not rhyme, or it may rhyme or change rhyme. There are no requirements for correspondence between sentences and wording. In a word, ancient poetry is relatively free in rhythm, unlike modern poetry which has very strict requirements in rhythm. Ancient poetry is divided into two categories: five-character ancient poetry and seven-character ancient poetry (or simply five-character and seven-character poetry). In addition, there are ancient poems with sentences of varying lengths, which are generally classified into the Qigu. Some ancient poems have the same number of lines and words as regular poems, but the rhyme, rhythm, and antithesis are different from the requirements of regular poems, so they are still ancient poems. The "Nineteen Ancient Poems" mentioned above and the poems by Tao Yuanming and others are all ancient poems.

Collapsed modern-style poetry

It is also called modern-style poetry ("modern" and "modern" both refer to the Tang Dynasty), which emphasizes strict rhythm. There are four basic requirements for modern poetry: first, the number of sentences and words is stipulated; second, rhyming according to the prescribed rhymes; third, the words in the upper and lower sentences are required to be in opposition and adhesion; fourth, the relationship between certain sentences is stipulated. Words should be used in opposition, that is, nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs, adjectives to adjectives, etc.

Modern poetry is divided into two categories: (1) Rhymed poetry, which consists of eight sentences. Five-character sentences are called five-character verses, and seven-character verses are called seven-character verses. (2) Quatrains are composed of four sentences. Five-character sentences are called five-character quatrains, and seven-character sentences are called seven-character quatrains. Below we give examples respectively. For example, everyone is familiar with Wang Zhihuan's "Climbing the Stork Tower":

The sun sets over the mountains and the Yellow River flows into the sea.

If you want to see a thousand miles away, take it to the next level.

This is a five-character quatrain, which must be four sentences and 20 words. Secondly, it must choose a rhyme word to rhyme according to the rhyme usage ①. The two words "liu" and "lou" in this poem belong to the "Eleven You" rhyme. Thirdly, the words used must conform to the prescribed oblique and oblique format, so that it can be read smoothly, harmoniously and beautifully. The pattern of this poem is:

廄廄平平廄, 平平仄廄平.

廄平平廄廄, 廄仄廄平平.

The words marked with · can be flat or oblique, but the other words cannot be changed. Ping - refers to the flat tone characters in ancient Chinese; 廄 - refers to the rising tone, falling tone and entering tone characters in ancient Chinese. According to Mandarin, the characters Yinping (the first tone) and Yangping (the second tone) belong to Ping; the characters Shangsheng (the third tone) and Lisheng (the fourth tone) belong to Qi. The upper and lower lines of a quatrain poem may or may not conflict with each other. The entire first quatrain of this quatrain is in opposition. The last two sentences are "desire to be poor" versus "go up", "thousands of miles" versus "one floor", and "eye" versus "building".

We take the poem "Ascend the Stork Tower" to illustrate the most basic metrical requirements of modern poetry. In addition, there are three styles of five-character quatrains, namely flat and oblique, and four styles. Seven-character quatrains, five-character rhymed poems, and seven-character rhymed poems each have four oblique formats. Regarding the oblique format of modern poetry, I will only give some hints by citing the above example, and will not introduce it in detail. If you don’t want to write this kind of poetry, but just appreciate the works of previous generations, then it doesn’t hurt to have a rough understanding of the requirements of meter.

For the seven-character quatrains, let's take a look at Meng Haoran's "Farewell to Du Shishi in the South of the Yangtze River":

Jing and Wu are connected by water as their hometown, and when you go to the spring river, it is vast.

Where can I park my solitary sail at dusk? The sight of the horizon is heartbreaking.

It expresses the feeling of nostalgia and loss when bidding farewell to friends for a long journey. The whole poem consists of four lines and 28 characters, rhymed with "Qiyang", and the rhyme and oblique rhymes follow the rules. Since the quatrains allow for no antithesis, this poem has no antithesis.

For five-character poems, let’s look at Dai Shulun’s “Stone Station on a Big Night”:

Who asks about the hotel? The cold lamp is so friendly.

A year is coming to an end, and no one has returned from thousands of miles away.

Liao Luo is sad about the past, and laughs at this body.

Sad face and faded temples, tomorrow will be spring again.

This is a poem about staying alone away from your hometown and relatives on New Year’s Eve and lamenting your own misfortunes. The whole poem has eight lines and 40 words, rhyming with "Eleven True", and is smooth and regular. The first or two sentences of the verse are called "first couplets", the third or fourth sentences are called "chin couplets", the fifth or sixth sentences are called "neck couplets", and the seven or eight sentences are called "last couplets". The mandibular couplets and neck couplets of the rhymed poems must be in opposition. For example, the chin couplet of this poem is "one year" versus "thousands of miles", "end" versus "not returned", "night" versus "people"; the neck couplet of "sparse" versus "fragmented", "sadness" versus "laughter", " "Previous events" versus "this body".

For the seven-character rhymed poem, let’s look at Liu Zongyuan’s “Farewell to Brother Zongyi”:

The few remaining souls are doubly sad, and the frost hangs down with tears across the river.

He traveled six thousand miles to the country and died in the wilderness for twelve years.

When the miasma in Guiling comes, the clouds are like ink, and when the spring in Dongting is over, the water is like the sky.

If you want to know the dream of lovesickness from now on, the smoke of trees in Jingmen and Ying will grow again.

This is a poem written by Liu Zongyuan when he was demoted to the barbaric Liuzhou and bid farewell to his cousin Liu Zongyi when he went to Jiangling. The mood was extremely sad and angry. The whole poem has eight lines and 56 characters, using the rhyme "Yixian", which is regular in level and level, and the chin and neck couplets are neatly contrasted. The first line of a seven-character rhyme poem often uses rhyme, or it may not use rhyme, but this one uses rhyme.

There is also a kind of "extension" (extension) in the verses, that is, extending the verses to more than 10 or even a hundred sentences. Except for the first and last couplets, all the sentences and couplets in the middle must be in opposition. . The rules are usually five characters.

The style of poetry in the Tang Dynasty was already complete in the early Tang Dynasty, and the peak of poetry creation appeared in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Collapse and edit this section of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty

By the beginning of the 8th century AD, the so-called "Kaiyuan prosperous age" appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and the economy and culture reached their peak. A large number of outstanding poets have also emerged in the field of poetry creation, writing poems with extremely rich content. Among them, pastoral landscape poems and poems describing frontier wars accounted for a considerable proportion. Li Bai and Du Fu also appeared at this time. A brief introduction is given below.

Folding Landscape Idylls

The most famous author of this type of poetry is Wang Wei. Wang Wei, whose courtesy name was Mojie, was promoted to Shangshu Youcheng. It was customary to call him Wang Youcheng. Influenced by Buddhist thought, he was tired of bureaucratic life and lived in seclusion in Wangchuan River for a long time. He loved nature and was familiar with the countryside. His poems were written quietly and leisurely, with a kind of static beauty. For example, "Weichuan Tianjia":

The slanting light shines on the countryside, and the cattle and sheep return to the back alleys.

The old man in the wild misses the shepherd boy and leans on his stick to wait for the thorn tree.

The pheasants and wheat seedlings are beautiful, and the silkworms are dormant and the mulberry leaves are sparse.

Tian Fuhe arrived, hoeing, and we met each other and talked to each other.

Just like this, I am enjoying my leisure time and reciting "The Decline of the World" with regret.

The afterglow of the setting sun reflects on the village (rural), and the returning cattle and sheep pour into the village lanes. The old man was thinking about his grandson who had gone to graze, and he was leaning on crutches outside the firewood gate to watch his return. Amidst the crowing of pheasants, the ears of wheat are already showing, and the silkworms that have eaten enough mulberry leaves are beginning to go dormant. With a good harvest in sight, farmers returning from their hoeing days met each other and chatted passionately about their daily routines. This beautiful scene reminded the poet of the disgusting infighting in the officialdom, and how quiet and comfortable it would be to live in seclusion in such a rural area. In the melancholy, he couldn't help but recite the poem "In decline, in decline, Hu will not return?" (meaning: decline, decline, Hu will not return?) That is: It's getting dark, it's getting dark, why haven't you gone home yet?), indicating his interest in returning to the countryside. Wang Wei was proficient in music, painting, and calligraphy, and had profound artistic accomplishment; Su Dongpo commented that there were paintings in his poems and poems in his paintings. The poem above can be said to be a pastoral painting.

A poet as famous as Wang Wei is Meng Haoran, who was originally from Xiangyang (in today's Hubei Province) and is often called Meng Xiangyang. It is said that he once met Tang Xuanzong by chance at Zhang Jiuling's official office. Xuanzong knew the name of his poem and ordered him to recite it. He recited "Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year", which included the sentence "I am not talented, so the wise monarch does not use me" (I lack talent, so the wise monarch does not use me). Xuanzong was very unhappy after hearing this, and said: "It's because you don't want to be an official, it's not I won't let you be an official, how can you blame me!" Later, he was not admitted to the Jinshi examination, and he never officially became an official. He wandered and lived in seclusion for a long time, and became famous for his landscape poems. His poem "Passing Through My Old Friend's Village" is the most widely circulated:

My old friend brought chicken and millet and invited me to Tian's house.

The green trees are adjacent to the village, and the green mountains and hills are sloping outside.

Open a dining room and chat over wine.

On the Double Ninth Festival, I will come to see chrysanthemums.

An old friend killed chickens to cook and invited him to the village as a guest. From a closer look, the dense green trees strictly surround the village; from a distance, the green mountains stretch into the distance. Opening the Xuan window, one can see the yard piled with grains and the green vegetable garden; holding a glass of wine, they chatted enthusiastically about the growth and harvest of mulberry and hemp. How happy and comfortable it would be to drink fine wine, eat delicacies, and talk and laugh with friends in such a natural picture! After drinking, the friends were still reluctant to leave, and agreed to gather again on the Double Ninth Festival to drink fine wine and enjoy the chrysanthemums while drunk.

Chu Guangxi is also a frustrated hermit. His "Fishing Bay" describes the taste of seclusion:

When fishing in Green Bay in spring, the spring is deep and the apricot flowers are in bloom.

When the pond is clear, the water is shallow, but when the lotus moves, you will know that the fish are scattered.

When the sun sets for my lover, the boat is green and the poplar banks are green. The sky is covered with green shade, falling flowers are floating on the ground, the bottom of the clear pool is bottomed out, the lotus is moving and the fish are scattered. The fisherman does not care about the fish. This beautiful scenery alone is the best enjoyment. At dusk, I stop fishing and moor the boat, and wait for my good friend (lover) to meet me among the green poplars and grass. Isn’t such a carefree life the same as being a god? In fact, their lives will not be without troubles and worries. However, when writing poetry, you must temporarily put it aside, seize a certain beautiful scene and emotion, and play and exaggerate it to your heart's content. The poet satisfies his creative desire and also brings beautiful enjoyment to the readers. This is called poetry.

Folding Border Fortress War Poems

In the foreign wars of the Tang Dynasty, many literati participated and had personal experience of frontier fortress and military life. They served in the army without writing, and wrote poems to describe the desolation. The frontier fortress scenery, praising the brave spirit of the soldiers, or cursing the disaster caused by the war, thus the frontier fortress poetry school. The famous poet Cen Shen's "Zou Ma Chuan to Send Off the Troops for the Western Expedition" is representative:

"Don't you see: Zuo Ma Chuan is walking by the snowy seaside... Unexpectedly, short soldiers dare not pick up the troops, but the chariot division is standing at the west gate to show victory! ” (Omitted due to space limitations)

The words “Zoumaguan”, “Luntai”, “Jinshan” and “Cheshi” in the poem are all common place names in the north or western regions, and are used as place names here. The code name is not the actual reference, so you don’t need to seek the truth when reading the poem, just focus on understanding the poetic meaning. At the beginning of this poem, he vividly describes the harsh environment of the Western Regions with strong winds and flying sand and rocks. The Xiongnu (representing the powerful northern people) invaded, and the smoke spread everywhere; the general led his troops to the battlefield to meet the enemy. The weapons of the night march collided with each other. Although the cold wind was as cold as a knife, the snow-covered horseback was still steaming with heat and sweat, which soon turned into ice.

In the tent, I drafted a statement of defiance against the enemy. Before I could finish writing it, the ink in the inkstone had frozen into ice. Such a hard-working and courageous army will definitely make the enemy frightened and dare not fight; then let us wait for the news of victory and triumph at the west gate of the Che Division! The optimistic and heroic spirit expressed in the poem is exactly the spirit of the times during the prosperous Tang Dynasty manifestation. Li Qi's "Ancient Military March" is also very famous:

I climbed the mountain to watch the beacon fire during the day, and drank my horse by the river at dusk.

Pedestrians are fighting against the wind and the sand is dark, and the princess Pipa is full of resentments.

There is no castle for thousands of miles while camping, and rain and snow fall all over the desert.

Hu Yan flew away every night crying, and Hu Er shed tears.

When you hear that the jade gate is still covered, you should throw your life away.

Every year the bones of the war are buried outside, but it is rare to see the sweet apple entering the Han family.

The army would climb to the top of the mountain to watch the beacon fire alarm during the day, and at dusk rush to Jiaohe (in Turpan, Xinjiang, a place with water in this generation, not the actual place) to drink from the war horses. Diao Dou is a copper pot that is used for cooking during the day and as a watch for watching the clock at night. The soldiers carried Diao Dou on their backs and marched hard in the wind and sand that made the sky dark. At this time, they thought of the pipa music played by the princess of the Han Dynasty who married King Wusun along this road. It must be full of resentment. We spent the night camping in a deserted place, with heavy snow falling all over the sky and the desert in the distance. In the autumn night, the chirping of wild geese flying south was shrill and sad, and the Hu soldiers who were fighting against each other couldn't bear the hard life and shed tears. I heard that the imperial court had issued an order not to retreat, so I could only risk my life and follow the general (the official name is General Qingche) to fight to the death. If the Jade Gate is covered, it means that you are not allowed to retreat into the Yumen Pass. This is an allusion from "Historical Records: Biography of Dawan": General Li Guangli of the Second Division failed to attack Dawan and retreated to Dunhuang. He asked the court to withdraw the troops. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "heard this and was furious. He sent an envoy to cover the jade gate and said, "Anyone who dares to enter will be killed!" The result of pushing forward with all your strength is to die in battle in nine cases. Every year, countless people abandon their bones in a distant foreign land. The only result is It was grapes (sycamores) introduced from the Western Regions to the Central Plains for cultivation for the enjoyment of the wealthy. Although the poem reveals a sad mood, the tone is still high and enterprising.

War is cruel. In 714 AD, the Tang Dynasty army and the Tibetans had a great battle near the Chang Castle in Lintao, killing tens of thousands of Tibetans. Wang Changling's "Song under the Sai" wrote about this war:

Drinking horses across the autumn water, the water is cold and the wind is like a knife.

The sun has not gone out on Pingsha, and I can see Lintao dimly.

In the old days of the Great Wall Battle, Xian Yan was in high spirits.

The yellow dust is enough for the present and the past, and the white bones are a mess of wormwood.

Many years after the war, the battlefield is still dark and desolate, with long yellow dust, messy wormwood, and bones scattered among them, forever forgotten. No matter which party the deceased belongs to, it is a tragic tragedy for him and his family.

There is also Wang Changling's "Out of the Fortress", which reveals the suffering caused by the war and hopes that good generals will protect their families and the country.

The bright moon of the Qin Dynasty was at the pass of the Han Dynasty,

The people who marched thousands of miles have not yet returned.

But the flying generals of Dragon City are here,

Don’t teach Hu Ma to cross the Yin Mountain.