In the long river of history, there is an unlucky poet, although his poems are short, but they have been popular for thousands of years. This literati left a profound impact with one of the most lonely poems. What kind of poetry has been preserved for so long?
In 726 AD, Liu Changqing was born in the middle of the Tang Dynasty into a family of declining scholars. The Liu family once went out of Jinshi, and the family was well-off, but during the Anshi Rebellion, the family fell into the middle of the road, and Liu Changqing lived a hard life.
The young Liu Changqing is talented and diligent and studious. He is not only proficient in the subset of scriptures and history, but also has a high attainment in poetry and articles, especially good at five-character ancient poems. He prides himself on the "Great Wall of Five Words", full of ambitions, aiming to serve the country and glorify his ancestors.
Liu Changqing had a strong temperament when he was a teenager, appreciated the truth, and hated flattery and bad people. He was determined to develop a steadfast and unyielding discipline, but it was also destined to make it difficult for him to gain a foothold in the decadent political environment of the late Tang Dynasty.
At the age of 26, Liu Changqing walked into the imperial examination room for the first time, holding the responsibility and dream of restoring the glory of the family. But the future was full of thorns, and the first game was lost. Since then, Liu Changqing has fought 9 times, but he has not hit the wall and returned, "Song Jue resigned and retired, and Cao Cao's soldiers died in black", 6 times in 12 years, the political ideals of his youth were hit again and again, and his classmates around him also came out one after another, but he was still in the same place.
Liu Changqing, who had suffered several setbacks, felt frustrated and once fell into the abyss of inferiority and pain. On the second night, he was so depressed that he climbed up to the top of the city alone and sang the praises of the crickets, and poured out his heart's desire for fame.
The crickets wailing outside the window were in response to Liu Changqing's inner anguish. He deeply felt that life is as short as a cricket, and he should strive for achievements in time, otherwise his life will be fleeting for decades, and he will regret it.
Liu Changqing used poetry to vent his unwillingness and wrote "Denggan Yue Pavilion Fuhuai": "In the past 12 years, I have been thinking about it, and I have been looking for a name outside the object. "It shows his determination not to give up his fame. As the son of a declining scholar family, he has an almost pathological obsession and desire to restore the glory of his family.
In 738, after the 13th examination, 32-year-old Liu Changqing finally won the Jinshi and worshiped Chen Liuxian Lieutenant. This was his first step into his career.
Liu Changqing is an upright official and has won the trust of the people. He strictly streamlined the administration, severely punished, went deep into the people's suffering, and solved thorny problems such as farmland and water conservancy. During his tenure, he carried out many initiatives that won the hearts of the people, and revitalized this poor and backward region.
However, the good times did not last long, and in just a few months, Liu Changqing refused to help Du Mingyuan, the special envoy of the imperial court, to deceive and intercept money and grain. The other party was annoyed and angry, and united with his colleagues to tell him, "**Liu Changqing was sent to exile to the remote Yueyang as a Haiyan official, and he had no best friends around him, and his life fell to the lowest point."
During the period of degrading Yueyang, Liu Changqing was almost desperate, and even wanted to end his life. Early one morning, Liu Changqing walked to the bank of the Yangtze River. The golden light of the morning sun poured on the sparkling river, but the beautiful scenery could not dispel the depression in his heart. He walked slowly to the river, his thin face was reflected in the river, and Liu Changqing was distracted for a long time.
I and Dajiang who know their minds again, must be relieved for a while, and must be sad for a while. An old voice came from behind him. Liu Changqing turned around and saw an old man with a strange appearance and a tattered robe laughing at himself.
The two talked happily, and it turned out that this old man was Li Bai. Li Hanlin had just been granted amnesty from his penal colony and was about to leave Yueyang. After receiving the grace of Li Taibai's acquaintance, Liu Changqing seemed to have regained his fighting spirit, and the two not only became friends, but also influenced and inspired each other's creations.
Liu Changqing decided to cherish every moment he spent with Li Bai. During the day, the two climbed to a bay of the Xiangjiang River and looked at the clouds, mountains and smoke; At night, they talked until late at night, writing verses for each other's chanting. He praised Li Bai from the bottom of his heart: "His words are like a breeze, and his poems are like a bright moon, illuminating my bleak life." ”
One day, knowing that Li Bai was about to leave on the road, Liu Changqing was reluctant to give up and wrote "Jiangshang Flower Urging the Gift" in a five-word quatrain. Li Bai sobbed after seeing it. Liu Changqing infinitely cherished the two years of friendship with Li Bai, and even if he was in a difficult situation since then, he was still in high spirits whenever he thought about it. Blessed be this passage to the generations to come"A water separates the fish and the dragon"。
Two years later, Liu Changqing was released, and then he was framed by the powerful again, and was once again reduced to a prisoner, exiled to a more remote and wild place as a trivial petty official. In the years that followed, he went into exile in different places, and was hit repeatedly and almost desperately. The bumpy road of fate made him often doubt the meaning of life. He could only hold the crystal jade pendant given by Li Bai tightly to recall the joy and beauty in Yueyang's friendship.
In 770, Liu Changqing served as the Pengshi of Yueyang County, and met Wu Zhongru, a powerful man sought after by Gongsun Aunt, who asked for protection, but Liu Changqing flatly refused. As a result, Wu Zhongru framed Liu Changqing for bribery and put him on death row.
In the days of waiting for the verdict in prison, Liu Changqing lived like a year. Several times, he desperately thought of ending his life, but he was unwilling to die like this. He repeatedly stroked the jade pendant left by Li Bai, remembering Yueyang's two years of friendship and good times. Memories gave him hope to live.
Fortunately, the superintendent of this case, Miaobo, is an upright and benevolent person. He deeply sympathized with Liu Changqing's experience, and finally found a flaw after careful interrogation, proving that Liu Changqing was indeed innocent and wronged. He took the initiative to explain the truth to Liu Changqing, saying that he could only give him a lenient sentence and demote him to Muzhou Sima.
Miao Bo's embarrassment and condolences moved Liu Changqing's heart. He thought that the world had become numb, that justice and compassion had long since disappeared. The righteous words of the overseer reminded him that human nature is still good, leaving him with a glimmer of hope.
In the winter of 770, Liu Changqing was about to go to Muzhou to take up his post when he was blocked by heavy snow. It was getting late, and a person in the vast wind and snow was struggling to move forward in the dark, exhausted and hungry. At this time, he saw a house with bright lights. An elderly couple welcomed him warmly, prepared hot meals and hot tea for him, and warmed his life.
Liu Changqing has always understood that the indifference and sinister of the world are far less than the power of kindness and human affection. When he received the kindness and help of the old couple without expecting anything in return, he shed tears. This pitying, loving, and helpful treatment of ordinary people contrasts sharply with the indifference and sinister nature of officialdom and the upper classes.
In the dead of night, when he heard the barking of dogs, Liu Changqing speculated that the owner had returned after a busy day. This respectable old couple, just like he and Li Bai did back then, gave the most friendship to the needy travelers without reservation. This nurtured his belief in the inherent goodness of human nature, and also became the spiritual source of his future pursuit of seclusion.
In 777, Liu Changqing rebelled during his tenure as the Assassin of Suizhou, and he completely saw the vanity of fame. Liu Changqing, who is in his 50s, decided to leave his career and start a life of free seclusion.
After living in seclusion, Liu Changqing lived a carefree life without bending his waist for five buckets of rice. He spent a lot of time reading, writing, and traveling in the mountains. What was once a political ideal and ambition has now turned into a series of ink paintings of landscape figures, revealing detachment in lightness. His new work no longer has the indignation and sorrow of the past, but is transcendent, reminiscing about the beauty of life.
Liu Changqing lived in seclusion in a small village at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, living an almost paradise life. He lived a simple and unpretentious life, entertained himself with piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and had friendly dealings with his neighbors. Occasionally consider your memories, pick up a pen and write a short sentence or two, and you will be satisfied.
He often climbed the mountain alone in the middle of the night, lying on a pine chair and looking up at the starry sky and listening to the babbling stream. With gray temples, he no longer has the sharpness of his youth, but instead has a lasting tranquility, standing still like a small statue of ancient art, and there is no worldly joy, anger and sorrow.
Such a day is exactly what he yearns for a poetic life in his youth. Now that his dream has come true, Liu Changqing feels that he has no regrets in this life. No matter how much wind and rain has been experienced in the past, this scene is enough.
Around 788, Liu Changqing died of illness in a secluded life. A scholar who pursues fame but has been repeatedly frustrated, a Qing official who defends justice in the officialdom but cannot escape the blow, finds stability in life in his later years and lives a poetic and comfortable life. Liu Changqing is not just an unlucky poet, he spends his life interpreting what is precious spiritual wealth.