The Love Story of Xue Tao and Yuan Zhen

When it comes to the famous Tang Dynasty female poet Xue Tao, many may not be familiar with her, but she truly had a wonderful life experience and a passionate love affair with Yuan Zhen. However, in the end, due to Yuan Zhen’s failure, Xue Tao lived a lonely life. Today, the editor will share with you the story of Xue Tao and Yuan Zhen.
1. The Love Story of Xue Tao and Yuan Zhen
In March of the fourth year of Yuanhe (809 AD), the poet Yuan Zhen, who was at the height of the sun at that time, was sent to the local area as a censor. He had long heard of Xue Tao’s name, so after arriving in Shu, he specially invited her to meet him in Zizhou. As soon as I met Yuan Zhen, I was attracted by the handsome appearance and outstanding talent of this young poet who was only 31 years old.
Once Xue Tao’s love flame burns, it becomes extremely intense. Although she had entered middle age, the unprecedented shock and passion told her that this man was the one she had always dreamed of, so she disregarded everything and threw herself into the flames of love like a moth to a flame. The next day, she wrote “Twin Birds on the Pool” with full sincerity, exuding a gentle and tender demeanor as a young woman.
The delayed love made Xue Tao feel a happiness he had never experienced before. The two lingered by the Jinjiang River, accompanied by the mountains and rivers of Shu. That time was the happiest day of Xue Tao’s life. However, happiness is always the shortest. In July of that year, Yuan Zhen was transferred from Chuandi to Luoyang. Upon closer calculation, their time together was only three months.
Separation is inevitable, and Xue Tao is very helpless. To her delight, she soon received a letter from Yuan Zhen, which also conveyed a deep affection. Labor and Yan are separated, and their feelings are far apart. At this moment, the only way to express her longing is through poetry.
Xue Tao has become obsessed with writing poetry letters. She likes to write four character quatrains and often only writes eight sentences in regulated poetry, so she often finds the paper size of her poems too large. So she modified the local paper-making process, dyeing the paper peach red and cutting it into exquisite narrow notes, especially suitable for writing love letters, known as Xue Tao notes.
Unfortunately, Yuan Zhen was a person who used his intelligence rather than his heart to date. A talented person may be passionate and fickle, but Xue Tao’s longing for him is still deeply ingrained in his heart. Her longing and longing, filled with melancholy and longing, converged into the famous poem “Spring Wishing Poem” that has been passed down through the ages.
2. Xue Tao wrote poetry for Yuan Zhen
Women in love are actually very foolish. Sometimes they know that it is impossible to turn back when their lover leaves, but many women still wait patiently, hoping that the other person will change their mind. Xue Tao is the kind of woman with deep affection. After Yuan Zhen left, she wrote poems to send to him, expressing the pain of longing. The group poem “Four Poems on Spring Hope” is written the best and most touching, especially the first one, which incorporates the sentiment of sadness and the pain of longing into the work, making the entire poem have a poignant and beautiful artistic conception, and every sentence is deeply moving.
Xue Tao was a famous talented woman at that time, and many people had had interactions with her. In addition to Yuan Zhen, there was also Bai Juyi who admired him greatly and wrote poetry for her. But Xue Tao had a deep affection for Yuan Zhen. In this poem “Four Poems on Spring Hope”, she wrote about the pain of lovesickness and the longing for love in a poignant manner, with every sentence full of deep affection and deep love between the lines.
Love is beautiful at the beginning, but when we both part ways, we suddenly realize that love is actually the most tormenting. Xue Tao is a passionate woman who has always been deeply in love with Yuan Zhen. Although the other party has already left, she misses them all the time. In this poem, she actually expresses a beautiful wish, while also revealing a faint sadness.
That whole poem is also quite easy to understand. The opening two sentences are written with deep emotions, and at the same time, the feeling of sadness is also about to emerge. “Flowers bloom differently, and flowers fall differently with sadness.” In spring, flowers bloom everywhere, but when they bloom, we cannot go out together to appreciate them. When the flowers fall, we are still not together, so naturally we cannot mourn together. In just two short sentences, infinite sorrow is revealed, and the feeling of loneliness and nostalgia for loved ones are vividly depicted.