In the history of our country, the Tang Dynasty can be said to be the most proud dynasty of the Chinese people. In that dynasty, culture flourished and officials of ten thousand states wore uniforms, known as the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty. Today, the history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to share with you.
In the dazzling Tang Dynasty poetry scene, famous poets have emerged one after another. Jia Island, known as the “poetry slave”, is on par with Meng Jiao, who has a similar poetic style. It was collectively referred to as the “suburban cold island thin” by the great literary figure Su Shi of the Song Dynasty.
Jia Dao’s famous poem “Encountering the Hidden One” goes like this: “Matsushita asks the child, the teacher goes to collect herbs. Only in this mountain, deep clouds do not know where to go.” After being included in elementary school Chinese textbooks, his image of transcending leisure became known to the world.
However, the real Jia Dao is not leisurely. His life has never been free from poverty and destitution, and his poems often contain words such as “tears, hatred, and suffering”, often appearing as withered and defeated. In later generations, he was even referred to as a “poet of bitter poetry” for this. What is the reason behind this?
Let’s talk about his bumpy life experiences.
1、 Jia Dao’s people
Born in 779 AD in Jia Island, Fanyang, Youzhou, Hebei Province (styled Langxian, also known as Jieshi Mountain people), who is now from Zhuozhou, Hebei Province. He comes from a grassroots background. Although he enjoyed reading poetry and books since childhood, his family was poor and he left his hometown at the age of 18 to embark on a wandering life like a ranger.
As a result, he met good friends such as Li Yi, Wei Zhizhong, and Zhuge Jue, and wrote corresponding works such as “A Sentence from Each Question in the South Mountain of Tianjin Bridge”.
In a blink of an eye, twelve or three years had passed since this impoverished adventure, and Jia Island was already 31 years old, yet it still had not brought any vibrant vitality. Under the pressure of livelihood, Jia Dao became a monk (Dharma name “Wuben”) and settled at Qinglong Temple on the outskirts of Chang’an in the capital city. Not only did he stay for free, but he also had the opportunity to eat and drink.
However, after living on Jia Island for a period of time, the rule of Qinglong Temple that “no one is allowed to go out after noon” made him very uncomfortable, so he expressed unfree sighs such as “not as good as cows and sheep, still returning at dusk”.
Fortunately, the abbot of Qinglong Temple appreciated Jia Dao’s poetic talent and turned a blind eye to him, tacitly allowing him to travel for inspiration in order to write more excellent works.
2、 The Story of ‘Deliberation’
A fortunate thing miraculously happened in such a situation.
Jia Dao went to visit his friend Li Ning who lives on the outskirts of Chang’an one afternoon. When he finally reached Li Ning’s residence along the mountain road, it was already late at night, and the bright moonlight covered the earth like silver.
Jia Dao’s knocking startled the birds on the tree, but unfortunately Li Ning was not at home. Jia Dao, who was inspired by poetry, spontaneously recited a poem titled “On Li Ning’s Residence”:
Living idle with few neighbors, the grass path leads into the barren garden. Birds roost on the trees by the pond, while monks knock on the door under the moon. Crossing the bridge, dividing colors, moving rocks and moving cloud roots. I will temporarily repay this debt, and the end of my term will not disappoint.
The next day, Jia Dao rode his donkey back to Qinglong Temple, still polishing his poetry. While reciting, he simulated pushing and knocking on the door, honing the use of “knock” in the phrase “monk knocking on the moon gate”. At times, he thought it was better to use “push”, and at other times, he thought it was appropriate to use “knock”.
In this state of deep contemplation and selflessness, Jia Dao’s donkey coincidentally encountered the honor guard of Han Yu, the governor of Jingzhao. Jia Dao thought to himself, it’s over. He’s going to be unlucky again this time, afraid of being beaten up and detained for another night. Previously, when reciting “Falling leaves fill Chang’an, autumn wind brings Wei River” due to a similar situation, I bumped into Liu Qichu, the governor of Jingzhao, and touched such a moldy head.
Fortunately, this time he met the famous Han Yu. After Jia Dao informed him of the truth, he was moved by his painstaking thinking and contemplation in choosing words and sentences. After thinking about it for a while, he said, “It’s better to use typing, after all, when visiting friends on a moonlit night, it’s more polite to use ‘knocking’, while ‘pushing’ seems a bit reckless. Also, knocking at the door in the deep of the night, there is a little more noise, and there is movement in the stillness, isn’t it even better
The story of “Birds resting on the trees by the pond, monks knocking on the moon gate” was officially locked in, and the story of contemplation spread from then on.
The famous story of Han Yu and Jia Dao’s “friendship in plain clothes” has become a touching anecdote in the Tang Dynasty poetry world.
3、 Swordsman “and” After the Poem ”
Later, with continuous rewards and funding from Han Yu, Jia Dao returned to secular life and devoted himself to the path of scientific research. He once wrote the famous “Swordsman”:
Ten years of sharpening a sword, the frosty blade has never been tested. Today I will show you, who has any grievances.
Expressed the excitement of being appreciated and eager to implement Lingyun’s aspirations.
Unfortunately, Jia Dao’s luck was not good. After many years of taking the exam, he failed repeatedly and still did not receive God’s favor.
One year during a scientific examination, Jia Dao still couldn’t attend high school. In a state of extreme depression, he went to his cousin, who was a monk at Qinglong Temple, to confide in him. When bidding farewell, Jia Dao wrote the poem “Farewell to No One to Go Up to” to convey the meaning, and also made a self annotation in the line “Walking alone at the bottom of the pond, counting the breaths of the tree beside the body”:
Two sentences for three years, a pair of tears streaming down one’s face. If a kindred spirit is not appreciated, it will return to the old mountain for autumn.
This is the famous poem “After Writing a Poem”, in which Jia Dao naturally expresses his pursuit of ultimate beauty in poetry, particularly emphasizing the refinement of words and phrases.
He often falls into a state of madness while sitting, sleeping, and eating in order to carve exquisite poetry. As a result, Jia Dao was like a dancer wearing shackles, with scenes of coldness, thinness, hardness, and astringency still evident in his poems. His title as a “poet of bitter recitation” did not fade away, and it also had a profound impact on future generations.
4、 Sad Jia Island
But Jia Dao’s life was indeed tragic.
He did not achieve enlightenment until 838 AD, when he was already 59 years old, and finally passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi.
So that year, Jia Dao, full of joy, went to visit his cousin who was still a monk at Qinglong Temple and had no one to attend to.
Unexpectedly, fortune is mixed with misfortune. Unexpectedly, something happened during this visit, and Jia Dao’s pursuit of a beautiful career came to an end. His shining moment was just a flash in the pan, and he returned to the ups and downs afterwards.
It turned out that while he was engrossed in reciting poetry in the secluded monk’s quarters, he coincidentally encountered Tang Xuanzong, who was secretly visiting through a disguise. He happened to be visiting the temple that day and was attracted by Jia Dao’s poetry recitation. He pushed open the door and picked up the poetry manuscript on the table to read it.
Jia Dao, who was disturbed, glanced at Tang Xuanzong and thought he was a playboy, so he shamelessly rebuked him for not knowing how to appreciate poetry in plain clothes.
Tang Xuanzong looked coldly at Jia Island and turned away without saying anything. The next day, Jia Dao learned that he had offended the current emperor, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Despite rushing to plead guilty, he ultimately bought the bill for his recklessness and rudeness.
A few days later, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued a decree to demote Jia Dao to Sichuan and appointed him as a minor official, the chief clerk of Changjiang County, who is now the secretary of the county magistrate of Daying County in Suining City, and other non listed positions. Therefore, in later generations, Jia Island was called “Jia Changjiang”, and his collection of works was also called “Changjiang Collection”.
After Emperor Wuzong of Tang ascended the throne in 840 AD, Jia Dao was appointed as a military officer in Tongcang, Puzhou (now Anyue County, Sichuan Province), who was also not a very good official. In 843 AD, 64 year old Jia Dao was transferred to the position of Puzhou Prefect. However, before taking office, Jia Dao passed away due to illness. At the time of his death, Jia Dao was penniless, leaving only a few volumes of poetry, a broken qin, and a sick donkey.
Jia Dao ended his life of poverty and sorrow in this way.
However, his spirit of hard work has been passed down from generation to generation. Poets such as Li Dong from the late Tang Dynasty and Sun Sheng from the Five Dynasties highly praised Jia Dao and worshipped him as an idol. The Qing Dynasty scholar Zhu Yizun once gave an objective evaluation: “Although the poetry of Lang Xian is still strange, it has fallen slightly behind in its bitterness and obscurity
It’s for memory.
