How bumpy was the life of the late Tang poetry monk Qi Ji Why did he become a monk

In ancient times, there were many poets and ink artists whose lives were very difficult, and their experiences were very unfortunate. Below, the editor of the History Encyclopedia will provide a detailed introduction to the story of the late Tang poetry monk Qi Ji. His life was not only rough, but also rough from childhood to adulthood.
He was born into a very poor family, with no farmland and only a run down house. Perhaps the most valuable thing was the cow. Their family’s life is completely self-sufficient. When I’m hungry, I go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables. There’s not much white rice to eat, and the firewood is also carried by myself from the mountains. Moreover, his mother had poor health when he was young, so everything at home was taken care of by his father alone. When he was a child, his father would take him to herd cattle and teach him how to herd cattle. When I was a little older, my mother passed away because our family didn’t have enough money for medical treatment, and my father also died quickly due to exhaustion and lack of nutritional supplements. He is the only one left at home.
He goes herding cattle every morning, passes by the school every time he goes up the mountain, and stays in front of the door for a while early every morning, listening to the students studying. Sometimes when herding cows, he would tie them up and run to the school wall to listen to the teacher’s teaching. Despite this, he listened more attentively than the students inside. He would pick up the branches on the ground and practice with them. Although he has a desire for learning, he is still very satisfied despite the situation at home not allowing it. Once, while contemplating the poetry taught by his teacher yesterday, he picked up a branch from the ground and wrote it on the back of a cow. The monks in the temple saw him and thought he was a very talented person, so they advised him to become a monk. At that time, a child had no idea what becoming a monk meant. The monk said that there would be people in the temple who would teach you how to read, write, and write poetry, so that you wouldn’t have to write on a cow’s back every day. You could also have a pen and paper. He was naturally very happy to hear that he could learn like other children in the future. Although he still couldn’t bear to part with his cow, he still agreed.
He was very diligent when he entered the temple to study, perhaps due to his good character cultivated since childhood. He would wake up early every morning to review the knowledge he had learned yesterday with a pen. After finishing his studies one winter, he disturbed the temple outside. At that time, the trees had already frozen, some of which were even damaged, and snow had accumulated on the ground. At this moment, a cold wind blew, and the plum blossom tree in front of the door brought a faint fragrance. He suddenly felt it and quickly ran back to his room to write a song called ‘Early Plum Blossom’. Afterwards, he also wrote many works and his talent was naturally known by many people. At that time, many talented students came to the temple to seek guidance after hearing his reputation. Most of his works actually spread their Buddhist ideas at that time, and then talked about the living conditions of the people under the court at that time.
He loves the beautiful scenery of his motherland very much, so he lived in Chang’an for many years and went everywhere to see many famous places. He also created many works based on the inspiration from these places. Later, he received an invitation to go to Jiannan, but due to the war, he couldn’t reach it and had to go home halfway. At that time, he was retained by the military governor in Jiangling, and due to the excellent scenery here, he stayed here. His works in his later years are also nostalgic for his travels around the world. He stayed in Jiangling until he passed away at the age of eighty.
So, a person’s actions have little to do with what environment they grew up in, or just because our conditions are poor does not mean that what we persist in cannot be realized. As long as we work hard, we can do it!