"Six kings are finished, the world is one, Shushan is Wu, and Afang comes out." The majestic "Ode to Afang Palace" made later generations deeply impressed by the talent and general strategy of Qin Shihuang. This article with gorgeous words and profound meaning also opened the bumpy career of Du Mu, one of the seven sages of the late Tang Dynasty.
Speaking of Du Mu, the first thing that many people think of is the title "Little Li Du", but compared to his talent and learning, his life journey is truly a legend. Today we will tell the story of this great poet of the late Tang Dynasty.
young and talented Du Mu
Du Mu's grandfather was Du You, the famous prime minister in the Tang Dynasty period. His father Du Congyu was a frequent visitor to the emperor's palace. It is no exaggeration to say that the Du family at that time was definitely the most powerful family in the capital.
But everything changed drastically with the death of his grandfather and father. After his father's death, the entire Du family fell into disgrace very quickly. Du Mu, who was only 15 years old, felt for the first time the danger of the human heart.
According to relevant historical records, not long after the Du family separated, an old slave who had followed and cared for Du Mu for many years starved to death in front of him. Although he was a slave in name, in Du Mu's heart he was more like an elder who took care of and cared for him.
It is difficult to have true empathy in this world, and it is difficult for us to understand the pain and helplessness Du Mu felt when he was only 15 years old. Later, in order to survive, Du Mu followed his mother to a temple and ate wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger all day long.
Such a life lasted for ten years. Maybe God is always fair. He took away Du Mu's wealthy and prominent family background but not his talent. When Du Mu was 25 years old, he met the noble man who changed his life. This man was Wu Wuling, a famous madman in the court at that time.
The reason why he called him a madman is because Wu Wuling often openly laughed at some ministers whose talents were not as good as his own in the court because of his talents. However, after the arrogant Wu Wuling saw an article called "A Fang Palace Fu", he was impressed by the author's talents and fell to the ground.
After many inquiries, he met Du Mu, who was only 25 years old. When he learned that Du Mu was going to Beijing to take the exam, he patted his chest and promised: "With me, Wu, here, Brother Du will definitely be able to pass high school this time when he comes to Beijing to take the exam."
The reason why Wu Wuling dared to guarantee this was because the examiner at the time was Cui Zhenzhen, his close friend for many years. Therefore, under Wu Wuling's recommendation, Du Mu won the fifth place in the Jinshi that year, and his official career officially began.
Shortly after becoming a Jinshi in high school, Du Mu was assigned to the Hongwen Hall because of his outstanding talents as the school secretary. The main job every day was to check ancient books. With Du Mu's talent and learning, such a job was a bit too leisurely and boring, but no matter what, he was unwilling to do so. After all, it was an appointment from the imperial court.
Compared with the days when he had to dig wild vegetables every day to satisfy his hunger, his current life was already very satisfactory to him. However, an unexpected letter in 827 AD broke Du Mu's peaceful life.
This year his friend Shen Chuanshi was transferred to Jiangxi as an observation envoy. Before leaving, Shen Chuanshi wrote a letter to Du Mu, hoping that he could go to Jiangxi with him to take up the post. Du Mu, who was tired of the boring life in Kyoto, submitted his resignation to the court as soon as he received the letter.
What Du Mu certainly did not expect was that during this trip to Jiangxi, he would meet a woman who changed his life. People who like Du Mu must know that he once wrote a poem called " Zhang Haohao Poetry ". This woman named Zhang Haohao was the woman who changed Du Mu's life.
Love Saint Du Mu: Recalling Yangzhou
The two first met at a family banquet held by their friend Shen Chuanshi. At that time, Zhang Haohao was performing as a singer in Shen's mansion. "The green phoenix has a tail, and the lotus has a red face with tarsus." The unparalleled beauty Zhang Haohao deeply attracted Du Mu as soon as she appeared.
Love at First Sight is talking about Du Mu at this time, but before Du Mu could pursue Zhang Haohao, Master Shen took her as his concubine. This failure in love seemed to open Pandora's box. From then on, Du Mu began to hang out in the fireworks alley.
Even if he lingered in the alley of fireworks all day long, he still could not conceal Du Mu's unparalleled talent. In 833 AD, because he appreciated Du Mu's talent, the prime minister at the time Niu Sengru recommended Du Mu to the emperor, and he became the governor of Yangzhou.
Yangzhou has been a fertile land since ancient times. The prosperity of the economy will inevitably bring about the vigorous development of other industries. Du Mu, who came to Yangzhou, became more and more arrogant.
According to some records at the time, Du Mu basically spent all his time in a brothel in Yangzhou every day, except for handling necessary official duties.
In fact, even if there are no such historical materials, it is not difficult to see how wanton and free and easy Du Mu was in Yangzhou through the poem "Xianti" he wrote in Yangzhou: "May I ask where the spring breeze is good, the horse's head is slanted in the deep green poplar lane."
The poem is definitely a good poem, but such dissolute behavior also attracted a lot of criticism for Du Mu, but he didn't care about these criticisms from people at the time. Even if he loved it, his three years of life in Yangzhou ended soon.
In 835 AD, under the orders of Prime Minister Niu Sengru, Du Mu was transferred to Luoyang as the supervisory censor. During the Tang Dynasty, the supervisory censor was ranked in the fifth rank. Although his rank was not very high, his power was very great.
Du Mu's main job every day is to supervise local government affairs on behalf of the emperor. From the daily lives of the common people to military matters, the supervisory censor has the power to supervise. Promoting Du Mu in this way is naturally a sign of gratitude to Niu Sengru.
However, at the farewell party, Niu Sengru asked his subordinates to bring a thick book to Du Mu. When he returned home, he opened the book and broke into a cold sweat. What kind of book could startle Du Mu, who had long been indifferent to worldly affairs?
It turns out that this book clearly recorded everything Du Mu did during the two years in Yangzhou. In addition to daily official duties, there were clear records on the time and place where he went every day, so naturally he couldn't hide the fact that he stayed in a brothel all day and night.
In order to reassure Bole, Du Mu went to the Prime Minister's Mansion before leaving to promise Niu Sengru that he would restrain his behavior and concentrate on serving the country. Will the romantic and talented Du Mu really change his past?
Reality teases people
Du Mu was indeed diligent for a while when he first arrived in Luoyang. However, just when Du Mu was determined to change his mind and focus on his career, an accidental encounter changed his life again.
Not long after he arrived in Luoyang, Du Mu happened to pass by a wine shop when he was out on business. Looking back inadvertently, he saw the woman who had once fascinated him so much. This woman was Zhang Haohao, who had performed singing and dancing in the house of his friend Shen Chuanshi.
It was mentioned in the previous article that Du Mu originally wanted to marry this woman, but he had no choice but to give up because his friend got the better of him. It was from this incident that he began to indulge in the fireworks and willow alley all day long.
never thought that after so many years, they would meet again after going around in circles. Things are different, people are different, and everything is different. Let’s stop talking and shed tears. Since he has fallen into the market, he must have suffered a lot in these years.
Perhaps out of concern for his beloved, Du Mu did not ask about her experiences over the years, but instead invested money to buy the wine shop. For a period of time thereafter, Du Mu came to the wine shop to meet Zhang Haohao every day, and the promise he had made to Niu Sengru to change his mind was forgotten by him.
Although Du Mu had a dissolute nature, he never made any big mistakes in government affairs. In addition, his career was still smooth due to the appreciation of the prime minister. However, with the changes in the court situation, his career suffered a huge blow.
Du Mu lived in brothels all year round and was looked down upon by Li Deyu who later controlled the court. In 842 AD, Li Deyu sent Du Mu to Huangzhou to become the governor on the grounds of his licentious behavior. After Huangzhou, Du Mu served as the governor of Chizhou and Huzhou .
According to people's records at the time, even during the Luoyang period, Du Mu often lay drunk among the fireworks and willow lanes for several days. Once, a banquet was held at the home of the local Minister of War. Du Mu was not invited because he was a supervisory censor, but Du Mu came uninvited after receiving the news.
While the Minister of the Ministry of War was still stunned, Du Mu directly said: "I heard that there is a girl named Ziyun in the Minister's house. I wonder if I can let you meet her?"
Considering Du Mu's identity, the Minister of War could only ask Ziyun to follow Du Mu. Before, people in Luoyang had only heard of Du Mu's name as a prodigal in the brothel. Many people actually did not believe this rumor, but now that the ironclad facts are in front of them, these people cannot help but believe it.
After this incident, Du Mu's ridiculous reputation was completely spread throughout the entire Tang Dynasty . It is difficult to understand why the young genius who was able to write "A Fang Palace Fu" and was proficient in the art of war turned into such a drunkard.
In 852 AD, Du Mu died of illness at home at the age of 50. His life was 50 years in total, but Du Mu spent nearly 30 years in a brothel. Such a life was really ridiculous.
In fact, all of this is a last resort. Why do you say this? Because Du Mu was living in the late Tang Dynasty at that time, the whole country was in a state of chaos, and the famous 40 years of Niu and Li party politics in the Tang Dynasty took place during this period.
Due to personal reasons, Du Mu obviously belongs to the Niu Party led by Niu Sengru in the political camp, but in terms of political views, many of his ideas coincide with those of the Li Party headed by Li Deyu.
It is precisely because he is displeased in front of both parties that although Du Mu's career seems to be going smoothly, his own revenge has never been shown as it should be, so he lingers in the fireworks and willow alleys all day long, intoxicated in the gentle countryside of the brothel.
Of course, although Du Mu's body was tainted by the world, at least mentally he was much stronger than the politicians at that time who were devoted to party politics and had no regard for the lives of the people.
