Bai Juyi, a star in the history of literature in the Tang Dynasty, is also a rare special case that was famous internationally during his lifetime. He left us with nearly 3,000 works, and he has a considerable number of works. Which one is he most satisfied with? Chen Yinke said: "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow is actually a masterpiece that I believe is a masterpiece, and it is also the most popular and widely popular work that people at that time appreciated and circulated." What is the charming thing about this endless song of Everlasting Sorrow that can attract so many literati to pursue? How should we interpret the song of eternal regret in our hearts?
The four beauties each have their own beauty, but whether it is Xi Shi, a beautiful spy who is responsible for the fate of the family and country, or the marriage queen of the palace who maintains the relationship between Hu and Han, or Diao Chan, who is willing to sacrifice herself to complete the series of plans in order to repay her adoptive father Wang Yun, or Yang Taizhen, the heroine of the song of Everlasting Sorrow, they all live in turbulent times, or because of their beauty and innocent love, they indirectly or directly promote and witness the decline of the country... Beauty in troubled times is a tragic fate that is tempting and bizarre.
Among them, Yang Guifei is the most talked about, probably because her love with Xuanzong is an unforgettable love!
Yang Guifei, nicknamed Yuhuan, was born in the noble Yang family of Hongnong. He was originally assigned to Prince Shou, the son of Concubine Wu Hui, the most beloved Concubine Wu, who had already passed away at that time. By chance, the lonely Xuanzong met his talented daughter-in-law, so Princess Shou became a female Taoist priest living in Taizhen Palace, and later transformed into a transformation. In the fourth year of Tianbao, she became the famous Yang Guifei.
Unofficial History portrays her into a terrifying woman who charms the Lord. In the Song Dynasty, the people of the Song Dynasty even fabricated a mortal enemy, Concubine Mei, for Concubine Yang. They regarded Concubine Yang as a scheming concubine who even had an affair with Anlushan.
No matter what, how did the poet Bai Juyi, who has been born more than ten years ago since Yang Yuhuan's death, write this sad and heroic love story?
Read the Song of Everlasting Sorrow, we cannot regard it as a historical fact. Because Bai Juyi has been in the prosperous era when Yang Guifei was in full swing, at most we can say that the song of Everlasting Sorrow written by Bai Juyi concentrates the anecdotes and unofficial history related to the death of the concubine, and is also his fantasy and fictional love story.
If we look at the content, the song of Everlasting Sorrow can be roughly divided into four sections: from entering the palace to being favored, falling to being separated by life and death, so it turns into the lovesickness and regret of Emperor Minghuang of Tang, and finally the eternal oath made by the couple in the Palace of Eternal Life. In the end, it is the separation of yin and yang, even if the heaven and earth are erased, with endless hatred.
How does Bai Juyi view this love? First of all, he guessed the mentality of Emperor Minghuang of Tang. This man was very lonely. He relied on his talent and courage in his twenties to become the third son of the Prime Minister, a marginal person on the court who was the most unlikely to ascend the throne. He relied on a rapid and powerful coup to end the chaos since the end of the Wu Zhou period. After decades of rest and recuperation, I began to be paralyzed by the illusion of luxury and wealth, and I was committed to finding my soul confidant in my life. However, the concubine Wu Hui, whom he favored, was dead. It was not until he was in his sixties that he met the charming Yang Yuhuan.
Although Bai Juyi said that she had just grown up and was raised in the deep boudoir and was not known to anyone. In fact, this is not the case. The poet directly skipped the relationship between the husband and daughter-in-law, and did not mention Yang Yuhuan's 26 or 27 years old at that time. He imagined a beautiful and romantic encounter, and looked back with a smile and charming smile. It was precisely this moving look back and looking back that Yang Yuhuan became the concubine who made Emperor Minghuang of Tang abandon the pink and mournful palaces from then on.
The beginning of the song of Everlasting Sorrow, Bai Juyi rarely describes Yang Guifei's personality and mentality. He only writes about the beautiful concubines they saw from the eyes of beauties in the harem and people of the time. Concubine Yang could make the king feel that spring night was short and he did not go to court early. In fact, Emperor Minghuang of Tang, who was already in his sixties, also lamented that spring night was short. But there is another confidant who is so attractive to him, career and partner. For a man who is successful in his career and reaches retirement age, what he chooses is obvious and worthy of sympathy. But his identity is a king, so all indulgence is unforgivable.
So the world can see clearly that Yang Guifei's brothers and sisters were kings, and they had a banquet all day in the palace. Inspired by the imperial concubine who was proficient in music and loved art, the couple indulged in the romantic atmosphere of art and could not even hear the war drums in Yuyang. In this way, a happy and innocent romantic life is heading towards the turning point of life.
Everlasting Sorrow Song starts from the first sentence "The Emperor of Han emphasizes color and wants to conquer the country", until "the king is not worthy of it all day long", and does not even give any sympathy from the perspective of Emperor Minghuang or Yang Guifei. However, until the "Shocking Song of the Breathless Skirts and Feathered Clothes", the male protagonist of this love tragedy began to reveal his tragic pain and helplessness bit by bit.
Why did Emperor Minghuang fall in love with Yang Guifei? Perhaps because he lived in a palace coup since childhood and could not trust anyone, he had always longed to meet a simple and cute woman. When he believed that she was a soul mate worthy of pampering, he gave everything and accompanied the whole country. The result of spoiling is to reach the threshold of choice. He must destroy her, otherwise he will face an unprecedented crisis. The country that has worked hard for half his life will be left to nothing, and he will become a sinner of the Li Tang family.
But is history willing to give him the praise of a foolish man? Before we hate him without the courage to be attached to love, we must first understand him and understand the irreplaceable importance of his country to him. Unlike other kings, Emperor Minghuang of Tang was the most unlikely royal nobleman who became emperor, but he personally entered the tiger's den and conspired with his ambitious aunt Princess Taiping, and led the Royal Guards into the palace without telling his father. After gaining political power, my father changed from a prince to a king. In a light battle with his aunt's favor, Emperor Minghuang of Tang almost died many times. Finally, his father decided to cultivate him and retreated to the Supreme Emperor. He could finally have the Tang Dynasty that he had worked hard to win, but he was almost put to death due to his aunt's instigation.
This country was won by him, and the price he paid was too deep. He sentenced his aunt who had been close to him and coerced his father. He regarded himself as the revival of the Li family, and it was impossible for him to let go. But it cannot be said that he is ruthless to Yang Guifei. He just wants to imagine how people will comment on how he destroyed his ancestors' family business for a naive girl. Especially this evaluation is too similar to Empress Wei and Zhongzong whom he overthrew. The result of his choice was that he survived in Shu, barely saved his country, and his reason could not make up for his emotional shortcomings. So Bai Juyi said, "The Shu River is blue and the Shu Mountains are green, and the Holy Lord is in love every day and night." Who said that Emperor Minghuang of Tang was hateful? He gave up his love, but the world could not understand it. He respected him as the Lord of the Holy Spirit. No wonder there were so many beauties in the harem, but he only found Yang Yuhuan, a confidant.
It’s no wonder that “I saw the moon in the palace and felt sad, and I heard the bells in my heart breaking when I heard it raining at night” and “The lotus is like a face and willows are like eyebrows, how can I not shed tears on it”. Hundreds of years later, Bai Pu took “When the leaves of the sycamore tree fall in autumn rain” as his ideal story title. Hong Sheng took the story of "the disciple of Pear Garden is new, and the disciple of the Jiaofang is old", and Quan Chong's storyline is the same.
However, the love of Li Yang of these people was deeply confused by Bai Juyi, and only stayed on the deep and painful Emperor Tang Minghuang who lived and lived. Following him in his dreams and waiting for Yang Guifei's soul every night, he went to meet this woman he loved deeply and guess what kind of personality she had? Guess how she will react to her lover’s ruthless choice?
such speculation and touching also appeared on the Taoist priest of Linqiong. He "can achieve his soul with sincerity", so he went up to the blue sky and fell into the underworld. However, both places were missing. Finally, he found Fairy Taizhen in a remote courtyard. It was so ironic that because of the temporary plan of entering the palace, it became her name after her death.
In Hong Sheng's fantasy, Yang Yuhuan had a Weaver Girl to do good things for her, but she did not die, but Bai Juyi did not say that. He only said that Fairy Taizhen woke up from her dream. He heard that it was the envoy of her lover. She was in a hurry in a messenger. She was not dressed in a messenger. She had not spoken much. She had already "a branch with rain in spring." She only said that life and death were separated, and her love was gone, and she was in Penglai.
Yang Yuhuan, written by Bai Juyi, finally couldn't hide the longing of heaven and earth. She showed her innocent and lovely personality and took out the tokens that the two of them swore to exchange in the Changsheng Palace on the Chinese Valentine's Day. "Leave a hairpin and a fan, and breaks a gold into a tin", she handed it to the Taoist priest and asked him to tell her the king she loves, believing that as long as "the heart is as strong as gold, the heaven and earth will meet", how innocent is this?
What was the oath of that year? I wish to be a bird with wings in the sky, and I wish to be a branch on the ground. A pair of winged birds and branches are forced to separate at both ends of the world. Is there any way to achieve a marriage through hard metal and stone in this love? Bai Juyi didn't say the answer. I wonder what Emperor Minghuang of Tang, who received this token, would react? Are you feeling the entanglement of that ghost and creepy? It’s natural that this is indeed the cute woman he fell in love with, and she is his beloved Yang Yuhuan.
Since ancient times, the poet has not been bound by history, and Bai Juyi himself has a direct personality and even dares to accuse the emperor of his mistakes in person. When he was young, he had great ambitions. In the late Tang Dynasty, he had great ambitions to save the decline of the Tang Dynasty and save lives from water and fire. This was why he wrote this work that summarized the gains and losses of the Tang Ming Dynasty in half of his life with "not confused".
