Summer life of talented people in Tang Dynasty

For us today, it is not a problem to spend the hot summer. However, it’s not easy to travel to Chang ‘an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty more than 1000 years ago.

The research of Zhu Kezhen, a famous meteorologist, shows that there were four warm periods in ancient Chinese history, among which the Tang Dynasty was the hottest period. Chang ‘an at that time was extremely hot in summer. Du Fu wrote that "the birds died of bitter heat, and the fish in the pond dried up their mud", "It’s never sunset, and it’s toxic to my intestines", and "it’s not enough to eat temporary meals on July 6". The poet Wang Gu’s "Bitter and Hot Journey" is even more frightening: "Zhu Rong came from the south to whip the fire dragon, and the flame of the fire flag burned the sky red. The sun will not freeze at noon, and all nations will be in a furnace. "

At that time, there was a "literary society" in Chang ‘an, called Ten Talented Scholars in Dali. According to the Book of the New Tang Dynasty, the ten talented scholars were Li Duan, Lu Lun, Ji Zhongfu, Han Han, Qian Qi, Sikong Shu, Miao Fa, Cui Yao, Geng Yong, Xiahou Shen, and in some versions there was Li Yi.

In ancient times, writers with the same style of works often called each other, including two people, three people and eight people. It is very rare for these ten poets to say the same thing. They are all poets in Tang Daizong’s Dali period. They wrote about their personal life experiences, feasted and sang, and toured the mountains and enjoyed the water. They created the delicate beauty of the Dali poetry circle and left many poems with friends, so people gave them this reputation.

Ten talented people are outstanding in poetry, and some of their summer remedies are also revealed in their poems.

It is Qian Qi’s way to build a small courtyard to enjoy the cool in the summer. The poem "Summer and Cool" is based on this feeling:

When Li Yi was enjoying the cool breeze in his own home, he suddenly remembered his friends Miao Fa and Sikong Shu. I wonder if they are cool, so he wrote a poem "Send Miao Fa Sikong Shu at the Bamboo Window":

There is a summer resort in the south of Chang ‘an, Jionji, which is close to Qujiang. The temple is planted with Gu Song bamboo, which is quiet and quiet. You can also bathe in the cool wind when you climb the tower. In the Tang Dynasty, all the scholars in the New China inscribed their names in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, where people can enjoy the cool and soak in the rain and dew of the scholars.

Li Duan and Miao Fa, when the summer heat was difficult, went to Jionji, south of the city, and spent a rare cool day. Li Duan was deeply touched, and wrote "Summer with Miao Fa in Jionji":

Li Duan used allusions, old poems and Buddhist scriptures in his poems, and Tiger Creek and Lotus were all handy. At the same time, the meaning of coolness also sneaked into the wind, like a lotus flower, pure and pure. Lu Lun and Cui Dong also came to Jionji for the summer in a hot summer, which really happened to coincide. Lu Lun was full of poetry, and wrote a poem "Summer Vacation in Jionji with Cui Yao":

The poem describes that people in Chang ‘an are like fire houses in midsummer, which shows that Chang ‘an was very hot at that time.

At that time, the powerful family in Beijing had good summer conditions. Li Duan and others have close contacts with the prime ministers Yuan Zai and Wang Jin, and they have many opportunities to go in and out of the prime minister’s office, so they naturally get a good chance to enjoy the cool. Therefore, Li Duan wrote this poem "Feng and Wang Yuan’s two-phase summer vacation Huai Du Taiwei":

In addition to this summer poem, the ten talented people also sang with Yuan Wang. Cui Yao and Qian Qi have the same topic "Painting Komatsu in Yuan Dynasty, Wang Xiang Gong and Du San Xiang Gong", Han Yi has dozens of songs and poems, such as "Serving Yuan Xiang Gong’s Home", Geng Kun’s "Sending Yuan School Book Lang Bo and Xiangguo Yuanzi in Spring", Sikong Shu’s "Sending Yuan School Book in Early Summer" and Lu Lun’s. From these poems, we can see that Li Duan and other ten talented people in Dali had close contacts with the prime ministers Yuan Zai and Wang Jin at that time, which may be the reason why Yuan Zai and Wang Jin recommended ten talented people many times. Thanks to the help of the two prime ministers, the situation of the ten talented people has been greatly improved, and they have taken up positions in the imperial court, which has added some protection to their "drifting in Beijing" life, so that they can have the opportunity and space to sing and sing. To some extent, the establishment of the status of the ten talented people is inseparable from the painstaking efforts of Yuan and Wang. In this way, it is more than a trivial matter to go to the prime minister’s office to enjoy the cool.

These summer poems written by them not only have literary value, but also have historical significance to understand the summer life of the people in the Tang Dynasty.

◎ The source of this article: "Appreciation of Ancient Poetry", Tuyuan Network, and the copyright of pictures and texts belongs to the original author. If there is any infringement, please contact to delete it.