The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

He was known as the Poetry Demon and became famous in the capital at the age of 16 with a poem.

He strives to write poems that are easy to understand and are known to be understandable even to old women.

He was concerned about his country and his people and was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty.

He is a lovesick man. He tends to forget things as he gets older, but he never forgets his love for his lover.

He is my close friend. You are buried in the underworld with your bones turned into dust, while I am living in the human world with my head covered with snow.

He is Su Dongpo's idol, known as the Song of Everlasting Sorrow, the Sima of Jiangzhou, Bai Juyi, whose green shirt was wet with tears.

As a literary giant, Bai Juyi left behind many immortal works that are still passed down today.

When it comes to Bai Juyi, he is known to everyone, young and old.

Many of his poems have been included in textbooks and have become models for analysis and research for contemporary students.

However, what is not well known is that as a great writer, Bai Juyi had another side besides the elegant and graceful appearance we have in mind.

Bai Juyi once wrote a touching love poem for his wife when he was newly married, which was praised by the people of the Tang Dynasty.

However, this poem has aroused the disgust of many women today, and their condemnation of Bai Juyi's behavior is clearly typical of male chauvinism.

"In the seventh year of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi was born into a small bureaucratic family in Xinzheng County, Henan Province. He was the 22nd child in the family."

"In May of the following year, Bai Juyi's grandfather Bai Xun died of illness in Chang'an, and the two-year-old Bai Juyi followed his father Bai Jigeng back home to mourn."

"Bai Juyi was extremely intelligent since childhood. He began to learn to compose poetry when he was five or six years old, and was able to understand rhyme when he was nine years old."

"In the third year of Jianzhong, Huaining Jiedushi Li Xilie and Pinglu Jiedushi Li Na rebelled and invaded Ruzhou and Zhengzhou."

"Bai Juyi's family moved from Xinzheng to Xuzhou, where Bai Jigen was working, and the following year moved to Yuezhong to avoid the war."

"In the second year of the Zhenyuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, when Bai Juyi was fifteen years old, he prepared for the imperial examination and later took his articles to Chang'an to seek refuge with Gu Kuang, a Wu native, a writer."

"Gu Kuang, who was good at writing but superficial in character, praised and treated Bai Juyi's articles with respect after reading them."

"In the seventh year of the Zhenyuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi returned from Yuezhong to his private residence in Fuli Yongkou, Suzhou. During this period, he socialized with his friends and studied hard to prepare for the imperial examination."

"Three years later, his father Bai Jigen died of illness while serving as the deputy governor of Xiangzhou. Bai Juyi hastily completed his father's funeral and went to Fuli to mourn for three years."

"In the 14th year of the Zhenyuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi, his grandmother, his mother and the whole family moved to Luoyang and then went south of the Yangtze River alone."

"The following year, he took the Xuanzhou Prefecture examination and was admitted by Xuanzhou Governor Cui Yan. He was qualified as a provincial tribute student and was able to go to Beijing to take the Jinshi examination."

"In the 16th year of the Zhenyuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, under the auspices of Gao Ying, a minister of the Ministry of Rites, Bai Juyi took part in the imperial examination."

"I passed the palace examination successfully with the "Fu on the Distance and Nearness of Nature and Habits", "Poem on the Flow of Jade Water", and five questions, and was ranked fourth. I was awarded the title of Jinshi."

"Afterwards, he took advantage of the opportunity to wait for the election to return to Luoyang, Fuli and other places to visit his relatives, and in the 18th year of Zhenyuan, he participated in the candidate list of the Ministry of Personnel."

"In the spring of the following year, he took part in the Shupan Bacui examination under the auspices of Zheng Maoyu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and passed the examination with Yuan Zhen, Cui Xuanliang and others, and was awarded the post of proofreader in the Secretariat, a position of the ninth rank."

"In the first year of Emperor Shunzong's Yongzhen reign, Emperor Dezong Li Shi, who was 64 years old, passed away and Li Song, who had been the crown prince for 25 years, succeeded to the throne."

"At the beginning of his reign, Shunzong appointed officials such as Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi to initiate the Yongzhen Reform, with the intention of opposing the eunuchs' monopoly of power and the separatist regimes of the feudal lords, and strengthening the centralization of power."

Su Shi: Bai Juyi was born into a family of small and medium-sized bureaucrats. He had almost no worries about food and clothing since childhood and lived a fulfilling life.

But with the advent of war, this stable status quo was broken.

The feudal lord Li Zheng made life in Henan miserable, and the local people were in dire straits, including Bai Juyi's family.

When Bai Juyi was two years old, his grandfather, who was the magistrate of Gong County, passed away.

Soon after, Bai Juyi's grandmother also died of heartbreak.

After that, Bai Juyi's father served as the county magistrate of Pengcheng County, Xuzhou.

And because of his meritorious service in defending Xuzhou, he was soon promoted to the position of Xuzhou Beijia.

In order to protect his family from the war in Xuzhou, Bai Juyi's father sent him to live in Suzhou.

Thanks to this, Bai Juyi had a relatively stable and peaceful childhood.

Therefore, Bai Juyi received a good education at a very young age.

He started learning to read at the age of three and began reciting poetry at the age of five.

Perhaps it was because of his extraordinary talent that the young Bai Juyi showed amazing creativity in literature.

When Bai Juyi was only sixteen years old, he wrote the popular poem: Wildfire cannot burn it all, it will grow again with the spring breeze.

It can be seen that Bai Juyi had a high literary talent.

As he grew older, Bai Juyi, like many other literati and poets of the time, had the lofty ideal of making contributions to the people and the country.

Therefore, Bai Juyi entered the officialdom without hesitation.

With his outstanding talents, he soon gained the emperor's appreciation.

Finally, when Bai Juyi was 36 years old, he was successfully promoted to Hanlin Bachelor.

She became a celebrity beside the emperor, the envy of everyone.

This period was undoubtedly the peak of Bai Juyi's official career. He often appeared beside the emperor and was deeply trusted by the emperor.

Not long after, Bai Juyi was appointed as the Zuo Shiyi.

From this we can also see that the emperor loved Bai Juyi very much, and Bai Juyi was flattered by this.

It was precisely because of this that Bai Juyi became more determined to be loyal and filial and to devote his life to his cause.

The Shiyi were essentially censors, and although their status was not high, they were selected directly by the emperor.

Therefore, with the emperor's tacit approval, Bai Juyi prepared to make a big splash in the workplace.

During this period, Bai Juyi wrote a large number of poems reflecting the hardships of people's lives using the words he was good at.

He expressed his concern for the people of the world and his worry about social reality.

Not only that, Bai Juyi was outspoken and reported all his ideas to the emperor of the time.

At first, the emperor was very moved by Bai Juyi's advice and thought that it was rare to find someone as talented as Bai Juyi who dared to speak his mind.

To this end, most of Bai Juyi's suggestions were adopted.

"Bai Juyi wrote a letter to the then Minister of Personnel, who was promoted to the position of Shangshu Zuocheng, in support of the reform. He also proposed many suggestions to clarify the administration of officials and open up channels for people to express their opinions. However, in the same year, he moved to Huayang Temple in Yongchongli to stay away from political struggles."

"Soon after, Emperor Shunzong issued an edict announcing his abdication and crown prince Li Chun ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Xianzong of Tang."

"The abdication of Emperor Shunzong marked the failure of the Yongzhen Reform Movement, and Bai Juyi often expressed sympathy for the reformist parties in his poems and essays afterwards."

"The following year, Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Li Chun, changed the reign title to Yuanhe, and appointed Zhang Hongjing, a secretary of the Central Secretariat, as the examiner for the examination of the candidates."

"At that time, Bai Juyi resigned from his post as proofreader in the Secretariat, and in the first month of the first year of the Yuanhe era, he and his good friend Yuan Zhen agreed to take the imperial examination together."

"While serving as a county lieutenant, Bai Juyi often went to the fields to observe the sufferings of the people. One of his famous narrative poems, "Watching the Wheat Harvest," was written during this period."

"In December of the first year of Yuanhe, Bai Juyi, Chen Hong and Wang Zhifu visited Xianyou Temple together, during which they talked about the past of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei."

"Bai Juyi was deeply moved and wrote the Song of Everlasting Sorrow, which soon became world-famous."

"Bai Juyi wrote more than a hundred poems during his time as a junior proofreader and later a county official in the capital."

"These poems often criticize current ills and contain satirical and admonishing meanings, which can make up for the shortcomings of government affairs."

"Therefore, it is particularly appreciated and favored by knowledgeable people, and is often circulated in the court."

"Tang Xianzong was eager to seek talents and accept advice on governance. After hearing these poems, he was moved by Bai Juyi's talent."

"In the second year of Yuanhe, Bai Juyi was summoned to the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was transferred to serve as an examiner of Jinshi in Jingzhao Prefecture and a proofreader of Jixian Academy, and an official of the Jixian Academy of the Zhongshu Province."

"Bai Juyi thought that he had met a monarch who was fond of civil governance, so he was promoted out of the ordinary, and he was determined to repay the emperor's grace with all his talent throughout his life."

"In the third year of the Yuanhe reign of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi was named Zuo Shiyi."

"During his tenure, Yuan Zhen was demoted from the position of Censor to the position of a clerk in the Jiangling Prefecture. Bai Juyi and other Hanlin scholars wrote to the emperor to express their opinion that Yuan Zhen was innocent."

"After that, he advised the emperor to stop allowing Li Shidao, the governor of Zibo and Qingzhou, to offer silk to redeem the house for Wei Zheng's descendants, and to stop the emperor from appointing Wang E of Hedong as the prime minister, etc."

"Especially when Emperor Xianzong intended to appoint Tuotu Chengcui, the lieutenant of the Divine Strategy, as the Recruiting Envoy, Bai Juyi advised Emperor Xianzong to stop the appointment in earnest words."

"Later, he asked Emperor Xianzong to give up the military campaign against Hebei, and gave thousands of words of advice, which others dared not say, and Emperor Xianzong accepted most of Bai Juyi's advice."

Fan Zhongyan: As his opinions were constantly adopted, Bai Juyi's ambition was gradually aroused.

As a result, Bai Juyi became even more outspoken.

He no longer even cared about the emperor's face and spoke very quickly.

Over time, the emperor became somewhat disgusted with Bai Juyi's behavior.

In order to stop Bai Juyi from constantly making remonstrations, the emperor of the time dismissed Bai Juyi from his position as Shiyi.

However, after being dismissed from office, Bai Juyi still insisted on his own opinion.

Bai Juyi's insistence on expressing his own opinions also caused dissatisfaction among many people.

At this time, the prime minister Wu Yuanheng was assassinated on his way to the morning court.

Many people did not dare to speak about this matter, except Bai Juyi.

In the court, he openly criticized the case handlers for their poor performance.

He said that he should be punished, but things were not as simple as Bai Juyi thought.

If someone commits a crime under the emperor's feet, there is no reason why he cannot find out clearly if he wants to investigate.

Upon hearing Bai Juyi's rash remarks, other officials in the court immediately pointed their fingers at Bai Juyi.

It is believed that given Bai Juyi's current status and position, he is not qualified to make any comments on this matter.

Not only that, some people even brought up the death of Bai Juyi's mother and impeached Bai Juyi for being unfilial.

As a result, due to the slander of some people, Bai Juyi was eventually demoted to the Sima of Jiangzhou, which was a big blow to Bai Juyi, who had a strong personality.

From then on, Bai Juyi put away his lofty ambitions.

I began to keep myself away from others, indulge in nature and focus on my own life.

During this period, Bai Juyi was accompanied by his close friend Yuan Zhen.

The two can be described as brothers in distress, and both of them have had extremely unsuccessful careers.

At this time, Yuan Zhen was also demoted to Sima of Tongzhou. Although both of them stood up for each other, it was of no avail.

Gradually, the depressed and frustrated Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen stopped worrying about this matter and instead devoted more energy to reciting poetry and composing music.

The two were well-known brothel brothers in the Tang Dynasty. They spent their days either in brothels or drinking and writing poetry. They lived a very carefree life. In order to forget the troubles in life, Bai Juyi met many women.

The most famous among them are Xiaoman and Fan Su. Bai Juyi even wrote in his poem: Fan Su's mouth is like a cherry, and Xiaoman's waist is like a willow.

However, Bai Juyi was already in his thirties at this time.

Although he is free from worldly affairs, he lives a very carefree life.

However, he was criticized for not getting married at an age when he should have been.

Not only that, Bai Juyi's friends were also very worried about him.

So he introduced him to a girl named Yang, who was of noble birth and the sister of Yang Yuqing, the prefect of Jingzhao.

"But the only thing that made Emperor Xianzong dissatisfied with Bai Juyi's advice was the appointment of Tuotu Chengcui, the lieutenant of the Divine Strategy."

"He confided in Li Jiang, and after listening to Li Jiang's advice, he took Bai Juyi's advice seriously."

"In addition, Bai Juyi often suggested to Emperor Xianzong in the form of poems or memorials that he should pay attention to the sufferings of the people, such as the satirical poems "Songs of Qin" and "New Yuefu" that reflected social reality and people's livelihood."

"In the fifth year of the Yuanhe reign of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi requested Emperor Xianzong to transfer him to the post of military officer of the Ministry of Revenue of Jingzhao Prefecture on the grounds that his family was poor and he wanted to serve his parents."

"On April 3 of the following year, his mother, Chen, died. Bai Juyi mourned for her for three years and retired to Xiagui."

"In the ninth year of Yuanhe in the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi returned to Chang'an and served in the imperial court. He was granted the title of Zuo Zanshan Doctor of the Crown Prince and lived in Zhaoguofang, the third street east of Zhuquemen Street in Chang'an."

"On June 3 of the following year, Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng and Chief Censor Pei Du were assassinated."

"Wu Yuanheng died on the spot, Pei Du was seriously injured, and the eunuch group and the old bureaucratic group in power did not deal with it."

"Bai Juyi was not afraid of the powerful and wrote to Emperor Xianzong of Tang, advocating that the murderer be severely punished to enforce the law."

"Tang Xianzong believed that Bai Juyi's discussion of state affairs before the censors was an act of usurpation. At the same time, officials in the court who had a bad relationship with Bai Juyi framed him, so Tang Xianzong demoted Bai Juyi to the governor of Jiangzhou."

"Wang Ya, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, submitted a memorial to discuss this matter, saying that Bai Juyi's crimes were not suitable for governing the county."

"Request Emperor Xianzong to retrieve the imperial edict and reappoint Bai Juyi as Sima of Jiangzhou."

"Although Bai Juyi was demoted to Jiangzhou, he was generally able to remain calm and at ease."

"Bai Juyi also built a thatched cottage in the Yiai Temple on Mount Lushan, and met several Zen masters and formed close friendships with them."

"I wandered around and chanted, climbed high places and went into the woods, and was intoxicated by the beauty of the secluded places."

"Sometimes he doesn't go home for a long time, sometimes he comes home after a month."

"The local county magistrate regarded Bai Juyi as a high-ranking official and did not blame him."

"At the same time, Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen, who was working in Tongzhou, traveled thousands of miles to exchange poems and exchange letters to discuss the main points of writing."

"Soon after Bai Juyi took office as Sima of Jiangzhou, he built a thatched cottage in Mount Lushan and began his life as a hermit."

"In the 13th year of Yuanhe, Bai Juyi was appointed as the governor of Zhongzhou. During his tenure as governor, he reduced prison sentences and taxes, opened roads and planted trees."

Xin Qiji: Although the two were introduced by a middleman, it was not the matchmaker's words.

After Bai Juyi and Yang had been together for a long time, they developed feelings for each other and naturally came together.

Finally, when Bai Juyi was 36 years old, he ended his single life and married Yang.

Yang was the daughter of a prominent family, and Bai Juyi was a famous poet at the time.

The two of them are considered to be a good match and are favored by many people.

Bai Juyi was very happy after he and Yang confirmed their relationship.

The birth of a new family washed away much of Bai Juyi's depression over his unsuccessful career.

On the day of their wedding, when they were newlyweds, Bai Juyi was so excited that he wrote a poem in one go.

He gave it to his wife Yang, and this poem was regarded as the most beautiful love poem by the people of the Tang Dynasty.

However, after this poem passed through the changes of dynasties and was passed down to this day, it was severely criticized by women all over the world.

At the beginning of the poem, Bai Juyi expressed his determination to share the joys and sorrows, life and death with his wife, and agreed to be buried with her after death.

But then, Bai Juyi gave many examples and introduced to Yang what a good wife should be like.

First, Bai Juyi listed Qianlou's wives.

Qianlou was a famous poor student in the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period, but his wife was a daughter of a wealthy family.

Qianlou's wife not only did not despise Qianlou for being penniless, she was even willing to live a hard life with him.

She shed the halo of a rich girl and started farming for love.

Next is the example of Ji Que. Like Qian Lou, Ji Que was also born in a poor family and was a doctor of the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Whenever he worked in the fields, his wife would bring him meals.

Later, the idiom "treat each other with respect as guests" also originated from here.

Then, Bai Juyi cited the example of Tao Yuanming, who was unwilling to make a living.

His wife did not despise him, and eventually she and he retired to the mountains, where they cooked together with firewood and lived a hard life.

Finally, Bai Juyi even listed Liang Hong’s wives.

Liang Hong's wife was a beautiful woman, but after she expressed her love to Liang Hong, she was rejected.

Liang Hong said that she prefers women who know how to live and are thrifty and frugal.

For this reason, Liang Hong's wife washed off her rouge and powder and became an ordinary couple with Liang Hong. The later saying of "holding the case in harmony" also came from this.

"In March of the following year, Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi met at the gorge and stayed in Yiling for three days."

"At that time, Bai Juyi's fourth brother Bai Xingjian also accompanied him on the trip. The three of them set up wine and wrote poems in a stone cave at the entrance of Huangniu Gorge, 20 miles west of Xiazhou."

"Nanbin County is located in the deep and dangerous part of the gorge, and most of the flowers and trees are new and strange."

"When Bai Juyi was in the county, he wrote "A Picture of Magnolia and Lychee" and sent it to his relatives and friends in the court, introducing the appearance of the trees of lychee and magnolia, the color of the fruits, and the fragrance."

"In the winter of the same year, Bai Juyi was summoned back to the capital and appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Imperial Household."

"In the first year of the Changqing reign of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi was ordered to take the examination with Wang Qifu, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Qian Hui, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zheng Lang, a successful Jinshi, and fourteen others."

"In October of the same year, he was transferred to be the secretary of the Central Secretariat. Soon after, he was appointed as the examiner because Emperor Muzong personally tested the candidates."

"In the second year of the Changqing reign of the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi requested to be sent out because he was not valued after he wrote a letter to the emperor to advise him."

"In July of the same year, he was appointed governor of Hangzhou by Zhongshu Sheren."

"During his tenure in Hangzhou, he managed the water of West Lake and built the Bai Causeway. He also repaired the six wells that were clogged with pipes to solve the water problem for residents in the city."

"Soon after Yuan Zhen was transferred from Fengyi to Zhejiang as an inspector, Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen often met at the border of Hangzhou and Yuezhou, and their friendship deepened through the exchange of poems."

"After his term as governor of Hangzhou ended, Bai Juyi was appointed as the crown prince's left assistant, and was assigned to the Eastern Capital."

"In the second year of the Tang Dynasty's Taihe reign, Bai Juyi was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and was granted the title of Man of Jinyang County, with a fief of 300 households."

"The following year, Bai Juyi returned to the east on the pretext of illness, bought a house in Ludao, Luoyang, and settled there. He spent his entire later years in Luoyang."

"Later, in order to avoid being affected by the factional struggles, Bai Juyi requested to be appointed as a deputy official, and successively served as the governor of Henan and the deputy director of the Prince's guest office."

"In the first year of Kaicheng, Bai Juyi was appointed governor of Tongzhou, but he declined the appointment on the grounds of illness."

"In the fourth year of Kaicheng, the 68-year-old Bai Juyi suffered a stroke and was bedridden for several months. He then released Fan Su, Xiao Man and other prostitutes back home."

"He continued to write his own epitaph, chanted poems during his illness, and composed fifteen poems titled 'Poems During Sickness'."

"During the Huichang reign, Bai Juyi requested to be dismissed from his position as the Prince's Junior Tutor and to retire as the Minister of Justice."

"In his later years, Bai Juyi and the Xiangshan monk Ruman formed an incense society and called themselves Xiangshan Layman and Zuiyin Xiansheng."

"In the first year of Dazhong, Bai Juyi died of illness in Luoyang at the age of seventy-five."

Lu You: Bai Juyi undoubtedly wanted to make a point by listing these four examples.

He hoped that his wife, Ms. Yang, could be like these four virtuous wives and treat him with respect in the future.

Not only that, at the end of the poem, Bai Juyi began to introduce to his wife what a simple life is.

There is no need for delicacies from land and sea, nor is there any need for exquisite silks.

Simple meals and coarse cloth were all that was needed to sustain life, so there was really no need to make a fuss.

Between the lines, Bai Juyi's determination and eagerness to live in poverty and contentment with his wife are revealed.

Because of the urgency, Bai Juyi's words in this poem were quite straightforward and simple.

Therefore, after this poem became known to the people of the Tang Dynasty, they all praised Bai Juyi for his deep emotions.

This was naturally not a problem in the Tang Dynasty, after all, in that era.

Women's social status is extremely low, and in many cases they follow their husband wherever he goes.

After marriage, one doesn’t even have the right to express one’s opinion.

A large part of the poem is used to describe the poet's requirements for a virtuous wife, but there is not a single word to restrain himself.

I can’t imagine being Bai Juyi’s wife.

What were your thoughts when you saw this poem?

Is it the sweetness of pain, or the boredom of being bound?

After he wrote such remarks, he was bound to be criticized.

However, perhaps this interpretation is a misunderstanding of Bai Juyi.

After Bai Juyi married Yang, his life was still very warm.

Although they can't be considered a harmonious couple, at least they support each other.

Especially after the birth of his daughter, it brought a lot of laughter and joy to the family, which swept away the depression in Bai Juyi's heart.

However, the good times did not last long, as Bai Juyi's daughter unfortunately died at the age of three.

In response to this, Yang became depressed and cried all day long.

At this time, Bai Juyi once again wrote "Presented to My Wife" to encourage Yang and help her regain her confidence.

In the long journey of life that followed, Yang accompanied Bai Juyi through countless difficulties.

Always by his side, Bai Juyi healed many of the wounds in his heart and became his comfort. (End of this chapter)