The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago, the dynasty's economy developed rapidly and the number of students in the world increased.

Coupled with the promotion of the Tang Dynasty rulers, the poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty became the most prominent label of the Tang Dynasty.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, many famous Tang poets emerged in history.

For example, Li Bai, who is known as the Immortal Poet, as well as Du Fu, Meng Jiao, Jia Dao, Han Yu, Liu Yuxi, Bai Juyi, Liu Zongyuan, Li He, etc., are all considered to be representatives of Tang Dynasty poetry.

Among them was a poet who was a famous landscape and pastoral poet in the Tang Dynasty, and he was Meng Haoran.

His life was full of ups and downs, but it was also filled with frustration and regrets, which made countless people in later generations lament.

There are two main reasons why Meng Haoran became famous in later generations.

The first is that although he was active in the prosperous Tang Dynasty when the political field was relatively clear and there were relatively more opportunities for poets and students, he was never able to enter the official career and remained a commoner all his life.

The second main reason is that as a pastoral and landscape poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the clear, plain and natural style of his poems injected fresh blood into the pastoral and landscape poetry of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty, for those who wanted to enter the official career, if they remained commoners all their lives, their life would be like a blank resume with no work experience.

Meng Haoran began to study hard since his youth, and when he retired to Lumen Mountain, he wrote down his goal of pursuing literature and swordsmanship.

He regarded entering the official career as his lifelong ideal, and with this ardent ideal in mind he embarked on this road full of infinite bitterness and hardships.

"In 690 AD, Meng Haoran was born into a scholarly family in Xiangyang, Hubei."

"Meng Haoran's father used Mencius's saying, 'I am good at nurturing my great energy', as the name of his newborn son."

"I hope that Meng Haoran will have a righteous character when he grows up, and bring honor to the family."

"Meng Haoran really lived up to his father's expectations. He was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics when he was young and was obsessed with the famous works of poets from previous dynasties."

"When the peach orchard behind his home was covered with falling petals and peach blossoms, Meng Haoran immediately wrote this famous poem that will be remembered for thousands of years."

“You don’t wake up to the dawn when you sleep in spring, and you hear the singing of birds everywhere.”

"The night comes wind and rain, Whispering Colour."

"It made Meng Haoran, who had not even reached the age of twenty, become a household name in the surrounding area."

"Meng Haoran was born into a scholarly family, so according to the life trajectory of ordinary scholars, he should have started to take the imperial examinations at this time, studied hard and finally entered the official career."

"The same is true for Meng Haoran. In 706 AD, Meng Haoran participated in the county examination in Xiangyang, which was also the first stage of the imperial examination."

"In the exam, Meng Haoran completed the three exams of poetry, essay writing and calligraphy in one go, answering the questions fluently."

"With his extremely talented writing style, Meng Haoran, who was only 18 years old, became the first in this county exam, and Meng Haoran became even more famous."

"Unexpectedly, Meng Haoran, who was supposed to take the Xiangzhou Prefecture Examination, suddenly gave up and expressed his determination to his family members that he refused to take the Xiangzhou Prefecture Examination."

"This is because the Tang Dynasty was in the period when Wu Zetian replaced the Tang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty. The government was in chaos and public security in many places became extremely loose."

"Meng Haoran thought he could not work for such a corrupt and broken court, so he refused the opportunity to take the Xiangzhou Prefecture exam in anger."

"But the Meng family was very confused about Meng Haoran's rebellion, which caused the relationship between Meng Haoran and his family to become very tense."

"So when things got bad with his family, Meng Haoran, who was only 20 years old, chose to run away from home."

"He also decided to retire to Lumen Mountain and become a hermit like Tao Yuanming at a young age."

"But when he was in seclusion, Meng Haoran met a singer named Han Xiangke, and they fell in love at first sight."

"When Meng Haoran proposed to marry Han Xiangke, he was rejected by his father again as expected."

"I didn't expect Meng Haoran to get married right at Han Xiangke's house. Meng Haoran's father died of illness not long after."

"After this, Meng Haoran reflected deeply on himself and gradually hoped that he could study hard and cultivate his character so that he could serve as an official in the court one day, thus fulfilling his father's wish."

Fan Zhongyan: Meng Haoran, a man whose talent was not appreciated, was depressed and frustrated throughout his life. In his later years, he wrote poems to express his aspirations, and every line of his poems is a classic.

It is not easy for anyone to live in this world, but for most people, they are relatively lucky.

Only a very small number of people are always displaced, have no chance of realizing their talents, and live an extremely miserable life.

Among the Tang Dynasty poets, there were those who felt their talent was not recognized and spent their entire lives in frustration. The most typical example was Meng Haoran.

Although he is very talented, well-educated and has noble character.

Even the usually arrogant Li Bai admired Meng Haoran and wrote poems to praise him and express his admiration.

In his poem "Presented to Meng Haoran", Li Bai directly calls Meng Haoran "Master Meng" at the beginning.

I like Meng Haoran very much and respect his solemnity and unrestrained style.

You are a noble person, knowledgeable, suave, and world-famous. You are a role model for our generation to learn from.

Li Bai is a very proud poet with a unique personality.

However, after reading Meng Haoran's poems and interacting with him, he admired him immensely.

From Li Bai's poems, we can know that Meng Haoran is not only talented, but also has a noble character that no one can match. He is an outlier among the poets of that time.

You should know that Li Bai seldom wrote poems to praise others. Even though Du Fu admired him very much and often wrote poems to him, he seldom responded to Du Fu.

However, it was different for Meng Haoran, who wrote several poems.

And they all expressed admiration, which fully demonstrated that Meng Haoran was better than others.

In his early years, Meng Haoran lived in seclusion in the countryside and led a very ordinary life.

It's nothing more than studying and learning, hoping that one day I can realize my life ideals and achieve something in my career.

But the reality was just the opposite. At the age of forty, he left his hometown and went to Chang'an to take the imperial examination, but unfortunately he failed.

After that, Meng Haoran began to indulge in mountains and rivers. After traveling around the south of the Yangtze River, he chose Mount Zhongnan.

He lived in seclusion there and never left.

Some people live in seclusion because they have seen through the world, while others do so to concentrate on studying. Meng Haoran is no exception.

He went to live in seclusion in Mount Zhongnan and never saw visitors. He spent his days reading, studying, and writing poetry.

This period was also the peak of Meng Haoran's creation. He produced a series of excellent works and wrote many popular masterpieces.

"Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year" is a poem written when he just returned to his hometown. The whole poem expresses the regret of being unable to realize his talent, and at the same time, it contains a profound philosophy.

Life in my hometown is very leisurely, and I don’t have to go to the imperial palace to express my opinions.

Returning to my shabby thatched cottage in Zhongnan Mountain and continuing to live an ordinary life is my final choice.

The first couplet shows his attitude. Since he failed the imperial examination, he chose to live in seclusion.

The focus of the second sentence is to express the feeling of being talented but not being recognized. A gentleman without talent does not understand talent at all. If I am abandoned, seclusion is the best choice.

After all, many of my good friends gradually became distant from each other because of my illness.

The loss of the imperial examination made Meng Haoran disheartened. It is a very sad thing that the monarch does not understand talents.

I am obviously very talented, but I have always been frustrated.

It’s not my fault, it’s just fate.

Now that I am sick, many of my friends have forgotten me and we rarely get together. There may never be another chance to meet again in the future.

After all, everyone was very busy, so we gradually became distant from each other, rarely wrote to each other, and lost contact with each other.

The second couplet is the best written, and what it wants to express is still the grief and pain, as well as the situation at that time.

The white hair is gradually increasing, time makes people grow old, and now I am slowly getting old.

The year is coming to an end and the New Year is about to arrive, and the whole world will be full of vitality again.

These two sentences actually contain a profound philosophical meaning, and they also show that the poet is extremely tenacious and still insists on being himself even in seclusion.

The last couplet once again expresses my inner distress. My mind is filled with so many thoughts that I feel very sad.

It was so hard to fall asleep. The shadows of the pine trees in the moonlight cast a desolate and quiet shadow on the window.

Meng Haoran's distress is fully displayed in this poem. He is obviously very talented and wants to achieve something in his career.

However, in real life, things are not as we wish.

That kind of emotional loss made him sad and plunged into grief for a time.

But after living in seclusion, he slowly returned to normal life.

But sometimes, when I think of the past and see the scenery in front of me, I fall into grief again.

That complex mood made the poet feel deeply moved.

"When he was 30, he wrote a poem called "Writing My Feelings to My Friends in Beijing", in which he lamented that at the age of 30, he had not yet been able to successfully enter the official career and realize his life ideals."

"When he was young, he was very fond of the landscape and pastoral poet Tao Yuanming, so he also expressed in his poems that he wanted to enter the officialdom and end his seclusion because he did not want to stay poor anymore, just like Tao Yuanming."

"Meng Haoran once wrote a poem saying that the sage is a treasure, why do you live in seclusion?"

"This poem directly expresses the Confucianism in his bones, the idea that one should serve the country as an official only when the political situation is clear and bright."

"It can be seen that at this time, Meng Haoran, who claimed to have retired to Lumen Mountain, had already begun to think about leaving the mountain to join the government, and later he directly put it into action and embarked on the road to seeking officialdom again."

"In 727 AD, in order to fulfill his ambition to become an official in the imperial court, the -year-old Meng Haoran set foot on the land of Chang'an for the first time to take the first major exam in his life."

"I didn't expect that he no longer had the talent that he had when he was young, which led to him not making it to the imperial examination and naturally not being admitted as an official."

"But this trip to Chang'an allowed him to meet many famous poets, especially Wang Wei, a great poet who served as an official in Chang'an."

"Wang Wei and Meng Haoran hit it off right away. Wang Wei not only enthusiastically painted Meng Haoran's portrait, but also actively promoted Meng Haoran's poems to the outside world."

"It will help Meng Haoran gain fame and gain connections for his future career as an official."

"Meng Haoran also began to become famous in Chang'an, a city full of talented people. Even the famous Li Bai and Du Fu became Meng Haoran's good friends."

"Meng Haoran was able to go down in history as a great poet, and the Tang Dynasty at that time was in the early and middle period of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, and the politics was clear and bright."

"At the same time, the Tang Dynasty was already in an era where people were recruited for their poetry. For example, Li Bai was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang because of his outstanding poetry writing skills, and he eventually got a position in the court."

"It stands to reason that Meng Haoran, with his poetic talent, should have been appreciated by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang like Li Bai and thus realized his ambition to serve as an official in the imperial court. However, Meng Haoran unexpectedly missed his ideal ambition."

"Meng Haoran once studied for thirty years, secluded in the shade of Jianghan."

"Not only did he pass the county exam smoothly when he was young, but after decades of study he is now well-versed in the classics."

"He also got two famous people, Wang Wei and Zhang Jiuling, to promote his poems and talents for him. Therefore, the failure in the exam in Chang'an dealt a heavy blow to Meng Haoran's confidence."

"Although he wanted to express his opinion directly to Emperor Xuanzong, he was very hesitant. This wavering made Meng Haoran very frustrated for the rest of his life."

"Under such a frustrated situation, Meng Haoran wrote "Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year" to express his extremely complicated emotions."

Su Shi: The popular Meng Haoran is both talented and willful.

As a first-class poet in the Tang Dynasty, Meng Haoran's talent is beyond doubt. It is not uncommon for talented people to have some personality.

However, when Meng Haoran is so willful, it is no longer enough to describe him as free and easy.

Meng Haoran has a famous poem which goes, "The wise ruler abandons the incompetent, and the old friends become estranged due to illness."

On the surface it seems to be modesty, but in fact it is just complaining.

What I mean is that I have no ability, so naturally I am not favored by the emperor.

I am in poor health and always sick, causing trouble to others. My friends also avoid me.

It's fine to just complain about these sour words in private.

The worst thing is that he read this poem to the emperor in person!

Once Meng Haoran went to his good friend Wang Wei's house to play, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang suddenly came.

For some reason, Meng Haoran was so scared that he didn't dare to greet him and hid under Wang Wei's bed.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang noticed something was wrong and asked Wang Wei, who had no choice but to tell him the truth.

Meng Haoran had no choice but to crawl out from under the bed covered in dust and dirt, feeling really embarrassed.

But what was even more embarrassing was that when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered him to compose a poem, Meng Haoran actually recited "Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year".

There is a saying in it: "A wise ruler abandons an incompetent person; old friends neglect an ill person." It was this saying that angered Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Regardless of whether the experience of encountering Xuanzong was true or not, it is an obvious fact that Meng Haoran lived a commoner life.

His poems often express the interest of seclusion and not serving in officialdom.

In an era when scholars were vying for official positions, this could be considered a distinctive personality.

In fact, Meng Haoran had the opportunity to meet Emperor Xuanzong more than once.

The then envoy Han Chaozong admired Meng Haoran very much and wanted to recommend him to Xuanzong.

Han Chaozong was known for his love of talent and his willingness to support young people.

There is a rumor among scholars that there is no need to be a marquis, but I wish to meet Han Jingzhou.

Even Li Bai once wrote "Letter to Han Jingzhou" in an attempt to make friends with him.

To gain his favor is an opportunity that many people dream of.

Faced with the olive branch extended by Han Chaozong, Meng Haoran initially accepted it with pleasure and went to Chang'an with him to prepare to meet the emperor.

As a result, on the appointed day, a friend happened to visit, and Meng Haoran had a great chat with his friend and got drunk.

Someone reminded him that he had an appointment with Han Gong, but Meng Haoran, who was drunk, didn't care.

He acted so recklessly that he offended Han Chaozong, and the recommendation naturally fell through.

If the story of encountering Emperor Ming was a folk fabrication, then breaking the appointment and giving up the audience because of drinking was really willful.

Ruining one's future is not the worst.

In the 28th year of Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, the 52-year-old Meng Haoran suffered from a back sore and was bedridden in Xiangyang.

When he was almost recovered from his illness, his old friend Wang Changling happened to come to Xiangyang.

As he was about to recover from a long illness and his old friend came to visit him, Meng Haoran was very happy and he feasted with Wang Changling.

Who knew that excessive joy would lead to sorrow? Meng Haoran, who was still a patient, ate fish and drank wine.

The back ulcer that was about to heal was triggered, and the condition suddenly took a turn for the worse, and he soon died.

According to common sense, people would always avoid certain foods when they have diseases such as carbuncle.

Fresh game, such as fish and mutton, and alcohol are strictly prohibited.

Meng Haoran would not be unaware of this, but given the incident of breaking his promise to Han Chaozong, it is not difficult to imagine that he was in high spirits and did not care about anything else.

But this time of willfulness cost the poet his life.

"This poem has also become a very famous poem of frustration in history. Why do we say that Meng Haoran missed his ideals and ambitions?"

"This is because there is nothing wrong with Meng Haoran's famous poem of frustration itself, but the problem lies in the fact that Meng Haoran read this poem to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang."

"Once Meng Haoran was invited by Wang Wei to visit the Hanlin Academy and have some discussions on literature."

"Unexpectedly, when the two were talking happily, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang suddenly arrived, which made them panic."

"This is because in the ancient feudal society with strict hierarchy, commoners could not directly meet the emperor unless summoned by the emperor."

"Therefore, Meng Haoran could only hide under the bed in Wang Wei's room in the Hanlin Academy to avoid seeing Emperor Xuanzong of Tang."

"Tang Xuanzong and Wang Wei had a long and pleasant conversation. Wang Wei felt that Meng Haoran was very upset, so he directly apologized to Tang Xuanzong and explained the reason."

"Tang Xuanzong did not pay attention to Meng Haoran's behavior, but asked if it was the Meng Haoran from Xiangyang. This was because Meng Haoran was already famous in Chang'an."

"When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang learned that it was Meng Haoran, he asked him to read one of his poems on the spot. Without thinking, Meng Haoran read to Emperor Xuanzong "Returning to Nanshan at the End of the Year", which he wrote when he was frustrated."

"I didn't expect that one of the lines, "I'm not talented enough, so my wise master abandoned me," made Emperor Xuanzong of Tang furious. He thought Meng Haoran was resenting me for not promoting him to an official position."

"After reprimanding Meng Haoran, he simply walked away. This incident also caused Meng Haoran to completely miss his ideal ambition of becoming an official in the court."

"The failure of the imperial examination in Chang'an and the disparagement of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang forced Meng Haoran to give up his ambition to become an official and leave the capital, instead embarking on a journey of wandering and seclusion."

"He eventually retired to Xiangyang, and decades later he became his 20-year-old self again."

"Sometimes he said calmly: "Riding a horse is not my thing, but rubbing shoulders with gulls is my true love."

"Sometimes I pretended nothing had happened, and said in a very casual way that Cangzhou was not far away, so why ask about the famous poem "Penglai"?"

"It seems that he had chosen to be a hermit since his youth, and he has been on the road of seclusion since he was twenty years old."

"His life was also filled with many moments of peace, such as the poem "holding a zither to get drunk, fishing and sitting at leisure."

"This peaceful and tranquil poem is quite elegant, like Li Bai's "I am drunk and want to sleep, please go away. I will bring my zither tomorrow if I am willing."

"Looking at Meng Haoran's life, he lived in seclusion in Lumen or sailed on Dongting Lake."

"Some people may seek official positions and go to the capital to take the imperial examinations."

"I may roam around Wu and Yue, and then return to Xiangyang."

"Or break your appointment with Han Chaozong and join Zhang Jiuling."

"It seems that there is no clear order between the entrance and exit, and it is difficult to grasp."

"In fact, from another perspective, Meng Haoran was just a poet who wavered between the two extremes of officialdom and seclusion."

"When he realized that after ten years of hard study, he only had talent but could not achieve his goal."

"All the misfortunes are hard to resolve, so I can only take the path of retreat."

Xin Qiji: Meng Haoran had no choice but to retire; his outstanding talent was actually his original sin; the complexity of human nature makes one sigh.

It is really difficult to be a human being. The difficulty does not lie entirely in the unfairness of fate, but in the loneliness and helplessness in one's heart.

The difficulty lies not in the good or bad comments of people around you, but in people's confusion, anxiety, love, hate, resentment, and fear of gain and loss.

Meng Haoran, a representative poet of the landscape and pastoral school in the Tang Dynasty, struggled throughout his life over whether to retire or take up an official post. Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts to gain official position, he retired to the mountains.

After so many twists and turns, he still can't get what he wants. One can imagine the despair in his heart.

It is hard to imagine that in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, such a talented and great poet would spend his life in poverty.

During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system was gradually improved, and the privileges of the aristocracy were completely abolished.

Anyone, regardless of their wealth or status, can take the exam, and everyone is equal in front of the exam paper, which greatly encourages talented people from the lower classes.

Learning literary and martial arts and serving the emperor was a common consensus among ordinary people at that time.

However, the legacy of the Wei and Jin dynasties still had a certain influence on the social atmosphere at that time. After all, the number of people who could become officials through the imperial examination was small, and the recommendation system in the Nine-Rank Official System of the Wei and Jin dynasties still had a certain market at that time.

At that time, many people followed Zhuge Liang's example and lived in seclusion in Wolonggang, looking for a suitable place to live in seclusion.

In fact, living in seclusion was not for the sake of seclusion, but rather for waiting for a good price. By living in seclusion, one could attract the attention of those in power, thus achieving the goal of skipping the imperial examination and quickly entering officialdom.

When Meng Haoran was forty years old and went to Chang'an to seek an official position, he often went to the Imperial College to recite poems and compose essays, and sit and discuss philosophy. No one in the room could compare with him.

It must be that someone had heard of Meng Haoran's name and introduced him there, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The key to the problem is that you, Meng Haoran, are extremely talented and your performance is so outstanding that you have outshined all the country's elites.

It was clearly their home ground, but you took the initiative and didn't restrain yourself, and you beat them down.

Someone invited Meng Haoran to give lectures at the Imperial College, and Meng Haoran also wanted to seize this opportunity to show his talents, hoping that someone would appreciate his talents and be able to support him.

However, talent is a double-edged sword. If used well, it can be a sharp weapon, but if used poorly, it can hurt yourself.

Meng Haoran often hung around in the Imperial College. The children of officials flattered him for his great talent and knowledge on the surface, but they actually hated him behind his back.

You, Meng Haoran, are a commoner, yet you expect us to recommend you to be an official so that you can surpass us in the future. There is no such good thing in the world.

Later, Meng Haoran took the imperial examination honestly, but failed.

During this period, Meng Haoran met Zhang Jiuling, who was then the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

After losing hope in the imperial examination, Meng Haoran suddenly had an idea and thought of Zhang Jiuling, so he wrote a poem "Presented to Prime Minister Zhang While Looking at Dongting Lake".

In August, the lake level is too clear.

Qi steams clouds and dreams, waves shake Yueyang City.

If you want to help you without a boat, you will be ashamed of the Holy Ming.

Sitting and watching the angler, there is only envy of fish.

The first half of the poem is majestic and awe-inspiring, while the second half reveals the author's desire to become an official.

This poem has always been regarded as evidence that Meng Haoran fawned on the powerful, but in fact, the poem written by Meng Haoran is still very tactful.

The great poet Li Bai was famous for his arrogance and the courage to refuse to board the ship even when the emperor called him.

But when they beg others to praise them, they are so cautious and flattering.

In fact, these powerful people did not give any practical help to Li Bai, Meng Haoran and others later, let alone appreciate and promote them.

Li Bai and Meng Haoran worked hard all their lives, but were alone and helpless, and they failed to realize their ideals and ambitions. In the end, it was all in vain.

In the end, the two men ended up in the same place. Li Bai died of excessive drinking after failing in officialdom, and Meng Haoran died of a back ulcer after failing to get a job and retiring. (End of this chapter)