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Meng Jiao, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, was born in a poor family and had a rough life.

Therefore, when he wrote poems, he always liked to incorporate his sad emotions into them, and finally he became a representative figure of the Tang Dynasty's hard-working poets.

Su Shi of later generations disliked Meng Jiao's poems very much, thinking that he wrote about the cries of cold insects, which made people feel bad when reading them.

However, Meng Jiao's two most famous poems, "Song of the Wandering Son" and "After Passing the Imperial Examination", were not poems of hard work.

Especially in "After Passing the Imperial Examination", the two lines "feeling proud and high-spirited as the horse gallops" not only do not contain any sadness, but are written in a proud and triumphant tone.

However, it was unexpected that such an uplifting and cheerful poem still failed to win the favor of ancient poetry critics.

Many ancient poetry critics have criticized Meng Jiao's "After Passing the Imperial Examination" for being too proud and narrow-minded.

I didn't expect that this sentence was a very accurate evaluation of Meng Jiao's ending.

From this perspective, Meng Jiao's poetry is neither happy nor sad.

"Meng Jiao was born in Kunshan County in the tenth year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's Tianbao reign."

"My father, Meng Tingyin, was the county lieutenant of Kunshan, and my mother, Ms. Pei, came from a prominent family."

"That year, An Lushan celebrated his birthday in Chang'an City, and Concubine Yang wrapped him in brocade swaddling clothes."

"Li Longji was not angry but happy, and rewarded Yang Guifei with a lot of money for washing the baby."

"From then on, An Lushan was not allowed to enter and leave the palace without permission. Sometimes he would have sex with the imperial concubine and not come out all night. This showed his rebellious intentions."

"When Meng Jiao was six years old, An Lushan started a rebellion. The drums of Yuyang shook the earth, and the colorful clothes and feathered robes were broken."

"Li Longji fled west in a hurry, Yang Guifei died at Maweiyi, and the whole country was in chaos."

"That year, Meng Tingyin passed away, leaving behind Pei and three children."

"The family suddenly lost its pillar, and Meng Jiao grew up overnight."

"Although he is very young, he is very sensible and treats people like an adult."

"Until he was thirty, he stayed with his mother, taking care of her, and never got married or had children."

"When Meng Jiao stayed in the village, besides farming, he wrote poetry."

"Since I am not tied down by worldly affairs, I write poems that are full of gods and ghosts."

"At the age of 30, Meng Jiao began to travel."

"The sage said, while your parents are still alive, you should not travel far away, and if you do travel, you must have a plan."

“There are two kinds of filial piety. One is to stay with your parents for your whole life. The advantage is that you can see them every day, but the disadvantage is that you will be poor for your whole life.”

"One is to go out and explore the world. The downside is that you may never see her again. The upside is that if you become successful, your whole family can live a good life of luxury."

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s right or wrong, it’s all a choice.”

"Meng Jiao also wanted to be with his mother for the rest of his life, but his mother said that a good man should have ambitions to go far and wide, so how could he stay in the fields and be a farmer all his life?"

"Tai Bai once wrote in his poem, 'We are not ordinary people, you should go out and try your luck.'"

"After hearing this, Meng Jiao went to wander around Heyang County, but he happened to meet Li Xilie's rebellion."

"So I stayed in Heyang, watching the people suffer and worrying about my old mother at home."

"Five years later, the rebellion was quelled and Meng Jiao went to Shangrao County, where he met the Tea Saint Lu Yu."

"Lu Yu planted several acres of tea fields next to Guangjiao Temple three miles north of Shangrao City, built a teahouse, and devoted himself to studying the tea ceremony."

"In the seventh year of Emperor Dezong of Tang's Zhenyuan reign, Meng Jiao was arrested in Huzhou County."

"According to the Tang Dynasty's system, candidates first take the provincial examinations in each prefecture, and the list of candidates who pass the examinations is then reported to Chang'an by each prefecture."

"Candidates who submit their applications without taking the exam are called 'Qujie', also known as 'Pujie'."

"In late autumn of that year, Meng Jiao came to Chang'an and traveled to Mount Zhongnan with his friends."

"Meng Jiao envied the hermits who lived in Zhongnan Mountain without worries, unlike himself who studied hard for worldly fame."

"But fame is not so easy to come by. In the spring exam the following year, Meng Jiao failed as expected."

"I failed in the imperial examination, and was stranded in Chang'an. I was depressed and bored, and my depressed mood was vividly expressed in the paper."

"I live in a small hotel all day, comb my hair only once every ten days, and drink only nine times a month."

"He eats plain food, and his friends run to rich families, but none of them come to see him."

"While my friends are becoming the new elites, I am alone and desolate. The pain and suffering of this situation is too much to bear."

Xin Qiji: Meng Jiao lost his son when he was old and sick, and then lost his mother. His life was truly miserable and tortuous.

Meng Jiao failed in the imperial examination twice and finally passed the examination at the age of 46. He once served as the lieutenant of Liyang County.

Unable to realize his ambitions, he wandered among the woods and springs, composing poems.

As a result, many official duties were neglected, and the county magistrate replaced him with a temporary lieutenant.

Later, recommended by Henan Yin Zheng Yuqing, he was appointed to work in Henan and spent most of his later years in Luoyang.

Meng Jiao had a simple career and lived a poor life. He was an upright and stubborn person. After his death, Zheng Yuqing bought a coffin for him and buried him.

Therefore, most poems describe the fickleness of the world and the sufferings of the people.

Meng Jiao's father, Meng Tingyin, was a minor official who served as the Wei of Kunshan.

When Meng Jiao was between the ages of thirty and forty, he witnessed the changes in the feudal lords in Henan.

He wrote a poem for Lu Yu's newly opened mountain house in Shangrao, Xinzhou, and later exchanged poems with the poet Wei Yingwu in Suzhou.

He traveled from the Central Plains to the south of the Yangtze River, with an uncertain whereabouts. However, apart from writing poetry, there is nothing else he could record.

In the seventh year of Zhenyuan, Meng Jiao was 41 years old and passed the provincial examination in his hometown of Huzhou, so he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination.

It was probably during this examination that he met Li Guan and Han Yu.

The unconventional personalities of both men were the basis of their friendship.

Although Meng Jiao was seventeen years older than Han Yu, his poetry skills were comparable to Han's.

But his fate was rough and his career was full of difficulties.

Therefore, it was because of Han Yu's praise and admiration that his reputation as a poet became greatly enhanced and he became a famous figure in Han Yu's school of poetry.

At the age of 46, Meng Jiao took the exam for the third time at the behest of his mother, and finally passed the exam and became a Jinshi.

At the beginning of Yuanhe period, he was appointed as the water and land transportation officer of Henan Province, and was tested as the assistant music officer, and settled in Luoyang.

In the 17th year of Zhenyuan, Meng Jiao was 51 years old and was ordered by his mother to go to Luoyang for selection. He was selected as the lieutenant of Liyang County.

Not far from Liyang City there was a place called Toujinlai, where Meng Jiao often went for a visit. He sat by the water, wandering around and composing poems, thus neglecting much of his official duties.

The magistrate then reported this to his superiors, and asked them to hire another person to replace him as county lieutenant, and at the same time gave half of his salary to that person.

In the first year of Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, Zheng Yuqing, the governor of Henan, appointed Yujiao as the water and land transportation official and tested him as the assistant music officer.

From then on, Meng Jiao settled in Lidefang, Luoyang.

Only then did his life become a little better off and he was no longer cold and hungry.

In the ninth year of Yuanhe, Zheng Yuqing was the prefect of Xingyuan. He recommended Meng Jiao as the military adviser of Xingyuan Army and tested him as the judge of Dali.

Upon hearing the order, Meng Jiao went from Luoyang, but died of a sudden illness in Yanxiang County, Henan Province, at the age of 64.

"At midnight, Meng Jiao was alone on his pillow, unable to sleep. He raised his cup to the moon and expressed his feelings."

"It's obvious that I can't stay in the imperial capital anymore. Not only is rice expensive in Chang'an, but the rent is even more expensive."

"Meng Jiao had no choice but to bid farewell to his good friends Han Yu and Li Guan and headed for Xuzhou, where he wrote a farewell poem before leaving."

"The endless pain revealed between the lines is heartbreaking to read."

"Meng Jiao returned to Kunshan and stayed with his mother for less than half a year."

"In the ninth year of Zhenyuan, he entered Chang'an again and took part in the second imperial examination, but failed again."

“It is not terrible for a person to fail once, but it is terrible to fail again and again.”

"In the twelfth year of Zhenyuan, Meng Jiao came to Chang'an for the third time. This time he was lucky enough to pass the exam."

"Years of depression were swept away, and I was happy to write the poem "After Passing the Imperial Examination"."

"The spring breeze is proud of the horseshoe, I can see the Chang'an flowers in one day."

"But it's too early to celebrate after passing the imperial examination. The imperial examination is only for the Ministry of Rites. After passing the Ministry of Rites examination, there is also the Ministry of Personnel examination."

"Han Yu failed the civil service examination for three consecutive years and had to go to Xuanzhou to serve as a magistrate."

"Meng Jiao saw Han Yu off and stayed in Chang'an for half a year, and the cold winter was about to begin."

"I had no choice but to go to Xuanzhou to eat free food. Xuanzhou Sima Lu Changyuan took good care of him."

"In the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan, Han Yu left Xuanzhou, and Meng Jiao followed him."

"A few days after the two left, Lu Changyuan was killed by the rebels. The two of them escaped."

"In the 16th year of Zhenyuan, Meng Jiao went to Luoyang to take the civil service examination and was appointed as the lieutenant of Liyang County."

"Meng Jiao wasted his whole life and only got a minor official rank of ninth rank at the age of fifty."

"Instead of feeling relieved, I felt very tired and annoyed."

"But since I finally became an official, I went back to Kunshan to pick up my mother and headed to Liyang."

"After wandering for half a lifetime, I can finally let my mother enjoy a few days of peace and a good life."

"The mother was very pleased to see her son finally succeed, and she sewed new clothes for him."

"Meng Jiao wrote "Song of the Wandering Son" with tears in his eyes."

"Mother hands line, wandering clothing."

"I sew my clothes tightly before leaving, fearing that I might return late." "Who says that the love of a child can repay the kindness of his parents?"

"At this time, Meng Jiao had not yet married and had always been dependent on his mother."

"I left home to travel far away at the age of 30, achieved nothing in the past 20 years, and at the age of I am still wearing clothes sewn by my mother and eating meals cooked by her."

"This mother's love is like the spring sunshine that nourishes the grass. The grass's filial piety cannot repay even a fraction of it."

"When Meng Jiao arrived in Liyang County, it happened that County Magistrate Chen was leaving office, so he and a group of colleagues went to Tangxing Temple to see the roses and bid farewell."

"The new county magistrate is named Ji Cao, and he has an impatient temper. Plus, new officials have to make a big move to establish their authority, so Meng Jiao soon became overwhelmed."

"In the Tang Dynasty, the county magistrate was responsible for the government affairs of the entire county, the county magistrate was assisted by the county assistant, the chief clerk was responsible for checking the documents, and the county lieutenant was responsible for the specific implementation."

Fan Zhongyan: Meng Jiao lived a free and easy life, and his poem "Song of the Wandering Son" expresses so much motherly love.

Meng Jiao grew up in a poor family and his father was just a minor official.

In addition, he was a solitary person and seldom interacted with others, so he lived in seclusion in Songshan Mountain in Henan Province during his youth.

In this way, he did not leave the Central Plains until he was thirty years old to travel to the south of the Yangtze River.

Soon another ten years passed and Meng Jiao was already forty-one years old.

It was at this time that he remembered that he had to take the imperial examination. To be honest, he was a little slow in realizing it.

Meng Jiao took the imperial examination three times in five years, and it was his mother's persuasion that persuaded him to take it. He passed the examination as he wished on the third attempt.

During this period, he met Han Yu and was admired by him, and his poetry became famous from then on.

When he was 51 years old, he was ordered by his mother to go to Luoyang to participate in the selection of talents and appointment of officials. He was selected as the lieutenant of Liyang County.

By the time he took up the post, he was already 52 years old.

Before taking office, Han Yu wrote a letter to him.

Being a county lieutenant is against your wishes, so you cannot fulfill the duties of a county lieutenant.

Sure enough, when Meng Jiao went there, he liked to travel and write poetry, which led to the neglect of government affairs.

His superior, the county magistrate, had to hire someone else to handle the affairs of the county lieutenant on his behalf. Half of his salary was taken away, and he lived in poverty.

Three years later, he resigned from his post as county lieutenant.

Meng Jiao was appointed as a water and land transportation official and settled in Luoyang, where his life gradually improved.

Meng Jiao was a relatively free and easy person and was not obsessed with his official career.

Even though he became an official, he did not do his job properly and just spent his days traveling and writing poetry.

From the time he took the imperial examination to the time when he was selected for official positions, he always followed his mother's advice.

It reflects Meng Jiao's filial piety to his mother. Even if it is something he doesn't like, he will do it according to his mother's wishes.

The most famous of these, "Song of the Wandering Son", is his ode to maternal love.

Mother hands line, wandering clothing.

Departure thick seam, meaning fear of delay in return.

Anyone who speaks insincerely will get San Chunhui.

This is a deeply moving poem written by Meng Jiao in a letter when he brought his mother to live with him after his life as a county lieutenant in Liyang became stable.

The kind mother used needle and thread to make clothes for her son who was traveling far away.

Before leaving, she sewed stitch by stitch, not daring to be careless at all.

I’m afraid that my son will come home late and his clothes will be damaged.

Who dares to say that children's filial piety, as weak as grass, can repay the mother's deep kindness that shines on them like the warm and gentle sunshine of spring?
The whole poem is written in simple and plain language. Through the detailed description of a mother sewing clothes for her son who is traveling far away, it highlights the mother's deep love for her child.

Especially in the last sentence, the poet contrasts the disparity between grass and spring sunshine to express his true feelings for his mother.

"Catching thieves, trying cases, writing judgments, collecting taxes, etc., are all the work of the county lieutenant."

"Meng Jiao, a 50-year-old scholar who is used to being idle, is simply not qualified for such complicated and trivial grassroots work."

"I had no choice but to ask Magistrate Ji for leave. Magistrate Ji reported to the prefecture government and sent a lieutenant down to help Meng Jiao with his work."

"The government didn't pay any extra money, so Meng Jiao gave half of his salary to the fake lieutenant."

"Meng Jiao's monthly salary was 3,000 coins, and he had to give half of it to temporary workers. His life was immediately tight."

"Five miles south of Liyang County, there is a forest that is lush and green with lush vegetation."

"Meng Jiao had nothing to do and was free from worries. He would come to the woods every now and then to recite poems and compose essays. He would come at sunrise and leave at sunset."

"It goes without saying that this kind of solitary life is very miserable. He can't fit in with the real world, so it's understandable that he is excluded and ignored."

"At this time, Han Yu was serving as a doctor of four subjects in the Imperial College in Chang'an. He was a poor teacher, and his situation was similar to Meng Jiao's."

"I heard that Meng Jiao was quite dissatisfied with his situation, so I wrote a letter to persuade him."

"In the 20th year of Zhenyuan, Meng Jiao couldn't bear this hard life any longer, so he resigned and took his mother home to farm."

"Two years later, in the first year of the Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, my old friend Zheng Yuqing became the governor of Henan Province and invited him to Luoyang to serve as the assistant music official."

"Xielülang is a sinecure, a position of the upper eighth rank, with high pay and little work."

"Meng Jiao was very happy and rented a house in Lidefang, the center of Luoyang."

"After settling down, with the help of Zheng Yuqing, Meng Jiao married a wife named Zheng, which was a double blessing."

"However, good times are always short-lived. His son died soon after he was born, and Meng Jiao was heartbroken."

"Misfortunes never come singly. The following year, my mother, Pei, who had depended on me for most of my life, also passed away."

"Meng Jiao resigned and went into mourning. Since his boss was his good friend Zheng Yuqing, Zheng Yuqing still paid him his salary."

"Meng Jiao wrote to a friend named Zheng in Chang'an, saying that he did not dare to spend his monthly salary of 3,000 coins casually, and saved it for retirement and emergency."

"In the ninth year of Yuanhe, Zheng Yuqing was transferred to Xingyuan Yin and hired Meng Jiao as a military advisor."

"Meng Jiao and his wife traveled westwards, and died of a sudden illness in Yanxiang County."

"Zheng Yuqing was deeply saddened when he heard about it and gave tens of thousands of dollars for funeral expenses."

"Zheng reported the news of her death to Han Yu, who then summoned Jia Dao and other close friends to Luoyang to take care of her funeral."

"After everything is done, Han Yu wrote a letter to Zheng Yuqing to report that after deducting all expenses, there are still 270,000 coins left, which is enough for Zheng to live out the rest of his life."

"Many years after Meng Jiao's death, Zheng Yuqing gave Zheng family living expenses every year, which can be said to be the most benevolent and righteous thing to do."

"Of course there is another reason. Zheng is originally a relative of Zheng Yuqing, not an outsider."

"After Meng Jiao died, his friends wrote poems to commemorate him, and the two poems by Wang Jian were the most famous."

Wang Anshi: Meng Jiao entered the official career at the age of 50 after many ups and downs, but later died in poverty.

You may not know much about Meng Jiao, but his poem "Who says that the heart of a grass is small, but it repays the kindness of the spring sun" is well-known.

Born in Huzhou, Meng Jiao had a withdrawn personality since childhood and came from a poor family.

His life can be described as miserable. He lost his father when he was young, his wife when he was middle-aged, and his son when he was old.

He has always depended on his mother and had no background, so the only way for him to change his fate was through the imperial examination.

The knowledgeable and talented Meng Jiao should have been successful in officialdom, but the actual situation was quite different.

Meng Jiao was knowledgeable and learned since childhood. One winter, an imperial envoy from the court came to Meng Jiao's hometown to understand the people's sentiments.

The local county magistrate, of course, flattered and held lavish banquets to please him.

Just as the county magistrate and the imperial envoy were toasting each other, little Mengjiao, dressed in rags, openly entered the hall. The county magistrate was very impatient and wanted to chase him away.

Meng Jiao said unconvincedly, "Poor people are not fair, but there is a god above us."

The imperial envoy wanted to tease him, so he came up with two couplets that were both extremely sarcastic and asked Meng Jiao to write the second couplet.

Meng Jiao not only responded quickly and neatly, but also made a harsh mockery.

The imperial envoy and the county magistrate could not lose their temper in front of so many people, so they could only suffer the loss in silence.

Although Meng Jiao was quite talented, he was not very successful in officialdom. He did not pass the Wuxing Township Examination until he was 41 years old.

He failed in his first two attempts to take the imperial examinations in Beijing. Feeling that he had great talent, he inevitably felt depressed and wrote the poem "Failure" in his frustration.

Meng Jiao wanted to give up but felt unwilling to do so, and finally passed the exam when he was nearly 50 years old.

The emotions that had been suppressed for many years suddenly burst out, and he wrote down beautiful lines such as "The horse gallops in the spring breeze, and I can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day."

Even if you have passed the exam, you cannot become an official directly. You still have to take a selection exam hosted by the Ministry of Rites before you can be granted an official position.

Under such circumstances, Meng Jiao stayed for another four years and finally became a minor official in the county.

He still felt a little comforted by his current situation as he could finally bring his mother, who had worked hard for half her life, to his side to fulfill his filial duties.

I thought that my career would be smooth sailing after becoming an official. Perhaps it was a common problem among scholars, and I disdained flattery in my bones.

His relationship with his superiors and subordinates was not very good. He was often away from the yamen, wandering around on a donkey.

He often left home at sunrise and returned in the evening, claiming to others that he was going to understand the people's sentiments.

Soon Meng Jiao's idleness made his superiors very disgusted, and they reported his behavior to the court.

A person was assigned to assist him in the work, but his monthly salary had to be divided into half of Meng Jiao's monthly salary.

The salary from Weibo was already very little left, and Meng Jiao's life was becoming increasingly tight.

In desperation, Meng Jiao resigned and stayed at home. His good friend Han Yu could not bear to see him so destitute, so he found a job for him in Luoyang.

When he was 60 years old, his mother passed away. Heartbroken Meng Jiao resigned and returned home to mourn for his mother.

Three years later, Meng Jiao died suddenly at home. With nothing but his own money, Meng Jiao had to buy a coffin with the help of his friends to bury his dead body. (End of this chapter)