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Among the Yuan Dynasty ci writers, Ma Zhiyuan was an accomplished master, and his works have always attracted the attention of readers.

Ma Zhiyuan used the Laozi and Zhuangzi nihilistic thought that life is like a dream as his spiritual weapon, and the negative outlook on life of living for the moment as his philosophy of resistance.

Therefore, he used the fact that life is like a dream and things in the world are unpredictable to mock the intrigues in the world of fame and fortune.

The more closely an artist is involved, the more strongly he feels the sorrows and problems of his time.

The more powerfully these things can be expressed in his writing.

It reflects the common ideological hesitation, depression and potential rebellious consciousness of the intellectuals of his time.

"Ma Zhiyuan was born into a wealthy and cultured aristocratic family."

"He received Confucian education since childhood, was well-read, diligently studied the six arts, followed rituals and music, and had a special liking for the art of guqin."

"When Ma Zhiyuan was young, he was keen on seeking fame and fortune. He once presented a poem to the crown prince Borjigin Zhenjin and became an official because of it."

"When the crown prince of the Yuan Dynasty, Borjigin Zhenjin, passed away, Ma Zhiyuan lost his support and had to leave Yuan Dadu and be posted as an official in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces."

"During this period, Ma Zhiyuan participated in the creation of zaju, and wrote zaju such as "Autumn in the Han Palace" and "The Monument of Blessings".

"Later, Ma Zhiyuan took the imperial examination, but failed repeatedly. He was very distressed and wrote "Golden Scripture: In the West Wind at Night"."

"In the west wind at night, the nine-sky eagle flew, trapping a commoner in the Central Plains."

"Sad, do old friends know? I want to climb the tower, but I hate that there is no ladder to heaven!"

"It was not until middle age that he passed the imperial examination and served as an official in Zhejiang Province."

"He worked diligently and cared for the people. He built water conservancy projects and encouraged agricultural production. Later, he was promoted to the position of Director of the Ministry of Industry in Dadu."

"The Ministry of Works of the Yuan Dynasty was mainly responsible for various government agencies such as the General Administration of Artisans, and was responsible for land planning, river operation, bridge construction and other matters."

"He often went to the grassroots to conduct research and wrote "Night Boat"."

"A hundred years of life is just a dream, looking back at the past is a pity."

"Today spring comes, tomorrow the flowers will wither. I hurriedly put out the lights at midnight."

"From the beginning of 1295 to the beginning of 1297, Ma Zhiyuan, who was already 45 years old, participated in the Yuanzhen Book Club, which brought together the more famous writers of the time."

"Everyone recited poems and composed essays together. Ma Zhiyuan, as a key figure in the Yuanzhen Calligraphy Club, eventually became the recognized number one scholar in Qu."

"While attending this literary event during the Yuan Dynasty, Ma Zhiyuan became close friends with Wang Bocheng, a playwright of the Yuan Dynasty."

"In 1297, during a career that lasted twenty-five years."

"Ma Zhiyuan finally saw through the vicissitudes of life and the mundane world, and decided to retire."

"He took off his official uniform, walked toward the vast fields, headed toward the deep forests in the mountains, and built a bamboo-fenced wooden house."

"He felt relieved and wrote "Banshe Diao·Shaobian·Half Life of Playing"."

"I spent half my life just playing around, and almost ruined my life."

"White hair advises the east fence, the west village is the best place to live in seclusion, old age is the right time."

"The thatched cottage, the bamboo path, the medicinal well and the vegetable patch, all reduce the atmosphere of the storm."

Zhang Juzheng: Ma Zhiyuan was born into a wealthy family. He read poetry and books when he was young and received a good education. He often considered himself a pillar of society.

The imperial examination system was once abolished in the Yuan Dynasty, cutting off the normal path for scholars to advance in their careers.

However, after learning both civil and military skills, one must serve the imperial family.

So he had to find his own way to an official career and presented poems to the highest ruler of the Yuan Dynasty to ask for an official position.

In the songs presented to the emperor, he did not hesitate to flatter and praise the so-called civil and military achievements of the Yuan Dynasty Empire.

Perhaps his flattery worked, or perhaps for some other reason, when he was in his twenties he left his hometown of Dadu and went to Hangzhou to take up the post of Supervisor of Provincial Affairs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Ma Zhiyuan pursues what he longs for with full passion and sincere expectation.

But when his ideals conflict with reality, the passion he pursues and the anxious depression he expects are transformed into huge resentment and dissatisfaction and are vented out.

Faced with such a realistic society that generally despises talents, he could only sigh helplessly.

Then comes the blame of fate and the utter indifference of the fog of fatalism.

So he regarded himself as someone who had fully understood life and had achieved great heights.

But at the same time, deep in his heart, the idea of ​​enjoying life while it lasts is budding.

In this way, on the one hand, there is a complete negation of the distant career of fame and fortune.

He laughed at historical heroes and patriots, such as King of Chu and Zhuge Liang, and tried his best to avoid praise of his peers in Liangyuan for his artistic attainments.

However, this is just a temporary solution and the fundamental problem cannot be solved.

This kind of luxurious and instant gratification requires the guarantee of high position and generous salary, that is to say, it requires power and money.

Otherwise, this kind of life will not last long and will fall apart.

Therefore, when he denied fame, wealth and power, he was just singing his tears and complaining.

After all, fame, wealth and honor are indispensable, but one just has to wait patiently for the opportunity.

So he would get drunk and wake up again, and get drunk again again, again and again.

However, any anesthetic has a time limit.

When he sobered up, he still felt lonely, melancholy, empty and resentful in his heart.

And this emptiness and resentment tortured him more cruelly than before.

It is absolutely impossible to make a clear mind stop thinking and not ask right or wrong.

He finally ran out of options and decided to escape from this dark society and sinister officialdom.

At this time, his idea of ​​seclusion was a complete variation of the idea of ​​enjoying life in the moment.

The first thing he thought about was not how to keep himself clean, but how to enjoy himself.

Starting from the idea that life is like a dream, he pursues the leisurely happiness of this world.

Although he sang the song of Snow White and put on an elegant and graceful appearance, in fact he was preparing to live a vulgar and parasitic life.

"Time is meaningless when chewing wax. I just watch the world go by and quietly close the door."

"The South Garden is a place of interest, with green mountains opposite the couch and green water around the door."

"During his seclusion, Ma Zhiyuan's mind became unusually calm. He raised fish, played chess with monks, and ate bamboo shoots and ferns."

"He amused himself by drinking and beating drums, and he enjoyed it. He once wrote "Chrysanthemums Blooming"."

"The chrysanthemums are blooming and are coming back."

"Accompanying the monks of Huxi, the friends of Helin, and the guests of Longshan."

"Like Du Gongbu, Tao Yuanming, and Li Bai."

"In Dongting oranges, Dongyang wine, and West Lake crabs."

"Hey, Chu Sanlu, don't blame me!"

“Growing melons, growing leeks, drinking, taking a nap, and eating a bowl of light porridge after waking up, it’s very comfortable.”

"Ma Zhihe also describes his reclusive life in Tranquility."

"My hair has turned grey, my face has faded, I am ashamed to paint my dusty face on the Lintai."

“The scenery of the hometown is still there.”

"Three hectares of land, five acres of house, come back home."

"By the green water, beside the green mountain, two hectares of good farmland and a house."

"Leave the world behind."

"Purple crabs are plump, yellow chrysanthemums are blooming, let's go home."

"Beside the green bamboo, beside the green pine, the shadows of bamboo and the sounds of pine are in the thatched cottage."

"I am lucky to be able to enjoy my leisure time in peace."

"Three paths are built, five willows are planted, and I return home."

"Wine is just being sold, fish is newly bought, and the picturesque landscape of clouds and mountains is opening in my eyes."

"The clear wind and bright moon repay the debt of poetry."

"I am a lazy man, and I have no talent for economy, so I am going back home."

"Ma Zhiyuan died of illness in 1322 at the age of 71 and was buried in Zuying."

"Ma Zhiyuan was a great composer of Sanqu in the Yuan Dynasty, and was known as the number one composer of Sanqu."

"He is known as one of the Four Great Masters of Yuan Opera, along with Guan Hanqing, Zheng Guangzu, and Bai Pu."

"Ma Zhiyuan has more than 120 sanqu (Chinese arias) and a collection of them, Donli Yuefu (Chinese arias from the East), and his works are also very famous."

"Sanqu has rich ideological content, covering the themes of chanting history, lamenting the world, retreating from the world, boudoir love, and narrative in Yuan Sanqu."

"Each of them has its own achievements, expanding the range of themes of Sanqu."

"The artistic conception is high, the tone is harmonious and beautiful, the language is unrestrained and bold, both elegant and popular, and the words are clear, elegant and not gaudy."

"'Autumn Thoughts in the Pure Sands of Heaven' was written by Ma Zhiyuan in his middle age. After more than 20 years away from home seeking fame and fortune, Ma Zhiyuan felt that he had reached the lowest point in his life."

“The poem “Autumn Thoughts in the Pure Sands of Heaven” is very popular, ingenious and natural.”

"Without any trace of carving, it is praised as the ancestor of autumn thoughts." "Withered vines, old trees, crows, small bridges, flowing water, people's homes, ancient roads, west wind, thin horses."

"Sunset, heartbroken people in the horizon."

"There is also a short song, one of the eight scenes of Xiaoxiang composed by Ma Zhiyuan, titled "Shouyang Qu·Jiangtian Dusk Snow"

Yu Qian: Ma Zhiyuan only planned to give up fame and fortune, he never thought of giving up wealth and honor.

Because what dominates his mind is to enjoy life in the moment, and wealth is the economic guarantee for enjoying life in the moment.

It is precisely because the idea of ​​enjoying life in the moment governs his words and deeds that no matter what he does at this time, the first thing he considers is whether he can feel comfortable and enjoy himself.

What's more, he was a man of pleasure, with strong feudal intellectual habits, and he led a very dissolute life, where he often visited brothels and brothels.

It is simply impossible to abandon this bustling and hectic city life to become a hermit and spend those long and indifferent years.

In order to get rid of the embarrassing dilemma of being a prisoner of an official, Ma Zhiyuan found two ways.

One is to stay in office and get drunk, the other is to resign and live in seclusion.

When neither of the two ways worked, he found a third way, pursuing more comfortable and ideal wealth and enjoyment.

It is obvious that Ma Zhiyuan's purpose of traveling was to pay a visit to the powerful and wealthy and to find a soulmate.

In order to win recommendation and support and realize his ideal of a life of riding a horse and eating meat.

He really worked hard to get high office, wealth and glory.

There are many examples in Yuan history of people becoming important officials in the court by relying on the political actions of others.

Since Ma Zhiyuan was familiar with this sect's rules, he naturally hoped to be introduced by his old friend.

However, his humble plea did not arouse the mercy and sympathy of those powerful people, so he had nowhere to turn to.

During his twenty years of wandering, he visited rivers and scenic spots, and also had extensive contact with and understanding of the living conditions of the lower classes.

During his travels, he was often fascinated by the clouds, intoxicated by the mountains and rivers, and deeply felt the beauty and kindness of nature.

Whenever I walk out of the corrupt officialdom, I find myself in the embrace of nature.

His worldly thoughts were cleansed and his filthy soul was purified.

He was once again freed from pain, and his mood became relaxed and bright.

Because Ma Zhiyuan sincerely loved nature, he began to sincerely love the pastoral life that was closely connected with nature.

In order to seek advancement in his career, he often traveled under the moonlight and under the stars.

Especially when it is cloudy and rainy, and the road is blocked in the wilderness.

He will become even more depressed, confused, empty and desperate.

His career path failed again and again.

His heated mind gradually calmed down and he began to seriously reflect on himself.

He compared his wandering life with the pastoral life of the lower classes and wrote the famous "Autumn Thoughts in the Pure Sands".

However, this lonely and distressed traveler did not stay at the only house with a small bridge and flowing water in the wilderness as the readers wished.

Finally, it writes about the suffering of the wanderer. The ancient road, the west wind, and the cold and lonely autumn colors all exist because of him, but they lose their power over the peaceful crows and laughing people.

"The sky is about to get dark, the snow is dancing wildly, half is plum blossoms and half is willow catkins."

"The river is a scene worthy of painting at dusk, as the fishermen return home in their straw raincoats."

"Ma Zhiyuan also wrote some romantic poems about women's grievances, one of which is "Falling Plum Blossoms in the Wind, People Begin to Quiet" about a young woman who is alone in her empty room."

"The people are still at first, the moon is shining brightly. The jade plum trees are reflected slantingly outside the screen window."

"The plum blossoms smile at people but play with their shadows; they are lonely when the moon sets."

"Ma Zhiyuan has been engaged in zaju creation for a long time and is good at using the form of sighing and transcending the world."

"It may be veiled on the outside, but its content of anger and resistance to the world is deeply embedded within."

"Han Gong Autumn is an early work of Ma Zhiyuan and also the most famous of his zaju."

"It wrote the story of Wang Zhaojun's marriage to a foreign king, and there was a particularly fascinating passage in it."

"She, she, she, sadly bid farewell to the Han Lord."

"Me, me, me, let's go to Heliang hand in hand."

"Her followers went into the wilderness, and I returned to Xianyang in my imperial carriage."

"Return to Xianyang and pass the palace wall."

"Go past the palace wall and around the corridor."

"Go around the corridor and approach the pepper room."

"Near the pepper room, the moon is setting."

"The moon is setting, and the night is cool."

"The night is chilly, and the crickets weep in the cold."

"The weeping crickets, the green screen window."

"Green screen window, no thoughts."

"If you don't consider, you have a heart of steel."

"Even with a heart of steel, I still shed thousands of tears!"

"The article describes the feelings of Emperor Yuan of Han after sending Wang Zhaojun away to the Xiongnu, through a series of refrains."

"It laments his inner sorrow and gives people an interesting artistic enjoyment."

"The Monument for Blessings is also an early play by Ma Zhiyuan. It tells the story of Zhang Hao, a down-and-out scholar who has bad luck and constant misfortunes."

"Even when the elders of Jianfu Temple asked him to copy the inscriptions on the temple stele and sell them for money to go to Beijing for the imperial examination, lightning would strike the stele in the middle of the night and destroy it."

"Later, his luck turned, and with the help of Fan Zhongyan, he passed the imperial examination and became a top scholar, and he rose to prominence."

"The Tears of the Green Shirt is a love drama based on Bai Juyi's The Song of the Pipa, a fictional story of the joys and sorrows between Bai Juyi and the prostitute Pei Xingnu."

"The deception and sabotage of the merchants and the brothel owner are inserted in the middle to create dramatic entanglement."

"In the triangle relationship formed by scholars, merchants, and prostitutes, prostitutes ultimately love scholars rather than merchants, which more or less shows the self-intoxication of down-and-out scholars."

"Ma Zhiyuan spent his whole life in depression and frustration, wandering without support."

"During his career in officialdom, he saw through the sadness of the world and the shame of life."

"Therefore, he created many dramas with dramatic plots and soul-stirring qu, and was called the top scholar in qu."

Xu Guangqi: After Ma Zhiyuan's painstaking efforts, two types of scenes appeared in his works, one is joy and the other is sorrow.

The freedom of the former can particularly reveal the unfreedom of the heartbroken person.

Repeated blows and painful sufferings gave Ma Zhiyuan a deeper understanding of social reality, and a strong sense of hatred began to rise from the bottom of his heart.

He finally woke up from the dream of wealth and pleasure and found the real way to relieve the physical pain and psychological difficulties.

As he completed the ideological transformation from being keen on fame and wealth to yearning for pastoral life, Ma Zhiyuan's works also took on two new aspects that had never been seen before.

One is the hermit's open-minded sentiment, the other is the fighter's critical spirit.

At this time, he no longer needed slaves to farm or weave, and he did not pursue grand and dazzling clothes and utensils.

My family is engaged in farming and is self-sufficient. They live an ordinary life with simple meals.

This simple pastoral life was in stark contrast to his ideal of seclusion when he was an official, which showed that he completely rejected worldly glory and wealth with a new value concept.

But he did not become indifferent and forget about the world, enjoying himself alone. At this time, he was just observing the world and secretly plotting his own plans.

People know that after Tao Yuanming retired from society, he emphasized his pastoral joy as a way of protesting against society, and the same was true when Ma Zhiyuan wrote pastoral songs.

Of course, under the rule of the Yuan Mongols, no land was bright.

The peaceful scenes in Ma Zhiyuan's pastoral songs are obviously a beautification of pastoral life.

But it should be noted that this is also the significance of the resistance of Ma Zhiyuan's songs.

Pastoral life is full of idealism. Without the brightness of pastoral life, the darkness of officialdom and society cannot be highlighted.

Of course, Ma Zhiyuan’s admirable qualities go beyond this.

His famous "Shuangdiao Night Boat: Autumn Thoughts" openly and boldly exposed and even denounced the ugly reality of the society at that time.

After the Yuan Mongolian rulers entered the Central Plains, they were always cruel in ruling the people and never relaxed the cultural restrictions.

Under this high-pressure politics, Ma Zhiyuan still dared to stand up and launch a fierce attack on the ruling class, demonstrating the bravery and fearlessness of a fighter.

From this we can see that after Ma Zhiyuan retired, he did not live in seclusion and ignore worldly affairs.

His thoughts are not only negative, but also positive.

In this way, it is inevitable that the sentiments of life being like a dream and enjoying life while you can appear in his works.

However, he believed in or advocated these things not just to numb himself and escape reality.

From another perspective, it can also be said that it is to arm oneself and intervene in reality.

Especially after he retired, his life was fulfilling and he no longer needed this kind of spiritual opium. (End of this chapter)