The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

He was a famous painter and poet in the late Yuan Dynasty, well-known for his love of plum blossoms.

His poetic style is simple and bold, and it also demonstrates his unrestrained, independent personality charm. His poems are influenced by Du Fu and Li Bai.

His poems are famous for describing the sufferings of the people. He is a famous realist poet in the Yuan Dynasty. He is Wang Mian.

"Wang Mian's ancestors were originally from the Guanxi official family, and were descendants of Wang Meng."

"His ninth-generation ancestor Wang Deyuan served in the Song Dynasty and was promoted to the governor of Qingyuan Army."

"Deyuan had a son named Wang Lin, who served as the commander of the army. Starting from Wang Lin, the people moved to Zhuji County, Zhejiang."

"By the time it came to Wang Mian's father, the family was no longer as wealthy as before and had to rely on farming for a living."

"Wang Mian was very studious since he was young. When he was seven or eight years old, his father asked him to herd cattle in the fields."

"He sneaked into the school to listen to the students studying."

"Then he kept it in mind and forgot to look after the cattle, which often ran into other people's fields and trampled on the crops."

"The landowner took the cow to complain to his father, but Wang Mian did not change and was repeatedly scolded by his father."

"Seeing this, Wang Mian's mother persuaded his father to send Wang Mian to school."

"In order to attend classes more conveniently, Wang Mian stayed in the temple."

"At night he sat on the lap of the Buddha statue and read by the light of the eternal lamp in front of the statue, reading aloud until dawn."

"The Buddha statue is made of clay or wood, and its face looks ferocious and terrifying."

"Although Wang Mian was a child, he treated the Buddha statue as if it did not exist and was completely focused."

"Wang Mian's love of learning was heard by the famous teacher Han Xing, who was very surprised and accepted Wang Mian as a student."

"Under the guidance of such a knowledgeable and virtuous teacher, Wang Mian studied diligently and studied hard, becoming familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics."

"Due to the education of Han Xing's Confucian culture, Wang Mian developed the Confucian ideals of entering the imperial examination, being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, and governing the country from an early age."

"In the eighth year of Dade, Wang Mian wanted to go to Shaoyang, Hunan for business. When he passed through Hangzhou, he specifically visited Zhao Mengfu, who was the Confucianist at the time."

"Zhao Mengfu created a painting of Orchids and Cymbidiums for Wang Mian. Before that, Zhao Mengfu had created a painting of Ancient Trees and Birds specifically for Wang Mian. His act of giving paintings several times showed his care for Wang Mian."

"Zhao Mengfu's advocacy of ancient style in seal carving had a profound influence on Wang Mian. At the same time, Zhao Mengfu's painting, seal making practice and painting concept also influenced Wang Mian to a certain extent, prompting the formation of Wang Mian's artistic creation style."

"In addition, Zhao Mengfu was very famous and had many guests, and the contacts between the two also facilitated Wang Mian's future socializing."

"Wang Mian had great ambitions in his youth and devoted himself to studying the Art of War and learning fencing."

"I always compare myself to Yi Yin and Lu Shang, and ask myself to help the country and the people, and to assist the wise ruler and achieve hegemony like Yi Yin and Lu Shang."

"However, it is rapidly declining and chaotic, with various contradictions becoming acute and complex."

"But during the Yuan Dynasty, as politics became increasingly corrupt, this wish could not be realized."

Zhang Juzheng: Wang Mian, a famous poet in the late Yuan Dynasty, had a strong sense of realism, and his poems about plum blossoms have profound meanings.

Wang Mian was born in the late Yuan Dynasty. He came from a poor family and herded cattle for the landlord when he was young. He learned his literary skills purely through self-study throughout his life.

He was aloof by nature, despised fame, wealth and power, looked down on the powerful, sympathized with the suffering people and criticized the frivolity of high-ranking officials.

In addition, Wang Mian refused to be an official throughout his life. It is said that he was asked to come out of seclusion, but he refused by saying he wanted to become a monk.

Furthermore, Wang Mian loved plum blossoms all his life and wrote many poems about them. Each of his poems is full of vitality and is a masterpiece.

Wang Mian wrote a large number of poems about the sufferings of the people. To some extent, he inherited Du Fu's poetry creation concept and demonstrated a sense of realism.

In addition, some of his poems also have the free and easy side of Li Bai's poems, revealing the poet's personal charm.

Therefore, Wang Mian's poems can be divided into two categories. One is the works of cynicism and lamentation over the devastation of the world. This type of poetry mainly describes the lives of the people.

The second is to express personality and thoughts, among which poems about plum blossoms are the best embodiment.

In terms of ideological influence, Wang Mian was deeply influenced by Confucianism.

Therefore, his heart is full of benevolence and love for others. He always pays attention to the lives of the people and expresses deep sympathy for the living conditions and experiences of the lower classes.

In addition, he lived in a chaotic period of dynasty change, when the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty imposed heavy taxes and indulged in extravagance and debauchery.

In this historical context, as an upright scholar, he used poetry as a means of criticism and to express his own feelings.

Furthermore, Wang Mian used poetry as a means of appealing to the ruling class.

He hoped that the ruling class could reduce taxes and provide the people with an environment where they could rest and recuperate.

In addition, his poems not only contain care for the people, but also love for the country.

At the same time, criticizing brutal rule is killing two birds with one stone.

It must be said that Wang Mian's poems foreshadow the demise of the Yuan Dynasty.

Or it is because the social reality is dark and people’s lives are difficult.

In this context, his poems predicted the fate of the Yuan Dynasty.

It serves as a warning to the ruling class.

But unfortunately, as a common people's voice, it is difficult for it to be heard by the upper class.

Wang Mian wrote more than one hundred poems about plum blossoms, which illustrate the poet's love for plum blossoms.

As a lyrical carrier, the plum blossom symbolizes the lack of recognition of talent, and it also reflects the poet's noble character and indifference to fame and fortune. On a deeper level, it indicates that the poet is pursuing an extraordinary mentality.

It must be emphasized that Wang Mian used symbolism to compose plum blossom poems, using plum blossoms accompanied by frost, wind and snow to highlight the poet's noble character.

Using plum blossoms to accompany bad weather without being disturbed indicates one's own aloofness.

Use the vigorous state of plum blossoms to contrast your own positive attitude.

It can be said that the poet uses plum blossoms as his spiritual sustenance, combining his own personality with plum blossoms and merging them into one another.

He also used plum blossoms as a metaphor for himself to express his noble sentiments and steadfast character.

Furthermore, the poet’s love for plum blossoms also implies his own ideal pursuits in the poem.

Expressing that one's own personality is in the process of continuous improvement, in order to realize the opportunity to save the world and the people and achieve self-transcendence.

There are more than 700 poems by Wang Mian extant. His poems reflect the background of the times, and also allow us to understand the poet's personality and psychology shaped by the times.

He wrote so many realistic works, each of which is a reflection of the times.

He also wrote so many works about plum blossoms, each of which is a masterpiece and can reflect the poet's character, personality and ambition.

"In the second year of Yanyou, Wang Mian took the imperial examination for Jinshi, but failed."

"Although Wang Mian was well versed in classics and history and read extensively, he was quite indignant when he failed the exam."

"I burned all the essays I wrote in preparation for the exam and no longer pursued advancement through examinations."

"His family was poor and his life was hard. His clothes even exposed his elbows and his toes were on the ground, but he disdained to be a minor official in the prefecture."

"His friend Li Guangdi, the author of the imperial examination, and his fellow townsman Wang Gen, a famous scholar, both advised him to take up an official position, but he refused."

"Shen Tuyu, the newly appointed Shaoxing official, was recommended by Wang Gen and personally went to Wang Mian's house with his official seal, official hat and clothes to invite him to teach at the prefectural school."

"Wang Mian accepted the offer and taught students at Shaoxing Prefecture School for more than a year."

"Wang Mian's living conditions in Shaoxing were extremely difficult."

"He sometimes taught, and when he didn't have books to teach, he read and painted, and sold his paintings to support himself and his family."

"Because his paintings are very famous, many people ask him to paint for them."

"He earned some income based on the length of silk used for painting."

"Zhejiang is a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. Wang Mian likes to use his free time to travel to the famous mountains and scenic spots in southern Zhejiang."

"I still love to admire the bamboo forests deep in the mountains, and I wrote some poems about bamboo to express my noble feelings."

"In the first year of Zhishun, he wrote a poem called 'Dr. Ke's Bamboo Painting', praising the painter Ke Jiusi's superb bamboo painting skills. Ke Jiusi also admired Wang Mian a lot."

"During this period, he also visited some famous people to exchange his poetry and painting achievements."

"However, under the Yuan Dynasty's ethnic discrimination policy, Zhejiang, as one of the main regions classified as the fourth class, suffered particularly hard."

"Wang Mian took advantage of opportunities to go out and live in the countryside to often look at the grassroots people."

"Observing the various sufferings of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, he created many poems reflecting the poverty and misery of the countryside and farmers."

"In the first year of the Zhiyuan period, Wang Mian's son was born. He was named Wang Zhou, with the courtesy name Shiwen."

"Wang Mian felt that his social circle was rather small, and since he had some savings from selling paintings, he decided to travel."

"In the second year of the Zhiyuan period, Wang Mian hired a boat to travel to the land of Wu and Chu, and wrote poems such as "A Journey to Qiantang" to express his feelings of mourning the past and lamenting the present."

"Since his painting was already well known, he was constantly asked to paint for people."

"During his travels, Wang Mian created many plum blossom paintings with noble character and unrestrained charm, and he also received some travel expenses for them."

"This roaming experience enabled him to come into contact with social reality in many aspects, broadened his horizons, and enriched his creative materials."

Wang Yangming: Because of a poem, I remember a person, and that person is as pure as the plum blossom.

Wang Mian was born into a peasant family and was poor when he was young.

When he was young, he was keen on fame and fortune, but he failed in the imperial examinations many times, so he gave up his official career and wandered around the world.

Wang Mian once bought a boat and went to Eastern Wu, traveling thousands of miles, visiting famous mountains and broadening his horizons and mind.

When he was in the capital, Secretary Tai Buhua recommended him for an official position, but he declined the offer and returned south, living in seclusion in Jiuli Mountain in his hometown.

Wang Mian lived in poverty all his life and made a living by selling paintings.

Wang Mian was good at poetry and painting, and was especially famous for his ink plum blossoms. His plum blossom paintings inherited the traditions of Zhongren Shang and Yang Wujiu in the Song Dynasty, and also had new creations.

He was aloof by nature and despised the powerful. Most of his poems expressed sympathy for the suffering of the people, condemned the wealthy and powerful, despised fame and fortune, and described a secluded life in the countryside.

Wang Mian loved plum blossoms all his life. He planted plum blossoms, wrote poems about plum blossoms, and painted them.

The plum blossoms he painted are densely packed with flowers and branches, full of life, vigorous and powerful, and have had a great influence on later generations.

He was also proficient in painting bamboo and rocks, and was good at seal carving. His "Plum Blossom Album" has been passed down to the present day, which is an early theoretical work on plum painting.

I don’t know how many people are obsessed with plum blossoms, how many painters in all dynasties have depicted it, and how many famous poets have chanted about it.

He can perfectly blend poetry and painting, and perfectly blend the spirit of plum blossoms with his own life.

The person who can stand out from the crowd with just one poem or one painting, and the one who comes to our mind when we mention plum blossoms, is Wang Mian.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the rulers divided people of all ethnic groups into four categories: Mongols, Semites, Han Chinese, and southerners.

Because he was at the bottom of society and had a poor family background, the young Wang Mian was like a plum bud about to bloom, born to face the test of wind and snow.

The talented Wang Mian did indeed achieve the goal of standing tall against the frost and snow.

He is known as a child prodigy and is a studious person.

When Wang Mian was young, he herded cattle during the day and studied hard under the long-burning lamps in the Buddhist temple at night.

When he was young, he was determined to clear up the world and wanted to take the imperial examination.

However, due to the turbulent situation and serious ethnic discrimination, the Han people and southerners were restricted from entering officialdom.

Having failed in the examinations many times, he was filled with resentment and simply burned all his papers, determined to give up his official career forever.

He bought a boat and went to Dongwu, crossed the Yangtze River, entered Huai, Chu and other places, traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers, and wandered around the world.

He made friends with talented knights, drank to his heart's content, and sang passionate and sad poems, for which he was denounced as a mad slave.

His reputation as a poet, a painter and a talented person is extraordinary and he has become famous rapidly.

People who wanted to paint for him flocked to him. He splashed ink and wielded his brush, and thousands of dried flowers were finished in a moment.

He despised the powerful and the vulgar.

Years of travel and personal experience have broadened his vision and mind.

He also gained a deeper understanding of the cruelty of social reality and the corruption of the ruling class.

He refused to be an official several times and took his family back to Kuaiji Mountain.

He painted plum blossoms without adding any color, and also imitated the ancient sage Wang Xizhi by washing his inkstone in his own pond.

In his later years, Wang Mian still made a living by selling paintings. At this time, he was indeed like an old plum tree that had weathered the wind and snow but stood tall and elegant, indifferent to fame and fortune and upholding his moral integrity.

In addition to painting and writing about plum blossoms, he also wrote about the sufferings of the people and the harsh policies of the court.

When he was in seclusion, whenever the weather was fine, he would pick up a writing brush and write poetry non-stop.

Of course, what he wrote and painted the most was plum blossom.

The Yuan Dynasty was a heyday for literati painting. As the official careers of Han scholars were cut off, they refused to cooperate with the corrupt Yuan Dynasty rulers.

The blocked political path and difficult life actually stimulated their creative passion.

The plum blossoms, which are not afraid of wind, snow or severe cold, have become the steadfast and noble artistic elves in their works.

"In the seventh year of Zhizheng, Wang Mian traveled again, this time heading north."

"While in Dadu, Wang Mian lived in the home of the secretary, Tai Buhua, and was able to directly observe the society and politics of the Yuan Dynasty capital."

"On this trip north, he met many chivalrous men and talked with them about the heroic stories of ancient heroes."

"He pointed out the current situation and the evils of the times, called for wine to drink, and sang passionately and sadly, as if no one was around, and was regarded as a crazy slave."

"He also took the opportunity to interview individuals and learn about their lives and struggles."

"Wang Mian traveled through almost half of China during this trip, and returned south after a year. What he saw and heard provided him with a constant source of creative material and life insights."

"He wrote many poems along the way, including travel notes, narratives, descriptions of scenery, mourning the past, criticizing tyranny, and sympathizing with the miserable lives of the working people."

"There are sixty or seventy poems that record travel, express feelings, mourn the past and lament the present, which greatly enriched the content of his poetry collection and formed a simple and realistic style of poetry."

"Wang Mian also benefited from many painting techniques and concepts while discussing with others, and constantly improved his artistic accomplishment."

"For example, he had a deep friendship with the poet Gong Xing, and often asked him for poems to increase the price of his paintings."

“He became friends with the painter Kim Woo-seo, admired his skills in painting pine trees, and wrote inscriptions for his paintings.”

"Wang Mian often visited famous ancient temples and interacted with monks, Taoists and hermits, and admired their works very much."

"Through his interactions with them, his thoughts were greatly influenced, and his works were unconsciously imbued with the transcendent and lofty spirit of Buddhism and Taoism."

"Thanks to this grand tour, Wang Mian came into contact with more social realities and gained a unique and profound insight into the future of society."

"I saw the contradictions within the Yuan Dynasty's ruling group and between it and the general public, and I knew that chaos was about to happen."

"So after he returned to Shaoxing, he bought a piece of land in Jiuli Mountain, Kuaiji, and began to live in seclusion."

"Wang Mian built three thatched houses, planted flowers, bamboo, tea trees, and vegetables around them, named them Plum Blossom Houses, and lived and studied there with his wife and son."

"I have no other source of income, so I make a living by painting for others."

"After five or six years of this leisurely and secluded life, peasant uprisings in the vast areas of the Yangtze and Huaihe River basins spread to most of China."

"The impact of war made Wang Mian's life even more difficult, but he still lived a simple and frugal life and maintained his integrity."

"In the 19th year of the reign of Emperor Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Hu Dahai to lead his army to capture Shaoxing. The residents of the nearby villages had already fled into the city, but Wang Mian still stayed in Jiuli Mountain."

"Zhu Yuanzhang heard of Wang Mian's reputation and wanted to invite Wang Mian to be his staff and grant him the title of military advisor."

"But Wang Mian refused, and soon after, he died of illness."

Xu Guangqi: Wang Mian's pure spirit fills the world, and his poems are the best of Yuan Dynasty poetry.

Wang Mian was an only child. He could speak simple words when he was one year old and could basically answer questions fluently when he was three years old.

When he was five or six years old, his cleverness made people feel that his IQ was higher than that of ordinary children.

Because his family was poor, he started working as a cowherd when he was seven or eight years old.

Whenever he walked past the school, he was always attracted by the sound of reading.

One day, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and led the cow to the meadow on the hillside.

He sneaked into the school and listened to the students reading, and he remembered what they read.

But he forgot to lead the cow back home from the hillside, and the father was furious, needless to say the little boy suffered.

This happened several times, making my father so angry that he almost vomited blood.

The mother said that the child was so obsessed with reading, so she just let him be.

From then on, Wang Mian only ate at home, stayed in the temple at night, and went to the school during the day to listen to the students study.

At night, I would hold the book in my hand and read by the light of the eternal lamp in front of the Buddha statue until dawn.

The Buddha statues are made of clay, some with kind faces and some with evil faces.

Most people like good things and fear evil, but Wang Mian, who was still very young, was not afraid of those with evil faces at all.

Wang Mian was a gifted man with a wide range of interests in his early years and was once keen on fame and fortune.

He once studied Sun Wu's Art of War seriously, learned fencing skills diligently, and was determined to accomplish something earth-shaking and leave his name in history.

He took part in the imperial examination, but unfortunately his name was not on the list.

The reality that the Yuan Mongolian aristocratic rulers discriminated against Han intellectuals educated him and shattered his illusions.

He returned home full of anger and burned all the articles he had written, expressing his determination to give up his official career forever.

One day, he came to the southern city of Dadu, climbed up to look into the distance, and suddenly felt relaxed and happy.

But when he thought of the beautiful land under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, he couldn't help feeling indignant and deeply moved.

Wang Mian traveled thousands of miles and saw countless cultural and natural landscapes, which broadened his horizons, expanded his mind, and cultivated his sentiments.

In addition to his skills in poetry and painting, his level of poetry and painting has reached a new level.

Wang Mian's usual speech and behavior were different from those of ordinary people. He wore a tall hat, a green straw raincoat, wooden clogs, and carried a wooden sword. These were his favorite attire.

He often walked and sang on the street, or rode a yellow ox and read a book in his hand.

That year he went to Dadu to sell paintings and have fun. After strolling on the streets for a whole morning, he returned to the hotel where he was staying.

He heard from the shop owner that someone had been waiting for him here for a long time. When he entered the room, he saw an old man with white hair and beard waiting for him.

He knew who the old man was and where he lived, but he just sat opposite him without saying a single polite word.

The old man felt very embarrassed and had to get up and leave.

The shop owner found it very strange and said that the man's name was Wei Su, and he was a Hanlin scholar of the current dynasty. The emperor doted on him very much. Aren't you afraid of offending him?
Wang Mian said, "I'm just a cowherd from a peasant family, making a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. I don't want to seek high positions or high salaries, so what's there to be afraid of?"

After Wang Mian was forced to leave Dadu and return to his hometown, he changed his name and lived a secluded life.

He built three thatched houses, planted many plum blossoms around the houses, and named them Plum Blossom Houses.

After work every day, he would listen to the sound of flowing water in the stream, watch the white cranes flying in the sky, watch the graceful dance of white cranes, and recite his own poems.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, people wanted to summon him to be an official, but he flatly refused.

Wang Mian's personality, poetry and paintings have won the admiration of his contemporaries and future generations. (End of this chapter)