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Chapter 315 The Real Unfaithful Man

However, this meeting became the end of his life. Although the doctor warned him to avoid alcohol and seafood, Meng Haoran still ignored the advice, which led to the outbreak of the carbuncle on his back and eventually his death at the age of 52.

Meng Haoran used his life to interpret his love for freedom and poetry. Although he did not achieve what he sought, he found a free life in his poems. He told us that the value of life lies not only in fame and fortune, but also in the persistence of the inner truth.

[Poetry Demon, Poetry King, or Poet Immortal? He was romantic, single until the age of 37, and could not let go of someone until his death. Historical Trivia: Tang Dynasty]

Some people call him the "Poetry Demon", some people call him the "Poetry King", and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty once planned to personally confer the title of "Poet Immortal" on him. Among the more than 2000 poets in the Tang Dynasty, he is the most famous one, except for Li Bai and Du Fu.

He was originally the most infatuated poet, but in his later years he became a playboy with many wives and concubines. Three years after his wife died, his family once raised nearly 100 poultry. He was one of the most prolific poets in the Tang Dynasty - Bai Juyi, a hermit in Xiangshan.

When talking about Bai Juyi, we have to mention his life experience. Bai Juyi's parents were close relatives. After his first wife died, his father married his niece, who then gave birth to Bai Juyi.

In terms of generation, Bai Juyi's mother can also be regarded as his cousin. In 772 AD, Bai Juyi was born into a small bureaucratic family in Xinzheng, Henan.

He was gifted since childhood, learning poetry at the age of five or six, and mastering rhyme at the age of nine. When he was fifteen or sixteen, he wrote a poem called "Farewell to the Grass on the Ancient Plain" which fully demonstrated his extraordinary talent.

After that, he realized the importance of the imperial examination and studied hard. At the age of 16, Bai Juyi went to Chang'an to pay a visit to the great poet Gu Kuang with his collection of poems.

Since Bai Juyi was not famous at that time, when Gu Kuang saw the name Bai Juyi, he joked: "Rice is expensive in Chang'an, and it is not easy to live in a big city."

But when he opened the poetry collection and read "The grass on the plain is withered and flourishing every year. Wild fire cannot burn it all, it will grow again with the spring breeze", Gu Kuang could not help but marvel and changed his words, saying: "With such talent, it will not be difficult for him to become an artist." This experience also became an important beginning of Bai Juyi's journey to the world of poetry.

After that, Bai Juyi continued to study hard. At the age of 28, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi with the fourth place. He was the youngest among the 4 people who wrote their names under the Ci'en Pagoda, which fully showed his high spirits and ambition of achieving success at a young age.

During this period, he not only took a key step in his official career, but also experienced unforgettable pain in love.

The love between Bai Juyi and Xiang Ling began when he was 11 years old. At that time, due to the separatist rule of the feudal lords, Bai Juyi moved to Fuli, Anhui with his family, and met and got to know Xiang Ling, a girl next door.

The two grew up together and gradually fell in love. Bai Juyi was deeply fascinated by Xiang Ling's innocence and beauty. He praised her as "graceful and graceful at fifteen, more beautiful than a fairy in heaven, and as beautiful as a lotus in the dry land." However, this relationship was strongly opposed by his mother.

Bai's mother thought that Xiang Ling was of humble origin and was not suitable for the Bai family, which had been officials for generations. She rejected Bai Juyi's proposals many times and even threatened to commit suicide. This helpless love affair made Bai Juyi write "Life after life, life after life, the sorrow never ceases".

When he was 34, he visited Xianyou Temple with his friends and talked about the love story between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei. He was inspired to compose the Song of Everlasting Regret. “I wish to be a pair of wings in the sky and a pair of branches on the ground.

The love between heaven and earth may end someday, but this hatred will last forever." In fact, his lament for Li Yang's love is also his profound reflection on his own love tragedy.

After that, Bai Juyi was recalled to Chang'an and served as a Hanlin scholar and Zuo Shiyi. During his tenure, Bai Juyi upheld his political heart, repeatedly submitted memorials, requested the abolition of bad policies, and created a large number of satirical poems.

For example, in the poem "The Charcoal Seller", "He is poor, his clothes are too thin, he worries about the low price of charcoal and wishes for colder weather", it deeply exposes the darkness of society and the suffering of the people; in "Watching the Wheat Harvest", "The feet are steaming with the hot earth, and the back is burning with the scorching sun", it shows the hardship of farmers' work. The 50 poems in "New Yuefu" are more like poems, denouncing the corruption of the rich and powerful and the stupidity of the court, which makes the rich and powerful turn pale. However, his outspokenness also brought disaster to himself.

In 815, when Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng was assassinated, Bai Juyi submitted a petition advocating the strict arrest of the murderer, but was accused of speaking out of line and was demoted to Sima of Jiangzhou after being slandered. This major turning point in his life made him deeply realize the fickleness of the world and the dangers of officialdom.

Later, he encountered a pipa girl while wandering, whose charm was similar to Xiang Ling. That night, he wrote "Pipa Xing", "We are both wanderers in this world, why do we have to know each other when we meet", which fully expresses the vicissitudes and helplessness of life.

After that, Bai Juyi's mentality gradually changed. He worked in many places. During his time in Suzhou and Hangzhou, he was diligent in government and loved the people, and was deeply loved by the people. "I love walking on the east side of the lake the most, the white sand embankment under the shade of green willows" is a beautiful poem he left when he was working in Hangzhou.

In his spare time, he not only traveled around the mountains and rivers, made friends with monks, but also raised poultry. According to historical records, Bai Juyi's family once raised nearly 100 poultry.

Later in Yangzhou, he met Liu Yuxi, who was the same age and had similar experiences. They hit it off and sang in harmony with each other. Liu Yuxi's "A thousand sails pass by the side of the sunken boat, and a thousand trees bloom in front of the dead tree" became their famous quote to encourage each other.

In his later years, Bai Juyi experienced many separations and deaths: his favorite youngest son died young, and his close friends Yuan Zhen and Liu Yuxi also passed away one after another.

These heavy blows made him sigh: "You are buried in the abyss, your bones are melted, I am living in the world, my head is covered with snow", expressing his deep longing for his close friend and his lament for the impermanence of life. In 827, Bai Juyi was promoted to Secretary General, and later served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

In 829, he settled in Luoyang. In his later years, he devoted himself to poetry creation, Zen meditation, drinking, and the enjoyment of mountains and rivers as a layman of Xiangshan. He also actively participated in social welfare activities.

In 842, he ended his political career as the Minister of Punishments. In 846, at the age of 75, Bai Juyi passed away at his home in Luoyang and was buried in Xiangshan, Luoyang.

After Bai Juyi's death, Tang Xuanzong Li Chen wrote a poem to mourn him: "For sixty years, you have strung together jade pearls. Who taught you to become a poet in the underworld?" This shows his influence.

[The real scumbag in history is not Chen Shimei, but the one who wrote the famous poem. Historical trivia: Tang Dynasty]

Some people say that he is the "Chen Shimei" of the Tang Dynasty, some people say that he is Duan Zhengchun among poets. He writes the most affectionate poems, does the most promiscuous things, and is also known as "the number one scumbag in history."

Two of the four great women of the Tang Dynasty were entangled with him. He was married three times and had emotional entanglements with six women, but his friendship with Bai Juyi lasted for 6 years. He was the most charming poet in the Tang Dynasty - the romantic and talented Yuan Zhen.

Yuan Zhen, also known by his courtesy name Weizhi, was born in Luoyang in 779 AD. Although his ancestors had been glorious, his family had fallen into poverty by his generation. Even worse, his father died when he was 8 years old, so he had to depend on his mother for support, and his life was very difficult.

However, Yuan Zhen was gifted, and his mother came from a scholarly family and had taught him well since childhood. Therefore, at the age of 15, Yuan Zhen passed the Mingjing examination through his own efforts. However, his family had no background or connections, and his job search was full of thorns. He was once in trouble and did not get a small official position in Puzhou until he was 20 years old.

In Puzhou, Yuan Zhen met his first love. Once when he was staying at a relative's house, he fell in love with his cousin Cui Shuangwen at first sight and fell in love with her. Yuan Zhen had a lot of knowledge in his mind, and he wrote a poem "Moonlit Nights" "Waiting for the moon in the west wing, the door is half open to the wind.

"The shadows of flowers brush against the wall, I wonder if it is the beautiful lady coming." Just these few lines of poetry immediately touched Cui Shuangwen's heart. The two quickly fell in love and immersed themselves in sweet love. However, in order to realize his ideal of restoring his family, Yuan Zhen decided to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and promised Cui Shuangwen that he would marry her after she passed the exam.

Unexpectedly, after Yuan Zhen arrived in the capital, Wei Xiaqing, an important official of the time, took a fancy to his talent and intended to marry his daughter Wei Cong to him. Yuan Zhen knew that he was of humble origin, and if he could become related to the Wei family, it would undoubtedly be a great opportunity to try to make a comeback.

So in the face of the temptation of reality, he threw aside the oath he made with Cui Shuangwen and agreed to the marriage.

Many years later, perhaps feeling guilty, Yuan Zhen wrote this experience into a novel "The Story of Yingying". Cui Yingying in the novel was the prototype of the heroine of Wang Shifu's "The Romance of the West Chamber". However, in "The Story of Yingying", Yuan Zhen found excuses for the male protagonist Zhang Sheng's abandonment of her, saying that Cui Yingying was "the most beautiful thing in the world" and that his own "virtue was not enough to defeat the evil spirit". This statement fully shows the side of a master of love who shirks responsibility.

After Yuan Zhen got married, his wife Wei Cong took great care of him. She did not despise his humble background. She also gave birth to children for him and accompanied him everywhere.

However, when Yuan Zhen was promoted to the position of Supervisory Censor, Wei Cong, who was only 27 years old, unfortunately passed away. Yuan Zhen was on a business trip at the time and did not even see his wife for the last time. This regret made him heartbroken. In order to mourn his deceased wife, Yuan Zhen wrote "Five Poems of Separation".

Among them, "Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; except for the Wushan Mountains, all other clouds are but mounds. I am too lazy to look back at the flowers now, partly because of my cultivation and partly because of you" has become a famous line that has been passed down through the ages.

Later, he wrote "Three Poems to Relieve Sorrow" and burned the manuscripts in front of his wife's grave. The line "I know that everyone has this kind of hatred, and poor couples are sad about everything" originally meant that a couple who have experienced hard times together would feel more sad if they separated, but now many people misunderstand it to mean that the couple's misfortunes are caused by poverty.

Shortly after his wife's death, Yuan Zhen met Xue Tao, a talented woman 11 years older than him, while serving in Dongchuan, Jiannan. Xue Tao was one of the four great talented women in the Tang Dynasty. Although she had been in the entertainment industry before, she was talented and passionate.

After they met, they were quickly attracted by each other's talents and started a passionate sister-brother love. But this relationship was like a gust of wind, coming and going quickly. Three months later, as Yuan Zhen's business trip ended, their love gradually faded.

After Yuan Zhen left, Xue Tao could not forget him and wrote many love poems and letters to him. Yuan Zhen would reply at first, but then he gradually stopped writing to her. Xue Tao waited until Yuan Zhen died, but she never saw him again. Finally, she became disheartened and became a nun.

After that, Yuan Zhen's love life continued to be full of twists and turns. When he was exiled to Jiangling, he married his cousin An Xianpin through a friend's introduction, but An Xianpin died a few years later. Later, Yuan Zhen married Pei Shu.

In addition, he had a seven-year romance with Liu Caichun, one of the four great women of the Tang Dynasty. When he was called back to the capital, he dumped Liu Caichun. Because of these things, many people called him a scumbag.

Yuan Zhen had a complicated love life and was not very successful in the officialdom. Together with his good friend Bai Juyi, he advocated the New Yuefu Movement, advocating innovation in poetry writing so that it could reflect the lives of ordinary people.

Because of this movement, Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi were called "Yuan Bai", and they formed a deep friendship for more than 30 years. However, Yuan Zhen was straightforward and made frank comments in the court, which offended many dignitaries.

After the failure of the Yongzhen Reform, he risked his life to redress the grievances of Liu Yuxi, Liu Zongyuan and others, but was obstructed and demoted many times. He was successively sent to places such as Jiangling and Tongzhou.

However, no matter where Yuan Zhen was, he always cared about the people. He built water conservancy projects and led everyone to farm, winning unanimous praise from the people.

Although Yuan Zhen was a prime minister, he spent most of his time being demoted. He experienced ups and downs in the officialdom and suffered a lot. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, the 50-year-old Yuan Zhen was demoted to Wuchang, Hubei. Not long after taking office, he fell ill and died in Wuchang in 831 AD.

[The most fertile mother in history, gave birth to four emperors, two queens, and two sons who became princes. Historical trivia: Lou Zhaojun]

She is undoubtedly the most powerful mother in history. Four of her eight children became emperors and two became queens. She is known as the most powerful mother in history.

She was a daughter of a wealthy family but was willing to marry a poor boy because he was handsome. She paid the bride price herself. For the sake of her husband's career, she was willing to give way to the mistress. She was the most legendary woman in the Southern and Northern Dynasties - Lou Zhaojun.

Lou Zhaojun was born in 501 AD and her hometown was Pingcheng, Dai County, which is now Datong, Shanxi.

Her grandfather was Louti, Marquis of Zhending in the Northern Wei Dynasty. At that time, the Lou family was extremely rich and powerful, and it could be said that they were wealthy enough to rival a country. There were thousands of servants in the entire mansion, and countless cattle, horses and livestock.

Lou Zhaojun was a great beauty since she was young. With the careful training of her family, she was not only extremely intelligent, but also proficient in chess. She was a versatile and well-rounded beauty who attracted much attention in the aristocratic circle of the Northern Wei Dynasty at that time.

So every day there were noble young men from the neighborhood rushing to propose marriage, but Lou Zhaojun had very high standards and she looked down on any of these rich young men.

One day, when Lou Zhaojun was passing by the city gate, she saw a soldier standing guard on the city wall. The soldier was named Gao Huan. Although he came from a poor family and was just an ordinary soldier guarding the city, he was very handsome.

Lou Zhaojun was immediately fascinated by him, and she did not hesitate to ask her maid to send a love letter to Gao Huan to express her feelings.

When Lou Zhaojun's parents found out, they almost fainted from anger. In their eyes, Gao Huan, a soldier of humble origins and penniless, was not worthy of their daughter at all.

In order to make Gao Huan give up, the Lou family offered a high bride price, but Lou Zhaojun had made up her mind. She secretly sold her jewelry and gave the money to Gao Huan to help him collect the bride price and successfully propose marriage.

In the end, Lou Zhaojun's parents could not persuade their daughter and had to agree to the marriage.