The cultural prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is evident in Chinese history. Behind the cultural prosperity, we can always see the shadow of wine, thus forming the unique wine culture of the Tang Dynasty. Literature is the most crazy state is poetry, drink the most crazy is wine, and the Tang Dynasty just formed a unique culture of poetry and wine. Although other dynasties also have the phenomenon of poetry and wine, but it is difficult to form a group, are not formed like the Tang Dynasty, such as "poetry and wine culture".
Du Fu's more than 1,400 surviving poems, talking about drinking *** there are 300, 21% strong; Li Bai's 1,050 poems, talking about drinking *** there are 170, 16% strong. This is from the existing "Poetry Immortal" and "Poetry Sage" works in the statistics. Because Li Bai's works were seriously lost after the An Shi Rebellion, we can't regard the "Poetry Sage" as strong and the "Poetry Immortal" as weak in terms of poetry and wine. On the contrary, nine out of ten of Li Bai's works were lost, and it is not fair to compare only the remaining poems.
We will start with one of Du Fu's poems to feel the culture of poetry and wine, "Drinking in the Eight Immortals Song", which reads: "Zhizhang riding a horse like a boat, the eyes of the flowers fall into the well and sleep in the water. Ruyang three buckets began to sky, the road meets the curved car mouth salivation, hate not to move the seal to the wine spring. The left minister of the day fee tens of thousands of money, drink like a long whale sucking a hundred rivers, cups of music saint said to avoid the wise. Zongzhi dashing beautiful young man, raise the goblet white-eyed look at the sky, bright as a jade tree in front of the wind. Su Jin long fast embroidered Buddha, drunk often love to escape Zen. Li Bai a bucket of poems, Chang'an city wine sleep, the Son of Heaven called not on the boat, claiming to be the immortal in wine. Zhang Xu three cups of grass saint passes, take off his hat to show the top of the princes before, waving the pen to fall paper like cloud smoke. Jiao Sui was a great scholar, and his speeches were a shock to the four feasts." In this poem, eight characters are written, they are He Zhizhang, Li last night, Li Shizhi, Cui Zongzhi, Su Jin, Li Bai, Zhang Xu, Jiao Sui, Du Fu used the form of recapitulation to write, because He Zhizhang is the oldest, in the first place, He Zhizhang in Chang'an, the first time to see Li Bai, who is 41 years younger than himself, and exclaimed that Li Bai is the "man of the banished immortals", and he took away his golden tortoise for wine. The first two lines are about He Zhizhang's drunkenness. The first two lines describe He Zhizhang's drunken horseback riding, which is like riding a boat. He was so drunk that he fell into a well without realizing it, so he slept drunk at the bottom of the well. This is an exaggerated description of his drunkenness. Last night, Ruyang Wang Li was the nephew of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and he often got drunk before going to court, but the Emperor did not blame him. Li Shizhi, the left minister, was ostracized by Li Linfu and dismissed from his post, but he drank as much as he used to. As the old saying goes, "Those who drink clear wine are saints, and those who drink turbid wine are sages." The four words of the cup of music and saint speak of his open-mindedness. Cui Zongzhi, the son of Cui Riyu, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, inherited his father's title of Duke of Qi, the official to the Imperial Palace, but also Li Bai's friends, raising the goblet of white eyes to describe the beautiful young man with the legacy of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Su Jin, a scholar in the Kaiyuan period, was the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of the Ministry of the Ministry of the Ministry of Justice, Buddhism, long-term fasting, but addicted to alcohol, so that "escape from the Zen". Zhang Xu, a calligrapher, was known as the "Sage of Cursive". Jiao Sui (焦遂), whose life is not known, is only known to be a famous literati at that time. Poetry written in the most daring, the most maniacal or "wine saint" and "poetry saint" Li Bai, Fan Chuanzheng "Li Bai new tombstone": Xuanzong canoeing White Lotus, called Li Bai to write articles, and at this time Li Bai has been drunk in the Hanlin Academy, Xuanzong ordered Gao Li Si help him on the boat to see. to meet him.
Du Fu, in this poem, wrote about eight people who were good at drinking in Chang'an city, from the princes and prime ministers to the cloth. He writes that each of the eight people has his own characteristics of drunkenness, and uses the technique of cartoon sketching to write about their drunkenness in their lives, which fully expresses their alcoholic and unrestrained character, and vividly reproduces the optimistic and unrestrained spirit of the literati in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Bai's poem creation, more impassioned song, less sad and sorrowful song, said the girl's grudge is very little, said the wine is very much, big ups and downs, wide open, wanton, unrestrained, unrestrained, rich in extremely rich romantic color and unique artistic style. Then look at the "will enter the wine", this is Li Bai's famous piece, let us feel the poetry and wine culture.
Don't you see that the water of the Yellow River comes from the sky and never returns to the sea? Don't you see, the high hall mirror sad white hair, towards as green silk twilight into snow. The world's most important thing is to be happy in life, and not to make the golden bottle empty to the moon. If you are born to be useful, a thousand pieces of gold will be scattered and come back again. Cooking sheep and slaughtering cows is a pleasure, and I will drink 300 cups in one go. Cen Fu Zi, Dan Qiusheng, will enter the wine, don't stop drinking. I will sing a song with you, please listen to it for me: bells and drums, food and jade are not expensive, but I wish to be drunk forever. All the sages of the past are lonely, but only the drinkers have left their names. In the old days, when King Chen feasted at Pingle, he drank 10,000 cups of wine and made merry. Why did the master say that he had little money to spend, he just had to sell it to you. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get the most out of your life," he said.
This poem, except for the first two lines, does not leave the word "wine". Many of these lines have become famous throughout the ages, such as "We must enjoy life to the fullest, don't make the golden bottle empty to the moon." "Born to be useful, a thousand pieces of gold are scattered and come back again." "All the sages of old are lonely, but only the drinkers keep their names."
China's poetry and wine literature, in the hands of Li Bai, has reached an unprecedented climax, in his other poems of wine such as "and music before a cup of wine, why need a thousand years after the name", "Lanling wine tulip fragrance, jade bowl to amber light", "A jug of wine in the flower room, drinking alone without relatives. The "Raise a glass to invite the moon, the shadow into three people", "Advise you to enter a glass of wine, west out of the Yangguan no old man" and so on, are the best lines recited through the ages.
Li Bai was a proud and unrestrained person, "You love the fame behind you, I love the wine in front of me, drinking wine in front of me, where is the fame." After getting drunk, he showed more "leveling the king and his vassals, laughing and proud of the group", the most famous is to get drunk and let Gao Li Shi for him to take off his boots, let Yang Guifei for him to study ink. Su Shi commented Li Bai "play ten thousand as bureaucratic friends, depending on friends like grass", can be said to hit the nail on the head.
Li Bai's other song "River Song": "Mulan's oar Shatang boat, the jade pipe sits at the end of the golden tube. The bottle of wine is filled with thousands of cubic meters of wine, and the prostitutes are carried along with the waves, so that they can stay and go. Immortals are waiting to ride on yellow cranes, and seafarers are not interested in following white gulls. Qu Ping's lyrics and assignments hang over the sun and moon, and Chu Wang's platforms and pavilions are empty hills. The pen of the King of Chu is empty of hills. The pen of the King of Chu is full of vigor, and the poem of the King of Chu is full of laughter and pride. If fame, wealth, and honor last long, the Han River should also flow northwest." This poem expresses the ideal realm in the poet's mind, fame and fortune in Li Bai's eyes is not long, and only the poet's works will be passed down through the ages, with the sun and moon, such as this sentence, "Qu Ping's words hanging in the sun and the moon, the king of Chu's pavilions empty hills." Qu Ping is Qu Yuan, Qu Yuan and his poems have been passed down through the ages, the King of Chu has long since ceased to be the scenery, and there are not many people who can remember, and there is nothing that can be left for future generations. The poem also shows the poet's inner pleasure and excitement after completing his work, for example, "Xing sound pen down shaking the five mountains, the poem into a smile proud of Ling Cangzhou." In Li Bai's writing, indeed the rivers and the five mountains are written, "the sun shines on the incense burner purple smoke" Lushan incense burner peak; "Yanshan snowflakes are as big as a mat" Taihang branch; "want to cross the Yellow River ice plugs the river" the Yellow River and so on. of the Yellow River and so on. Li Bai is so written, is also done, in the "river" poem, the poet's ideal country still have wine, "wine bottle in the place of a thousand dendrobium", the poet can not be separated from the wine, the poem can not be separated from the wine. Li Bai's poems are mostly about drinking and talking, but occasionally there are exceptions. For example, in "Hard to Walk", there is this sentence: "The golden bottle of wine is worth 10,000 buckets, and the jade plate of treasures is worth 10,000 coins. When I stop my cup and throw my chopsticks, I cannot eat; when I draw my sword and look around, I am at a loss." Before Li Bai was abandoned and forced to leave Chang'an in 744, his good friends spent thousands of dollars to see him off, but Li Bai, who had always been a big drinker, put down his chopsticks and pushed his wine cup away this time. He left his seat, unsheathed his sword, and raised his eyes to look around, his mind at a loss. The four consecutive actions of stopping, throwing, pulling out and looking around figuratively show the inner bitterness and depression, and the agitation and change of feelings. As long as there is wine, both drinking and not drinking can lead to good poems. Therefore, this poem still hasn't left "wine", which is the culture of poetry and wine.
The Tang Dynasty was a country where the culture of wine was fully developed, and "wine stimulates poetry" is the most condensed and highly embodied culture of the Tang Dynasty. From Li Bai's personal point of view, wine stimulated the poet's poetry, which was internalized in his poems, and wine rose from the material level to the spiritual level, becoming the symbol of Li Bai's poems, and even Li Bai's personal reference. For example, the wine fronts and flags of the later generations of restaurants were gladly inscribed with the words "Taibai's Legacy", which means "Taibai" is wine, and wine is also "Taibai". From the importance of wine to Tang poetry, wine has been internalized in Tang poetry, and diffuse the charming charm of Tang culture.
Perhaps the twin stars of the Tang poets, Du Fu and Li Bai, are too bright to be recognized, so let's take a look at the culture of wine and poetry embodied in the works of other poets.
Bai Juyi's "Gift to Cui Changshi Xi Shu" in "Six Years of Winter Dusk" says, "The fragrance of green ants and wine, and the warmth of brown silk fur." There is also a poem "Ask Liu XIX" written in Jiangzhou in 816: "New spirits of green ants and wine, and a small fireplace of red clay. It is snowing in the evening, can I have a glass of wine?" Nowadays, people are still studying how to make "green ant wine", but at most, we have only seen people make yellowish mash rice wine, and we have not seen the clear green green ant wine. So some people ridiculed the losers could not make "green ants new spirits wine", they had to take "white maggots light mash" to fill the number. Bai Juyi's "play inviting guests" has a sentence "yellow spirits and green spirits to welcome the winter ripe, the red stove by the red-red tent night open." Among them, "yellow spirits and green spirits" are all wine, and such poems of treating guests with wine are still relatively common in Bai Juyi's works. Only we feel that although Bai Juyi is hospitable, but there is always a sense of hospitality in his poems, while Li Bai's poems do not have such a feeling, why is this? I'll explain the reasons in a later paragraph, so I'll leave it here for now.
Wang Han's "Liangzhou Lyrics" is a popular poem, "Grapes and wine in the night light cup, want to drink pipa right away. Don't laugh when you are drunk on the sand field, how many people have returned from ancient conquests." The poem introduces wine and depicts the drunken state of a military general who is good at drinking. Du Mu's "Parking at the Qinhuai River", "The smoke is gathering around the cold water and the moon is enveloping the sand, and the Qinhuai River is close to the wine merchants at night." It expresses the poet's feelings about the rise and fall of dynasties on the banks of the Qinhuai River, where the lights and wine are red and green. In Wang Wei's "Sending Yuan Er to An Xi" (送元二使安西), "Regarding the light dust of rain on the morning of the Weicheng River, the guest house is clean and the color of the willows is new. I urge you to drink a cup of wine, and there is no old man in the west." This is a scene of sending off with a glass of wine. Luo Yin's "Self-Condemnation" says, "Gaining means singing and losing means resting; many sorrows and many hates are also long. I'm drunk today, but tomorrow I'll be sad tomorrow." It shows the mentality that it is better to be drunk than to have a lot of sorrows in one's life. Another example is Li Shangyin's "Dragon Pond", "The Dragon Pond gives wine and opens the cloud screen, and the sound of the capricorn drums stops all the music." Gao Shi's "Farewell to Mr. Wei at Night" says, "The lights in the pavilion are open and the wine is refreshing, and the sound of geese is heard in the night bell and the moon." Han Yu's "Staying with Lu Qinqing" says, "I know that there is a previous period, but it is difficult to distinguish this night. There is no wine for the old man, not as good as the wind of Shiyou." And so on and so forth, are embodied in the poetry of wine, so that future generations feel the poetry and wine culture of the Tang Dynasty.
What is the only reason for the Li Tang Dynasty bloomed out of the culture of poetry and wine, Li Bai and Bai Juyi poems in the scene of the difference and what is the reason? History seems to leave us with a mystery, and the key to unlocking this mystery actually begins with the Sui Dynasty's Kai Huang era. In Ma Duanlin's "General Examination of Literature," he says, "There is nothing like Sui in terms of the wealth of the state." The Sui dynasty achieved national unification at minimal cost, and Emperor Wen of Sui governed a rich country with extraordinary energy and diligence. Many of these policies were unprecedented, such as the one regarding the abolition of the tax on alcohol. In the third year of the Kaihuang era, 583 A.D., Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty decreed that the tax on wine should be waived. A seemingly insignificant policy, but it concerned many aspects. In the third year of the Tianhan reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was decided that the state should monopolize the sale of wine by "putting the tax into the price". In this way, most of the profits from wine went to the state, and only about 30% went to private pockets. In the Northern Zhou Dynasty, "the government set up a wine shop to collect profits", because the wine tax was too high, was strongly opposed by the people, the unification of the Sui dynasty at the beginning of the exemption from the wine tax, it can be said that in order to avoid aggravation of the conflict, but we have seen the interesting side of the wine tax exempted, the country does not have the benefit of this aspect, but the Sui dynasty is famous for its affluence, so that the other dynasties feel inferior. Other dynasties felt inferior. And, more importantly, the exemption of wine tax encouraged the development of the private wine industry, as well as the popularity of wine among the people, which gave rise to the "poetry and wine culture".
The rise of the "poetry and wine culture" was also related to the improvement of the status of the poor and the decline of the "gentry". Sui Wendi set up the imperial examination system, for the North and South Dynasties left behind the clan is a heavy blow, the end of the Sui war out of the Longxi nouveau riche, another blow to the clan, and Wu Zetian's policy is along with the clan and Longxi nouveau riche and a blow, the kind of a few big families can be shaken up by the combination of the countryside, and from now on, never possible. The monopolization of culture by the clans was also ruthlessly shattered. Therefore, the poetry of Tang Dynasty was like a spring bamboo shoots, growing vigorously; it was also like a gorgeous spring flower, bursting into bloom. It can be said that the root cause of the Li Tang Dynasty's poetry and wine culture was the exemption of wine tax by Emperor Wen of Sui, the crackdown of the Sui and Tang dynasties on the monopoly of culture by the clansmen, and the rise of the imperial examinations for the poor. And the most important of these was the lifting of the ban on wine.
The Tang Dynasty is a highly developed period of Chinese wine culture, brewing technology is more advanced than the previous generation, brewing industry, "both private and government", the wine policy is lax, the government set up a "good brewing department", is the state's liquor production department, both the production of wine brewers, but also have Specialized managers. Many emperors in the Tang Dynasty were also personally involved in brewing, and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty introduced the Western wine brewing process and brewed it in the palace, "making wine into a green, strong aroma, taste and enlightenment". Thus, Bai Juyi's poem "green ants wine", "green spiritus" is very likely in the era of Tang Taizong has been brewed successfully. From the wine, the Tang people advocate is "beautiful wine to the expensive ware", such as "grapes and wine night light cup", such as "glass bell, amber thick, small groove drops of wine really beads red". These all reflect the highly developed winemaking technology in the Tang Dynasty, as well as with the Tang Dynasty wine style of aestheticism tendency and optimism and exuberance of the spirit of the times.
Tang Xuanzong Tianbao fourteen years of the Anshi Rebellion broke out, since then, years of war, the country is in the midst of war, the military expenditure is huge, the government financial constraints, Tang Emperor Daizong ascended the throne initial, that is, in 763 AD, the government was forced to reintroduce the wine tax. From then on, the end of the sui and tang one hundred and eighty years of wine without tax situation. To Tang Taihe eight years (A.D. 834), the court financial income from wine tax has been as high as 1.5 million coins, accounting for 1/8 of the country's financial income that year. and the Tang Dynasty's "poetry and wine culture" has declined. This is the real reason for the difference in emotion between Li Bai and Bai Juyi's poems.
Is it a mere coincidence that the History of Chinese Literature identifies 763 A.D. as the end of Tang literature? Almost half of the poems in Shengtang literature were written in a drunken mood. Han Shan's "full volume of poems by talented men, overflowing pot of wine by saints. ...... At this time, I sucked two ou, and recited 500 poems." Zhang Shuo's "Drunken joy is boundless, better than when I was not drunk. All the movements are dances, and all the words are poems." Of the more than 50,000 Tang poems in existence, more than 6,000 are directly about wine, and many others are indirectly related to wine. It can be said that more than 50 percent of Tang poems were spawned by wine. In the post-Tang era, there were also Li Du (李商隐) and Du Mu (杜牧), but in their poems, the vigorous spirit of the Tang era could no longer be seen. Li Shangyin's poems were magnificent, but also obscure and confusing, and were difficult to decipher, so much so that it was said, "Poets always love the good things of Xikun, and hate that no one has ever made a Zheng Jian (郑笺)". In 763 A.D., an era came to an end, a real "poetry and wine culture" era came to an end. Before the end of the era of "Poetry and Wine Culture", Du Fu also wrote the poem "Remembering Li Bai on Spring Day": "Bai's poems are unrivaled, and his thoughts are not grouped together. He was a fresh Yu Kaifu and a handsome Bao Senjun. The spring trees in the north of Weiwei and the sunset clouds in the east of Jiangdong. When will I drink a bottle of wine and discuss with you again?" The sentiment of "When will I drink a bottle of wine and discuss it with you?" has transcended time and space, and is not only the personal sentiment of Du Fu, but also the heartfelt sentiment of all poets after him. When will there be a second era of "poetry and wine culture"?