The writing background of "Yellow Crane Tower Sends Meng Haoran to Guangling"

Yellow Crane Tower presents Meng Haoran’s writing background of Guangling

In the 13th year of Kaiyuan of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (725 AD), Li Bai took a boat from Sichuan eastward along the Yangtze River and visited a lot along the way. place. In Xiangyang (today's Xiangfan, Hubei), he heard that the poet Meng Haoran was living in seclusion in Lumen Mountain in the southeast of the city, so he made a special trip to visit him. Meng Haoran read Li Bai's poems and praised them greatly, and the two soon became close friends. Meng Haoran entertained Li Bai warmly and stayed with him for more than 10 days.

In March 730 AD, Li Bai learned that Meng Haoran was going to Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province), so he asked someone to bring a letter and asked to meet Meng Haoran in Jiangxia (now Wuchang, Wuhan City). On this day, they happily reunited at the Yellow Crane Tower in Jiangxia, each expressing their longing for each other. A few days later, Meng Haoran sailed eastward, and Li Bai personally sent him to the riverside. After the boat sailed away, Li Bai stood on the river bank, watching the lonely sail gradually go away. Melancholy arose spontaneously, and he composed the song "Send Meng Haoran to Guangling from the Yellow Crane Tower". The first sentence indicates that the place of farewell is the Yellow Crane Tower, and the second sentence indicates that the time of farewell is March in late spring when the flowers are in full bloom, which also implies that the beautiful fireworks will accompany the friends all the way to Yangzhou. Yangzhou was a prosperous city at that time, and it must be full of flowers and bright spring at this time. The last two sentences express his feelings. The poet places his parting feelings between the blue sky and the river. Although the words are finished, the meaning is not finished. It is endlessly memorable and can be called a masterpiece of farewell.

Wang Wei, who had always lived a comfortable life, was involved in unexpected waves in his later years. The Anshi Rebellion broke out in the fourteenth year of Xuanzong Tianbao's reign (755). During the war, he was captured by the rebels and forced to become a puppet official. This became a serious problem after the war subsided, and he was handed over for interrogation. Fortunately, during the chaos, he had written a poem about longing for the emperor, and with the intercession of his younger brother, who was the Minister of Justice at the time, he was able to escape the disaster and was only demoted. Later, he was promoted to the position of Minister Youcheng.

Wang Wei had positive political ambitions in his early years and hoped to accomplish a great cause. Later, when the political situation changed, he gradually became depressed and began to eat fast and chant Buddha's name. When he was in his forties, he specially built a villa in Wangchuan, Lantian County, southeast of Chang'an, and lived a semi-official and semi-hidden life. This poem is a chapter in his secluded life. The main content is "statement of ambition", which describes the poet's desire to stay away from the world and continue to live in seclusion. The scenery described in the poem is not deliberately laid out, it is natural and fresh, as if it were picked up at hand, and the distant scenery can be seen by itself, which has the legacy of Yuan Ming.