kvmb Chapter 168 Tang Dynasty Poets' Spiritual Self-Salvation
Chapter 168 Tang Dynasty Poets' Spiritual Self-Salvation
Little Sizi flipped through the ancient book in her hands, then looked up at Zi'an with a mischievous smile on her lips:
“Brother Zian, what you said about Zhang’s mother’s dream was really interesting—she dreamt that a shimmering, crystal-clear jade swallow flew from the southeast, seemed to have lost its way, and crashed headfirst into her arms! That’s such a cliché plot…”
Zi'an couldn't help but chuckle and echoed:
"If I could have a dream like that, where a baby rhinoceros with a single horn jumps into my arms, I would be overjoyed! As we all saw, this dream really brought her good luck, and not long after, she became pregnant with Zhang Shuo."
Little Sizi waved his hand and continued, half-jokingly:
"Hey, this 'Jade Swallow Embracing the Heart' isn't just any ordinary blessing! This person is born with the 'Jade Swallow Tag.' It's an auspicious sign; soaring to great heights is not a dream, and wealth and glory are within easy reach! You can grab them by the handful!"
Zi'an added with a smile:
"Now that you mention it, I'm getting sleepy. I'm planning to secretly dream about whether I can hold some kind of 'jade phoenix' in my arms, and ideally, take everyone with me and fly up to the sky!"
Little Si snapped his fingers:
"Haha, if you can really 'embrace the Jade Phoenix,' then the entire social circle of the Tang Dynasty will soar! Meeting is fate!"
"A circle of friends from the Tang Dynasty? Who were in it?"
While cracking sunflower seeds, Xiao Si shook his head and said:
“Brother Zian, you know that in the Tang Dynasty, it’s not easy to become an official!”
You either have to take the imperial examination or you have to curry favor with powerful people, present your poems, and flatter them.
In fact, Li Bai and Meng Haoran also entered officialdom in the same way.
Zi'an held up his teacup and blew on it:
"Flattery? What you're saying is ridiculous! They call it 'poetic supplication'! That's high-class and sophisticated! Don't compare our style to theirs!"
Little Si continued with a grin:
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about flattery anymore. But to get back to the point, the entire poetry scene of the Tang Dynasty was a huge network of connections, with big shots manipulating and connecting people behind the scenes."
For example, Prime Minister Zhang Yue directly promoted He Zhizhang to the Lizheng Academy, and He Zhizhang then brought Li Bai along. See? This is the internal circulation; who wouldn't want to join it?
Zi'an interjected with a smile:
“After Zhang Shuo stepped down, Zhang Jiuling, whom we visited last night, took over and became the behind-the-scenes leader in the poetry world, after all, he is in the center of power!”
The people around him, like Wang Wei, Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Wang Zhihuan… and Du Fu, were all great figures.
Little Si waved her hand exaggeratedly:
"How come the 'powerful elite group' in the poetry world is acting just like the imperial court?!"
However, despite their exceptional talents, Li Bai and Wang Wei did not seem to have a close relationship.
As for Li Bai and Zhang Jiuling, there doesn't seem to be any particular interaction between them. We'll have to find an opportunity to verify these things with Qu Youjiu.
Zi'an looked at Xiao Si, a smile playing on her lips:
"Like us, although we often chat and joke together, when it comes to cooperation, we don't seem to have much in common."
It's understandable if you think about it. Take the case of Princess Yuzhen, for example. At that time, Li Bai and Wang Wei both tried to win the favor of Princess Yuzhen, the sister of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, in order to advance their careers.
Ultimately, Wang Wei won Princess Yuzhen's support with his exceptional musical talent and a pipa piece titled "Yulunpao"; while Li Bai returned disappointed and wrote the melancholic poem "Bitter Rain at Princess Yuzhen's Villa"...
However, Li Bai's relationships with Du Fu, Gao Shi, and Meng Haoran were incredibly close, truly bosom buddies, enough to shake the entire poetry world.
Xiao Si leaned back on the table with a cheerful smile, her fingers gently twirling the rim of her teacup.
"Zhang actually posted a Weibo in Hunan about 'building construction'—'The magnificent pavilion I oversaw the construction of is now complete.' Do you know this pavilion?"
"Of course, Yueyang Tower. Zhang said that the abbot at the time rebuilt the ancient city towers of Yueyang and Baling, making the towers take shape. People in the circle all praised it and said they wanted to go and see it."
"I never expected this building to become so famous. It wasn't until more than three hundred years later that Fan Zhongyan published a long article called 'Record of Yueyang Tower' in his circle!"
Zi'an laughed heartily: "Once Fan Zhongyan posted this 'long Weibo post,' Yueyang Tower immediately went from being a place 'friends want to visit' to a 'historic landmark'!"
Xiao Si sighed, "Tell me, if Zhang Shuo knew about this, he would be so frustrated! He worked so hard on the civil engineering project, but not many people knew about it, which ultimately made Fan Zhongyan famous!"
"That's not surprising. The glory of history always leaves a mark on the younger generation. Yueyang Tower was originally built by Lu Su, the General of Hengjiang, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty as the 'Reviewing the Army Tower.' It's an honor that the 'tower' he helped build can be used as 'material' for literary creation three hundred years later."
"The network of relationships among these Tang Dynasty poets was actually quite complex. They each had their own 'small circles,' constantly seeking opportunities to connect and 'link' each other, forming such a large 'circle'! A ripple effect..."
"These ripples are impressive; they've traveled through the ages."