Chapter 361: 454 Chapters, That Great Beauty Has Latched onto the Great Poet

454 chapters, that Da Mei has latched onto the great poet.

454 chapters, that great beauty has latched onto the great poet.

——A single branch of red apricot growing over the wall.

Again it's the season of scorching sun like fire burning; at this time, people in the rolling heat waves find their thoughts most prone to confusion. Wanting to continue from where the previous chapter left off, but I can't find a clue. Moreover, friends, the parentheses in the text are too many, which somewhat affects friends' reading thoughts, so carefully clarifying the meaning of those punctuation marks becomes very important.

Now I'll organize my thoughts a bit: since Xiangling began studying poetry, my thoughts have branched out for several days (friend, you must be angry?), and Xiangling still stands respectfully before Daiyu; let her stand. Xiangling and Daiyu are in a servant-master relationship, and moreover Xiangling is asking Daiyu for help (those who ask others should endure some hardship), so let her stand a while longer.

Alright, regarding Xiangling's book, I'll leave it for now; later I'll find time to explain it to friends. This is one train of thought.

Zhuangzi hasn't eaten; with the rain, it's not good to go out fishing to sell, no rice to cook, he braves the rain to go to a friend's house to borrow grain; now Zhuangzi is still trudging through the rain toward the friend's house, so let him slowly walk forward in the mud and water.

Let him walk a few more miles in hardship and adversity, then he will know the difficulties of life. This is the second train of thought; I'll talk about it later.

I just mentioned Cao Xueqin's 'Song of Completion'; it reminded me of a remark by the Tang dynasty great poet Li Bai criticizing Qin Shihuang. Looking at Li Bai's few remarks on Qin Shihuang, they make some sense.

That is celebrities judging celebrities. It shows that if a person wants to become famous, they must find the flaws of celebrities. Someone who can find celebrities' flaws is certainly not ordinary. Needless to say, that person is also a celebrity, even more so than a celebrity. In this way, both parties become famous.

For such a person, becoming famous is also simple: just find a loophole, hurl a few insults at a celebrity, and overnight their reputation will explode.

Some wealthy patrons have people attaching to them, and some wealthy patrons attach to celebrities.

Throughout history, the most famous case of a wealthy patron attaching to a celebrity is that great beauty Yang Guifei attaching to the great poet Li Bai.

Yang Guifei was the flesh on Tang Xuanzong's heart. Xuanzong loved the consort, saying, 'Love so deep that in heaven we wish to be paired flying birds, on earth we wish to be intertwined branches.'

See how deep their love is.

The emperor's favorite consort clearly shows that she is not only a wealthy patron but also a celebrity; moreover, Yang Guifei is a world-renowned great beauty.

But those who become famous without the pen of a celebrity, their fame is only like dew on a flower, vanishing in an instant. If it is recorded by the pen of a great writer, then it can leave fragrance for ages.

How clever and quick-witted is Yang Guifei? She already knew this. She also knew that among the common folk there is a person named Wang Lun. What sort of person is Wang Lun? He is like a grain of sand in the desert.

Just such a person like a grain of sand, because he attached himself to the great poet Li Bai. Li Bai's heart stirred, he waved his big brush: 'Li Bai boarding a boat about to depart, or hearing the sound of footsteps singing from the shore. The water of Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, but not as deep as Wang Lun's affection for me.' That grain-of-sand person, thus under the pen of the celebrated Li Bai, leaves fragrance for a hundred generations.

As for Yang Guifei, she lacks nothing except leaving fragrance for a hundred generations.

Once, Xuanzong and the consort together admired the peonies in the garden. The blooming peonies stirred Yang Guifei's heart. The consort said to Xuanzong, 'Such a lovely time and beautiful scenery, why not invite the great poet Li Bai to come and write poetry and fu?'

Xuanzong originally came to compete in merriment with the consort; seeing the beauty pleased, he hurriedly said to Gao Lishi, 'Beloved Gao, quickly go fetch that little Li who can write, my great beauty, I want him to write poetry.'

Meanwhile, the great poet Li Bai was drinking together with He Zhizhang and other literary friends. (A brief introduction to He Zhizhang: he is the current prime minister under Xuanzong. Since he wrote two poems that I really like, I have played with his name. Everyone knows those two names, so I won't waste words. The content of the poems is as follows: 'Jade adorned, a tree stands tall; myriad tendrils hang down like green silk ropes. Who cut the fine leaves? The February spring wind is like scissors.' Another: 'Leaving home young, returning old, the hometown accent remains unchanged though the hair at the temples has faded. Children meeting do not recognize each other, laughing and asking, 'Where have you come from?'.)

At this moment, Old He (should be called Lao He) was drinking until he was wobbly, Li Bai drank until his eyes were glazed, unable to tell direction. This person who has spent half his life with fine wine and bright moon, drinking with a close friend, will surely find that even a thousand cups with a kindred spirit are not enough.

Gao Lishi said to Li Bai, 'Great poet, His Majesty requests you to write a poem for Her Imperial Consort. Don't drink the wine.' Saying that, Gao Lishi dragged Li Bai along and brought him over.

To know what kind of poem Li Bai composed for Yang Da Mei, please see the following passage.

(Heart with the disaster area, emotion with the disaster area: may peace, courage, confidence, and strength accompany the people of the disaster area! May they be together!)

(Heart tied to the disaster area, Flirting tied to the disaster area: Wish peace, courage, confidence, and strength to be with and accompany the people of the disaster area!)