Cen Can's life resume Cen Can (about 7 15-770) was a frontier poet in Tang Dynasty, a native of Nanyang, the great-grandson of Cen Wenben, a hero of Emperor Taizong, and later moved to Jiangling. Cen Can was lonely and poor in his early years. He learns from his brother and reads history books. In the third year of Tianbao (744), he was a scholar. At first, Cao joined the army as a government soldier. After joining the army twice, he first served as the secretary of the shogunate of Gao Xianzhi in Anxi. At the end of Tianbao, Feng Changqing was the judge of the shogunate when he was the minister of Anxi North Hospital. During the reign of Emperor Zong, Zeng Guan was the secretariat of history, and the world called Cen Jiazhou. He died in Chengdu in the fifth year of Dali (770). His poems are longer than seven-character metrical poems, and his masterpiece is Song of Snow to Send Tian Shuji Wu Home. There are 360 existing poems. He has cordial feelings for frontier fortress scenery, military life and cultural customs of ethnic minorities, so his frontier fortress poems are particularly excellent. The style is similar to that of Gao Shi, and later generations often call it "Gao Cen". There are ten volumes in The Collection of Cen Can, which have been lost. There are seven volumes (or eight volumes) of Cenjiazhou Collection. The Complete Tang Poetry consists of four volumes.
Character experience
Early experience
Cen Can's childhood family was lonely and poor, so he could only learn from his brother. Cen Can is gifted. He began to study at the age of five, and at the age of nine, he was able to write poems. This cleverness and early wisdom are inseparable from the influence of his family background. Cen Can's father was transferred to Jinzhou Secretariat in the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), and he lived in Jinzhou with his father. After his father died, he remained in Jinzhou until he moved to Songyang (now Dengfeng County, Henan Province) in the 17th year of Kaiyuan (729). Soon, he moved to Angelababy (now Angelababy Town, seventy miles southwest of Dengfeng County, Henan Province). Songyang and Angelababy are the locations of Songshan and Xifeng. The east peak is located in Songyang and the west peak is located in Angelababy. The two rooms are 70 miles apart, and Cen Can has thatched cottages in both places. Takamatsu is one of the five mountains, with strange peaks and strange mountains, and ancient trees flowing in springs. The young poet devoted himself to reading in this quiet natural environment. He was proud of the mountains and forests, which not only laid a broad foundation in his knowledge, but also initially formed his poetic style, which was profound, novel and meaningful. His early works are far more dull than Shen Xiong's. After leaving the fortress, there is no lack of lightness in Shen Xiong's tragic. The themes of Cen's poems are also varied.
official career
Cen Can arrived in Chang 'an at the age of 20, and made no achievements in offering books and seeking official positions. He went to Beijing and Luoyang and wandered in Heshuo. In the third year of Tianbao (744), he was a scholar and was authorized to lead the government soldier Cao to join the army. Before that, he wrote "Feeling Old Fu", describing the decline of family background and personal frustrations. In the eighth year of Tianbao, I served as the secretary of the shogunate of Gao Xianzhi, our ambassador to Anxi four towns. The first time he went out, he was full of ambition to serve his country, but he was not satisfied. After ten years in Tianbao, I returned to Chang 'an and traveled with Li Bai, Du Fu and Gao Shi, which was deeply inspired. Thirteen years later, he served as Judge Feng Changqing of Northwest An Hospital, and went to frontier fortress again to make contributions to the country. Most frontier fortress poems became famous at this time. In the Anshi Rebellion, Cen Shendong returned to the king of Qin, and Du Fu recommended him as the right vacancy. He was appointed as a living person in the second year (759) because of his "diligent seal, which means the right to speak" ("Preface to Duque Cen's History Poetry"). In less than a month, it was reduced to the history of the governor. Later, he served as the doctor of Prince Zhongyun, Yu Bu and Kubu, and was named "Cenjiazhou" because he was a historian. After he was dismissed from office, Dongfang did not return, and he made a self-mourning for "Zhao Bei Cowen". The guest died in Chengdu. At the age of 56.
Cen Can's poems are full of romantic features, magnificent, imaginative, colorful and passionate, especially good at seven-character quatrains. There are 403 existing poems, more than 70 frontier poems, a sense of old age, a Zhao Bei Hakka and two epitaphs.
Characteristics of poetry
The theme of Cen Can's poems involves narrative, questions and answers, landscapes and travels, among which frontier poems are the most outstanding, and "grandeur" is its outstanding feature. Cen Can went to frontier fortress twice and wrote more than 70 frontier fortress poems. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, he wrote the most frontier poems and made the most outstanding achievements.
In Cen Can's works, no enemy can be a real opponent in the face of the strength of the Tang Empire, so he doesn't need to write about the outstanding struggles and hard sacrifices of soldiers. What he wants to write is another great force that stands in front of soldiers, that is, harsh nature. For example, in the The Journey to the West, snowy nights and roaring winds, flying sand and stones, these formidable harsh climatic environments in the frontier desert, in the poet's impression, have become spectacular scenery that set off heroism, which is a wonderful beauty worthy of appreciation. Without the enterprising spirit and courage to overcome difficulties, it is difficult to feel this way. Only poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty can have this cheerful mind and this artistic sense.
Cen Can expressed the scenery beyond the Great Wall with strange enthusiasm and magnificent colors. Under the control of frontier fortress's generosity and lofty sentiments, with heroic tone and peculiar artistic techniques, the strange scenery and customs of the northwest desert are vividly displayed, which has a unique magnificent beauty. It broke through the traditional mode of writing frontier poems in the past, and greatly enriched and broadened the description theme and content scope of frontier poems.
Style key
"Magnificent" is its outstanding feature, and its language is vivid and exaggerated, impassioned, magnificent, magnificent, imaginative and changeable.
Personality assessment
The main ideological tendency of Cen's poems is the heroic spirit of generosity to serve the country and the optimistic spirit of being fearless of difficulties. The artistic momentum is magnificent, the imagination is rich, the exaggeration is bold, the color is gorgeous, the creativity is novel, and the style is steep. He is good at depicting the magnificent frontier scenery with seven-character songs and expressing his uninhibited feelings. Du Zhen, a Tang Dynasty poet, compiled Cenjiazhou's poems, and later generations' collections evolved accordingly. Nowadays, Chen Tie people and Hou people have "Collection of Notes". For deeds, see Du Que's Preface to Cenjiazhou Collection, Chronicle of Tang Poems and Talented Persons of Tang Dynasty. Along with Gao Shi, he is also known as "Gao Cen".
Cen Can's poems are characterized by heroic spirit of serving the country generously and optimistic spirit of not being afraid of hardship, which is consistent with Gao Shi. The difference is that he describes the richness of frontier life more than the sympathy for foot soldiers in Gao Shi's poems. This is mainly because his background and early experience are different from Gao Shi's.
Cen Can's poems are full of romantic features: majestic, imaginative, colorful, passionate and unrestrained, and his curious ideological character make his frontier poems present strange artistic charm. His poems have various forms, but he is best at seven-character poems. Sometimes two sentences turn, sometimes three sentences and four sentences turn, constantly rushing and jumping, full of images everywhere. It can be seen from his famous works, such as Night Collection of Judges in Liangzhou Pavilion, that he also attaches great importance to learning from folk songs.
Du Que's Preface to Cenjiazhou's Poems says that his poems are handed down from generation to generation. Although he is a scholar and a savage, he is full of irony. " It can be seen that his poems were widely circulated at that time, not only appealing to both refined and popular tastes, but also deeply loved by people of all ethnic groups. Fan Yin and Du Fu praised his poems before his death. Lu You, a patriotic poet in the Song Dynasty, even said that his poems were "chasing Du Li with a pen" (reading Cenjiazhou's poems at night). Although the evaluation may be a little excessive, Cen's poems are touching, but it is conceivable.
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