At the same time, although Xu Zhenqing was one of the first seven philosophers, he not only talked about retro, but also wrote many excellent poems. Therefore, people at that time called Xu Zhenqing, Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin and Wen Zhiming the four talented and free-spirited people, and because these four people all lived in Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River, they were called the "Four Great Talents in Wuzhong".
Tang Yin
Speaking of Tang Yan, many people may not know him, but if you talk about his other nickname, I'm afraid everyone knows it! He is Tang Bohu, the hero in Stephen Chow's film "Autumn Fragrance on Lake Tongbo". Yes, he is the funny and infatuated Tang Bohu in the film.
Historically, Tang Yin is indeed a romantic and affectionate species, and has the reputation of "the first romantic talent in the south of the Yangtze River". Of course, Tang Yan's fate is not a happy ending as shown in the film, but a tragedy.
As the first of the "Four Great Talents in Jiangnan", there is no doubt that Tang Yin is brilliant. At the age of 28, he entered the imperial examination room, and in the 21st year of Chenghua (1485), he won the first place in Suzhou government examination, becoming the first case. In the 11th year of Hongzhi (1498), he won the first place in Tianfu's rural examination and became Xie Yuan. Being able to gain such dazzling power in the imperial examination room is enough to show the brilliance of Tang Yin.
However, although Tang Yan's talent is amazing, it is too frivolous. Wen Zhiming once said to Tang Yin in his letter: "A scared child should be freed, but he is frivolous and may eventually accomplish nothing;" My son will fly away one day, which is beyond my power. " The effect is Tang Yin! My father says you are talented, but you are frivolous. If you don't correct yourself, you may accomplish nothing in the future. Wen Zhiming's father was right. It was his temperament that finally ruined his future.
Tang Yin's temperament is too arrogant and frivolous. His personality suffered a great loss as early as after the provincial examination. In the tenth year of Hongzhi (1497), Tang Yin was drinking with his friend Zhang Ling. He was a prostitute and became a degenerate. Local chronicles, who have always hated this kind of behavior, removed Tang Yin from Sun Shan and refused to let him take part in the provincial examination. Later, under the mediation of Cao Feng, the magistrate of Suzhou, and Shen Zhou, the father of a famous scholar in Suzhou, local chronicles agreed that Tang Yin would take part in the provincial examination in the form of an addendum.
After this incident, it stands to reason that his dissolute temperament should be restrained, but Tang Yin did not. On the contrary, he became more and more dissolute. In the end, he paid the due price for his disobedience. In the 12th year of Hongzhi (1499), Tang Yin was involved in an examination fraud case (begging for articles from Cheng with gold coins before the examination), was jailed and demoted to a petty official in Zhejiang. From then on, Tang Yin was hit hard, lost the initiative of the imperial examination, withdrew from the officialdom, and drifted in the rivers and lakes.
At first, because the Tang family was well-off, Tang Yin was able to do whatever he wanted, wandering around Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan. However, with the death of the backbone of the Tang family, the Tang family has since lost power. Without the support of family financial resources, Tang Yin can only make a living by selling paintings.
In the second year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1523), in autumn, Tang Yin went to the Wangs in Dongshan at the invitation of his good friend. While talking and laughing, I suddenly saw a poem by Su Dongpo hanging on the wall: "A hundred years is strong and a half, and there is not much pain in the future." When he was touched by the scene, Tang Yin was very sad when he recalled the frustrations and poverty in his later life. After leaving home, he has been ill ever since.
Wen Zhiming
One of the founders of Wu Pai, together with Shen Zhou, Tang Yin and Ming Sijia. Compared with Tang Bohu's success in the examination room in his early years, Wen Zhiming was not proud in the imperial examination. He failed to take the provincial examination nine times in his life. It was not until the second year of Jiajing (1523), when he was 54 years old, that he was awarded the post of imperial academy as Gong Sheng.
It can be said that Wen Zhiming was very boring when he was young. At the age of eight, Wen Zhiming could not speak until 1 1. Therefore, some people once suspected that he was an idiot, but his father Lin Wen firmly believed that he could be a late bloomer, and in fact he was. In the second year of Hongzhi (1489), he began to study painting with Shen Zhou. With the continuous improvement of Wen Zhiming's painting skills, his fame has gradually opened up, and more and more people regard him as everyone. He will always be a "late bloomer".
In the second year of Jiajing (1523), Wen Zhiming entered imperial academy. During his stay in Korea, he was highly valued by Jiajing because of his reputation. First, I participated in the compilation of Records of Wu Zong and Records of the Emperor, and also served as an assistant to the emperor. However, because Wen Zhiming was too outspoken as an official, did not kiss up and did not take part in party struggles, he was suppressed by other ministers in the court, and finally he was really fed up and disheartened. In the fifth year of Jiajing (1526), Wen Zhiming resigned and returned to his hometown.
After returning to his hometown, Wen Zhiming entertained himself at home, wrote ink, stayed in the world, and made a living by selling paintings and writing epitaphs for others. In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing (1559), in February, while writing an epitaph for Yan Jie's mother, he died suddenly at the age of 90, becoming the oldest of the "Four Great Talents in the South of the Yangtze River".
Zhu yunming
Zhu Yunming's family background is the most prominent among the four gifted scholars, and his grandfather is Xu Youzhen, one of the great heroes who made great contributions to the restoration of the British Sect in the "change of seizing the door". Because of his positive contribution to the restoration, he was awarded the title of martial arts champion by the Ministry of War and Huagai Hall. Of course, when Zhu Yunming grew up, his grandfather Xu Youzhen had gone home by crane, so he didn't benefit from his grandfather's power.
Zhu Yunming has shown wisdom and ability different from ordinary people since he was a child. When he was 5 years old, he could write Chinese characters one foot square. He can write poetry at the age of 9 and is called a "prodigy"; 10 is widely read. However, after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the officialdom was extremely corrupt, and Zhu Yunming was lofty and disdainful of following the trend, so he was extremely clever, but he was hit hard in succession in the imperial examination. I took seven exams and failed. Until my son Zhu Xu won the Jinshi, he still failed.
After seven strikes, Zhu Yunming completely gave up the idea of being an official in the imperial examination and began to concentrate on calligraphy. His calligraphy is recognized by people. His calligraphy is the best of a hundred schools, drawing lessons from the calligraphy of Yu Shinan in Tang Dynasty and Zhao Mengfu in Yuan Dynasty, carrying forward the cursive style of Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi and Tang Huaisu in Jin Dynasty, and developing into his own unique wild grass, known as "the first in Ming Dynasty" and leading a generation. He is the author of Liu Ti Shu Shi Fu Juan and Cao Shu Du Fu. Therefore, since the Ming Dynasty, there has been a saying that "Tang Bohu's paintings are Zhu Zhishan's words".
In the fifth year of Jiajing (1526), Zhu Zhishan died at the age of 67.
Xu Zhenqing
Xu Zhenqing and Tang Bohu are famous for their paintings, Zhu Yunming for his calligraphy and Xu Zhenqing for his poems. He is famous for his quatrains, and he is called "Wuzhong Poet" and "Xiong Wen" by the world. His "Qin Yi Lu" is one of the few famous works in the history of poetry talk in Ming Dynasty and even in the whole history of ancient poetry talk in China. Qian praised him: "Specializing in poetics, studying literature, exploring elegance, packaging, blending compromise, preparing literature, taking the grass of the East, deleting everything, and serving the treasures of the sea so far", which shows its great influence.
Compared with the other three of the four gifted scholars in the south of the Yangtze River, Xu Zhenqing's road to the imperial examination was fairly smooth. Although there were some episodes, fortunately, he was admitted to the Jinshi. However, because of his ugly appearance, he could not join the Hanlin Academy as usual, and he could only serve as the deputy curator of Dali Zuosi Temple in Dali Temple. Perhaps because of this experience, he was filled with indignation and wrote a book dedicated to discrediting Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although Xu Zhenqing succeeded in the imperial examination, his official career was not smooth. He has been an official for several years, but he has only achieved Dr. imperial academy, and he is a small official with eight grades. Perhaps because of this, although he is famous for his poems, his official career is not smooth and unhappy. In the sixth year of Ming Dynasty (15 1 1), Zheng De died in the capital at the age of 33, which was the earliest and shortest among the four gifted scholars.
Generally speaking, the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River are all brilliant people of their time, and their talents are praised and admired by people. Perhaps because of this, scholars have always been arrogant, especially talented people. They think that their talents are amazing, and they can be reused by the court without imitating them. Therefore, even if you enter the officialdom, you are rejected by your colleagues because of arrogance. They are depressed in the officialdom and can only regret quitting their official career.
Of course, because their talents are recognized all over the world, they are frustrated in the officialdom, but they are mixed up in the literati circle. Even if they live in Tang Bohu and even charge funeral expenses after their death, they can still live a better life than ordinary people by selling paintings and words.
It can only be said that when God gives you something, he will also make you lose something. Although the four gifted scholars have extraordinary talents and gained world-famous talents, they have lost the opportunity to enter the official career and enjoy the high salary of senior officials.