Zeng Guofan, who was in his twenties, was ambitious and set up a lofty ideal of life. He is determined to "see Han Yu's elegant demeanor and make a name for himself." On the road of literature, we should pursue Han Yu and spread the excellent works through the ages; On the successful journey, we should follow Sean's example and help Liu Bang to govern the country. However, a few years later, "Spring and Autumn Thirty-one, So Stubborn", its melancholy heart is strong. In the seventh part of "Nine Miscellaneous Poems", he said frankly: "Never mind my thoughts, I'm full of rice. What you are worried about is not what you did, but that what you enjoyed is not over. Climb high at dusk and look around. Fallen leaves fly to the southeast, and lonely geese fly to the northwest. I can't think of you, desolate. " The author ranks among the officials in Beijing and has always been "full of food", so his material life should be satisfied. However, he shoulders the sense of historical mission of an upright local doctor. Like "Qiu Lao", he is facing the decline of the Qing Dynasty. "Why should we be sad?" "Sunset" and "fallen leaves fly to the southeast" in the Qing court, and the rivers are getting worse. How can the author not worry? Climbing high and looking far, I feel "boundless" under "looking around", and I am like the "lonely goose" who is helpless to fly.
Zeng Guofan's archaic long poem Six Poems by Gan Chun was written in the 23rd year of Daoguang, the year after the defeat of the Opium War in China and the signing of treaty of nanking, which humiliated the country. The poem describes the frontier in an all-round way, and the vast territory is facing the eventful autumn of being swallowed up by powers such as tigers and wolves. In the grim situation of foreign enemies, Zeng Guofan, as an academician, longed for himself to "recruit 7 thousand troops to strengthen the dragon, and it is impossible to be ruthless." The national spirit is thinner than that of Wan Li, and mantis is fine. Collect the black synthetic dust immediately, and the red flag will be reported to Weiyang sooner or later. "I hope I can take all my troops to the northwest frontier and put down the local riots, so that I can show my true manhood. He vowed to turn the followers of' Ukraine' into' dust', and no matter how long it takes, he will definitely return home in triumph. " "Not ended" means working for the imperial court.
At the head of the national disaster, Zeng Guofan could not allow himself to think deeply, and the foolish loyalty of "a scholar dies for a confidant" finally occupied his chest. He wrote six poems about feeling spring. The fifth song wrote: "If you can't go to heaven, Tianmen will swallow elephants. The jackal, the tiger and the leopard are guarding the nine passes. Who dares to show his teeth? Those Wu are dumb, call. Unfortunately, the wings are short and not long. " The first paragraph of this poem is a description of the political situation of the dynasty: there are wolves, tigers and leopards, who are greedy for fame and gain, ruthless and gnashing their teeth, and no one dares to fight; there are speechless and hoarse people who only care about empty talk, but no talents, and there are many "Qingyi factions". "Once lonely Feng Mingyun, Kyushu outstanding. Shan Xin opened Yaochi brilliantly, dripping with blood. To make bad birds make different sounds, just sit and watch sadness grow together. There are sincere photos of the sun and the moon, and ghosts and gods look down on Gao Lang. " The second half of the poem was born from this, which was Zeng's whimsy. He thought that once in power, bad birds could change their voices and poor people could grow up. According to the Zeng family's book "To Six Brothers", this group of poems is "a generous elegy, claiming that Chen Wozi (Chen Zilong) will not allow it, but the language is too intense to show anyone." His poems express strong sadness, anger and ambition. Let's put aside what Zeng Guofan did later. His early sense of hardship and ambition were basically in sync with the trend of historical progress. Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen's "Double Dragon Sword" was abandoned by the imperial court and will lose the support of patriotic ministers and become "solitary phoenix". Even so, he will do his best to spread his wings in the blue sky, shock the land of China, and "shock Kyushu to be extraordinary." At this point, the author's thoughts were instantly pulled to the mythical country, imagining that he had become a savior, sitting on the lotus in full bloom in Yaochi, and coming to the world to slay demons and exorcise demons, and his political affairs were bright; Drive out foreign enemies and restore peace in the border areas of the motherland. In order to save the people from the bloody fire, the author will sweep away all evil forces at all costs, "dripping with blood", vowing to drive away the dark clouds and darkness with a blood-stained "fairy staff" and return to a bright and beautiful world. "The sun and the moon shine sincerely on the sky, and ghosts look down on it." Zeng Guofan's verve can't help but make people stunned.
Second,? "Heaven can fill the river and plug it, but kindness can't open it."
The darkness of bureaucracy, the looting of soldiers, the exploitation of landlords and the prevalence of natural disasters forced the broad masses of the people to survive. Social polarization is becoming more and more serious, which is reflected in Zeng Guofan's poems. In the long poem "In Memory of Liu Mengrong", the luxurious life of the upper class is described in great detail: "God created a group of people, and their status is columnar. Magnificent imperial city, magnificent books to read. The vestibule is filled with people, and the pavilion is clear. Big Ma Rufei, the high car is like an electric switch. When I was riding in an alley, the wall shook the window and the paper cracked. " The mansions of senior officials in Beijing are extraordinary in style, and the "magnificent" buildings are "elegant" and "warm and clear"; When going out, the "big horse" is fierce, "flying" and "like an electric switch". If people don't avoid it in time, they will die under the wheel; After crossing the narrow street, the sound of hooves and wheels shattered the windows of people's houses. How can people live in peace? Zeng's poems vividly reproduce the disgusting faces of those arrogant and extravagant politicians. The lower floor is another scene, which constitutes a sharp contrast between positive and negative. The poem "Post-Yan Shu and Taishou Relief" says: "Last year, Hebei was miserable, and a thousand miles of land was stripped of hair. You shouldn't sacrifice your life, your wife and children will flee. " Zeng's poems describe a tragic picture of a thousand miles of land, sorrow everywhere, family destruction and death, which can be described as terrible. Contradictions accumulated to the extreme, farmers everywhere rose up in succession, and the precarious moment of the whole Qing Dynasty finally came, and the whole society fell apart.
In the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, Lei Uprising and Li Yuanfa Uprising in the twentieth year of Daoguang, the whole situation was very turbulent. 1850 Duchayuan played: "Bandits are rampant in Guangxi, extending to seven prefectures and one state." Zeng Guofan, as the commander-in-chief of the Xiang army, experienced more than ten years of war and recorded the war with poetry. Yong Nong, Yu Shi and the Three Sons are all recorded in The Rhyme of Sniff: "Today, I am even excited about going back to the city, so I don't want to beat my arm. God also helped Kun Yangjie fly around the house and rushed to the clouds and thunder. A light snow has been the shame of the Three Norths in my life, and it has washed away my past sorrows in Qian Qian. " In order to maintain his rule, Zeng Guofan was extremely hostile to the insurgents and killed people like hemp. At that time, people joked that he had shaved his head. The joy of winning a great victory in leading troops overflowed in the poem, and the lofty sentiments of the scholar-officials gushed after their success. "ups and downs are inevitable, and there are thousands of cups of joy today." Zeng Guofan devoted himself to the Qing court and devoted himself to the life-and-death struggle with the feelings of "why did they die in boots?" He once suffered many heartbreaking tests, committed suicide after the second failure, and his brother was killed on the battlefield to find his body. "Yuanxiang rebels are uneven, and nine times out of ten are good." Heroes are bloody, and the earth is all kinds of Qin ash. "
With the fall of Tianjing City, there were bodies of friends and enemies everywhere, with numerous bullet holes and smoke. The people who were killed choked the Qinhuai River, and the earth seemed to be shaking. It's a hell on earth, with rain in the wilderness and wind in the wild. Zeng Guofan used poetry to reproduce the tragic scene of devastation after the war. "To Wu Nanping" wrote: "That is, the Southern Dynasties are quiet today, but Li Duo is troubled after the chaos. There are bones to feed foxes in deserted villages, but no one can raise Artemisia in fertile soil. Muscle strength is narrow, who wants to hit the baby? Three-mile penalty is five-mile tax, and the city is closed or the wolf meets the tiger. Hu led a big fan to two thousand miles. Why not save him? " Zeng's poems are similar to Cao Cao's famous sentence "Bones are exposed in the wild, and chickens crow thousands of miles". In this post-war situation, officials, large and small, still don't think about the lesson, and still "close the city or meet the tiger and the wolf" and squeeze the people. Zeng Guofan couldn't help sighing, regardless of life and death, and put out the peasant war in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. According to the original idea, it will be the symbol of ZTE, but the world remains the same. He was in great pain and sighed, "The sky can fill the river, the earth can plug it, and only kindness can't open it."
When friends associate with friends, they will feel narrative and sing the sad songs of the last days. When he returned to his hometown, he would feel sad and sigh at the ruins after the war. Zeng Guofan wrote seven ancient poems on the jade belt on the east slope of Jinshan Temple. In less than a year, people have changed. "What are you worried about?" Ruthless and thin, praise Yuan. There are six flies floating on the top of the jade, and the couch is full of thousands of dragons. After ten years of war, the valley became a valley, and the Dojo was deserted for 100 acres. In the ruins, there are no flies around the building, and there is no complex animal pen in Fei Jing. The ancient Buddha's negative wall penetrates the autumn rain, and the young monk has no food to eat at night. "The bustling building passing through the historical holy place of Zhenjiang Jinshan was destroyed by fire today, which reflected the fierce battle between Taiping Army and Xiang Army from the side. After the war, the wind and rain were mixed, and it was a depression. The people were hungry and cold. " The young monk has no food, and it is cold at night. "With a desolate heart, he visited Jinshan Temple, a Buddhist temple site, and couldn't help thinking of the jade belt poems left by Su Dongpo hundreds of years ago. He wrote with mixed feelings: "There are only Su Gong's old vestments and waist jade pieces left in the world. Pepe scattered sacrifices to 700 people, and the heavenly chapter praised Wei. I am pregnant with old Emei, soaring like a phoenix. Yang Zijiang head counted, a few back to happiness and a few back to sadness. Going to Wutai in the north is the death penalty, and moving to the south is the only way to live. Grinding scorpions is a disaster, and thorns are hard to walk on the ground. It's a pity that the old things are hidden in the famous mountains, and the river and the moon are loyal to the liver. He had made outstanding contributions, but he was suspected and slandered by the nobles of the Manchu Dynasty and the ministers of the DPRK. In desperation, he persuaded his younger brother Ceng Guoquan, who had captured Nanjing, to return to the field to avoid being killed; You can imagine the sadness of creating the Xiang army by yourself and dissolving it after the collapse of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in order to get on the official position and ensure peace. Zeng Guofan had to laugh at himself. At the end of this poem, he ended with "Jiangshan has become rich since a good day, and it is difficult to laugh without rest". The word "smile" implies how many bitter tears the author has!
Third,? "Shout Yu Shun and answer Qu Yuan with crazy songs."
In the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan fought with flesh and blood. When he fought to the death and exhausted his energy, he realized that the Qing Dynasty had become like a dung wall, and there was no hope of "revival". He couldn't help feeling sad and mourning for Qu Yuan, which was painful through the ages. The second part of "De Guo Junxian's books and poems are combined into one to send six poems" wrote: "Elegant and sad, gentle and disrespectful for a long time. Be stubborn. I have a fence. Call out to Yu Shun and answer Qu Yuan with crazy songs. Since it is not a gentleman, it is hard to say. " In troubled times, he longed for peace in Yu Shun; After his dream was shattered, he had to leave the court in despair like Qu Yuan and die. How heavy this feeling is!
Autumn is a season of gloomy leaves, which easily leads to people's depression. Zeng Guofan wrote "Five Autumn Poems", one of which said: "The big leaves are like rain, and the west wind blows my clothes. When heaven and earth get angry, everything goes wrong. An empty boat is not worth mentioning, and grievances call for murder. Every year, I am tired of stumbling, pitying and sneering. Finally, I will learn from Huang Wei and fly away. " The poem expresses the author's boredom with the sinister officialdom, unpredictable fate and intrigue, and devotes himself to serving the country, leading to "turning back to the shore." In the case of "stumbling" and "pitiful ridicule", it is better to get rid of the entanglement of officialdom as soon as possible and "learn from the oriole" to fly freely. By the fifth poem in this group, this idea is extremely inflated and has evolved into an idyllic ambition. "My friend Liu Mengrong, I have two good books. If you don't pay it back for three years, how can you suffer today? Deep mountain treasure, phosgene fills the state. Fan Ying walked on the altar mat, and her fame career was empty. If it doesn't help heaven, it's better to hoe it. " Liu Rong was an important adviser of Zeng Guofan, who was known as "Wolong in the army" at that time. He was also Zeng Guofan's earliest close friend, as well as his children's in-laws and sworn brothers. Liu Rong, with outstanding military exploits, became the first general with both wisdom and courage to be promoted after the establishment of Xiang Army, and the official was the governor of Shaanxi Province. At the suggestion of Liu, Liu was dismissed and returned to his hometown. Zeng Guofan felt sorry for this, but it was a good thing. In this autumn poem, Zeng Guofan deeply missed his close friend Liu Rong and thought that Liu Rong's wish to return to his hometown was finally realized, which was a fortunate thing. I went back to my hometown, lived in a deep mountain, devoted myself to my own knowledge, and wrote a book, leaving behind a collection of Yang Huitang's poems, a debate and a doubt, and phosgene filling the state. In Zeng's view, Liu Rong was framed by a villain and the court was fatuous, which led to his ambition not being fully and perfectly reflected, leaving many regrets in Shaanxi for several years. However, he can advance and retreat freely from the source, without losing integrity, sadness or joy, and without attachment to rich and famous people, which fully embodies his knowledge cultivation and personality temperament. In this poem, Zeng Guofan misses Liu Rong, but at the same time, he deeply feels that the Qing Dynasty has set the sun and he is powerless to return to heaven. He couldn't help wishing he could live in seclusion like Liu Rong. "If you don't have the ability to mend the sky, it's better to hoe the ground." Tu Youyou's life creed required by Confucianism in China is "If you are rich, you will help the world, and if you are poor, you will be immune to it", which is manifested in Zeng's belief. The couplets in the poem are full of sadness that he can't say.
There is no hope of joining the WTO, and the idea of being born naturally arises. Zeng Guofan's fourth poem "Five Poems to Send Ling Eleven to Changsha" clearly shows his yearning for the quiet rural life of the farmer: "It's a pity that I don't learn from the people in the mountains and earn more money for farming. Go back to your wife and kill chickens for your neighbors. The world is deaf and ignorant, and laughs at poetry like dust. You own Qingtang Mountain, so it is difficult to build a house and plant trees. " In his mind, "Qingtang Mountain" is a place where his scarred soul can rest, because there are loving wives and children and simple neighbors here. For worldly troubles, "the world is deaf and ignorant", be a carefree and uncontested person. Nostalgia frequently tugged at him, and he described the beauty of his hometown landscape in more detail in "Valley Map": "My home is in Hunan Gaoqiu, and the thatched cottage has built 10,000 bamboo poles. Spring rain morning hoe jade version, autumn night pavilion rings. " "Qiantang painter Tianzong, hand-carved Xiangyun fell here. The wind and rain leaves are cold and blue, and the windows are empty. " The scenery in my hometown is so beautiful that it is simply a gift from heaven. Zeng Guofan imitated Li Bai's romantic and elegant pen and developed a rich imagination. "The Qiantang painter hangs from the sky, and the hand-cut Xiangyun falls here." Xiang is the abbreviation of Hunan, and Xiangyun actually refers to the beautiful scenery of his hometown, which makes him dream. After decades of officialdom struggle, Zeng Guofan struggled in blood, tears and fire and experienced ups and downs in the world. Although he has never lived in seclusion in the mountains all his life, it is true and natural for him to retire to his hometown for peace.
(Author: Law School of South China University, Chinese Department of Nanjing University)