White Eyed Collection -- Basic Collection of Chinese Family Classics

Author: Sun Anbang, Sun Bei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: Bai Juyi (772—846), styled Yutian, styled Xiangshan Jushi, was from Xiagui (now Weinan, Shaanxi). He experienced hardships and sought refuge in Yue during his youth. He passed the imperial examination in Zhenyuan and served as a copyist in the Secretariat. During Emperor Xianzong's reign, he became a Hanlin Academician and was appointed as the Left Supplementary Officer. He submitted a memorial demanding the capture of the murderer who assassinated the prime minister Wu Yuancheng and was demoted to the position of Marshal of Jiangzhou. Later, he served as the governor of several prefectures, including Zhongzhou, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. During Emperor Wenzong's reign, he served as the Prince Imperial's Guest and later as the Vice Grand Tutor, both in the eastern division of Luoyang, where he eventually retired as Minister of Justice. In his later years, he resided in Xiangshan Temple and styled himself Xiangshan Jushi. He advocated the New Yuefu Movement alongside Yuan Zhen, Zhang Ji, and others, dedicating himself to satirical poetry. However, his lyrical and reflective works were widely loved and by both contemporaries and later generations. Their simplicity and accessibility are the greatest features of his poetry. He passed the imperial examination in the sixteenth year of the Zhenyuan era and held various positions, including Left Supplementary Officer, Eastern Palace Assistant, Marshal of Jiangzhou, Governor of Hangzhou and Suzhou, and Grand Tutor. Bai Juyi was a great realist poet. His poetry covered a wide range of themes and forms, with language that was simple and accessible. His works such as "Qinzhong Yin" and "New Yuefu" dared to criticize the policies of the ruling class, reflecting the suffering of the people and deeply exposing social contradictions. He was also a key advocate of the New Yuefu Movement in the mid-Tang Dynasty. His narrative poems, such as "The Long Love Song" and "The Story of the Pipa," are rich in detail and emotionally moving, possessing a unique artistic style that had a far-reaching influence. In the theory of poetry creation, he proposed the principles that "writing should be for the times" and "poetry should be for the events." This collection selects nearly one hundred and forty poems from Bai Juyi's over three thousand, primarily based on the requirements of the "Selected Works of Famous Authors" volume in "China Family Basic Collection" and the target audience. It considers both ideological depth and artistic quality, balancing both advancement and popularization.