The 42-year-old Xue Tao is talented and talented, and is the first of the four talented women of the Tang Dynasty. Once she enthusiastically devoted herself to a talented and beautiful sister-brother relationship, but was eventually abandoned by her lover. Why did a famous female genius fall into the dust? Why did she fall in love with a flashy scumbag so easily? How did you regain your bones? Xue Tao's affair is imaginative, what kind of twists and turns and ups and downs has she experienced in her life? Did she finally get the happiness she deserved?
1. Cai's daughter came from a rough background: she couldn't help but fall into the dust
During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholarly door in Chang'an City-Xue Mansion. Xue Yunnai was a high-ranking official in the court, knowledgeable and generous. And his baby daughter Xue Tao has shown extraordinary talent since she was a child. Xue Tao is smart and studious by nature, and his poems and articles are all fragrant, and it is an indisputable fact that he is full of talent. Xue Yun regarded her as the pearl of his palm and personally cultivated her.
Who would have thought that fate is often full of impermanence. When Xue Tao was 8 years old, when his father chanted the sycamore tree poem in the garden, he asked her to cooperate, and Xue Tao spit out a prophetic poem without much thought: "The branches welcome the birds from the north and the south, and the leaves send the wind to and fro." The meaning of this poem is so profound that Xue Yun was shocked, and he had a faint premonition that his daughter might inevitably be a woman who was reduced to dust. Xue Yun was embarrassed, and would rather her daughter's poetry be poor than her suffer such torture.
Sure enough, a few years later, Xue Yun was demoted to a position in Sichuan due to an accident. Soon he left the west, leaving the 14-year-old Xue Tao to salvage himself. Xue Tao, who was struggling to survive, had no choice but to make a living by selling his talent and appearance to enter the music family. At the age of 16, this fledgling woman became an official prostitute.
Although she is a dusty woman, Xue Tao is from a famous family of scholars after all. She not only has a peerless appearance, but also a literary talent, a brilliant pen, an eloquent talent, and a particularly outstanding poetry. The poems are all intoxicating, as if they are already at the level of Xiao Shaojiu. She soon became famous for her talented figure and became a sought after object of men.
Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, Du Mu and other celebrities in the world all met Xue Tao and marveled at his extraordinary talent. Even Wei Gao, who was the envoy of the festival at the time, heard about Xue Tao's name, and invited her to the palace to serve the banquet and write poems, which made Wei Gao amazed, which shows that her talent is indeed superb. However, as a low-level musician, she can only socialize between the government and the opposition, and sell herself in exchange for survival.
Second, smart and shrewd
Although his status is humble, he can't stop Xue Tao's extraordinary intelligence. She's alert, shrewd, and knows a thing or two about the game of power struggle. Xue Tao quickly learned how to move easily between the government and the opposition.
The first to pay attention to her was Wei Gao, the envoy of the Xichuan Festival at that time. This dignitary was deeply impressed by Xue Tao's talent, and did not hesitate to spend a lot of time to find her to join the office, and finally let her serve as the "school secretary". It's a pity that she gave up because of Xue Tao's humble background, but her name as a "girls' school book" has spread all over Beijing.
This position is actually a role of a female assistant and a female secretary, mainly responsible for document writing, which shows that Xue Tao's profound knowledge is enough to make the powerful value her so much. Since then, her reputation has spread far and wide and she has become the object of pursuit by the government and the opposition.
The Chinese who were in Weigao came in droves, and in order to please her, they gave heavy gifts. Xue Tao, who was not shocked, was humble and moderate, and after accepting all the gift lists, he handed them all over to Wei Gao. However, this practice caused too much commotion, causing Wei Gao to be furious, and Xue Tao was forcibly sent to remote Songzhou.
Xue Tao knew that what he had done was a bit flamboyant and presumptuous. She was smart and sophisticated, and soon wrote ten sincere poems to send to Wei Gao to express her apologies. The shrewd woman's sincere outpouring finally moved Wei Gao, and she was soon called back.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xue Tao was more cautious in his words and deeds, and acted in a low-key and steady manner. She welcomed Wei Gao even more, and finally won Wei Gao's great appreciation. Wei Gao dismissed her status as a musician with an edict, and the 20-year-old Xue Tao was freed.
Since then, she has lived in seclusion in Huanhuaxi, Chengdu, and can live freely. However, the world still firmly believes that she and Wei Gao once had a secret lingering relationship, after all, she is so gorgeous and handsome, how can she not be tempting?
Just after Wei Gao's death, Li Deyu, who took over as the envoy of Jiannan Jiedu, also respected Xue Tao's outstanding talent. He often instructed Xue Tao to accompany the banquet and improvise chanting. Xue Tao's poems at this time are extraordinary, the style is vigorous, the time is used to the world, and the thoughts are thousands, which shows that she has perfected the realm.
In that era of strict class, Xue Tao, as a woman from a humble background, was so popular and courteous, relying on her outstanding intelligence and shrewd and capable work skills. She can be called a smart person among smart people, and she handles interpersonal relationships very well, and she is definitely very accessible.
3. Be clever and resourceful
Xue Tao is not only intelligent, but also clever and calculating. Since she was a child, she has shown an extraordinary aura of ruthlessness. At the age of 8, her prophetic verses had already shocked her father, lamenting that her way of thinking was indeed very different from ordinary people.
This childhood poem "Branches welcome the birds from the north and south, and the leaves send the wind to and fro", the meaning seems to be simple and simple, but in fact the meaning is profound. Xue Tao used birds as a metaphor for his ill-fated fate, and the branches and leaves could only passively welcome the birds from south to north, implying that he was destined to drift away and could not help himself. Such a wise and prudent view of life is indeed from the mouth of a child, which is really appalling.
Later, this poem really became a prophecy, which shows that Xue Tao has a wise and indomitable temperament since he was a child. She was born with a stubborn personality, and she likes to weigh and analyze everything, rather than blindly follow it.
Even in his extremely humble career as an official prostitute, Xue Tao has never been satisfied with the status quo like other women. She yearns for freedom, often borrows wine to kill her sorrows, and expresses her strength in the empty mountains and valleys. In those free-spirited and generous, uninhibited poems, her heroic soul that cannot be shackled is revealed.
A few lines of poetry in "Pseudo-Qiulan Poems" vividly reveal her restless ambition: "I was born in my body, and what will I do again? Where is the debauchery? It's so easy to be scattered. Xue Tao regards herself as a bluegrass, born with a noble character that is not stained by the mud, even if she suffers from the turbidity of the world, she will eventually get rid of the cage and fly to freedom with a free and easy attitude.
Another of her poems, "Wuling Nostalgia", also wrote: "The children of the Confucian crown laugh at me crazy, who pities the waves and is full of frost." This is undoubtedly self-deprecating of his life experience, and he would rather be regarded as a crazy woman by Confucian children than be a layman who understands current affairs. Her heroic, romantic heart will never be suppressed by reality.
It was with this unruly pride that Xue Tao finally realized the gorgeous transformation from a dusty woman to a free body. The praise she has won in the art world is an affirmation of her heroic and indomitable personality.
Xue Tao's heroic and resolute temperament and uncompromising fate are the most attractive aspects of her. Her fate is uncertain, but she has always been able to see life from a transcendent perspective, and treat it all with a unique and discerning verse. It is precisely because of such an extraordinary personality that she finally jumped out of the official prostitute class and became a truly free woman.
Fourth, in his later years, he suffered from sorrow and aging
Although Xue Tao relied on his extraordinary intelligence and resolute personality in his early years, he finally got rid of the identity of a woman in the dust and gained freedom. But in her later years, her life fell into another tragic situation.
Xue Tao has never been married since he was a teenager. Maybe it's because her background is too humble, or maybe it's because her temperament is too rebellious and dissolute, in short, no matter which scholar sees her, he can't help but feel sorry for her, but it is difficult to truly include her in his marriage.
Until she was forty years old, Xue Tao's beautiful appearance was no longer what she used to be, and her life was full of misfortunes, and she had long lost the hope of getting married. She had to live alone in seclusion in the famous mountains and live a life without fighting with the world.
In her rather comfortable old age, she suddenly suffered an unprecedented blow. Because he has always been too reserved and angry, Xue Tao has made few friends in the literary circles of the government and the opposition. When her fame gradually declined in the poetry world, even those powerful people who once pursued her began to be cold and snub to her.
Once such a heroic and noble woman, now she can only live in the mountains and forests. Her life is extremely poor, and even worrying about food and clothing has become a luxury. Xue Tao still groans bitterly every day, but those poems that once led the coquettish have become more and more boring and empty.
Her fate is just like the poem "Falling leaves chase incense, flying flowers and rolling people", from the peak of life to the point of extreme poverty. Outsiders can't imagine that a generation of heroines has fallen into such a field where everyone looks at it coldly.
What made Xue Tao feel even more desperate was that the atmosphere in the entire poetry arena at that time had also undergone earth-shaking changes. The elegant and graceful style of chanting was severely suppressed, and was replaced by a style of advocating bold and rough poetry. Xue Tao's fresh and timeless, gentle and subtle poetic style is naturally no longer cared for.
A lonely and self-appreciating wonder finally went into decline in that era of natural selection. Xue Tao's old age became more and more bitter, and she had to stay away from the hustle and bustle, live in seclusion in the mountains, and live her life by reciting Buddhist scriptures.
Fifth, talent will always live in poetry for eternity
Although Xue Tao suffered from the cold reception and tribulations of life in her later years, her peerless talent and persistent pursuit of literature and art still gave her immortal glory after all.
Xue Tao has created countless popular masterpieces in his life, especially in poetry. Her poetic style is unique, fresh and timeless, gentle and subtle, giving people a sense of unconventional charm.
Her poem "He Jia Zhi quatrain" wrote all her bleak life experience in the world: "Fangzhou flies to the evening moth, and the sunset hibiscus is half a cup of Luo." The smoke is only led back to Hongyuan, and the light powder is full of incense. Xue Tao compares himself to a moth flying between Penglai in Fangzhou, his life experience is like the residual wine in a hibiscus cup, although he was once famous all over the world, but in the end he still has to live alone and alone.
Her other song "Affectionate Yao" also expresses her secretly sad heart: "The night rain and residual lights burn together, and it should be a boring stay." I want to ask the hatred in the air. But the man was before the moon. The poem really depicts the loneliness of Xue Tao when he was wandering.
Although most people in the world only know Xue Tao's beautiful and talented ideas, few people understand her true inner world. Her heart to explore life in the universe has always been full of deep loneliness and melancholy.
Fortunately, Xue Tao has never been crushed by this melancholy, and she is still unswervingly pursuing the avenue of poetry. Many of her poems are enough to show her perseverance and pursuit of perfection.
It is thanks to this unremitting perseverance that she has finally left behind countless exquisite works. Even though she was quite downtrophic in her later years, her poetic style is still timeless and vivid, which is beyond the reach of many people.
Until the end of his life, Xue Tao's lifelong pursuit was the extreme state of poetry. After her death for many years, people can still taste the persistent spirit and immortal artistic ideals from her poems.
Although this talented woman was miserable and depressed in her later years, it was with the immortal carrier of poetry that her fame and integrity were immortalized in history and became the object of learning and emulation for future generations. After all, the external hardship environment could not stifle Xue Tao's persistent pursuit of artistic ideals, and her spiritual realm has been sublimated to eternity.