醉吟先生白居易的一生行迹 / The Life Journey of Bai Juyi, the People's Poet

【中文】醉吟先生白居易的一生行迹

白居易（772年-846年），字乐天，号香山居士，又号醉吟先生，祖籍山西太原。唐代伟大的现实主义诗人，与元稹并称"元白"，与刘禹锡并称"刘白"。

一、少年刻苦（772-800）：长安初试

白居易出生于河南新郑，少年时代刻苦读书，"口舌成疮，手肘成胝"。十六岁时携诗稿到长安拜见顾况，顾况见"白居易"之名打趣道："长安百物贵，居大不易。"然读到"野火烧不尽，春风吹又生"后大为赞赏，立刻改口："有句如此，居天下有甚难！"

二、仕途辉煌（800-815）：从校书郎到翰林学士

贞元十六年（800年），白居易中进士，先后任校书郎、盩厔尉、翰林学士、左拾遗。这一时期他积极参政，写了大量讽喻诗，提出"文章合为时而著，歌诗合为事而作"的创作主张。他的《新乐府》五十首、《秦中吟》十首深刻揭露社会矛盾。

三、江州之贬（815-818）：浔阳江头

元和十年（815年），宰相武元衡遇刺身亡，白居易上书请捕刺客，被权贵以"越职言事"为由贬为江州司马。在浔阳江头，他听到商人妇弹琵琶，写下千古绝唱《琵琶行》："同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识。"

四、苏杭刺史（822-827）：造福江南

长庆二年（822年），白居易出任杭州刺史。他在杭州修筑堤坝、疏浚六井，造福百姓。后又任苏州刺史，同样政绩斐然。至今杭州的"白堤"虽非他所建，却因他的诗名而流传千古。"最爱湖东行不足，绿杨阴里白沙堤。"

五、香山晚年（827-846）：醉吟归隐

太和三年（829年），白居易退居洛阳履道里，自号"香山居士"。晚年与刘禹锡等诗友唱和，又号"醉吟先生"。他晚年好佛好道，生活闲适。会昌六年（846年），白居易病逝于洛阳，享年七十五岁，遗嘱葬于龙门香山。

The Life Journey of Bai Juyi, the People's Poet

Bai Juyi (772-846), courtesy name Letian, art name Xiangshan Jushi, was a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi. One of the greatest realist poets of the Tang Dynasty, he is paired with Yuan Zhen as "Yuan-Bai" and with Liu Yuxi as "Liu-Bai."

I. A Studious Youth (772-800)

Born in Xinzheng, Henan, Bai Juyi studied so intensively that "his mouth developed sores and his elbows grew calluses." At sixteen, he presented his poems to the critic Gu Kuang in Chang'an. Gu Kuang quipped: "Everything is expensive in Chang'an — it's hard to live here." But upon reading "Wildfire cannot burn them away; spring winds bring them back to life," he immediately declared: "With such verses, living anywhere is easy!"

II. A Brilliant Official Career (800-815)

Passing the imperial examination in 800, Bai Juyi served as a collator, Hanlin Academician, and censor. He championed the principle that "literature should serve the times, and poetry should serve reality." His "New Yuefu" poems and "Qin Zhong Songs" powerfully exposed social injustices, making his work accessible even to old women who could understand every line.

III. Exile to Jiangzhou (815-818)

In 815, after the assassination of Chancellor Wu Yuanheng, Bai Juyi was punished for speaking out of turn and demoted to Jiangzhou. On the Xunyang River, hearing a merchant's wife play the pipa, he composed the immortal "Pipa Xing" (Song of the Pipa): "We are both wretched wanderers at the world's end — why must we have known each other to share this moment?"

IV. Governing Suzhou and Hangzhou (822-827)

As governor of Hangzhou, Bai Juyi built an embankment and restored six wells for the people. Later in Suzhou, he achieved similar distinction. The "White Causeway" in Hangzhou, though actually built later, bears his name because of his enduring poetic fame: "What I love most is walking east of the lake — the white sand causeway shaded by green willows."

V. The Xiangshan Twilight Years (827-846)

Retiring to Luoyang in 829, Bai Juyi adopted the name "Xiangshan Jushi." His later years were spent composing poetry with friends like Liu Yuxi, studying Buddhism, and living peacefully. He died in Luoyang in 846 at seventy-five and was buried at Longmen's Xiangshan per his dying wish.