Frontier poetry originated in the pre-Qin period, or rather, it originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The basis is that the pre-Qin period had the historical conditions and cultural soil for the emergence of frontier poems, and there were complete frontier poems in the Book of Songs. Frontier fortress poetry is an artistic reflection of frontier fortress life, and its ideological content is extremely rich: it can express the lofty sentiments and aspirations of eager to make contributions and serve the country; You can write about the homesickness of border guards and the feelings of missing women at home; It can show the monotonous hardships of life outside the Great Wall and the cruel hardships of years of fighting; You can vent your dissatisfaction with the opening of the border and your resentment against the greed of the general; You can marvel at describing the strange scenery and folk customs of the frontier. What is revealed in the poem may also be contradictory and complicated emotions: the generosity of joining the army and the helplessness of homesickness for a long time; The conflict between patriotic passion and hard life; Dedication to the country and hatred for the incompetence of the general.
Because frontier life is rich and colorful, with joys and sorrows. As a result, frontier fortress poems have a wide range of themes and extremely rich contents. Due to the ups and downs in different periods of each dynasty, the mood in poetry is high and low, and each poet has different reasons and purposes for going to the frontier fortress, and his feelings are different, including praise and depreciation. The situation is quite complicated. Frontier fortress theme is more common, and even many poets have the same theme of frontier fortress poem echo each other's grand occasion. There are both aria and quatrains in poetry genre. Although the number is small, it promotes the development of frontier poems. Representative works include: Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Cave by Emperor Yangdi Yang Di, Joining the Army by Lv Sidao, and Going out to the fortress by Xue Daoheng, etc.
Example:
Yang Guang's "Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Cave"
Su Su autumn wind, leisurely miles.
What did Wan Li do to build the Great Wall?
Is the wisdom of children really the camp of sages?
Trees are the eternal strategy, one trillion years.
Dare to worry, high pillow in Beijing.
Look at the Beihe Wushu Festival, rolling thousands of miles.
The mountains and rivers are intertwined, and Yuanye is too poor to be reasonable.
Strike the gold to stop the line, beat the drum to make the soldiers.
Thousands of flags in the Great Wall Cave drink horses.
Autumn clouds are beyond the Great Wall, and fog is dark in Guan Shanyue.
Fate is strict, and it is sent by an empty bonfire.
Excuse me, Khan called on North Korea at the time of the Great Wall.
Turbid air calms the Tianshan Mountains, and the morning light shines high.
Releasing soldiers or motivating the brigade, everything will be abolished.
After drinking the story, you will return to the front of the Qing palace.
In his early years, when Yang Di traveled westward to Zhangye, he went to the Great Wall Cave to drink horses. "The first kind of gas is very strong, much like Wei Wu." Later scholars spoke highly of his poems. "Mixing North and South, Yang Di's talent is really high." , "Sui, we have a strong character. Emperor Yangdi got the essence from China. Compared with safflower, the standard is clear. As soon as Emperor Yang Di washed away the decadent wind, he tried his best to make specimens. The ancient road remains here. "
In July of the second year of Zhenguan, in the court, Li Shimin talked about Yang Di's poems. He said: "I read the collection and knew it was Yao Shun, not Jie Li and Zhou. He spoke highly of Sui Yangdi's poems, which were attributed to Yao and Shun. Li Shimin was fascinated by the poems of Emperor Yang Di. He often unconsciously recited the poems of Emperor Yang Di, and unconsciously applauded. He also invited musicians from the old Sui Dynasty to write poems for Yang Di and sing together. Frontier poems are the main theme of Tang poetry, the most profound, imaginative and artistic part of Tang poetry. Some writers who have personal frontier life experience and military life experience write with personal experience; Other poets created new works with Yuefu's old poems. The number of participants and the number of poems are unprecedented in the previous generation. His creation has experienced four stages: early Tang, prosperous Tang, middle Tang and late Tang. Among them, the frontier poems in the early Tang Dynasty had a high style and a strong sense of art. Luo, one of the four outstanding figures in the early Tang Dynasty, wrote many frontier poems in the early Tang Dynasty. On the one hand, his frontier poems have a wide range of themes, including frontier scenery, the hard life of frontier soldiers, the ambition to kill the enemy and make contributions to the country, and the homesickness of frontier soldiers. It not only covers most areas of frontier fortress poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but also has a high style. Since then, other famous poets, such as Yang Jiong and Du Fu, have also created frontier poems. The creation of frontier poems once became a fashion.
Reasons for the Prosperity of Frontier Poems in the Early Tang Dynasty
On the one hand, it lies in the era of strong frontier defense and high self-confidence; On the other hand, it lies in the ambition of making contributions and the stimulation of the "entry system". Literati generally put pen to paper to join the army and go to the border to seek merit. As Yang Jiong said, "Better be a centurion than a scholar." ; Wang Weishi "forgot to say goodbye to the Phoenix, and served the country and took the Dragon City." If you are a scholar, you will grow old in the window. " ; Cen Can's poem "Fame is immediate, which is really a hero for her husband. "