唐代是中國詩歌的黃金時代，其發展及造詣，實已臻於盡善盡美的境界。在「詩仙」「詩聖」及眾多詩人被推崇、恭維之際，被冷落一旁的失意詩人，卻也為數不少。 「郊寒島瘦，元輕白俗」。孟郊、賈島、元旗、白居易等被蘇東坡等人看輕之後，後人落井下石，譏諷批判者大有人在。 事實上，文人因時代背景與個人際遇的差別，自然反映出的作品風格各有千秋，所謂「在心為志，發言為詩」此則吟詠惰性，古今所同。 孟郊之所以「寒」必有其主、客觀的因素。因此，當人們能以較寬厚、慈悲的眼光看去，自然能心領神會他坎坷遭遇下的某些觀念了。 Tang Dynasty is the golden time of Chinese poetry. During the period, the Chinese poetry reached a ultimate perfection and had an important influence on the upcoming poetic style. While the 'God of Poem' and 'Saint of Poem' were highly praised and respected, there were many so-called 'secondary' poets standing like wall grasses. Mun Chiao, Gia Tao, Yen Cheng, Pai Chee-I, four great poets in that period, inevitably were despised as minors. Just as Shon Tung-po commented their poetic genres as follows: "Mun is shabby; Gia is meager; Yen is verdant and Pai is gaudy." As a matter of fact, a poet's genre is naturally created from his personal background and experience. That is to say, sincere heart makes one to write a poem. From time on, a poem is a mirror of one's emotion or thought. However, there are subjective and objective reasons for Mun Chiao's shabbiness. If we appreciate his poems with a tender heart, we can deeply share his points of view toward life.
