This poem was composed during Liu Zongyuan's period of exile in Yongzhou (805–815 AD). In the first year of the Yongzhen reign of Emperor Shunzong of the Tang Dynasty (805), Liu Zongyuan participated in the Yongzhen Reform Movement initiated by the Wang Shuwen faction; however, the reform effort quickly failed, and Liu Zongyuan was demoted to the post of Vice-Prefect of Yongzhou, where he remained in exile for ten years.