Emperor Wen turned to the sky and swallowed a locust
In 628 AD, outside the outskirts of Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty, a big man dressed in luxurious clothes and frowning, rushed down to a farmland from many people.
It was midsummer and the farmland should be full of vitality. However, at this moment, everyone looked around and looked withered and yellow. What is yellow is not just the straw and branches of the plant. In the sky and the ground, the locust is everywhere, dense and dense, and it is generally fat. This is one of the most desperate disasters in ancient China.
There is a saying in Chinese history that "locusts pass through the border, no grass grows." After a locust plague, various crops suffered a heavy blow. In agricultural society, grain production and storage technology are relatively backward, and locust plague will inevitably lead to food shortages, so a great famine will occur soon and thousands of people will starve to death.
Thinking of this, the big man caught a locust and said fiercely: "If you dare to eat the crops of my people, I will eat you!"
Before the people next to him could react, he stuffed the locust into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it into his stomach. The big name
is Tang Taizong Li Shimin. This incident is the famous story of "Li Shimin swallowing locusts" in Chinese history.
There are records of "the drought is extreme and the locusts" in ancient Chinese literature. From a scientific point of view, drought and locust plague are indeed closely related.
Locusts like to lay their eggs in mudflat wastelands without plants or with sparse plants. Therefore, in drought years, due to the drop in the water level of lakes and rivers, a large number of low-lying wetlands are exposed, which is extremely beneficial for locust breeding.
Locusts were originally very brave and liked to be alone. Single locusts were not worthy of trouble, but swarms of locusts were highly disciplined, had high consistency in their actions, and were fearless.
According to research by zoologists at the University of Oxford in the UK, when a part of the hind legs of the locusts is stimulated, they will suddenly become fond of living together, and touching other parts of the body such as the antennae, mouth or abdomen will not have this effect.
When the number of locusts is too large, their hind legs will rub around. In this way, two, two, four, and four, the habits of large groups of locusts will change at the same time, and become a uniform terrifying "legion".
Someone joked that locust plague is actually nothing scary, just leave it to the "foodie".
is not entirely a joke. To this day, locusts have really become food on the table, and in some provinces it has become snacks like potato chips and popcorn. Of course, it is not eaten raw like Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty Li Shimin, but enjoying its crispy and deliciousness after frying.
According to statistics, locust plague occurred every 22 years in ancient China, and the frequency was very high. There is a saying among the people that the locust plague occurred because humans angered the "locust god". As the emperor of the world, Li Shimin openly challenged the "locust god" and actually achieved "victory". It is said that although the locust plague had already formed, the harm caused was not too great, and I don’t know whether it was true or false.
More than a hundred years later, when the Tang Dynasty was once again affected by locust plague, the famous poet Bai Juyi was moved by the local officials' poor relief and mentioned in his poem: "I also heard that the Tao in Zhenguan wanted to prosper, and Emperor Wen looked up to the sky to swallow a locust. One person had a celebration to the people, but the locusts would not harm him."
"Emperor Wen" refers to Li Shimin; and "One person has a celebration, the people will rely on him" is an idiom that specifically praised the emperor in ancient times, and the general meaning is "A person has a blessing, and everyone in the world can share it." The meaning of these poems in
is, "I heard that in the early days of Zhenguan, in order to promote the right path, Emperor Wen swallowed a locust on his back. The emperor has blessings, and everyone in the world can share it, so although there is a locust plague this year, the harm is not deep."
wants to tell Tang poetry, why do you tell the story of Li Shimin eating locusts? This is because the prosperity of Tang poetry is not an accidental phenomenon, but has many close relationships with the politics, economy and culture of the time, and the "emperor" is of course the most important of all these factors.
, including Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, many emperors of , Tang Dynasty were very interested in poetry.
Emperor Wen turned to the sky and swallowed a locust
In 628 AD, outside the outskirts of Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty, a big man dressed in luxurious clothes and frowning, rushed down to a farmland from many people.
It was midsummer and the farmland should be full of vitality. However, at this moment, everyone looked around and looked withered and yellow. What is yellow is not just the straw and branches of the plant. In the sky and the ground, the locust is everywhere, dense and dense, and it is generally fat. This is one of the most desperate disasters in ancient China.
There is a saying in Chinese history that "locusts pass through the border, no grass grows." After a locust plague, various crops suffered a heavy blow. In agricultural society, grain production and storage technology are relatively backward, and locust plague will inevitably lead to food shortages, so a great famine will occur soon and thousands of people will starve to death.
Thinking of this, the big man caught a locust and said fiercely: "If you dare to eat the crops of my people, I will eat you!"
Before the people next to him could react, he stuffed the locust into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it into his stomach. The big name
is Tang Taizong Li Shimin. This incident is the famous story of "Li Shimin swallowing locusts" in Chinese history.
There are records of "the drought is extreme and the locusts" in ancient Chinese literature. From a scientific point of view, drought and locust plague are indeed closely related.
Locusts like to lay their eggs in mudflat wastelands without plants or with sparse plants. Therefore, in drought years, due to the drop in the water level of lakes and rivers, a large number of low-lying wetlands are exposed, which is extremely beneficial for locust breeding.
Locusts were originally very brave and liked to be alone. Single locusts were not worthy of trouble, but swarms of locusts were highly disciplined, had high consistency in their actions, and were fearless.
According to research by zoologists at the University of Oxford in the UK, when a part of the hind legs of the locusts is stimulated, they will suddenly become fond of living together, and touching other parts of the body such as the antennae, mouth or abdomen will not have this effect.
When the number of locusts is too large, their hind legs will rub around. In this way, two, two, four, and four, the habits of large groups of locusts will change at the same time, and become a uniform terrifying "legion".
Someone joked that locust plague is actually nothing scary, just leave it to the "foodie".
is not entirely a joke. To this day, locusts have really become food on the table, and in some provinces it has become snacks like potato chips and popcorn. Of course, it is not eaten raw like Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty Li Shimin, but enjoying its crispy and deliciousness after frying.
According to statistics, locust plague occurred every 22 years in ancient China, and the frequency was very high. There is a saying among the people that the locust plague occurred because humans angered the "locust god". As the emperor of the world, Li Shimin openly challenged the "locust god" and actually achieved "victory". It is said that although the locust plague had already formed, the harm caused was not too great, and I don’t know whether it was true or false.
More than a hundred years later, when the Tang Dynasty was once again affected by locust plague, the famous poet Bai Juyi was moved by the local officials' poor relief and mentioned in his poem: "I also heard that the Tao in Zhenguan wanted to prosper, and Emperor Wen looked up to the sky to swallow a locust. One person had a celebration to the people, but the locusts would not harm him."
"Emperor Wen" refers to Li Shimin; and "One person has a celebration, the people will rely on him" is an idiom that specifically praised the emperor in ancient times, and the general meaning is "A person has a blessing, and everyone in the world can share it." The meaning of these poems in
is, "I heard that in the early days of Zhenguan, in order to promote the right path, Emperor Wen swallowed a locust on his back. The emperor has blessings, and everyone in the world can share it, so although there is a locust plague this year, the harm is not deep."
wants to tell Tang poetry, why do you tell the story of Li Shimin eating locusts? This is because the prosperity of Tang poetry is not an accidental phenomenon, but has many close relationships with the politics, economy and culture of the time, and the "emperor" is of course the most important of all these factors.
, including Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, many emperors of , Tang Dynasty were very interested in poetry.They either formulate policies that are beneficial to the poets or designate special people to organize collections of poems, directly or indirectly making their respective contributions to the development of Tang poetry. Therefore, in order to better understand Tang poetry, it is helpful to first understand some stories about Li Shimin.
The Emperor Taizong of Tang
in the "Seven Destiny Dance" Until now, many places in the world still link "Tang" with "China", and " Chinatown " is the best example. There may be many reasons why foreigners use "Tang" to represent China, but the two most important ones are: one is because the Tang Dynasty has strong national strength, and the other is because the Tang Dynasty has frequent exchanges with the outside world.
The Tang Dynasty has a history of nearly three hundred years from its founding in 618 AD to its destruction in 907 AD. The Tang Dynasty in its heyday was the most advanced and powerful country in the world at that time. The power of
is reflected in not only the surrounding ethnic minority regimes surrender one by one, but even Japan, North Korea, West Asia, Iran, South Asia, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and other countries have sent envoys to conduct economic and cultural exchanges. It is said that there are more than 70 countries that are well connected with the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty Li Shimin not only personally participated in the war to unify the country, but also pioneered the first prosperous "Zhenguan Governance" of the Tang Dynasty. He was one of the most famous emperors in the Tang Dynasty and even in Chinese history.
The story we told before about eating locusts can at least prove that Li Shimin is an emperor who attaches great importance to people's livelihood. However, to manage the world well, eating locusts is definitely not enough.
What other achievements did Li Shimin have? There is a Tang poem that talks a lot. This poem was also written by Bai Juyi, and its name is "Seven Virtues Dance" .
Seven Demon Dance
Seven Demon Dance, Seven Demon Song, passed down from Wude to Yuanhe.
Yuan and Xiaochen Bai Juyi, watching the dance and listening to the song,
finally bowed to the story.
Taizong promoted the 18th righteous army, and the white throne and yellow yue set up the two capitals.
captures and kills Dou Sihaiqing, and achieves 24 achievements.
Twenty-nine to ascend the throne, and thirty-five to peace.
Theorem is determined quickly, and it is easy to put people in their hearts.
The remains of the dead were collected, and the hungry people sold their children and shared the money for redemption.
Wei Zheng Dreaming of crying at midnight, Zhang Jinlai cried when he heard the sun.
Three thousand resentful girls were released from the palace, and four hundred death row prisoners came to prison.
cut the beard and burn medicine to give meritorious officials, Li Ji sobbed and wanted to kill himself.
contains blood and sucks the soldiers, and the soul is eager to die.
knows that it is not only good at fighting and riding, but also touching everyone's heart.
You have been here for 190 years, and the world has been singing and dancing.
sings seven virtues, dancing seven virtues, and sages have the most skill.
How can one only show off the magical martial arts, how can one only praise the holy text?
Taizong intends to Chen Wangye, and Wangye shows his descendants difficulties.
Picture of Li Shimin
Bai Juyi's poem is known for its easy to understand, and its literal meaning is easy to understand, but the key is that the information in this poem is too large and involves many important figures. Anyone can write it into a thick book. Let's just briefly explain it here. The first five sentences of
are an introduction, which means that Bai Juyi felt emotion after appreciating the Seven Destiny Dance, which led to the following content.
The next six sentences can be understood as Li Shimin's "big events".
At the age of 18, Emperor Taizong raised his troops to rebel against the Sui Dynasty and led his army to pacify the two capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang ; later he pacified Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande , cleared the world, and made great military achievements at the age of 24; ascended the throne at the age of 29; and finally made peace in the world at the age of 35.
After the war to unify the whole country of Tang Dynasty, some measures were taken to calm the hearts of the people. The next twelve sentences explain the reasons why Emperor Taizong of Tang achieved the above achievements and gained the "people's heart" through self-question and self-answer.
rewards the people to collect the remains of scattered dead, and the government invests in redeeming the children sold by hungry people.
She cried in the middle of the night because she dreamed that Wei Zheng was seriously ill, and she cried in the middle of the night because of mourning Zhang Gongjin without caring about crying during the day.
Three thousand palace maids returned to the people and regained their freedom; 400 death row prisoners were grateful, and they returned to prison after reuniting with their families.
personally cut off his beard to serve as a medicine for the minister. Li Ji was so moved that he was willing to kill himself and repay him.
personally sucked blood to treat the injured warriors, Li Simo shouted with his arms, willing to serve with death.
was explained in detail one by one. First, Emperor Taizong of Tang issued an order to collect the remains of the battle in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, and to be buried uniformly after the sacrificial ceremony. Later, the government added another order, if someone in the civilians took the initiative to bury the remains of scattered soldiers, the government would reward him.
In ancient China, the emphasis on "being buried in peace". If the deceased is not properly buried, it will not only be disrespectful to the deceased, but also superstitious statements will also be detrimental to their descendants. So the burial of remains was done very well, which made everyone very satisfied.
Shortly after Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne, a great famine occurred, which is the "locustard whenever a drought" we mentioned at the beginning of this book. Droughts and locust plagues followed one after another, and many people had to sell their biological children in exchange for some food to save their lives.
Faced with this human tragedy, Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered the government to invest in the sale to redeem the children sold and return them to their parents. There is no doubt that this is also a great thing with immeasurable merits.
In ancient China, there were a large number of palace maids in the palace. Although they had no food and clothing, they had a low status. The key is that these palace maids were wasting their time in the palace, and most of them missed the age of marriage and childbirth, resulting in a lonely death. Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered the restoration of the freedom of three thousand palace maids and let them leave the palace to find their own happiness.
In addition, Emperor Taizong of Tang believed that death row prisoners also had the right to enjoy family happiness. He made an agreement with 400 death row prisoners to allow them to reunite with their families, but he must be brought to justice after the fall of the following year. Many people are worried that these death row prisoners will take the opportunity to escape. But at the agreed time, many 400 death row prisoners came to the court. Emperor Taizong of Tang believed that these people had not yet lost their faith, so he pardoned their death sentence.
also talks about Emperor Taizong of Tang and the four ministers.
Wei Zheng was a famous counselor in Chinese history and had a very good personal relationship with Emperor Taizong of Tang. Wei Zheng was seriously ill in his later years. Emperor Taizong was worried about his condition and dreamed that Wei Zheng came to say goodbye in the middle of the night. He couldn't help crying after waking up. After dawn, it was learned that Wei Zheng had indeed passed away that night.
Zhang Jin is actually called Zhang Gongjin. When Bai Juyi wrote poems , the word "gong" in the middle was omitted due to the number of words. Zhang Gongjin was the first to follow Li Shimin
Li Ji was an important general when the Tang Dynasty unified the country. Once, Li Ji fell seriously ill and the doctor prescribed a prescription, claiming that he would use dragon beard burning as a medicine introduction. "Dragon" is a legendary thing and has nowhere to be found, so Emperor Taizong of Tang cut off his beard to make medicine. Li Ji was moved by this and asked to repay him with his own life.
Why does a pinch of beard move Li Ji so much? This is related to the concept of "body, hair, skin, and parents" in ancient China. The ancients believed that no matter whether it is a beard or a hair, it cannot be cut casually, otherwise it will be a manifestation of "unfilial piety". There was even a punishment called "kūn" that shaved a person's hair to show insult.
Li Simo was another powerful general in the early Tang Dynasty. During the war expedition to Korea, Li Simo was shot and injured by the enemy. Emperor Taizong of Tang was worried that the arrow would be poisonous, so he personally sucked the wound for him. Li Simo was moved and shouted with his arms, swearing to serve his life to the death.
Throughout history, there have been countless poems praising the emperor, but not many people are as straightforward as Bai Juyi.
By the way, Li Ji's name is quite complicated and has been modified several times, which is normal in the Tang Dynasty. Li Ji's original name was Xu Shiji and his courtesy name was Maogong. Yes, it is Xu Maogong in folk stories. Because of his many military achievements, he was given the surname Li, and changed from "Xu Shiji" to " Li Shiji ". Later, after Li Shimin became emperor, "Li Shiji" became "Li Ji" again because he wanted to avoid the word "Shi". The last few lines of the poem
echo the beginning, pointing out that it is not easy to start a business in the Tang Dynasty, and future generations should cherish the hard-won great rivers and mountains.
"The Seven Destiny" is not for showing off or for boasting. Taizong's original intention was to state the story of gaining the world so that future generations could understand that the country was not easy to get.
So, what are the benefits of the "Zhenguan Governance" reflected?
First of all, the country has strong national strength and its land area has expanded unprecedentedly. Because the surrounding ethnic minority regimes expressed their submission, Li Shimin was also respected as " days Khan ", which means "Khan among Khans".
is followed by economic development, which is concentrated in the rapid population growth. After the turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the population of the country was less than three million in the early Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, the population increased at a rate of 70,000 households per year, and soon reached 3.8 million.
Although Bai Juyi wrote this poem, although he was praising the emperor, it cannot be simply understood as flattery. First, Emperor Taizong has passed away for more than a hundred years, and it is a bit far from flattering; second, Bai Juyi said it very clearly in his poem that the reason for praising Emperor Taizong is actually to remind the current emperor that a great country is hard to come by and future generations should cherish it.
The emperor who can fight and write poems
Although "strike the world" and "sit in the world" are only one word different, their meanings are very different. Most of the founding emperors of all dynasties conquered the whole country through force, but they obviously could no longer rely on force to govern the world.
The first unified national Qin Shihuang in Chinese history, thought he was extremely powerful and could be called emperor for generations, but he did not expect that it only lasted for two generations. The Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang learned the lessons of Qin's demise, so The Han Dynasty did not become another short-lived dynasty.
At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, ministers Lu Jia often talked about books such as " Book of Songs " and " Shangshu " in front of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty. Liu Bang was a gangster and never looked down on Confucian classics. He glared at Lu Jia and said, "I will get the world right away. What does it have to do with the Book of Songs and Books?"
Unexpectedly, Lu Jia was not showing any weakness, and replied to Liu Bang: "I will get it right away, wouldn't it be able to control it immediately?" It means "Can you get it right away by force? Can you use force to govern the world?" Liu Bang finally followed Lu Jia's advice and formulated a series of policies that are beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood, so that the rule of the Liu family could be continued.
Hundreds of years later, the same problem was put before Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin. Faced with the mess left by the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin only took the talent and accepted advice, reused Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, , Du Ruhui, and others, and adopted policies such as agriculture-based and improving the imperial examination to restore national strength.
Li Shimin himself is a genius with both civil and military affairs. On the one hand, he participated in hundreds of wars of all sizes. Some people may say that commanding wars is not the same as personally charging into battle. Li Shimin fought a lot of battles, but it is not enough to prove that he is also very strong in combat.
According to historical records, not only Li Shimin himself, but also his family are brave generals who are good at riding and shooting.
Li Shimin's father Li Yuan is a sharpshooter. Thinking back then, the reason why Li Yuan was able to marry the lady of the famous lady Dou was because of his good archery technique of passing through the poplar with hundreds of steps. Two arrows hit the peacock's eyes painted on the Dou family's door and successfully passed the competition to attract brides. There is an idiom "Choose from the Crow Screen", which refers to the incident of Li Yuan shooting a peacock.
Li Shimin's younger brother Li Yuanji is a good player who uses spears and even dares to challenge the famous general Yuchi Jingde . Although the facts prove that there is indeed a gap between Li Yuanji and Yuchi Jingde, it can be seen from this incident that Li Yuanji is still quite confident in his strength.
Li Shimin himself has been fighting everywhere since he was sixteen years old. He especially likes to lead the way and lead elite troops to attack the opponent's battle formation . It can be imagined that his combat power and judgment are outstanding. On the one hand, Li Shimin, as the "second generation of officials", received a good education. His calligraphy is very good and he can write poetry. " Complete Tang Poems " compiled in the Qing Dynasty contains ninety-eight poems of his poems.
In addition, Li Shimin's Go level should not be too bad. He has written two songs "Five-character Song of Chess" .
Five-character chess · It is one of the most beautiful things
talks about the past and sits in seclusion and good things in front of you.
is different and two potentials, and the mystery leads to double directions.
sacrifices life without false life, and does not involve injury if you die.
Only then can I know that the side of Xianling is filled with cold fragrance.
Go is called "hand talk" and "sitting invisibility". Many outstanding talents have appeared in all dynasties. The chessboard is arranged in an orderly manner, and the black and white chess pieces each occupy the terrain. "Sacrificing one's life" does not really mean losing one's life, and "dead son" does not really hurt. Only then did I know why the person who met immortals back then (because of watching chess) completely forgot time.
Go, which was said to be founded in the Yao and Shun era, accompanied by the entire history of Chinese civilization. It is an important entertainment and social activity for ancient emperors, generals, literati and poets. Li Shimin is obviously not willing to fall behind in this regard.
It should be pointed out in particular that Li Shimin’s two poems about Go were not included in the “Complete Tang Poems”. It is not surprising to say that these two poems have long been lost in China. The reason why they can see the light of day again is because they have been preserved in Japanese classics and were passed back to China during the Qing Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, China and Japan exchanged frequently. In the late Tang Dynasty, Japan sent a Tang envoy to China and compiled a collection of poems called "Hanlin Bachelor's Collection". The original intention may be used as a reference for reference and imitation when Japanese monarchs and ministers traveled to banquets.
"Hanlin Bachelor's Collection" contains a total of 61 Tang poems, which are national treasures of Japan. Among them, eight poems about chess are works by Emperor Taizong of Tang and ministers such as Xu Jingzong of and , on the title of Go. This proves two things: First, Go was an important entertainment and social activity in the upper class at that time; Second, writing poetry was already a very popular content in the upper class gatherings in the early Tang Dynasty, which was obviously an important reason for the prosperity of Tang poetry.
personally cut off his beard to serve as a medicine for the minister. Li Ji was so moved that he was willing to kill himself and repay him.
personally sucked blood to treat the injured warriors, Li Simo shouted with his arms, willing to serve with death.
was explained in detail one by one. First, Emperor Taizong of Tang issued an order to collect the remains of the battle in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, and to be buried uniformly after the sacrificial ceremony. Later, the government added another order, if someone in the civilians took the initiative to bury the remains of scattered soldiers, the government would reward him.
In ancient China, the emphasis on "being buried in peace". If the deceased is not properly buried, it will not only be disrespectful to the deceased, but also superstitious statements will also be detrimental to their descendants. So the burial of remains was done very well, which made everyone very satisfied.
Shortly after Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne, a great famine occurred, which is the "locustard whenever a drought" we mentioned at the beginning of this book. Droughts and locust plagues followed one after another, and many people had to sell their biological children in exchange for some food to save their lives.
Faced with this human tragedy, Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered the government to invest in the sale to redeem the children sold and return them to their parents. There is no doubt that this is also a great thing with immeasurable merits.
In ancient China, there were a large number of palace maids in the palace. Although they had no food and clothing, they had a low status. The key is that these palace maids were wasting their time in the palace, and most of them missed the age of marriage and childbirth, resulting in a lonely death. Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered the restoration of the freedom of three thousand palace maids and let them leave the palace to find their own happiness.
In addition, Emperor Taizong of Tang believed that death row prisoners also had the right to enjoy family happiness. He made an agreement with 400 death row prisoners to allow them to reunite with their families, but he must be brought to justice after the fall of the following year. Many people are worried that these death row prisoners will take the opportunity to escape. But at the agreed time, many 400 death row prisoners came to the court. Emperor Taizong of Tang believed that these people had not yet lost their faith, so he pardoned their death sentence.
also talks about Emperor Taizong of Tang and the four ministers.
Wei Zheng was a famous counselor in Chinese history and had a very good personal relationship with Emperor Taizong of Tang. Wei Zheng was seriously ill in his later years. Emperor Taizong was worried about his condition and dreamed that Wei Zheng came to say goodbye in the middle of the night. He couldn't help crying after waking up. After dawn, it was learned that Wei Zheng had indeed passed away that night.
Zhang Jin is actually called Zhang Gongjin. When Bai Juyi wrote poems , the word "gong" in the middle was omitted due to the number of words. Zhang Gongjin was the first to follow Li Shimin
Li Ji was an important general when the Tang Dynasty unified the country. Once, Li Ji fell seriously ill and the doctor prescribed a prescription, claiming that he would use dragon beard burning as a medicine introduction. "Dragon" is a legendary thing and has nowhere to be found, so Emperor Taizong of Tang cut off his beard to make medicine. Li Ji was moved by this and asked to repay him with his own life.
Why does a pinch of beard move Li Ji so much? This is related to the concept of "body, hair, skin, and parents" in ancient China. The ancients believed that no matter whether it is a beard or a hair, it cannot be cut casually, otherwise it will be a manifestation of "unfilial piety". There was even a punishment called "kūn" that shaved a person's hair to show insult.
Li Simo was another powerful general in the early Tang Dynasty. During the war expedition to Korea, Li Simo was shot and injured by the enemy. Emperor Taizong of Tang was worried that the arrow would be poisonous, so he personally sucked the wound for him. Li Simo was moved and shouted with his arms, swearing to serve his life to the death.
Throughout history, there have been countless poems praising the emperor, but not many people are as straightforward as Bai Juyi.
By the way, Li Ji's name is quite complicated and has been modified several times, which is normal in the Tang Dynasty. Li Ji's original name was Xu Shiji and his courtesy name was Maogong. Yes, it is Xu Maogong in folk stories. Because of his many military achievements, he was given the surname Li, and changed from "Xu Shiji" to " Li Shiji ". Later, after Li Shimin became emperor, "Li Shiji" became "Li Ji" again because he wanted to avoid the word "Shi". The last few lines of the poem
echo the beginning, pointing out that it is not easy to start a business in the Tang Dynasty, and future generations should cherish the hard-won great rivers and mountains.
"The Seven Destiny" is not for showing off or for boasting. Taizong's original intention was to state the story of gaining the world so that future generations could understand that the country was not easy to get.
So, what are the benefits of the "Zhenguan Governance" reflected?
First of all, the country has strong national strength and its land area has expanded unprecedentedly. Because the surrounding ethnic minority regimes expressed their submission, Li Shimin was also respected as " days Khan ", which means "Khan among Khans".
is followed by economic development, which is concentrated in the rapid population growth. After the turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the population of the country was less than three million in the early Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, the population increased at a rate of 70,000 households per year, and soon reached 3.8 million.
Although Bai Juyi wrote this poem, although he was praising the emperor, it cannot be simply understood as flattery. First, Emperor Taizong has passed away for more than a hundred years, and it is a bit far from flattering; second, Bai Juyi said it very clearly in his poem that the reason for praising Emperor Taizong is actually to remind the current emperor that a great country is hard to come by and future generations should cherish it.
The emperor who can fight and write poems
Although "strike the world" and "sit in the world" are only one word different, their meanings are very different. Most of the founding emperors of all dynasties conquered the whole country through force, but they obviously could no longer rely on force to govern the world.
The first unified national Qin Shihuang in Chinese history, thought he was extremely powerful and could be called emperor for generations, but he did not expect that it only lasted for two generations. The Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang learned the lessons of Qin's demise, so The Han Dynasty did not become another short-lived dynasty.
At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, ministers Lu Jia often talked about books such as " Book of Songs " and " Shangshu " in front of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty. Liu Bang was a gangster and never looked down on Confucian classics. He glared at Lu Jia and said, "I will get the world right away. What does it have to do with the Book of Songs and Books?"
Unexpectedly, Lu Jia was not showing any weakness, and replied to Liu Bang: "I will get it right away, wouldn't it be able to control it immediately?" It means "Can you get it right away by force? Can you use force to govern the world?" Liu Bang finally followed Lu Jia's advice and formulated a series of policies that are beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood, so that the rule of the Liu family could be continued.
Hundreds of years later, the same problem was put before Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin. Faced with the mess left by the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin only took the talent and accepted advice, reused Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, , Du Ruhui, and others, and adopted policies such as agriculture-based and improving the imperial examination to restore national strength.
Li Shimin himself is a genius with both civil and military affairs. On the one hand, he participated in hundreds of wars of all sizes. Some people may say that commanding wars is not the same as personally charging into battle. Li Shimin fought a lot of battles, but it is not enough to prove that he is also very strong in combat.
According to historical records, not only Li Shimin himself, but also his family are brave generals who are good at riding and shooting.
Li Shimin's father Li Yuan is a sharpshooter. Thinking back then, the reason why Li Yuan was able to marry the lady of the famous lady Dou was because of his good archery technique of passing through the poplar with hundreds of steps. Two arrows hit the peacock's eyes painted on the Dou family's door and successfully passed the competition to attract brides. There is an idiom "Choose from the Crow Screen", which refers to the incident of Li Yuan shooting a peacock.
Li Shimin's younger brother Li Yuanji is a good player who uses spears and even dares to challenge the famous general Yuchi Jingde . Although the facts prove that there is indeed a gap between Li Yuanji and Yuchi Jingde, it can be seen from this incident that Li Yuanji is still quite confident in his strength.
Li Shimin himself has been fighting everywhere since he was sixteen years old. He especially likes to lead the way and lead elite troops to attack the opponent's battle formation . It can be imagined that his combat power and judgment are outstanding. On the one hand, Li Shimin, as the "second generation of officials", received a good education. His calligraphy is very good and he can write poetry. " Complete Tang Poems " compiled in the Qing Dynasty contains ninety-eight poems of his poems.
In addition, Li Shimin's Go level should not be too bad. He has written two songs "Five-character Song of Chess" .
Five-character chess · It is one of the most beautiful things
talks about the past and sits in seclusion and good things in front of you.
is different and two potentials, and the mystery leads to double directions.
sacrifices life without false life, and does not involve injury if you die.
Only then can I know that the side of Xianling is filled with cold fragrance.
Go is called "hand talk" and "sitting invisibility". Many outstanding talents have appeared in all dynasties. The chessboard is arranged in an orderly manner, and the black and white chess pieces each occupy the terrain. "Sacrificing one's life" does not really mean losing one's life, and "dead son" does not really hurt. Only then did I know why the person who met immortals back then (because of watching chess) completely forgot time.
Go, which was said to be founded in the Yao and Shun era, accompanied by the entire history of Chinese civilization. It is an important entertainment and social activity for ancient emperors, generals, literati and poets. Li Shimin is obviously not willing to fall behind in this regard.
It should be pointed out in particular that Li Shimin’s two poems about Go were not included in the “Complete Tang Poems”. It is not surprising to say that these two poems have long been lost in China. The reason why they can see the light of day again is because they have been preserved in Japanese classics and were passed back to China during the Qing Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, China and Japan exchanged frequently. In the late Tang Dynasty, Japan sent a Tang envoy to China and compiled a collection of poems called "Hanlin Bachelor's Collection". The original intention may be used as a reference for reference and imitation when Japanese monarchs and ministers traveled to banquets.
"Hanlin Bachelor's Collection" contains a total of 61 Tang poems, which are national treasures of Japan. Among them, eight poems about chess are works by Emperor Taizong of Tang and ministers such as Xu Jingzong of and , on the title of Go. This proves two things: First, Go was an important entertainment and social activity in the upper class at that time; Second, writing poetry was already a very popular content in the upper class gatherings in the early Tang Dynasty, which was obviously an important reason for the prosperity of Tang poetry.
