In history, all the emperors who were good at literature and had outstanding achievements (including some who did not formally become emperor but almost did), not only had poor performance, but also most of them had their countries broken and died “without blood Food“.
Han Lingdi Liu Hong, “good at literature, since the creation of Huang Xi chapter 50”, called many “can be literary”, good at “ruler and the work of calligraphy, bird and seal script”, and pending system Hongdu door, “no trend of people”. “The Emperor was very pleased with them, and they were treated to a lesser position. This Han Lingdi, because of good writing, so also special will play, “listed in the harem, so that the girls to sell, more theft and fighting”. He himself “dressed as a merchant, from which the feast for fun, and in the West Garden to get a dog, wearing the crown of the advanced sage, with ribbons. He also drove four donkeys and took the reins himself.” The top has good, the bottom will be very much. “The capital followed suit, and the price of donkeys became the same as that of horses.” During his reign, the eunuchs were dictatorial and the scourge of party confinement resurfaced. Because the treasury was empty, in order to get money, the officials were sold at an open price. Not enough, and the world’s field mu tax increase of ten money, the mobilization of the army, the Palace, finally inspired the Yellow Turban uprising. The death of Eastern Han was inevitable.
At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Liu Yi and Liu Yu fought for the throne. “Liu Yu is not good at learning, while Liu Yi is “quite involved in literature and elegance, so the courtiers have a clear hope to return to it”. General Hu Fan asked Liu Yu, “Do you think Liu Weijun (i.e. Liu Yi) will eventually be under you?” Will Liu Yi eventually be under you? Yu was silent. He asked Hu: What do you think? Hu Fan said, “Even with millions of people, the attack will be taken and the battle will be overcome, so I am convinced by this. As for dabbling in biographies, a talk and a chant, I thought I was a great man, so the red gentry and white-faced people came to me (the carriages and horses filled the door). I am afraid that I will not be under the public.” Liu Yi gathered so many “white-faced people” around him, all of whom were proud of being able to talk about history and chant poems, but lacked the ability to do practical things and military command skills, as a result, Liu Yi was completely defeated by Liu Yu, and Liu Yi ran to the Niu Mu Buddha Temple late at night and asked for refuge. The temple had harbored Liu Yi’s political enemy, Huan Wei, and the old monk was killed by Liu Yi, so the monks dared not take Liu Yi in for fear of being implicated again. Liu Yi sighed: “The law is self-corrupting, and this is what it comes to!” He died by hanging.
The most typical should be the Liang Yuandi Xiao Est. This person is good at reading to the extent of obsession. Tired of reading by himself, let the attendant read for him, he listened, day and night constantly. He fell asleep on the couch, still clutching the book in his hand. When the attendant saw that he had fallen asleep and was not serious about reading, he would immediately wake up with a wrong sentence: “That’s not right!” He wrote without a draft, with a pen, claiming, “I am deeper than a scribe, but ashamed of a martial artist!” When the army was overwhelmed and the city was about to be broken, he even called his ministers to give them lessons on Laozi. Seeing that the city was broken, the wounded soldiers were wailing and corpses were everywhere, he asked each minister to write a poem on the scene. When the enemy came in, he was not busy organizing resistance, but busy burning books. He said, “There is still a day to read ten thousand volumes, so I burned them!” Instead of blaming himself for being out of touch with the masses and out of practice, he blamed books!
Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of Sui, was known as “good at literature and did not want anyone to surpass him”. He was good at literature and did not want anyone to surpass him. He “conceited of his talent, every proud of the world’s scholars, when said to the minister said: ‘the world said that I have by Xu Yu and the four seas, set me and the scholars and the high build, also when the son of heaven carry on.'” It means that people thought he became the emperor by inheriting his father’s throne. In fact, I will be the son of heaven even if I compete with the world’s scribes. He was good at writing articles and poems, and loved writing. In the first month of the eleventh year of Daye, the number of secretaries was increased by one hundred and twenty. The history books say: “the emperor is good at reading and writing, since the governor of Yangzhou, set the king’s bachelor to one hundred people, often ordered to compile, to the emperor, before and after nearly 20 years”, the compilation has not been suspended. “Since the scriptures, articles, military, agriculture, geography, Medicine, divination, interpretation, Taoism and even Pu Bo (an ancient game), Eagle Dog, all new books, all of them are refined, a total of 31 parts, more than seven thousand volumes.” He loved to write books, but also love books, collect many good books, “in front of the temple of Guanwen for the study room 14, window room bed mattress kitchen mantle, salty extremely precious, every three open square, household hanging mantle, on the two flying immortals, outdoor in the ground to give the opportunity to develop.” When Yang Guang wanted to go to the study room, the palace staff held the incense burner, walking in front, stepping on the organ, the two flying fairies came down to put up the tent. “When Yang Guang came out, “the tent was closed as before”. See, more than 1,400 years ago, our Yang emperor, who has been scorned for many times, was already engaged in automation.
Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of Song, was good at calligraphy, painting, Music and dance, and was able to write articles, and had a real book and cursive calligraphy “Thousand Characters” and so on. His paintings are known for their realism and precision. He was also known for his work with flowers and birds, and it is said that he used raw lacquer to dot the eyes of birds, which was particularly vivid. He collected a wide range of exotic stones from the mountains and exotic objects from the rivers and lakes, and seized valuable flowers and trees from all over the world, which he called “Flower and Stone Platform”. In order to transport these precious stones, bamboo and fruit trees, he destroyed bridges and built a city and country, and ruined many people’s lives and properties. For the casting of the Nine Cauldrons, 220,000 pounds of copper were used. After they were cast, they were decorated with Gold and built nine large halls, which were called Jiucheng Palace, and he personally wrote “The Nine Cauldrons” to record this “great event”.
In 1335 A.D., Yuan Shun Emperor saw the painting of Song Huizong and expressed his appreciation again and again. The Hanlin bachelor Kuku said on the side: “Emperor Huizong is capable of many things, but he cannot do one thing.” The emperor asked what it was. Kuku said, “Only he could not be a king. The humiliation of his body and the destruction of his country were all caused by his inability to be a ruler. The ruler of the people is worthy of being a ruler, he is not the only one who can save.”
Kukku’s criticism seems harsh, but in fact it is very pertinent. The tragic end of Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Huizong of Song is well known to everyone.
The two lords of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Jing and Li Yu, were known to be “multi-talented and good readers”. Li Jing was “good at restraint, a lofty instrument, generous and benevolent, and literary.” Li Yu was “good at poetry, music, calligraphy and painting, and especially famous for his lyrics”. His famous lines: “How many sorrows can you have? It’s like a river of spring water flowing eastward”; “It’s the sadness of separation that keeps cutting off, and it’s a different taste in the heart”; “It’s like the falling flowers in the sky and the earth”! How many literati have been captivated over the centuries! Unfortunately, he was “a talented man who made the mistake of being the master of the people, so he had the hatred of entering the Song Dynasty.” The so-called “hatred of the machine” refers to the fact that after he was captured by the Song Dynasty, he was forced to take the medicine of the machine, and before he died in bed, his stomach hurt so much that his head touched his knees.
Famous for his love of literature and arts, Tang Xuanzong, his love of music and dance, will compose music, cultivate numerous literary and artistic talent. The word “pear garden” in the “pear garden”, is from his as. Other love of literature and art is also famous for Liu Yu’s son Luling Wang Yi Zhen, “alert to love literature and art, and easy nature”, and Xie Lingyun as a close friend, was killed by the Secretary Xu Xianzhi. Prince Hong, the son of King Xing of the Northern dynasty, was “generous in nature, liked literature, good at talking and singing, but cowardly in nature”, and was captured by Jin and sent to Jiankang, where he was “beheaded in the city” with his wife.
Ming people, the author of “Gu Shan pen stag” Yu Shenxing, has the following analysis: “The master’s good articles, calligraphy and painting, although not beneficial to politics, but compared to the sound and color of dogs and horses, elegant and vulgar different. And engaged in writing and ink, can also cultivate the spirit of sex, simple desire, may not be the help of nourishing the body into virtue.” This analysis makes sense. Then he said: “Since ancient times, the lord of the king has a good text, more than the table chapter scriptures, persuasion of the study of Confucianism, such as Han Wu Tang Zong is also. The defeated king’s lord has a good text, more is delayed fine skills, good painting book, such as Chen Shubao, Li Yu is also. However, the two lords of Chen and Tang were concerned about the state government, and they were worried about all the opportunities, that is, they delayed the art of literature, and what harm did they do? But its common government idle desert, all things ignored, but one in the lingering light, get the pen dyed Han, with the carved insects of the scholar to compete with the short size, so its defeat ear. It is pertinent, but difficult to achieve. After all, people’s energy is limited, the country is too much too complex, exhaustive and may not do a good job, and Life is changing, society is developing, there are many new issues that need to be studied and researched, such as “delayed fine arts”, poetry, calligraphy or painting excellence, it is difficult to do both. To recite a good poem, how easy is it? “For a word of peace, break several beards”. Jia Island knocked on the door under the moon for the sake of “monks knocking on the door under the moon”, is it better to knock? Or is it better to push? He rode on a donkey, talking to himself, comparing to paintings, how much effort did he put in? If you are always thinking like that, can you not miss your serious work?
Of course, some of these hobbies in their spare Time, not deliberately improve, not primary and secondary indistinguishable, but also really is not lost for the temperament of a good way to combine work and play.
In fact, good learning emperors are not many, “Zhou Gong read a hundred books, the evening to see seventy Shi”; Song Taizong “open the book is beneficial, not for labor”; Kangxi “hands do not release the volume”, “to hemorrhage”. “to the blood”; Cao Cao, Li Shimin is also a good reader, how did not die? Li Shimin has a story that illustrates the problem.
In the twelfth year of the Tang Dynasty, Deng Shilong, a Writer, made a report and suggested that the remarks made by Li Shimin be collected and published in a collection. Li Shimin said the following passage.
“If my words and decrees are beneficial to the people, they will be written in the history, which is immortal. If it is not beneficial, what is the use of the collection? The father and son of Emperor Wu of Liang, the emperor after Chen, and Emperor Yang of Sui all had collections of writings in the world, but they were not saved from death! What is the use of articles for a master who has no moral government? I do not agree to give him a special collection.
It seems that the most fundamental difference between all of the above is: does virtue and government come first? Or is it to compete with the world’s scribes for the short and long term, and to put personal delays in the fine art of literature in the first place? To put it simply, is he good at writing for the sake of politics? Or is it a good writer for the sake of writing?
Shakespeare has a line in “The Futility of Love”.
“The reader is always so far from Home that he forgets what he should do in front of him when he is so intent on studying how he can achieve his ambition!”
Yan Xizhai said, “The more you read, the more confused you are, the more ignorant you are in examining matters and the more powerless you are in running the economy.” Li Zugu said: “more experience on paper, the experience of world affairs is less, the spirit of ink, the spirit of the economy is less. Song Ming’s death in this way!”
These words were spoken in response to the times they lived in, when the readers were all focused on the pile of paper, disregarding the decline of the country and the people’s plight. They are valuable insights if one does not take them absolutely and does not mistake them for advocating the uselessness of reading, but rather understands their spirit.
Human energy is limited, and it is only possible to achieve great success in individual areas. A passion for literature and art is good; those who are interested in ruling the country and the world will concentrate on ruling the world. Those who seek to achieve both are afraid that it is not good for the country and not good for themselves. However, it is easier to convince the literary and artistic people not to seek power. He is not convinced, this kind of people generally can not get. He will be convinced after a couple of nails. But if you convince the latter, I’m afraid it will be difficult.
Emperor Yang was able to compile such an “encyclopedia” in that era, and he was also able to automate, which is really valuable. When people overthrew his dynasty and denied some aspects of his politics, even his achievements in opening the Grand Canal and in writing were also denied and even destroyed, which is really a great loss to Chinese Culture!
To history, the lessons that should be accepted must be accepted, and those that should be affirmed, no matter what he was, should be affirmed!
Yan Huang Chun Qiu, No. 2, 2006
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