One of the famous traitors in Chinese history. In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi's reign (1505), Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty became a Jinshi. He was promoted to a concubine in the Hanlin Academy and was awarded the title of editor. In the eleventh year of Zhengde reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty (1516), he returned to the court and resumed his official position. In the seventh year of Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty (1528), he was ordered to offer sacrifices to the Xianling Mausoleum. When he returned, he expressed great auspiciousness and made Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty happy. Within a few years, he was successively promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, and two years later he was appointed the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In the fifteenth year of Jiajing's reign (1536), he came to the capital to celebrate the Wanshou Festival. At that time, the court was discussing rewriting the history of the Song Dynasty, so he stayed in Beijing to preside over the matter with the title of Minister of Rites and Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. He was good at serving the emperor's wishes, offered sacrifices to Qingci, gained favor, and was appointed as the crown prince's chief protector. In the twenty-first year (1542), he became a bachelor of Wuyingdian. After entering Zhiwenyuan Pavilion, he was still in charge of the rites department. Later, he solved the affairs of the ministry and specialized in Xiyuan; he gradually became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and became a bachelor of the Jinshen Palace, a young master and the crown prince's grand master, a young master, and a bachelor of the Huagaidian Palace. Yan Song has no other talents, he only wants to flatter others, steals power without profit, and has been specialized in state affairs for nearly 20 years. The scholar-bureaucrats looked sideways and held their breath, unscrupulous people rushed to the door, and there was an endless stream of bribers. Harm others to achieve selfish goals, and vigorously eliminate those who disagree. He also deprived the army of military pay, abolished border defense, recruited power and took bribes, and committed corruption without restraint, which intensified the social conflicts at that time. In his later years, he angered Shizong with his affairs and was alienated by Shizong. He ransacked his house and resigned, and died two years ago.
After the death of his political enemy Xia Yan, Yan Song became the chief minister of the cabinet and took over the power. At the same time, Shizong had put all government affairs under the management of Yan Song. At this time, in addition to Yan Song, Taoist priests and his ministers, Basically no one has ever seen Sejong.
After becoming the chief minister of the cabinet, Yan Song continued to please Sejong, and actually received the silver seal of "Loyalty, Diligence, Mindfulness" from Sejong. Later, when Yan Song got old, he assisted his son Yan Shifan in taking power. Yan Shifan himself was incompetent, but with his father's protection, he became the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
"Like father, like son." Yan Shifan had a better knack for flattery than his father. He bribed Shizong to treat people close to him, and reported his daily life, daily life, diet, and every move to Yan Shifan, and then in He tried to please Shizong in front of him. The minister simply called them "Great Prime Minister" and "Little Prime Minister".
During the twenty years that the two fathers and sons had dominated the world, they did all kinds of bad things and caused chaos in the world. Many ministers impeached him, all relying on Shizong's protection. In the end, the power of the Yan family and his son was overthrown by a few words from a Taoist priest. Yan Shifan was sentenced to be beheaded and cried loudly before the execution, while his father Yan Song had his family property confiscated, was demoted and returned to his hometown, leaving him homeless. He died of illness two years later.
Yan Song’s talent and Qianlong’s self-awareness
Yan Song was a powerful official during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the eunuchs Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, Wei Zhongxian and others who wielded power in the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song was born in a department. great talent. His literary talents are not only unmatched by those eunuchs in the palace, but are also recognized by the world even among his contemporaries. It's a pity that he and Yan Shifan, father and son, are talented but immoral. Such people are more capable of doing bad things.
Historical records record that Yan Song had sparse eyebrows and bright eyes, a slender figure like a jade tree standing in the wind, and a loud voice. He was born in Jiangxi but did not speak a dialect, spoke standard Mandarin, and had the best appearance among civil servants. When the military department was in trouble, his political achievements were good. This is of course the capital for his prosperity, but his greatest capital is to "single-heartedly to please" and figure out the emperor's thoughts. In the era of imperial power, it should be said that this was not a problem that was particularly shameful to mention, but a necessity for survival. The emperor admired him first because he was good at writing Qingci. Jiajing hoped for immortality, was good at Taoism, and liked to use Qingci to pray to heaven. Most of the ministers who joined the cabinet at that time were good at writing Qingci. In the 21st year of Jiajing's reign, the emperor had five "leaf hair scarfs" worn by Taoist priests made and given to ministers. Yan Song's fellow county fellow Xia Yan, who was also in the cabinet, thought it was unseemly and was unwilling to wear it, thus offending Jiajing. Not only did Yan Song proudly wear the Taoist crown to pay homage to the emperor, but he also wrapped a veil around the crown to show that this gift from the emperor should be cherished. There is nothing wrong with doing this. At that time, it was said that "Thunder, rain, and dew are all holy graces." You cannot accept what you give. The bad thing about Yan Song was that he took advantage of the emperor's trust and sold his official position to ask for bribes, and persecuted Xia Yan, Yang Jisheng and other upright ministers to death.
Later, his son was killed, his grandson was sent to the army, and his family property was confiscated. However, he lived to be over eighty years old and begged for food in the cemetery in his later years. ——That is, asking for leftover offerings from those who paid homage to their ancestors to satisfy their hunger, the consequences will be miserable enough.
Not only did this great traitor write well, but his calligraphy was also very good. He was at the same level as Cai Jing and Qin Hui, the two great "treacherous calligraphers" of the Song Dynasty. It is conceivable that when he was in power, countless people asked for his calligraphy, and the price of his calligraphy was absolutely staggering. It is a rule that the price of calligraphy of political figures rises and falls with the rise and fall of power. After Yan Song's reputation was ruined, his reputation for calligraphy was overshadowed by his reputation for evil, but after all, some of his handwriting remained in later generations.
According to a book written by Qi Rushan, in the Qing Dynasty there was the Gongyuan of Shuntian Prefecture Rural Examination in the capital city. The Shuntian Prefecture Rural Examination was called "Bei Wei" and ranked first in the rural examination in the world. The emperor attached great importance to it and the examiners were all With the title of Shangshu. But the three characters "Zhigongtang" on the plaque of the main hall of this Gongyuan were written by Yan Song.
In such a majestic place where talents are selected for the imperial court, there is a plaque inscribed by a traitorous minister, which would make anyone feel uncomfortable. Emperor Qianlong wanted to replace it, so he ordered the best calligraphers of the Manchu Dynasty to write these three characters. As an emperor who liked to dance with calligraphy, he also wrote "Zhigongtang" countless times. Later, he found that his imperial calligraphy and the Manchu Dynasty's calligraphy were different. The writings of the civil servants were not as good as Yan Song's, so he had no choice but to let the words "treacherous minister" hang high.
Based on my limited historical knowledge, I always thought that Emperor Qianlong was a very proud emperor. Of course, this wealthy emperor, known as the "Old Man of Perfection", has the right to be proud. During his sixty years in power, at least on the surface, his civil, political, and martial arts surpassed those of his predecessors. Therefore, he likes elegant things very much, such as reciting poems and writing inscriptions.
To be honest, although he left more than 10,000 poems, he is not regarded as a poet, because most of his poems are jingles about the peaceful and prosperous times, and they have no poetic flavor. They are just better than "books". Wonderful scenery" and "Wanlihong" are more elegant. His calligraphy is a typical "rich style", thick, kitsch, and regular, and can still be seen in many places today. Such as "Liu Biju". Although Qianlong's calligraphy has no character and is suspected of being a "black pig", the basic skills of strokes and calligraphy are still there, and it can be considered top-grade today.
What would happen if the wheel of history went back a few years? No matter how beautiful the traitor's calligraphy is, it cannot be hung. This is not about calligraphy, but a matter of political correctness. No matter how ugly the emperor or chief military officer's name is, he is still hanging around without humility. The Ming Dynasty's name is Weizhong, his nickname is Jiexi, Jiangxi Fenyiren, he has been monopolizing the country's government for 20 years, and he is one of the famous treacherous ministers in Chinese history. In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi's reign (1505), Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty became a Jinshi. He was promoted to a concubine in the Hanlin Academy and was awarded the title of editor. In the eleventh year of Zhengde reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty (1516), he returned to the court and resumed his official position. In the seventh year of Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty (1528), he was ordered to offer sacrifices to the Xianling Mausoleum. When he returned, he expressed great auspiciousness and made Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty happy. Within a few years, he was successively promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, and two years later he was appointed the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In the fifteenth year of Jiajing's reign (1536), he came to the capital to celebrate the Wanshou Festival. At that time, the court was discussing rewriting the history of the Song Dynasty, so he stayed in Beijing to preside over the matter with the title of Minister of Rites and Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. He was good at serving the emperor's wishes, offered sacrifices to Qingci, gained favor, and was appointed as the crown prince's chief protector. In the twenty-first year (1542), he became a bachelor of Wuyingdian. After entering Zhiwenyuan Pavilion, he was still in charge of the rites department. Later, he solved the affairs of the ministry and specialized in Xiyuan; he gradually became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and became a bachelor of the Jinshen Palace, a young master and the crown prince's grand master, a young master, and a bachelor of the Huagaidian Palace. Yan Song has no other talents, he only wants to flatter others, steals power without profit, and has been specialized in state affairs for nearly 20 years. The scholar-bureaucrats looked sideways and held their breath, unscrupulous people rushed to the door, and there was an endless stream of bribers. Harm others to achieve selfish goals, and vigorously eliminate those who disagree. He also deprived the army of military pay, abolished border defense, recruited power and took bribes, and committed corruption without restraint, which intensified the social conflicts at that time. In his later years, he angered Shizong with his affairs and was alienated by Shizong. He ransacked his house and resigned, and died two years ago. He is the author of 40 volumes of Qianshantang Collection.