Original text It’s been a long time since I’ve talked about Tang poetry here, so let’s talk about it today. By the way, there is such a well-known literary and artistic worker who has written many well-received works, but he is often criticized. He is said to like to report, love to hug others, and loves to stir up troubles. He is also accused of plagiarizing other people's works. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about Mr. Huang An, and I won't discuss Huang An's affairs today. What I am talking about is a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. Let us remember his name - Song Zhiwen. You might say: Song Zhiwen? Who is this? He must be a little person. I have never heard of him. This is no small person. You will understand if I list three great things about him: First, his poetry is great. To this day, some scholars say that the eighth century AD in China was the "century of the sinking Song Dynasty", and this "Song Dynasty" is Song Zhiwen. Every Chinese can understand this line of his poem: "I feel more timid when I'm close to my hometown, and I don't dare to ask people who are coming." Secondly, Mr. Song is not only good at writing poems, but he is also said to be capable of many unique skills: reporting, ripping off *, plagiarism, palace fights... He would be invincible if he were to act in The Story of a Crown Princess's Promotion. You know, among the great poets of the Tang Dynasty, some were very bad at palace fighting. For example, Li Bai was beaten to the ground by his opponent within a few days of entering the palace. The emperor disliked him in various ways, and finally simply sent him away. Done. But Mr. Song Zhiwen can be called a master of palace fighting, and he is always victorious. He is infinitely better than Li Bai. The third and most powerful point: many of his palace fights were all about picking up a girl. It is said that there were many romantic poets in the Tang Dynasty. Du Mu, Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi, and Li Shangyin were all romantic, and each had their own specialties: Du Mu loved visiting brothels, Yuan Zhen loved dating talented girls, and Li Shangyin had a crush on other people's girls. But Teacher Song Zhiwen was different. The girl he wants to pick up is the most difficult girl to pick up in the entire Tang Dynasty. Who is it? Princess Taiping? Princess Yuzhen? No, his target is Wu Zetian. You probably think he's crazy: can this girl do it? But our Mr. Song Zhiwen took action bravely. 2. The story begins with Mr. Song Zhiwen’s father. His father was a martial artist and martial arts master in the early Tang Dynasty, also named Song (nonsense). On this day, Song Daxia called his three sons and asked them seriously: "You have all grown up, and it's time to learn something. Dad has three skills in his life: one is martial arts, the other is calligraphy, and the third is literary talent." . You all choose to learn from each other!" The children made their choices one after another. The second oldest Song Zhixun chose calligraphy and later became a famous Cao Li master; the third oldest Song Zhidi chose martial arts and later became a warrior with considerable military exploits. Finally, his father cast his earnest eyes on the boss, Song Zhiwen. This son is tall, handsome, talented, and looks like a star. "What do you choose? My child?" "I want to study literature." Song Zhiwen said firmly. I am not interested in martial arts or calligraphy. I must learn literature well, become a great poet, and write my magnificent life! After setting his goal, Song Zhiwen studied hard, read and wrote poems every day, and was so busy that he didn't even brush his teeth. His father advised him: My son, of course it is good for you to study poetry hard, but you still need to brush your teeth, otherwise you will suffer big losses sooner or later. Song Zhiwen disagreed: "It takes at least five minutes to brush one tooth. What a waste of time. How can you suffer from not brushing your teeth enough?" As he said that, he immersed himself in the book again. Gradually, Xiao Songzhi began to become famous. He has written many poems and published them on We-Media, which have been read well, often exceeding 20,000 to 30,000 times. Xiao Song was also very proud. One day, he suddenly received a poem from his nephew Liu Xiyi. "Uncle, what do you think of these two lines of my poem? Can I publish it?" the nephew asked excitedly. Song Zhiwen opened it and was shocked. These two lines of poetry are: "The flowers are similar every year, but the people are different every year." This poem is so great. If it were published, it would definitely earn more than 100,000! "Did you write this?" he asked suspiciously. "Yeah, what's the problem? Is it bad?" Liu Xiyi looked innocent. Song Zhiwen said calmly: "Nephew, I think the quality of these two lines of poetry is only average, and the effect will not be very good if published. Otherwise, these two lines of poetry will be signed with my name, and my uncle will help What do you think?" Liu Xiyi was not stupid and quickly responded: "What? Are you going to plagiarize? I won't do it..." Son, if you don't drink the toast, I'll kill you. . How to kill him? It is said that "Water Margin" once recorded a method called "homespun bag". Fill a bag with soil and press it on the person, and he will die in three seconds. Song Zhiwen made such a homespun bag and placed it on Liu Xiyi. Liu Xiyi died like this.
Song Zhiwen obtained this new song "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies" through plagiarism... No, it was "Flowers are similar every year". After publishing it, he received his first "one hundred thousand plus" in his life. Some people have verified that this is not reliable. Liu Xiyi was older than Song Zhiwen, how could he be crushed to death by him. However, this gossip story was not made up by me, but told by Liu Yuxi, another great poet of the Tang Dynasty. What's more, Song Zhiwen's family is a martial arts family, and someone who knows martial arts might be able to crush Liu Xiyi to death. No matter what, Song Zhiwen's first victory was a complete victory. Time flies, and our Mr. Song becomes more and more popular. Relying on his handsome appearance and outstanding talent, he passed the Jinshi examination and later worked in the court as a bookboy and deputy. In the office, a colleague of his age enthusiastically came up to him and shook his hand: "Hello, I am, and we will be colleagues from now on! My name is Yang Jiong!" Did you find that this colleague's name is a bit familiar? Yes, this man later became famous and joined a famous men's group in the Tang Dynasty, called the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty"! But at that time, he was just Xiao Yang, a clerk in the office. You may be starting to worry: Is it safe for Yang Jiong to be a colleague with Xiao Song? Could he also write a good poem, be targeted by Song Zhiwen, and then be crushed to death with a cloth bag? Don't worry, this didn't happen. It's not so easy to crush your colleagues to death. What's more, Yang Jiong has a personality problem, he is relatively aloof, not very popular in the workplace, and his career has not improved, so he basically poses no threat to the scheming Emperor Song Zhiwen. Later, Song Zhiwen continued to become famous, and until he accompanied Empress Wu and enjoyed unlimited fame, Yang Jiong continued to work as a clerk. Later, the highest official he achieved was a county magistrate. Song Zhiwen had no need to tear Yang Jiong apart. They maintained a lifelong pure friendship. Five long stories short. As time went by, our little Song was promoted step by step, and finally held an incredible position - Wu Zetian's senior companion! A big tear also came. This time the opponent is very powerful, called Dongfang Qiu. In martial arts novels, those with multiple surnames are often masters, such as Linghu, Ximen, and Murong. Especially the one with the surname Dongfang is a master among masters. Just think about that dead demon. Dongfang Qiu's position at that time was called "Zuo Shi". Please note that this official is not a big one. Do not misunderstand him as the "Guangming Zuo Shi" of the Ming Cult, who is the second in command under the leader. It is just a pen that records the emperor's words and deeds. However, this position is not light because it is close to the emperor. What's more, Dongfang Qiu's poetic talent is very high, even more than that of the dead ghost Liu Xiyi, and he can be called a banner of the early Tang Dynasty. For example, the song "Spring Snow": "The spring snow is coming all over the sky, and it looks like flowers blooming wherever it touches. I don't know if any of the trees in the garden are real plums." But our Xiao Song is not afraid: If you want to tear it apart, come and tear it apart! The battle took place in Luoyang. On this day, Wu Zetian led her team on an outing. Seeing the beautiful mountains and rivers and the fragrance of willows and flowers, she felt so happy that she ordered her men to write poems to cheer them up. Dongfang Qiu responded to the call and finished it with one wave, and his literary talent was indeed outstanding. Wu Zetian was very happy and awarded him the highest award on the spot: a luxurious fashion. Dongfang Qiu looked at Song Zhi triumphantly and asked: "I have a green dragon on the left, a white tiger on the right, an old ox on my waist, and a dragon's head on my chest. You, a little book boy, dare to go against me!" But he hasn't worn his new clothes yet. Nuan, he heard Wu Zetian shouting: "Okay! This one is better!" Wu Zetian was holding Song Zhiwen's paper. The poem handed over by Song Zhiwen is called "Longmen Yingzhi", also known as "Record of a Grand Inspection Activity". The poem is very long, so I won't reprint it. The main idea is: "The spring rain is coming, the flowers are red and the willows are green, the royal sister is traveling, how magnificent it is. The fairy music is ringing, thousands of people are riding on it. This is not a trip to the mountains and rivers. Ah, but to care about the common people farming." Its rhetoric is very gorgeous, its sentences are very exquisite, and it is completely correct. The more Wu Zetian reads it, the happier he becomes. She ordered on the spot: Come here, take off Dongfang Qiu's clothes and put them on my little Song! One can imagine that Dongfang Qiu must have been very sad and angry at that time. Yes, it is so cruel to use articles to serve people. After the victory in the June 1st Battle, Song Zhiwen consolidated his status in the world and won a foreigner - the poet Condor Shooter! If Jin Yong wrote "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" at that time, the protagonist should be our Teacher Song. At this time, Song Zhiwen had already formulated the next five-year plan: to continue to attack Wu Zetian and further win the favor of Yu Jie. Just writing poems for Wu Zetian could no longer satisfy him. He was also determined to...become a duck to Wu Zetian. You may think this is a bit ridiculous, and I think it’s a bit ridiculous too, but that’s not what I said, so just read on. At this time, Song Zhiwen was no longer young, but he still had extraordinary temperament and graceful demeanor. He is quite confident about being a duck. He quickly found his opportunity.
At that time, Wu Zetian had several boyfriends. The most famous ones were a pair of brothers named Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. Have you ever read "Ci of the Daming Palace"? There is a charming pretty girl playing the flute in it, that is Zhang Yizhi. Wu Zetian often fooled around with the brothers, making excuses to the outside world that she wanted them to "compile books." In fact, they are two standard imbeciles. They are sent to foreign countries with Chinese culture and martial arts, so how can they compile any books? As a high-ranking student companion, Song Zhiwen tried his best to curry favor with the two brothers, serving them front and back. According to legend, when the two brothers wanted to relieve themselves, Song Zhiwen served them a chamber pot. However, things went against expectations. No matter how hard Song Zhiwen tried to work, Wu Zetian's attitude towards him was always like this: Xiao Song, if you have any difficulties in life, just tell him. Xiao Song, your poems are really good. Xiao Song, you are a good person. ...The good guys got a lot of cards, but they just couldn't climb onto the Queen's dragon bed. Song Zhi asked for help and decided to fight. He worked hard and wrote a love letter to Wu Zetian called "Minghe Pian". What is written in it? For example, "There are few fireflies on the mandarin duck plane, and a wild goose flies beside the black magpie bridge." "The bright river is inaccessible, but I would like to take a ride on it." What does "take a ride on it" mean? Just take a raft. What does it mean to say, "The Minghe River is unapproachable, but I would like to take a ride on it"? The translation is: "Can I still board your passenger ship with this old ticket?" After sending the love letter, it took a long time before I finally heard Wu Zetian's reply. This is a reply that has been passed down as a joke in the history of Chinese poetry for more than a thousand years: "It's not that I don't know that Xiao Song is talented and sentimental. But... I can't stand his bad breath..." The original words are: "I am not I don’t know if I’m talented when I ask, but because of my words.” The ancients did not record Xiao Song’s expression after hearing this sentence, but only wrote four words: “I am ashamed for life.” It seems that brushing your teeth is really important. Seven years later, Wu Zetian was ousted. Xiao Song, as a senior companion to study, was also demoted to Guangdong. Guangdong at that time was not as hot and bitter as it is now. Song Zhiwen did not admit defeat: My life is not over yet! I can still continue the palace fight! He quietly returned to Luoyang and stayed at the house of a friend named Zhang Zhongzhi, waiting for an opportunity. Soon, his chance came. That night, when the moon was dark and the wind was high, Song Zhiwen accidentally heard about an earth-shattering event: Zhang Zhongzhi, his good friend who had taken him in, had conspired with others to stage a plot to kill the current prime minister Wu. Think twice. After hearing about his friend's feat, Song Zhiwen was moved to tears. He realized that his chance to make a comeback had arrived. So, Xiao Song wiped away her tears and made a resolute decision: tell the truth! He sent someone to send a Weibo message overnight, @ to Wu Sansi: My boss Zhang Zhongzhi is a bad element! He's up to no good! People who love Tang Dynasty are invited to come with him! As you can imagine, Zhang Zhongzhi's entire family was killed, while Song Zhiwen reported meritorious service and was promoted. In the literary circle at that time, when this incident was mentioned, everyone secretly pointed their middle fingers at Song Zhiwen. But so what? History is written by the victors, and our Xiao Song Dynasty is a palace fight! 8 However, Xiao Song's palace battle is not over yet, and the strongest opponent in his life appears. As mentioned earlier, the two great kings of poetry at that time were both called the "Shen Song Dynasty". Among them, "Song" is Song Zhiwen, and "Shen" is another person - Shen Quanqi. A PK broke out between them, which was the "Battle of Cailou", one of the most famous decisive battles in the history of Tang poetry. This year, Emperor Zhongzong visited Kunming Pool and ordered the construction of a colorful building for his subordinates to compete in poems. The judge is a very famous woman - Shangguan Wan'er. On the top of the Cailou, Shangguan Wan'er commented casually, and the eliminated papers were thrown down directly. For a moment, there were snowflakes in front of the Cailou, and the sky was filled with A4 papers. In the end, Shangguan Wan'er only had papers for two people left in her hands: Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen. All eyes were focused on her hands. She compared the two poems and could not choose between them. After a long time, a paper finally floated down. Everyone grabbed it and saw that it belonged to Shen Quanqi. This shows that Song Zhiwen won. Shen Quanqi was dissatisfied: "Why should I be inferior to that guy with bad breath!" Shangguan Wan'er said: "It's hard to distinguish between your two poems. But your ending is worse than his, so you lose." It turns out that Shen Quanqi's ending is: "It's a shame to see Yu Zhang's talents." The general idea is: I am such an incompetent person. I am really embarrassed to see everyone so talented - I am very humble, but also very discouraged. And what about the ending of Song Zhiwen? These are eight words with completely different auras: "Don't worry about the end of the bright moon, there will be night beads." It not only uses an allusion about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty saving a fish and getting a pearl, but it is also full of positive energy and reflects full self-confidence on the road: "I am not worried that the moon will be dim today, because there will definitely be a pearl to illuminate my Tang Dynasty." Night sky!" Shen Quanqi was convinced.
Some people say that Shen Quanqi is seeking death because he is good at seven words, but he insists on competing with Song Zhiwen in five words. Some people also say that Shen Quanqi wrote one more couplet in his poem than Song Zhiwen, and his energy failed to keep up in the end and he was exhausted. In any case, Song Zhiwen once again won a great victory. 9. So, Xiao Song, who won the "Battle of Cailou", rose to prominence from then on? No, this is just his flashback. He won every palace battle, but his strategy was completely lost. Xiao Song was too ruthless in taking advantage of the situation - at first he tried his best to curry favor with the Erzhang brothers; after Er Zhang's collapse, he tried his best to curry favor with Wu Sansi; after Wu Sansi's fall, he currying favor with Princess Taiping; later, when the power of Queen Wei and Princess Anle came to power, However, he abandoned Princess Taiping and went to please Princess Anle. You can look through Xiao Song's collection of poems and see that every time a boss changes, he writes a lot of kneeling and licking articles. In fact, among the great poets of the Tang Dynasty, there is no one who has not flattered others and written a few flattering poems. Even Li Bai and Du Fu are not exempt from vulgarity. This is not a shame. But it's weird to be able to take advantage of Xiao Song's position and even be a friend. Years later, the Tang Dynasty experienced court upheavals one after another. Song Zhiwen's bosses fell one after another and were killed one after another. Xiao Song was disliked everywhere and was demoted all the way, first to Yuezhou, then to Yuzhou, and finally to Guizhou. All the glory and wealth of the past have gone with the wind, leaving only the desolate frontier and the distant hometown. Song Zhiwen seemed to finally understand something. I have been advocating for bosses all my life, writing articles about kneeling and licking, carrying toilets, and being friends, but all I got was what I ended up with today. What was it for? Along the way, he was full of sadness and wrote many emotional poems, which were completely different from those "holding high the great banner" poems in the past. In fact, the poems written during the period when he was demoted twice were the best poems of Song Zhiwen's life. For example, what has been quoted before: "The sounds outside the mountains are broken, and the spring comes again after winter. I am even more timid when I am close to my hometown, and I dare not ask the visitor." A poet, when he is no longer qualified to whitewash peace, cuts off the opportunity to flatter his horse and kneel down, Only by looking at the desolate world can we write the voice of our soul. It is a pity that as soon as Song Zhiwen's poetic soul was sublimated, his body had to be destroyed. The imperial court had no patience to let this man live anymore and ordered him to die. The death of Shi Song Zhiwen was quite pitiful. After receiving the order to die, he sweated on his forehead and turned back and forth, delaying again and again. Finally, after being scolded by others, he calmed down a little, took a bath, ate something, and ended his life. In fact, looking back on Xiao Song's life, those gossip stories about carrying urinals, begging to be a duck, and killing nephews were vividly spread in the Tang Dynasty, but they were not necessarily true. Some may have been deliberately arranged because of his bad reputation. But there must be some problems with Song Zhiwen's character. Once, when his good friend Yang Jiong passed away, he wrote a memorial essay, which is still famous today. It started with eight words: "Everyone has died since ancient times, and the immortal writes!" Since Xiao Song had already understood this truth, Why do so many futile things? Finally, copy a few words and give them to Song Zhiwen, a classmate who has flaws in his work but is still immortal in his poems: We are already in trouble in the world, so why bother to go to the sky? It is better to sleep together gently.