Hope it helps you. Life 1. Ambiguous life experience
The father of King Lanling was Emperor Wenxiang Gao Cheng, the eldest son of Emperor Shenwu Gao Huan of the Northern Qi Dynasty, but his mother had no There is no last name, which makes his life experience confusing. "Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" contains: "Lanling Wu Wang Changgong, a filial piety, the fourth son of Wenxiang." It also records that among Wenxiang's six sons: "Queen Wen Jingyuan gave birth to Hejian Wang Xiaowan, and the Song family gave birth to Henan Wang Xiaoyu. The Wang family gave birth to Wang Xiaoheng of Guangning, Wang Changgong of Lanling had no mother's surname, the Chen family gave birth to King Yanzong of Ande, and the Yan family gave birth to Wang Shaoxin of Yuyang. "Among the six brothers, the mother of the fifth King Ande is recorded as "Guangyang", Chen. "She is also a prostitute." However, no clear surname is known. Only the mother of King Lanling does not have a surname, so we don't know who she is. From this, people inferred that the identity and status of the mother of Prince Lanling was probably not as good as that of an official prostitute. She was probably just a lowly and unknown maid in the palace. In this way, in the era of the gentry who valued bloodline disciples, although Prince Lanling was the grandson of the emperor, he was in a very awkward situation. His "inexplicable" identity brought him tremendous pressure. He endured the contemptuous looks of others every day and lived in a humble manner. This may have been his life situation as a child.
2. Soft appearance and ferocious mask
"Book of Northern Qi" and "History of the Northern Dynasties" say that he has "a soft appearance and a strong heart, and a beautiful voice and appearance"; "Lanling Zhongwu" "Wang's Monument" said that he had "a cheerful style and clear colors"; "Old Tang Book·Music Records" said that he was "talented and beautiful"; "Sui and Tang Jiahua" said that he was "Bai Lei Mei" woman". It can be seen that the beauty of King Lanling is indeed unshakable and extraordinary. He has a handsome appearance that ordinary men do not have. Later generations speculated that his beauty may have come from his humble mother. If the mother's appearance was not so stunning, how could she have attracted the favor of her father, who was very different in status and was the emperor.
However, King Lanling's beauty brought him great distress. During the years of separatist rule and continuous wars in that place, as a descendant of a prince, general or prime minister's family, he had to accept the test of war at all times. Because of his handsome and gentle appearance, he was often scorned by his opponents when fighting on the battlefield. For this reason, he had to order people to make some ferocious-looking "big faces", which he would wear on his face whenever he went into battle to intimidate his opponents. "Old Tang Book·Music Chronicles" says: "Dai Mian came from the Northern Qi Dynasty. Changgong, the king of Lanling in the Northern Qi Dynasty, was talented and beautiful, and often wore a mask to fight against the enemy. He tried to attack Zhou Shi Jin Yong's city, bravely defeated the three armies, and the Qi people were strong. For this reason, the dance is called "Lanling King Entering the Formation Song" to imitate his commanding and stabbing performance. "Yuefu Miscellaneous Records" says in the drum section: "There is a generation of faces, which started from the Northern Qi Dynasty, Shen Wu Di." He is brave and good at fighting. He wears a mask every time he enters the battle. He is an actor who is victorious in all battles. He is dressed in purple and has a gold whip. ""Jiaofang Ji" written by Cui Lingqin of the Tang Dynasty said: " Mian, came out of the Northern Qi Dynasty. King Lanling was brave and brave, but he felt that the beauty was not enough to intimidate the enemy, so he carved a mask and put it on before the battle. Because of this play, it was also included in the song. Often wearing a ferocious mask and going into battle is not just a rumor. Later, the "facial makeup" that appeared in Peking Opera may have something to do with the influence of the mask of King Lanling and the dance music "The Song of King Lanling Entering the Battle".
3. Brave and good at fighting and famous for his reputation
According to historical records, King Lanling was a famous general in the Northern Dynasty who was both civil and military, wise and brave. Some said that he was "courageous and good at fighting", while others said that he was "brave enough to champion the three armies and always victorious in every battle". This shows that his bravery and proficiency in fighting are not only due to wearing a ferocious mask. Intimidation alone will definitely not scare away the enemy. The key lies in his own fighting ability that is beyond ordinary people. The ferocious mask only adds a legendary aura to his bravery and invincibility. King Lanling participated in countless battles, large and small, throughout his life. One of the most widely praised is the famous "Battle of Mangshan" in history. In 564 AD, the Turks in the northern grasslands and the Northern Zhou in the Loess Plateau launched an attack on the Northern Qi. The important town of Luoyang in the Northern Qi was besieged by a 100,000-strong Northern Zhou army. Emperor Wucheng of the Northern Qi hurriedly mobilized troops to relieve the siege. Outside Luoyang City, the reinforcements of the Northern Qi Dynasty launched attacks one after another, but were defeated by the Northern Zhou army. They were about to face the annihilation of the entire army. At this time, King Lanling, who was appointed as the general in the army, wore a "big face", armor, and a sharp sword in his hand. He led five hundred elite cavalry and fought bravely into the encirclement of the Zhou army. He fought like a broken bamboo until he reached the gate of Luoyang City. The Northern Qi army guarding the city was trapped for many days and did not dare to open the door rashly. King Lanling took off his mask, and the Northern Qi army on the city immediately cheered, opened the city gate, joined forces with the army outside the city, and fought bravely against the Zhou army. The Zhou army was defeated.
"Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" records: "In the defeat of Mangshan, Chang Gong was in the middle of the army. He led 500 cavalry to reenter the Zhou army, and then reached the foot of Jin Yong. They were severely surrounded. No one on the city knew him, so Chang Gong took off his armor to show him. He then lowered his crossbowmen to rescue him, which led to a great victory. The song of the warriors was called "The Song of King Lanling Entering the Battle". There are also historical records: Zhou Jun "abandoned the camp and marched from Mang Mountain to Gushui." Within ten miles, military supplies and equipment filled Sichuan." It was this great victory that made King Lanling so famous that the Emperor of Northern Qi named him Shangshu Ling.
The King of Lanling was not only brave and good at fighting, and had repeatedly made military exploits, but he was also loyal to those who were above him and kind to his subordinates. He was widely famous among soldiers and the society at that time. The Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty records: He "worked diligently and meticulously for the generals, and every time he got something sweet, even if he had several fruits for one melon, he would definitely enjoy it with the soldiers." As a relative of the emperor in that chaotic dynasty, it is indeed rare to be able to have no airs and share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. Even towards his "political opponents," he was able to be lenient. According to historical records, when Chang Gong was in Yingzhou, Yang Shishen, who was joining the army, came to report him for corruption and perversion of the law, and Chang Gong was dismissed from office. When Gao Changgong made a comeback and led his troops to attack Dingyang, Yang Shishen happened to be following orders in Gao Changgong's camp, so he was very afraid that Gao Changgong would take the opportunity to retaliate and kill him. For this reason, Gao Changgong comforted him and said, "I didn't mean it at all." But Yang Shishen was still uneasy and insisted on begging for punishment. Gao Changgong had no choice but to find a small fault and beat Yang Shishen twenty times to make him feel at ease. "Book of Northern Qi" also records a very "civilian" touching detail about him. It is said that once when he went to court, "all the servants who followed him were scattered, except for one person, Chang Gong, who returned alone." Afterwards, Gao Changgong did not take it seriously and "had no punishment." This shows that he is very generous and kind to his servants. In a crazy era like the Northern Qi Dynasty where people "don't treat people as human beings" and often beheaded and killed, his generous and kind side has a unique style, glowing with the radiance of warm humanity, which makes people admire him.
4. The final tragic fate
As long as the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them. The pinnacle of life's glory may often be the starting point of tragedy. For Prince Lanling, the greatest sorrow was that he was born into an imperial family that was so crazy that it was almost abnormal. Since the founding of the Northern Dynasty, there have been six generations of emperors in just twenty-eight years. Uncles and nephews tortured each other, and brothers killed each other brutally. Each one was shorter-lived than the other, and each one was more crazy than the other. Although King Lanling had a beautiful appearance and outstanding military achievements, he was cautious throughout his life and tried every means to avoid disasters and protect himself, but he still could not change his tragic fate.
The "Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" records: Changgong "lived in Si Prefecture, Mu Prefecture and Qingying Prefecture, and was very rich in wealth." There were often bribers coming in and out at the door, which made the people make irresponsible remarks. But what is the purpose of greedy for people's money is unknown. According to his own words, it was to smear his reputation and avoid being hated by the court. After the great victory at Mangshan, Wu Cheng rewarded his achievements and bought twenty beautiful concubines for him, but he "only accepted one of them" because he was afraid of being too public and making others jealous. It is also recorded that Chang Gong "had a thousand gold debt notes, which he would burn on the day of his death." That is to say, before he died, he burned all the IOUs that others owed him. Judging from his character traits of kindness and generosity in dealing with others, he does not look like a greedy and lustful person. Many historians believe that Gao Changgong deliberately embezzled money to avoid disaster.
"Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" records: When he was in Dingyang, his subordinate Wei Xiangyuan said: "Since the king has been sent by the imperial court, why is he so greedy and cruel?" Chang Gong did not answer. Xiangyuan said: "Isn't it because of the great victory in Mangshan that I am afraid that I will be jealous of my power and want to defile myself?" Chang Gong said: "Yes." Instead, it will lead to disaster." Chang Gong sobbed and asked for help on his knees. Xiangyuan said: "The king's prestige is too great. It's best to stay at home and recuperate and stop interfering in political affairs." Living in such a terrifying imperial family, it is impossible not to be nervous. From then on, Chang Gong claimed that he was ill every time he encountered war. Deliberately "not treating an illness" in order to avoid disaster. Once, when the Jianghuai bandits were harassing the army and the military situation was urgent, he was afraid of paying homage to the general again, so he complained to himself: "My face was swollen last year, why don't I get it now?" He really wished he could have his face swollen and pretend to be a patient.
Gao Wei, the empress of the Northern Qi Dynasty, had a cowardly character. Compared with his ancestors, he was more debauched and less cruel, but he showed no mercy when killing his own relatives. One day in 565 AD, when Gao Wei was talking to King Lanling about the victory at Mangshan, he said humanely, "If you are too deep into the battle, you will have nothing to regret for losing." King Lanling felt so distressed when he heard that his emperor brother He couldn't help but feel excited and warm in his heart, so he replied affectionately, "The family affairs are so cordial, it happened unexpectedly." It was these words expressing closeness and loyalty that led to his death. Historical records: "The emperor thought it was a family matter, so he banned him.
"Because in the eyes of the petty empress Gao Wei, the family affairs belong to me, Gao Wei, and not to you, Gao Su, who can just talk about it. He began to wonder whether King Lanling, who had military power, wanted to replace him and wanted to turn "state affairs" into "family affairs." .
After King Lanling said the wrong thing, he felt deeply that a disaster was coming, and he was in panic all day long. Although he repeatedly acted in a low-key manner and deliberately downplayed himself, he could not escape the saying "If you ask your minister to die, he will not do it." The tragic fate of "immortal". One day in May of the fourth year of Wuping (AD 573), the later master Gao Wei sent an envoy to visit his brother Gao Su, and the gift he sent was a cup of poisonous wine. King Lanling was extremely sad and angry. My beloved concubine Zheng said: "I am loyal to my duty, why should I betray God and be poisoned? Concubine Zheng advised him: "Why not ask to see Tianyan?" "The naive Concubine Zheng thought that it might just be a misunderstanding between brothers. As long as Gao Su pleads with the emperor, he might get his life back. But King Lanling knew in his heart that it was useless to ask Gao Wei for an explanation. Years ago, Hu Luguang, an important minister and veteran who lived with him through life and death, was also innocently lured into the palace and brutally strangled to death with a bowstring. The despairing King Lanling said, "How can the beauty of the sky be seen?" He drank all the wine and left this messy world resolutely, burning all the bonds before his death. At that time, King Lanling was only 30 years old. After his death, he was buried west of the capital Ye (now Linzhang County, Handan). The murder of the important military commander King Lanling heralded the end of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Four years later, the Northern Qi Dynasty, which had lost its military support, was destroyed by the Northern Zhou Emperor Yuwen Yong, and almost all the descendants of the Gao family were slaughtered.
5. Thousand-year-old ancient songs that have been passed down to this day
It was also during the "Great Victory at Mangshan" that the warriors of the Northern Qi Dynasty celebrated their victory with masked singing and dancing, and the widely circulated "Lanling King Entering the Battle Song" was born. ”. The song ended with a man performing a stab in a mask. The melody was solemn and majestic, simple and melodious, describing the heroic scenes and exciting emotions at that time.
After the birth of this song, It spread quickly among the people. During the Sui Dynasty, it was officially included in the palace dance music. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, designated it as "non-formal music" and issued an edict to ban its performance. ". During the Southern Song Dynasty, it evolved into the name of Yuefu tune, called "Lanling Wangman", which can be divided into Yue tune and Dashi tune. When singing in Yue tune, it is divided into three sections and twenty-four beats. Mao Kai wrote in "Qiao Yin's Notes" "In the last section, the sound is still exciting", and there are still "leftover sounds" to be found. The "Lanling Wang Man" sung by Dashi Diao is divided into front and back sections, according to Wang Zhuo's "Bi Ji Man". According to the "Zhi", the song was gradually lost in our country. Fortunately, the "Lanling King Entering the Battle Song" introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty retained some of its authentic features. This song is played repeatedly during the horse racing festival on January 5th, the sumo wrestling festival on July 7th, and archery competitions to celebrate victory. Until now, the annual Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara, Japan, is held on January 15th. In classical music and dance performances, "The Entering of the King of Lanling" is still regarded as the first solo dance performance. The Japanese regard it as an orthodox elegant music and cherish it very much. They have a very strict "name inheritance" for its preservation and inheritance. " and the "secret" system, we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the original, majestic and intense Lanling dance music after thousands of years. In 1986, cultural relics personnel in Ci County, Hebei Province recovered this music through Japanese experts. In September 1992 On the 6th, 1428 after the song came out, under the organization of Ma Zhongli, a cultural administrator in Handan City, an orchestra led by Professor Kanichi Kasagi of Nara University in Japan performed this song in front of the tomb of King Lanling in Ci County. The tomb of King Lanling Gaosu is located 5 kilometers south of Ci County, Handan City. The tomb is surrounded by a flowered wall and a monument. Pavilion. In 1920, local villagers dug up the "Stele of Lanling King Gao Su" while collecting soil for road construction. On the front of the stele are four lines of sixteen characters in seal script: "The stele of King Zhongwu in Lanling, the former king of Qi Dynasty, the right master of the right army of fake Huangyue." The inscription truly records the life experience of Lanling King Gao Su and the year when the monument was erected. Although the handwriting is faded and dim, it still retains its vigor and simplicity. Because of its historical materials and calligraphy artistic value, it is known as the first grade of Beibei. In 1988, the Lanling King Monument was listed as a key cultural relic under national protection.
Facing the heroic statue in front of the tomb of King Lanling and the tall seal behind it, every time you walk in front of it, you not only reminisce about the past, sigh with regret, but also have your own thoughts. A legendary life, a chaotic era.
The tragedy of the hero may be the tragedy of that era.