Introduction: The so-called "gentle and polite" is not only a requirement for the content and form of the article, but also a reflection of personal temperament. This was most obvious in the Tang Dynasty in ancient my country. Let us take a look at it together!
"The Analects of Confucius, Yong Ye Chapter" said: "Quality is superior to literature, which leads to wildness, and literature is superior to quality, which leads to history." Be polite, then be a gentleman. ?Confucius discussed the ideal personality of a gentleman, which is manifested in his spiritual temperament by being gentle and gentle. In Confucius' view, a person's spiritual temperament consists of two basic elements: quality and culture. Quality is equivalent to simplicity, and culture is equivalent to elegance. On both sides of the pledge, if the proportion of either party is too high or too low, it will lead to a loss of balance and the two extremes of "wild" and "historical". Only with the right combination can you achieve ideal elegance and elegance.
This is a standard for observing personal spiritual temperament. Can it be used to measure an era?
Or Confucius left a quotation in the "Book of Rites":? The quality of Yu Xia's writings is beyond comparison. The quality of the Yin and Zhou dynasties is incomparable to its writing. ?Obviously Confucius was also observing an era using the concept of literary quality. In Confucius' view, the Xia Dynasty was an era when quality was superior to literature, while the Yin and Zhou Dynasties were an era when literature was superior to quality. Liu Fenglu's "The Analects of Confucius" of the Qing Dynasty described the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties in terms of the intergenerational process of literature and quality. He said: The Yin eradicated the Xia, saving literature with quality, but it was also wild. Zhou Ge Yin, rescued the wild people with literature, and the history of the country is also history. At the beginning of the Yin and Zhou dynasties, they were all gentle and refined people. ? Regarding the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, whether they are historical or unofficial is not the topic to be discussed here. What we are concerned about is that we can use the concept of culture and quality to summarize an era.
What kind of era was the Tang Dynasty? After being exposed to many specific stories of the Tang Dynasty, I thought that the spiritual temperament of the Tang Dynasty was exactly the kind of gentleness that was neither wild nor historical. Some people summarize the Tang Dynasty and think it is a youthful atmosphere, but it cannot reflect the wisdom and rationality of the Tang people. In comparison, China during the Qin and Han dynasties was more like a period of youthful exuberance, high-spirited but careless, daring to think and act, yet still barbaric. The common people are all driven by revenge, and they will draw their swords if they don't obey. Heroes and warriors mobilize the masses to besiege the government. The ruthless officials were in power and killed hundreds of innocent people indiscriminately. On the one hand, they expanded their territories and on the other hand, they abused the people. The governments of Qin and Han Dynasties were also of the adolescent type. They were courageous and unreasonable, which can be seen as the impulsiveness, blindness and recklessness of adolescence.
After the political divisions, social unrest and ethnic integration in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, China began to have a relatively stable view of happiness, just as it had gone through the confusion of the first marriage period. Consciously stay away from barbarism in style, and at the same time work hard to nourish your spirit. Physically, he is between young and middle-aged. He is not competitive, but he is never afraid of challenges. Be accustomed to using wisdom to solve problems and look at society, the country and all major issues rationally. Learn wisdom from history, treat everything rationally, be neither impatient nor impetuous, be elegant and personable. There is both the legend of the general's three arrows that fixed Tianshan Mountain, and the romantic story of the red leaves passing the message. Intelligent and brave, chivalrous and tender. This was the gentle Tang Dynasty.
After the Tang Dynasty, China's physical constitution seemed to have declined seriously. There are more and more smart people, and the court is full of elegant calculations. The palace of the Song Dynasty was almost a gathering of writers. The articles were elegant and unrestrained, but the politics were always masculine. At every critical moment, there will always be many ministers who advocate compromise, and after many calculations, what they give up in the end is always the spirit that a country should have. The idea of ????fighting to the death was always at a disadvantage in the Song Dynasty, so that the heroic words "Death is a ghost" could only come from the mouth of women. "Liaophobia" existed longer than the Liao Dynasty, and "Manchuphobia" followed one after another. There were also short-lived heroes like Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang, but the circumstances at that time destined them to end in tragedy. This is also fear, and that is also fear. In the final analysis, it is fear of death. Isn't this a symptom of old age? Internally, we use culture to suppress military force, and externally, we use Xia to transform barbarians into fantasies. Literature wins over quality, and history is the only way to go in the end.
Confucius said: I am from the Zhou Dynasty. Let me tell you, I love Tang for his gentleness and gentleness. The elegant style of Tang Dynasty originated from the era of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, on the one hand, he used armed struggle to conquer the world, and on the other hand, he admired Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty and followed suit. From the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, not only the top leaders of the rulers originally belonged to the same group, but the mainstream thinking of using force to deal with the world has never given up. The short-lived life of the Sui Dynasty and the short-lived life of the Qin Dynasty were similar in that they were both overly superstitious about force. This custom was abandoned during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty followed Wei Zheng's suggestion, transformed the people with virtue, and followed the royal line. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Turks, various policies began to take effect, and the good situation of Zhenguan's rule began to appear. However, the legacy of Zhenguan is not only the excellent political performance of governing the world, but also the gentle and gentle spirit of the times.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was an emperor who conquered the world with force. He had always been very proud that among the entrepreneurial emperors, only he and Emperor Guangwu of Han were actually on the battlefield. When Emperor Guangwu started his business, he was a whole year older than Tang Taizong was ten years older. The martial habits in his youth were conducive to Tang Taizong's military activities. After becoming emperor, Tang Taizong became the most enthusiastic person in reading, never letting go of books and studying diligently. His tutoring was conducive to his artistic pursuits and he was proficient in music. He has his own unique experience in calligraphy. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty clearly understood the importance of reading in governing the world and emphasized reading to nourish himself. He even often regretted not starting reading earlier when he was young. "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" contains some poems written by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, from which we learn some of his literary observations.
?The evening smoke contains the color of the trees, and the sounds of perching birds are mixed?? When the sun sets over the Western Mountains, he wrote such a poem, which shows that his observations are meticulous. Like many poets, he cherishes life and laments the spring and autumn. According to historical records, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty also wrote palace-style poems, but it is a pity that they have not been preserved, otherwise it would have provided us with another angle to understand Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. However, it is the same person who leads the charge on the battlefield, goes through life and death, has a strong body and quick reactions. Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was an emperor who was both civil and military, and he was the representative of gentleness and gentleness.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was famous for his willingness to accept advice, and his rational administration performed outstandingly during his reign. He reduced the death penalty, abolished corporal punishment, and respected life. Liu Lan, the governor of Daizhou, rebelled and was killed. General Qiu Xinggong took the heart and liver of the deceased and ate them. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty heard about this and said to Qiu Xinggong: If this can express loyalty and filial piety, then the princes and kings should also be allowed to eat. How could it be your turn? The law clearly stipulates, why are you doing this? Qiu Xinggong's behavior is barbaric. , Taizong's accusations were also aimed at barbarism. Even loyalty must be expressed in an elegant way. This is what Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty required. The county captain is almost the youngest official, but Liu Rengui, the county captain, actually killed the local highest military officer, Lieutenant Zhe Chong, with a stick. Although the captain was tyrannical in the local area, the county captain had no right to kill. The furious Emperor Taizong wanted to see with his own eyes the county captain who dared to beat a high-ranking official to death. When he heard Liu Rengui said that he was beaten with a rod because he was humiliated in public, he actually forgave Liu Rengui. Scholars can be killed but not humiliated. This is a noble state of life. Tang Taizong agreed and understood it, so he forgave Liu Rengui.
The Tang Dynasty advocated elegance, and any report needed to be written in a literary style. Even the victory report of the army must be very literary. It was an era of aestheticism. To be an official, you need to pass the examinations of body, speech, writing, and judgment. The four items have the same indicator, which is beauty. Those who are recorded in the history of the country, if they have a handsome appearance and a beautiful voice, the historian usually will not forget to write a note. The spare time of officials is mostly about poetry, singing and drinking water. Successful poems were composed and sung. The sky of the Tang Dynasty was filled with the wind of aestheticism. If you look at the murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, you will know the artistic achievements of the Tang Dynasty. Some ordinary border painters can also amaze future generations. Not to mention the calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty, which has always been admired by future generations.
Maybe you will say that Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty was too special because he was not born in this world. However, if you look at the portraits of contemporaries, you have to believe that gentleness is universal. Li Jing was the only person in the Tang Dynasty who could be called a military strategist, that is, he could lead troops in battles and assist the emperor in governing the country when he entered the court. The appearance of generals and ministers was almost a specialty of the Tang Dynasty. Even the minority generals are equally gentle and gentle. Qibi Heli came from Tiele in the north and was a loyal and courageous general. Liang Renxiao was responsible for the construction of Penglai Palace, and he chose poplar as the greening tree. Once he introduced it to Qibi Heli, full of pride, saying that these trees grew fast and could provide shade and coolness to Penglai Palace within three to five years. Qibi Heli did not answer directly. He just recited two lines of ancient poetry: "The white poplars are sad and the wind is sad, and Xiao Xiaochou kills people." ?This is a verse in "Nineteen Ancient Poems". Qibi Heli means that the poplar tree belongs to the ancient tomb and not to the palace. Liang Renxiao immediately ordered all poplar trees to be pulled out and planted with sycamore trees instead. It is not difficult for a civil servant to express his opinions so elegantly, but Qibi Heli is a fierce general who rushes on the battlefield. This is Tang.
The Sui Dynasty only lasted for more than thirty years, and the historical heritage faced by the Tang Dynasty mainly came from the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the preface to the literary biography of "Book of Sui", Wei Zheng specifically summarized the similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages of the literature of the Southern Dynasties and the Northern Dynasties:
The Shang Dynasty in Jiangzuo Palace is more noble than Qi Qi in the Qing Dynasty, and the word "Heshuo" means "Zhen Gang". It’s all about temperament. The temperament means that the reason is better than the words, and the pure and beautiful words are better than the meaning. Those who are profound in theory are convenient for daily use, and those who are literate are suitable for singing. This is a great contrast between the gains and losses of poets from the north and the south. If you can break down the voiceless sounds and condense the sentences, remove the shortcomings of each, and combine the two strong points, then the literary quality will be elegant and perfect.
The literature of the Southern and Northern Dynasties summarized by Wei Zheng, is it not the culture of the Southern and Northern Dynasties? Relatively speaking, the culture of the Southern Dynasties is the culture of the Southern Dynasties, where the culture of the Southern Dynasties is the victory of quality and history. Later Tang poetry actually followed the path that Wei Zheng hoped for, and the spiritual temperament of the Tang Dynasty was to combine strengths and avoid weaknesses, and be gentle and gentle. It has cleansed away the previous roughness and savagery, and has not developed the later tenderness and pathos.
The Tang Dynasty is a classic era in the history of China and even the history of East Asia.