If one day you ascend the throne and become a king, and one day you have a palace full of beauties and thousands of money, there will inevitably be a day when you find yourself empty, like a leaf blowing in the wind. - "My Life as an Emperor"
Su Tong claimed to like ancient times, the wandering life of folk artists, and the blend of suffering and joy. He felt that the most perfect life was the combination of fire and water, poison and honey. Organic unity was also the original motivation for him to write "My Life as an Emperor".
"My Life as an Emperor" was published in 1992 and is a fictional historical background created by Su Tong. The male protagonist Duan Bai is not interested in the throne, but he was arranged to become the new king of Xie (xie). He thought he had supreme power, but found that he was just a victim in the struggle for imperial power. He used decadence as a resistance, and from then on The emperor became a commoner. He longed for freedom and eventually moved towards freedom.
1. How can one have rights in a life that is controlled?
The 14-year-old Duan Baek became the new King Xie inexplicably. He had no subjective intention to become the king, and he could not understand why his father chose him as his successor when he was on the verge of death. Reluctantly, he was crowded into the position of king.
His grandmother, Mrs. Huangfu, is the real person in power. Everything in the former harem required Mrs. Huangfu's nod. Duan Bai was just a puppet sitting on the throne. Even if he is a puppet, he is still jealous of others. The eldest prince Duan Wen has always been determined to win the throne and resents Duan Bai's succession, so he designed a hidden arrow on the hunting ground to kill Duan Bai. Duan Bai escaped from a disaster. He decided to punish Duanwen severely, but Mrs. Huangfu refused.
"Since I obey you in everything, why do you want me to be King Xie?"
"In our great country, it is easy to establish a king and to depose a king. You must remember this sentence."
Mrs. Huangfu made great changes in the palace, introduced eunuchs, and expelled many people from the palace, including Duanbai's master Juekong. Duan Bai was heartbroken over his master's departure, but he had no choice but to do anything about it. He was the king of a country, but he was restricted everywhere. What was the point of having such rights?
Duan Bai, who realized the truth, felt that he did not need to struggle, so he just became a puppet. When they were discussing political affairs, Duan Bai sat in the court, and his heart no longer knew where to fly. Anyway, no one could I won't ask his opinion, Mrs. Huangfu has the final say.
Duan Bai’s only resistance is because of love. He fell in love with Huixian, a light and beautiful girl, and wanted to make her his concubine, but was strongly opposed by Mrs. Huangfu. She felt that such a city girl was not worthy of the royal family, but this time Duanbai resisted and threatened to cut off her fingers. , and finally won.
However, the good times did not last long. Duanbai was arranged to marry Princess Peng as his queen. This was a political marriage. Duanbai did not like Queen Peng, but he wanted to make fun of it. Duanbai loved Concubine Hui deeply, but he Unable to protect her at all, Concubine Hui was eventually killed by an adulterer and had to live among the people.
As the king of a country, Duan Bai could not prevent his master from being expelled, nor could he protect the woman he loved most. With the suppression of Mrs. Huangfu, Duan Bai could only silently resist with cruelty, decadence, and mediocrity. means. He ordered the tongues of the abandoned concubines in the harem to be cut out, drew his sword and shot Yang Song, a loyal soldier who joined the army, planned the life-and-death duel between Zhang Zhi and Duan Wen, and favored inhumane torture. These methods are horrific and cruel, but they are also the most direct and simple methods that can be adopted to deal with that ugly and gloomy living situation.
Duanbai's cruel resistance brought about the end of betrayal and alienation. The people called him stupid and cruel, and the eldest prince Duanwen always wanted to replace him. All these made Duanbai fall into greater tragedy.
What was even more desperate was that one day he saw the posthumous letter: making the eldest prince Duanwen King Xie. Mrs. Huangfu told him that you are not the real King Xie, I turned you into King Xie. This was just a joke between me and you men. I created a fake King Xie just to control you better.
When Duan Bai heard this, he really despaired of the imperial power. He was heartbroken and prepared to face his own doom. In the end, Duanwen rebelled and won. Duanbai fell from the throne and became a commoner.
He has been an emperor for eight years, but he has never lived comfortably for a day. He has always lived under the oppression of others. He seems to have supreme rights, but these rights are illusory. He has never Not getting real rights.
Feelings are the only solace in a gloomy world
Duan Bai's situation is doomed to be lonely. The ministers ignore his existence; the women in the harem regard him as an object of favor; His mother and grandmother have been fighting openly and secretly to seize control of him; while several brothers are full of hostility towards him and have always wanted to replace him. Duan Bai is actually very pitiful.
In these dark times, he met three people who brought him warmth.
Master Juekong, who had been studying with him since he was a child, always asked him to finish reading "The Analects of Confucius". After he succeeded to the throne, Master often gave him advice to comfort his soul, so in the early days, Juekong was Duanbai is the most important person. However, Mrs. Huangfu hated Juekong and insisted on expelling Juekong from the palace. Duanbai wanted to resist but found that he was powerless. This was the first time that he felt collapsed.
Huixian is a beautiful and intelligent woman. Like Duan Bai, she likes birds. Once she was learning the flight of birds and was seen by Duan Bai. Duan Bai fell in love with her at first sight and experienced resistance and resistance. After struggling, Duanbai got his wish and got the beauty back in his arms. Those days were probably the happiest days for Duan Bai in the palace. He and Concubine Hui had the same affection and were full of love and sorrow.
But later on, there were more and more women in the harem. Concubine Hui lost her former innocence in the daily palace battles. She even wanted to get rid of other concubines with Duanbai's favor. This evil scared her away. The answer is clear. Concubine Hui later became pregnant and became the target of public criticism. Duan Bai failed to do his best to protect her, which also led to her being killed by an adulterer.
Concubine Hui was secretly sent out of the palace and arranged to go to a nunnery, but she was unwilling to be lonely and walked into the world of mortals.
They all love birds and yearn for the freedom outside the high wall. Concubine Hui later became free, but she was unwilling to live in poverty and fell into the world of mortals. In the end, she was poor and crazy, earning a living by selling people for nothing. Make a living by writing love poems and notes to her.
They all once obtained love and protected love, but eventually betrayed love. Duan Bai's powerless protection broke the protective layer of love. Huixian's last action completely betrayed their past.
Yanlang was Duanbai's attendant and a eunuch. When he was a child, he was castrated by his biological father and sent to the palace. He has no sustenance in his life. Taking good care of Duan Bai is his ultimate destiny. He can also understand Duan Bai's heart and knows that he does not like the throne and likes the people's walks. He once predicted that if Duan Bai leaves the palace, he will definitely go there. If you ask for it, then go and roll the logs yourself. There is a rare confidant in the world, and Yanlang's existence is not only a companion in life, but also a spiritual support.
Duan Bai eventually lost his throne and left the palace with Yan Lang. However, on the way, robbers robbed all the money, which was a fatal blow to Yan Lang. He always thought that he could return to his hometown in rich clothes and buy land, so that he would be welcomed by his family and build a place for Duan Bai.
But the money was gone and everything was gone. The family was very disappointed when Yanlang came back empty-handed. Their attitude towards Duanbai became increasingly bad, feeling that such a person was just here to make a living.
Duan Bai had no choice but to leave secretly and start his journey alone. He never thought that Yan Lang would follow him secretly. Such loyalty is also touching. Yan Lang finally died in the war and did not accompany Duan Bai until the end, but companionship in this kind of displacement was so precious. Their relationship gradually changed from a master-servant relationship to a pair of brothers in need.
These three characters are the three important figures in Duanbai's life. They all brought him warmth and spiritual comfort. However, Master Juekong was forced to travel far away, and Concubine Hui became the harem. The victims of the struggle, Yan Lang, unfortunately died in the massacre. They all left the protagonist one by one. No one could truly enter Duan Bai's inner world and warm his lonely and fearful heart.
3. Follow your heart and you will always succeed
Duan Bai did not like the throne at first. When he visited incognito, he saw the artist's walking performance. They walked freely in the air. The image of freedom and ease is deeply imprinted in Duan Bai's mind. From then on, he never forgot about walking on the rope.
"I don't like to be King Xie, I like to walk on the rope."
The "bird" and "walking on the rope" in the book are both a kind of imagery, representing Duan Bai's love for the enemy. The yearning for freedom. He imagined that he could walk leisurely in the air and fly as if he had a pair of wings.
Rope walking became his only pursuit after leaving the palace. After failing to find an acrobatic team, he decided to teach himself. He has no talent for the throne, but he is extremely talented for walking the ropes.
"What did I see when I stood on the suspension rope? I saw my true shadow being rapidly magnified by the sunset in Xiangxian County. I saw a beautiful white bird taking off from the depths of my soul, freely and arrogantly. Passing over the heads of the world and the vast sky."
From a defeated king to a "walking rope king", he completed a magnificent turn and could finally fly in the sky. Everything confirmed his love for birds. worship and dreams.
His juggling class quickly became famous and popular, and he found a different kind of kingdom of his own. But this kingdom was also short-lived and was baptized by war. As Xie Kingdom was defeated by Peng Kingdom and Duanwen died tragically in the palace, the kingdom also completely disappeared.
Duanbai became alone and went to Kuzhu Temple where his master Juekong was. Although Juekong had passed away, he seemed to have expected Duanbai to come here and left him a built house and a temple. It was in the vegetable field that Duan Bai truly found peace of mind. During the day, he walked on the rope and stood on the high-altitude suspension rope, walking as fast as flying or as quiet as a crane. At night, he read "The Analects of Confucius" and completed the final instructions given by his master to him. Instructions.
He finally found his belonging here, and his mind and body were both at peace. The ending looks bleak, but the process is always exciting. Duanbai experienced resistance and pursuit, and finally lived in the way he loved, completing a gorgeous transformation in life.
"My Life as an Emperor" uses Duan Bai's life to tell us about people's oppression and resistance in destiny, as well as the great spirit of pursuing oneself. By portraying Duan Bai's transformation from a fatuous king to a free-spirited king This psychological process shows readers the spiritual core of degradation and redemption. Decline may be caused by the oppression of others, but redemption can only rely on oneself.
When Duan Bai walks high in the sky and overlooks everything, he may be able to understand the meaning of the emperor. When his soul flies, he can overlook the chaotic world and people's own pain. He becomes a "bird" and escapes from the world. He overcame his previous predicament and realized his dream of freedom.