This poem was written by Si Kongtu, the last loyal minister in the Tang Dynasty. Si Kongtu was an important official in the late Tang Dynasty. He is very moral. After the demise of the Tang Dynasty, he died of hunger strike and martyrdom.
Then, why did he write this poem, and what kind of sad history is behind this poem?
Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened up the territory, most ancient dynasties in China have managed and developed the western regions, and in the long-term integration, the western regions have become a part of China.
However, in history, especially in the war years, because the power of the Central Plains dynasty was weakened and it was unable to control the distant towns in the west, the western regions were separated from the central jurisdiction for a period of time.
During the Han and Tang dynasties, due to the strong national strength and strong control over the west, a large number of Han people moved westward, and the integration of Hu and Han became a cultural phenomenon, which was a historical progress. For example, the famous poet Li Bai, whose ancestors moved to Broken Leaf City where he was born, later returned to the Central Plains.
The Tang Dynasty weakened its control over the western regions, especially the western regions, after the Anshi Rebellion.
Before the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty set up "Tianbao Ten Festivals", in which Longyou, Hexi, Beiting and Anxi were all designed to stabilize the western regions, accounting for half of the military power of the Tang Empire.
Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Ge Shuhan and others in the Tang Dynasty made great contributions in the west. At that time, the folk customs of the Tang Dynasty were open, the Tang people loved adventure, and there were many Han people in the western regions. Hu people get along well with Han people and communicate with each other.
Hexi Corridor, Dunhuang Ancient City and Silk Road, these resounding names reached their peak in the Tang Dynasty.
However, in 755 AD, with the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Empire fell into a huge crisis. Once the Central Plains fell and the capital fell.
In the Tang Dynasty, the central government was forced to transfer the town to serve the king and put down the rebellion. The main force of the western military town has been transferred to the mainland one after another, resulting in the emptiness of the garrison.
The enemy took advantage of this opportunity to cut off the Hexi Corridor and occupy the Western Regions. Many people were trapped in the western regions in the Tang Dynasty.
The Anshi Rebellion was put down eight years later, but its influence was irreversible for a long time.
This turmoil not only swept the floor of the central Tang Dynasty, but also killed countless elite soldiers and killed half of the country's population. After the Anshi Rebellion, the eunuch dictatorship began, and the separatist regime in the buffer region became the norm, with economic depression and political darkness. The Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline and never recovered.
In this case, the Tang empire could do nothing even if it wanted to restore the territory of the western regions. The once prosperous Silk Road was deserted, and the Hexi Corridor with herds of cattle and sheep was occupied. Tang Jun, trapped in the western regions, has been short of materials for decades, and the generals and soldiers are all white-haired old people. The online short film "The Last Transfer of Datang Mobei" is a reflection of this history.
Later, although Zhang Yichao briefly restored and opened the Xihe Corridor, with the demise of the Tang Dynasty, the Western Regions lost contact with China again in the following hundreds of years (mainly in the Song Dynasty).
The poem written by Si Kongtu at the beginning is called Hehuang Love, which refers to the situation in the late Tang Dynasty.
Si Kongtu was worried about his country and people. He was very sad to see the demise of the Tang Dynasty and the loss of his land, so he left this poem.