Li Shangyin, named Yishan, was born in Yuxi, and once claimed to be a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family. But there is no official document to prove this, so it can be considered that this blood relationship between Li Shangyin and the royal family in the Tang Dynasty is quite distant. Li Shangyin affirmed his imperial clan status several times in his poems, but this did not bring him any practical benefits.
Li Shangyin's family can be traced back to his great-grandfather Li She. The highest administrative post that Li She once held was the order of Meiyuan County (now Fuping County, Shaanxi Province); Great-great-grandfather Li Shuheng (uncle) is an Anyang county commandant. Grandfather Li Biao, a former Xingzhou document, joined the army; His father, Reese, was once an imperial adviser in the temple. When Li Shangyin was born, Li Siren was made the county magistrate of Jia (now Jia County, Henan Province).
Early life
Li Shuyin's great-grandfather Li Shuheng was a scholar at the age of 19. He was finally ordered by An Yang, and his grandfather Li Biao finally joined the army and became a clerk in Xingzhou. Father's name is Li Si [5]. When Li Shangyin was born, his father Li Sizheng was appointed as Jia County Magistrate. About three years old, Li Shangyin went to Zhejiang with Li Si. Li Si died before he was ten years old. Li Shangyin had to go back to his hometown with his mother and live a hard and poor life. At home, Li Shangyin is the eldest son, so he also bears the responsibility of supporting the portal. Li Shangyin mentioned in his article that he was a "bookseller" when he was young, that is, copying books for others to make money to supplement his family. Li Shangyin recited scriptures at the age of five, and wrote an inkstone at the age of seven. After returning to his hometown, he learned classics from an uncle who was proficient in the Five Classics and elementary school. At the age of sixteen, he was named after his mastery of ancient Chinese. Besides, he writes beautiful work letters and good articles.
In the third year of Daiwa (829), he moved to Luoyang and got to know Bai Juyi, Ling Huchu and other predecessors. Linghu Chu appreciates Li Shangyin's literary talent and attaches great importance to him. He asked Li Shangyin to make friends with his son, Hu Ling Xuan, and others, and personally taught him the study of modern style (husband and wife), "giving him a gift to make it fit the plan." Later, he was hired as an inspector and went to Yunzhou, Taiyuan and other places. In the past few years, Li Shangyin has taken an active part in exams and studied hard at the same time. Although he failed repeatedly in the imperial examination, his writing style changed from scattered to parallel, and he seldom wrote prose again.
In the seventh year of Daiwa (833), Hu Chu was transferred to Beijing, and Shang Yin left Taiyuan for home. After that, Li Shangyin studied Taoism in Wuwangshan for two or three years, which had a certain influence on his thought and creation.
In the second year of Kaicheng (837), Li Shangyin studied hard for a long time, and because of Ling's reputation, he got a scholar, released Brown, secretary of provincial studies, and made up for Hongnong.
Due to his childhood environment and education, Li Shangyin's world outlook basically belongs to the Confucian system, and he has a positive attitude towards life and is eager to make a difference. At the same time, he can think independently, and he has long dismissed the preaching that "learning Tao must seek the ancients and learning literature must learn", and even put forward such a bold idea that "Confucius is nothing more than virtue, benevolence and righteousness". In poetry creation, he was initially fascinated by Li's lofty style and the poetic style of the Southern Dynasties, and wrote many poems praising love, such as Yantai, Heyang and Hanoi. After his repeated humiliation and destruction showed him the rugged road of life, his poems began to show resentment and some criticism to society. In the ninth year of Daiwa (835), the change of manna opened his eyes with bloody reality, which made him take a big step forward in thought and creation. At this time, his poems such as "Two Feelings" and "Re-feeling" have been quite profound and powerful in criticizing decadent politics.
official career
At the end of the second year of Kaicheng (837), Li Shangyin was admitted to Jinshi, and Linghu Chu died of illness that year. Shortly after attending Linghu Chu's funeral, Li Shangyin was hired by Wang Maoyuan, the envoy of Jingyuan, and went to Jingzhou (now north of Jingchuan County, Gansu Province) to be the king's attendant. Wang Maoyuan appreciated Li Shangyin's talent and married his daughter to him. From Li Shangyin's later experience, it can be seen that this marriage dragged him into the political whirlpool of the struggle between Niu and Li. Li Shangyin's embarrassing situation lies in: Wang Maoyuan made good friends with Li Deyu and was regarded as a member of the "Li Party"; Linghu Chu and his son belong to the "Niu Party". Therefore, Li Shangyin's behavior can easily be interpreted as betraying his teacher who just died, and he soon paid the price for it. In the Tang dynasty, the qualification of Jinshi was generally not immediately awarded to the official position, and it was necessary to pass the examination held by the official department.
In the spring of the third year of Kaicheng (838), Li Shangyin took the official examination and was exempted from the examination. The most direct impact of this incident on Li Shangyin was that he delayed his official position in the imperial court for one year.
In the fourth year of Kaicheng (839), Li Shangyin took the official awarding examination again, passed it successfully, and got the position of secretary of provincial studies. Soon, he was transferred to the county commandant of Hongnong (now Lingbao, Henan). Although the rank of county commandant is similar to that of school bookkeeper, staying away from the power center will obviously affect the future development. During his tenure at Hongnong, Li Shangyin had a very unhappy life. Because he commuted the death penalty ("living prison"), he was criticized by Sun Jian, and his boss Guo Shan observed him. Therefore, Li Shangyin felt very humiliated and unbearable, and finally resigned by taking a long vacation ("Ren Hongnong, Wei, took a leave of absence and returned to Beijing"). Coincidentally, Sun Jian has just been transferred to other places, and Yao He, who took over, managed to ease the tension. With his encouragement, Li Shangyin managed to stay. But he was obviously not in the mood to continue working at the moment, and soon (five years, 840 years) he resigned again and was approved.
fastrack
Portrait of Li Shangyin
In the Tang Dynasty, intellectuals who lacked family background all wanted to develop in their official career. There are two main entrances: imperial examination and shogunate. The former is considered as the qualification to enter the officialdom and the official recognition of its administrative ability; The latter is a political team cultivated by some powerful bureaucrats themselves. If they perform well, they can often become official officials of the court through the recommendation of these bureaucrats. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, many officials not only had the qualification to take the imperial examination, but also had the experience of being aides.
In the second year of Wenzong (837), Li Shangyin passed the qualification of Jinshi. He has failed many times before this. It is difficult to verify the year when Li Shangyin first applied for the World Heritage. Some people think that even before 10, that is, in the second year of Emperor Wenzong Taihe (828), Li Shangyin began his long and arduous road of applying for the World Heritage. Like most candidates who lack power background, Li Shangyin does not expect to succeed in one fell swoop. There is no mention of this situation in his poems handed down from ancient times, which shows that he is not very concerned about the failure of the first test. But as the number of failures increased, he gradually became dissatisfied. In the poem "Seeing Weng Dongchuan off to the curtain of Hongnong Shangshu", he compared the examiner who didn't accept him (the seventh year of Taihe) to a villain who hindered his success: "The birds don't cherish each other."
The failure of English drama will not make Li Shangyin reflect on his lack of knowledge. As early as four years in Taihe, Ling Hu Mao, who had studied with him, was admitted to Jinshi. This is obviously not because Hu Ling Mao's academic talent is better than Li Shangyin's, but because of his father's influence. Powerful people helped each other and recruited a large number of candidates from the upper-level network, which was a common phenomenon in the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty. Many candidates who lack backers will deliberately make friends before the exam, or try to attract the attention of examiners and celebrities. According to Li Shangyin's account, he is relatively low-key in this respect (with Tao Jinshi), but it is unlikely that he has never placed hope on Ling Huchu. It can be seen from Li Shangyin's letter to Hu Ling Mao in the first year of Kaesong that his mood has been quite excited. His two-year bid was the result of the influence of Hu Ling and his son on the examiner on duty.
idle period
After Li Shangyin resigned from hongnong county, after a period of adjustment, he managed to return to the secretary province in the second year of Wuzong Huichang (842). This time, his position ("orthography") is lower than last time ("pupil"). Even so, Li Shangyin has a new starting point for development. In the Tang Dynasty, it was generally believed that a position in Beijing would have more promotion opportunities than an expatriate official, and Li Shangyin's secretary province was more likely to attract high-level attention. Another piece of good news for Li Shangyin is that Li Deyu, the prime minister, has won the full trust of Wu Zong, and this capable politician is almost granted full authority to handle state affairs. Li Shangyin actively supported Li Deyu's political ideas. He is ambitious and has reason to expect the opportunity to be reused.
Li Shangyin rejoined the secretary less than a year ago. Because of his mother's death, Li Shangyin had to leave his job and go home to be filial for three years. This means that Li Shangyin, who is 30 years old, has to give up his best chance to become a power class. The accident dealt a fatal blow to Li Shangyin's political career. Li Shangyin lived at home for three years (from the end of Huichang II to the end of Huichang IV), which was the most glorious period of Li Deyu's administration. Miss this period, with the death of Wu Zong soon, Li Deyu political group suddenly lost power and influence, Li Shangyin has also been difficult to find a political bosom friend.
In the third year of Huichang (843), Wang Maoyuan, Li Shangyin's father-in-law, died in Wu Zongchao when he crusaded against Serina Liu rebellion on behalf of the imperial court. Wang Maoyuan did not use his influence to help Li Shangyin get promoted before his death, but his death undoubtedly made Li Shangyin's situation even more difficult.
In his idle years, Li Shangyin handled some family affairs, the most important of which was to move the graves of some relatives to the family cemetery in his hometown. This effort to maintain family honor has somewhat satisfied him psychologically. It can be seen from some existing poems that Li Shangyin tried his best to adjust his mentality and downplay his interest and expectation in political career. He sometimes engaged in farm work, claiming to be "eager to be a farmer" and imitating Tao Yuanming's style to write pastoral poems. But the chaotic situation has always attracted Li Shangyin's attention. He has a very distinct political tendency, which is almost impossible to hide.
Shogunate travel
In October of the fifth year of Huichang (845), Li Shangyin ended his filial piety and returned to the secretary province. At this time, the efficient cooperative relationship between Wu Zong and Prime Minister Li Deyu has reached the later stage. In March of the following year, Wu Zong died. It is said that he was poisoned by taking the elixir of life provided by Taoist priests for a long time. After a series of court struggles, Xuanzong Li Chen ascended the throne. He opposed most of Wu Zong's policies, especially Li Deyu. Therefore, almost the whole six years of Huichang (846) continued a new round of political cleansing, and the once powerful Prime Minister Li Deyu and his supporters were quickly pushed out of the power center. With the support of Xuanzong himself, the new forces of Niudang led by Bai Minzhong gradually occupied an important position in the government.
In the sixth year of Huichang (846), Li Shangyin was appointed as the secretary of the province. Thirty-five-year-old Li Shangyin finally had a son (Teacher Li Guns), and his cousin Li Xisao also became a scholar in this year. These two good news can only excite him for a while. Because he supported Li Deyu's platform, he was regarded as a betrayal by Ling Hu-mao and others, and was unlikely to share the victory of the Niudang. At this time, Li Shangyin's position was almost low to the point of being squeezed out in the power struggle, but Li Shangyin was still worried about his unsuccessful career. In the first year of Dazhong (847), when Zheng Ya was invited to work in Guilin by the observation of Gui Guan, Li Shangyin left with him almost without hesitation. In the third year of Taihe (829), Li Shangyin was employed by Ling Huchu, then our ambassador to Tian Pingjun, and served as the staff of local officials for many times. In fact, his experience as a staff member is longer than his official service in the court. But before the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (847), he always seemed to regard this experience as a transition. For Li Shangyin with political ambition, this kind of experience is very important, which is not only the process of his working ability, but also the way to accumulate social relations. However, after all, it is only an activity to prepare for the future. From the time point of view, almost every previous work experience changes frequently within a few months, and once you have the opportunity to enter the DPRK as an official, you will immediately resign from the post of shogunate. This time, when Li Shangyin went to Guilin as Zheng Ya's aide, he probably didn't realize that his career was coming to an end. In the next 10 years, he will gradually exhaust all his political enthusiasm during his travels in the shogunate.
In March of the first year of Dazhong (847), Li Shangyin bid farewell to his family and set out with Zheng Ya. After a journey of about two months, he came to the south about 5000 miles from Beijing. Zheng Ya's southward migration is part of the Niudang cleaning plan. Li Shangyin is willing to take the initiative to follow a disgraced official, which shows that he sympathizes with Li Deyu. On the other hand, it also shows that they no longer have confidence in their promotion. Less than a year in Guilin, Zheng Ya was once again demoted to the state secretariat, and Li Shangyin also lost his job.
In the autumn of the second year of Dazhong (848), Li Shangyin returned to Chang 'an. It is said that when he was down and out, he wrote to his old friend Hu Ling Suo (he has entered the core of power) asking for help, but he was rejected. As a result, he can only get a small position as a county magistrate through the self-study exam. Ironically, 10 years ago, he happened to be a considerable position (Hongnong County Commandant).
Li Shangyin was a captain for a short time and was transferred back to Beijing. At this time, it is very similar to his situation in the secretary province in the first year of Dazhong: humble official position, bleak future, loneliness and expectation of change. In September of the third year of Dazhong, Li Shangyin was invited by Lu Hongzhi, the ambassador of Wuning Army, to work in Xuzhou. Lu Hongzhi is a capable official, and he also appreciates Li Shangyin. If the official career goes well, Li Shangyin may have one last chance. Unfortunately, however, Li Shangyin followed Lu Hongzhi for just over a year, and the latter died in the spring of five years. In this way, Li Shangyin had to find another way to make a living.
Sunset night scene
In the fifth year (85 1), Li Shangyin's wife Wang died at the turn of spring and summer. Judging from Li Shangyin's poems, he has a very good relationship with Wang. This woman from a wealthy family has been taking care of her family and supporting her husband for many years. Because Li Shangyin has traveled abroad for many years and the husband and wife have been together for a long time, Li Shangyin has a guilty heart for his wife. The ups and downs of Li Shangyin's official career undoubtedly enhanced this sense of guilt.
In the autumn of the fifth year of Dazhong (85 1), Liu Zhongying, who was appointed as our ambassador to Xichuan, sent an invitation to Li Shangyin, hoping that he could go to Sichuan in the southwest border with him. Li Shangyin accepted the position of joining the army. Li Shangyin simply took care of the family affairs and went to work in Sichuan in 1 1 month. During his four years in Sichuan Zizhou shogunate, Li Shangyin was unhappy most of the time. He once had a great interest in Buddhism, associating with local monks, donating money to print Buddhist scriptures, and even thinking about becoming a monk. Ziping's life is the most dull and stable period in Li Shangyin's official career, and Li Shangyin has no intention of pursuing the success of his official career.
In the ninth year of Dazhong (855), Liu Zhongying was transferred back to Beijing. Out of concern, he arranged a promotion position for Li Shangyin. Although the grade is low, the treatment is rich. Li Shangyin worked in this position for two or three years, and then returned to his hometown to live in seclusion.
Li Shangyin was frustrated and depressed all his life because of the struggle between Niu Party and Li Party. Li Shangyin died in Zhengzhou in the last years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (about 858).