Shangguan Wan'er, also known as Shangguan Zhaorong, was a female official, poet and imperial concubine in the Tang Dynasty.
After his grandfather Shangguan Yi was convicted and killed, he was assigned to the inner court with his mother Zheng as a maid. At the age of fourteen, Wu Zetian put her in a position of great importance because of her intelligence and good writing. She was in charge of the palace for many years and was known as the "Women Prime Minister".
During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, she was granted the title of Zhaorong, became more powerful, and had a prominent position in the political and literary circles. From then on, as an imperial concubine, she was in charge of the government decrees of the inner court and the outer court. He once proposed to expand the library and add more bachelors. During this period, he presided over Fengya and commented on the world's poetry on behalf of the court. At that time, many poets gathered under his sect.
The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty contains thirty-two of his poems. In 710, Linzi King Li Longji launched the Tang Long coup and was killed at the same time as Queen Wei. Why was Shangguan Wan'er listed as one of the four most talented women in ancient times? What are her strengths?
Leading the literary style
Shangguan Wan'er won the trust of Li Xian and Queen Wei, specializing in internal affairs. Her grandfather's case was also vindicated, and Shangguan Yi posthumously awarded Zhongshu Ling, the governor of Qinzhou, The Duke of Chu, Shangguan Tingzhi posthumously presented the title of Minister of Huangmen, Governor of Qizhou, and Duke of Tianshui.
After that, Shangguan Wan'er often persuaded Li Xian, appointed a large number of bachelors from Zhaowen Hall, summoned officials of the dynasty's Ci studies, gave many banquets and entertainments, and composed poems and songs. Each time, he replaced Li Xian, Queen Wei, and Princess Anle at the same time. He composed several poems with beautiful verses, which were widely recited and sung by people at that time. Li Xian also asked her to evaluate the poems written by ministers. Those who ranked first were often rewarded with golden knights, which was extremely valuable. Therefore, reciting poems and writing poems became a common practice both inside and outside the imperial court. Shangguan Wan'er loved collecting books. She once collected more than ten thousand volumes of books, and all the books in her collection were scented. A hundred years later, his books were among the people, still fragrant and free of insects.
Literary Contribution
Shangguan Wan'er inherited and developed the writing style of her grandfather Shangguan Yi in poetry. She attached great importance to the formal skills of poetry, paid more attention to the beauty of sound and words, and was good at embodying the picture of things. Delicate and exquisite. During the reign of Zhongzong, due to the influence of his political status, the poetic style of "Qicuo Wanmei" gradually affected the creative direction of court poets and even other scholars, and "Shangguan style" also became the mainstream of creation in the upper class.
Wang Mengou recorded in "A Study of Poetry in the Early Tang Dynasty" that "especially after Zhongzong's restoration, he gave banquets and composed poems one after another, all with Wan'er as the poet. Beauty or not is a trade-off, so the imperial court became more and more indifferent."
Shangguan Wan'er set up a Xiuwen Museum, summoned officials of the dynasty to study Ci, and vigorously carried out cultural activities. During this period, Wan'er presided over Fengya, competed with bachelors about flowers and plants, wrote poetry competitions, and promoted and rewarded literati.
Xie Wuliang, a modern literary and art theorist, said, "Wan'er inherited his ancestors and competed with other scholars about Huazao. Many of the works produced by Shen and Song Ying were evaluated by Wan'er. At that time, we admired each other, and then became Customs, so Shangguan’s ancestors and grandsons especially contributed a lot to the development of rhythmic poetry.”
In addition, Shangguan Wan'er also made many contributions to the development of the theme of garden landscape poetry in the Tang Dynasty, such as "Princess Changning Flows the Cup into the Pool", which broke through the previous form of palace poetry describing scenery and embodying emotions. Yu Jing, but more natural landscape flavor.
Lu Chang, a literati of the Qing Dynasty, praised in "Poems of Celebrities in the Past Dynasties" that "Zhao Rong has bright talents and bright thoughts, and the style of writing is refreshing and has the style of a celebrity."
There are thirty-two extant poems in "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty", which can be divided into three categories according to their content: expressing emotions, expressing feelings, responding to peace, and recording travels.
A lyrical work
"Resentment in Colored Books":
At the beginning of the leaves in Dongting, I missed you for more than ten thousand miles. The strong fragrance of dew is cold, and the moon falls on the brocade screen.
If you want to play a song from the south of the Yangtze River, you will get a seal from Jibei. There is no other meaning in the book, except that I have been away from home for a long time.
Daily Yingzhi
Even the most common form of court poetry, that is, the daily Fenghe Yingzhi, Shangguan Wan'er also uses it as either fresh and meaningful, or powerful, etc. His style and magnanimity reflect his unparalleled talents.
For example, "On the first spring day of the Holy Anniversary Ceremony, colorful flowers appeared in the inner hall during the banquet":
Dense leaves are spit out due to cutting, and new flowers bloom one after another. Although climbing the strips is not wrong, picking the pistils will reveal the weakness.
The spring solstice has come, but autumn has not yet begun to grow. I would like to ask Peach General and Li, how do you want to be in trouble?
Landscapes and Sounds
Some of Wan'er's landscape works are not far from the pastoral style of landscape poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Like the thirteenth:
The staff is approaching Xiaxiu, and the dangerous steps are under the frost path. The ambition is to pursue the tranquility of the deep mountains, and the road will be confused by the meandering streams.
I gradually feel relaxed and relaxed, and I see the clouds and fog are low. Don't blame people for mentioning trees just to enjoy the secluded habitat. Weighing the world's scholars
It is said that when Wan'er was about to be born, her mother Zheng dreamed of a giant and gave her a scale and said: "Use this to weigh the world's scholars." Zheng expected that there must be a giant in her belly The man will surely be one of the most talented people in the world in the future. Who would have thought that when he gave birth to a daughter, she was very unhappy.
This Wan'er is beautiful, but better than her mother. She has grown up to be smart and smart since she was a child. She was only one month old when she was born. Zheng held Wan'er in her arms and joked: "Can you weigh the world's scholars? ?" Wan'er responded, and now it's true.
Therefore, reciting poems and writing poems became a common practice both inside and outside the imperial court. Empress Wei was not good at poetry, so she left Wan'er to write the poem for her. All the officials knew clearly that the poem was not written by the empress, but they had no choice but to recognize her in person and praise her for her self-control. Empress Wei then doted on Wan'er even more.
Red plum makeup
Duan Chengshi has this record in "Youyang Zazu": "Today's women's facial decorations are made of flowers, which originated from Shangguan Zhaorong. To cover up the tattoo marks."
Shangguan Zhaorong is Shangguan Wan'er. Duan Chengshi's son (or his nephew) Duan Gongguo described it in more detail in "Bei Hu Lu": "Every time the Queen of Heaven (Wu Zetian) paired up with the ministers, she ordered Zhao Rong (Shangguan Wan'er) to lie under the skirt of the case and write down what was said. One day, when the Prime Minister was doing something, Zhaorong peeped and retreated from the court. He was so angry that he took out the sword and stuck it on his face. Covering the marks." This theory comes from the "Supplementary Materials on Materia Medica" written by Chen Zangqi, a contemporary of Shangguan Wan'er, so it is more credible. ——This is a historical record.
The Hosta Flower God
It is said that Shangguan Wan'er often liked to read in front of flowers, especially on summer evenings, accompanied by the fragrance of hosta flowers, and savored the wonderful sentences in the book. . It is appropriate to name Shangguan Wan'er as the Flower Goddess of the Hairpin.
Poetry at Mumen Temple
In 684 AD, Shangguan Wan'er went to Bazhou to visit Li Xian. When he arrived here, he heard that the prince had been killed, and Li Xian had posted a poem next to Mumen Temple. A pavilion was built on the "stone for drying sutras" with the inscription "From Banan to Jingzhou": "The rice warehouse is green, the rice warehouse is blue, the setting sun is like complaining and weeping. The melons and vines are green, the melons are in decline, it is not like it used to be in the Fang Dynasty. ." poems on the pavilion in memory of Li Xian.
Overall evaluation
Wan'er struggled in the turbulent era and became the "uncrowned queen" in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Wisdom, aura, talent... Wan'er relied on these magic weapons to shuttle among the important officials in the court, composing a beautiful and sad chapter of life.
Men are not allowed to be talented in poetry and prose, and their character merits and demerits are quite controversial. Some people praise his literary talent, while others criticize him for his lewdness. Some highly praise him, while others despise him. And her 27-year-long affair with Wu Zetian is also talked about by future generations. There are records of Shangguan Wan'er in official histories such as "Old Book of Tang" and "New Book of Tang", but most of them reflect her negative events of flattering the powerful, fornicating in the palace, manipulating politics, and controlling the court. However, literati who were contemporaries of Shangguan Wan'er, such as Zhang Shuo and Wu Pingyi, spoke highly of Shangguan Wan'er and his work. In modern times, he has been increasingly praised by scholars.
"The Restoration of the Shangguan Family as Jie Yu's System": "But with a wise career and economic talent, the good deeds are more advanced, and the brilliance will spread far and wide."
"Jinglong Wenguan" Notes": "Since Tongtianhou, in front of Jinglong, he has always been in charge of Chen Han. He has military and national plans, a big handle for killing, and many decisions." "You seek handsome men in the most secluded places, and you are full of rhetoric. The country has scholars who are good at writing, and all officials in the court are learned , In the past twenty years, nothing has been left behind, this is his strength. "
"Old Book of Tang Dynasty": "When Wan'er was pregnant, her mother dreamed that someone had left a large scale, and the person who predicted it said: "When the baby is born." Noble son, but Bingguo weighs. "After giving birth to a daughter, those who heard about it sneered that it was invalid, and Wan'er specialized in domestic affairs, just as the occupier said."
"The Preface to the Epitaph of Jieyu Shangguan's Family in the Tang Dynasty": "Jieyu Yishu is gifted, wise and divine. The poems and books are the garden, and the essence is picked up; the calligraphy and calligraphy are the machine, and they are organized into beautiful things. In Prison Fang Ling, the Wu family succeeded, died and resurrected, it is destiny, it is not lucky. Even if you think twice, the world knows that it will be defeated, now Zhaorong believes in it, and will destroy the clan!"
Zhang said: "Listen with keen sense, explore the micro-mirror, open the book and accept it, just like hearing it before, and the clouds fly with the pen, forming a structure of the same place. In ancient times, there were female historians who recorded merits and deeds, and there were also female ministers who made decisions and made decisions. The imperial court is both beautiful and full of opportunities, and the advisers are always ready to respond as expected. Although she is known as Ban Yuan in the Han Dynasty and Zuo Yu in the Jin Dynasty, the way of writing is not different, but the role of assistants is different. The elegance of the stranger's voice flows through the leaves. The pure and bright knowledge helps the mind, the wisdom supports the knowledge, the spirit supports the ambition, the talent of the stranger, the auspiciousness of the king, who can reach the level of Siyi? ?"
Zhang Jue: "Ban Jieyu and Zuo Concubine are both knowledgeable in classics and history and sophisticated in writing."
Lv Wen: "Jieyu Tang Zhaorong of the Han family. Poetry can last for thousands of years. He said that his talent is naive, and he is not convinced that his husband is better than a woman. "Xu Yi." Yuan Mei: "On the two poems of the poet, the hairpin man is the great master.
Is it possible for a person who still has a white paper on his head to be as smart as a daughter? "