The Han Dynasty, which is widely praised today, is definitely not the one that repeatedly exchanged intimacy for peace, but the one that sent troops to the north during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to repay the national humiliation, and the one that dared to shout out "Whoever made a strong Han will be punished from afar". This is because it affects the mental outlook of the whole nation and brings us a great sense of national honor.
The same is true of the Tang Dynasty, whose prosperity made all countries come to North Korea, and also made other countries envy and even fear.
So Wang Wei wrote in his poem:
All the people worshipped the Zhou Dynasty and were crowned.
What a grand scene this is!
The prosperity of the country has brought high spirits to the whole nation, which is what we feel as the "prosperous weather of the Tang Dynasty".
People in this period have a heartfelt self-confidence. The Tang Dynasty was the most powerful country in the world, and people in neighboring countries envied our life. Foreign envoys can only bow to their knees here and dare not be presumptuous.
We can give our wealth and civilization to the envoys of other small countries without care, and we can open up trade routes and transport foreign treasures to our country.
This is a kind of cultural confidence.
Similarly, all the forces that threatened the Tang Dynasty will be wiped out outside the country, and few wars can spread to the mainland. Even after losing the battle, the enemy did not dare to enter the territory of the Tang Dynasty easily.
This is the stability brought by strong national strength.
This country, which has been in a strong position for a long time, naturally has strong self-esteem and self-confidence, and dares to confront any threat, instead of just defending like in the Song Dynasty.
Compared with the literary works of Tang and Song Dynasties, the difference in mental outlook is very obvious.
Poetry is the most prosperous thing in the Tang Dynasty, but if we look at the value of literature, the poems and songs in the Song Dynasty are comparable to those in the Tang Dynasty, but why do we prefer to read Tang poetry?
Let's give two examples to see what is the difference between the mentality of people in the Tang Dynasty and that of people in the Song Dynasty.
Also writing about Lushan Mountain, let's look at the works of two writers:
Li Bai's Tang Poems: Looking at Lushan Waterfall
The incense burner in Rizhao produces purple smoke, and the waterfall hangs in front of the river. On the high cliff, it seems to be thousands of feet high, which makes people think that the Milky Way has fallen from heaven to earth.
Su Shi's Song Poem: Topic Xilin Wall
Looking at Lushan Mountain from the front and side of peaks and valleys, from far, near, high and low places, Lushan Mountain presents various faces. I can't recognize the true face of Lushan Mountain because I am there.
These two poems are written by famous artists, but their way of thinking and attitude towards life are completely different.
When Li Bai saw Lushan Mountain, he thought that the Milky Way fell to the ground, and the atmosphere of nine days of pouring revealed a heroic realm and divergent thinking.
When Su Shi saw Lushan Mountain, he thought of its internal structure and high and low scenery, revealing a profound philosophy and inward thinking.
This is the different mental state of Tang and Song Dynasties. The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty made the poems of the prosperous Tang Dynasty heroic, while the Song Dynasty was under oppression and the country was in danger. The mental outlook of literati is often very depressed, and they can only cultivate their own inner garden.
It goes without saying which of these two states we prefer. Therefore, even though Song poetry is as famous as Tang poetry in literary value, its influence on national psychology is far less than that of Tang poetry.
There is a simple reason. Who doesn't want to live in an incomparably powerful country?
What can really affect a nation for a long time can only be a distinctive mental outlook, not an object that can be imitated.
Many people may be obsessed with the inventions of the Tang Dynasty and think that many things have changed people's way of life. In fact, although these are historical facts, ordinary people will not pay attention to them.
Just as we all know that gunpowder changed the world, how many people know that real gunpowder only appeared in the Tang Dynasty? We know that the birth of the imperial examination is a high-level talent selection system, but how many people know that in the Tang Dynasty, ordinary people, poor scholars and other scholars from humble origins accounted for less than 30% of the imperial examination?
There are also many people who think that it is economic reasons that the people of the Tang Dynasty lived a relatively stable and prosperous life. But judging from the historical law, the latter era is richer than the previous one. Even though the Song Dynasty was oppressed by the nomadic people in the north, its economic development was far less than that of the Tang Dynasty.
Because the historical trend is forward.
Inventions such as these things and systems have really changed people's lifestyles, but they will not be remembered by ordinary people.
What a dynasty can really influence a nation is by no means an object that can be imitated, but the mental state it brings to the whole nation.
The Tang Dynasty is only an era in history that can make the whole nation proud.