Zhao Xiaolan Li Yu's Lecture Notes of Lecture Room.

The historical figure we are going to talk about today is the last monarch of the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. We call him "the late master" Li Yu. What kind of person is Li Yu? First of all, he is a misplaced emperor, but at the same time he is a natural lover. But I think, what is the most important role in Li Yu's life? He is an outstanding literary artist. His lyrics almost topped the list of "the most popular golden songs" in that era in the capital, and some of them are still popular today. I think many people here have heard of this song and even sung it. For example, "Yu Meiren"

When is the spring flower and autumn moon, how much is known about the past. The small building was easterly again last night, and the old country could not bear to look back on the moon.

Carved fences and jade bricks should still exist, but Zhu Yan changed them. How much sadness can you have? Like a river flowing eastward.

For example, there is a song "Crying at Night", which you may be familiar with-

Silently alone in the west wing, the moon is like a hook, and the solitary phoenix tree locks the autumn in the deep courtyard.

It is sad, especially the general taste in my heart.

So Li Yu, how did he combine these multiple roles in his life? What unforgettable memories did he leave on the jade fence in his hometown? In his legendary and complicated life, what has he tasted that is different from the general taste? To understand this, we will walk into the real world of Li Yu's life and mind.

In July, 19961,Jinling, the capital of Southern Tang Dynasty, which is today's Nanjing, was holding a grand enthronement ceremony. A young man named Li, dressed in a yellow robe and stepping on the red carpet, walked step by step to the dragon chair, which symbolizes supreme power. From now on, he will have another new name-Li Yu. "Yu" means to shine, which symbolizes that he will spread his own glory to the motherland and people like the sun in the future. We think, how many people are dreaming of such a moment, and how many people are fighting for it? But for Li Yu, such a moment is definitely an accident. In this regard, we can know from the report he wrote to Song Taizu after he ascended the throne:

Since the accident, my heart has been generous, covered with the shadow of my father and brother, happy to travel around the sun and the moon, thinking about chasing the dust in the nest, and staying away from the lofty righteousness.

Jiaodong is the name of an ancient school, and shade education refers to shelter and nurturing. Chao Fu, Xu You, Boyi and Shu Qi are the four great men in ancient China who would rather be hermits than emperors. This passage means that I have been absent-minded about fame and fortune since I left school. Under the protection and nurturing of my father and brother, my life is free. I only hope to follow in the footsteps of Chao Fu, Xu You, Boyi and Shu Qi and worship them. I would rather be a hermit than inherit the noble character of the throne. Then why does this young man who grew up in the palace and eventually ascended the throne have no desire for power at all?

Zhao Xiaolan:

Li Yu's father, Li Jing, was the second emperor in the Southern Tang Dynasty and was called "the Lord of China" in history. This Li Jing talked about the ability to govern the country, which was common at that time. But people who write history are still polite to him, thinking that he has the ambition to govern the world, but unfortunately he can't choose people. Under his leadership, Nantang once expanded and tried to eat several neighboring countries in the south. However, due to improper employment, the result is not worth the candle. Therefore, when the army of the Northern Zhou Dynasty attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty, it almost beat him to beg for mercy, and finally ended up with land cession, reparations and surrender. In the internal affairs of the imperial court, Li Jing also made the same mistake. He appointed "problem people" like Feng Yansi. Feng Yansi is very literary, accompanying Li Jing to study, but his personality is very problematic. He flatters his boss, but he is overbearing and arrogant to his colleagues and subordinates. It was regarded as one of the "five ghosts and four evils" of the imperial court by people at that time.

What does "Four Fierces" mean? "Four Fierces" were four notorious tribal leaders in the Yao and Shun era, and later they were used to refer to fierce and greedy courtiers. The "five ghosts" are mostly used to refer to five people who are in cahoots at the same time. The "Four Fierces" here refers to the "Five Ghosts" of the Southern Tang Dynasty at that time, plus a check. It is said that Feng Yansi once scolded a founding father, who sarcastically said, "What are your skills? How dare you sit in such a high position? " . The old man didn't show weakness, and replied, I'm just a scholar who keeps his position. When it comes to playing with words, I can't compare with you in ten, singing, drinking and telling jokes, and I can't compare with you in one hundred. I want to kiss up and play tricks, and I will never be your opponent. However, although I don't have these skills, it is harmless to the country and the people.

But people like Feng Yansi and Jing Li are always partial. If someone wants to impeach Feng Yansi, he will come out in a muddle, or everyone will hit 50 boards. History books once praised Li Jing's kindness, but in fact, he was soft-hearted, and he didn't do it when he should do it. He valued human feelings rather than the law. As a result, the imperial court continued to have factions and infighting. Then such a state affair is not much better.

However, although Li Jing did not do his job well as an emperor, he was an expert in calligraphy and poetry. Take calligraphy as an example. He writes well in regular script, cursive script, official script and seal script. Li Shu, in particular, tried to imitate the handwriting of a famous artist of the previous generation, which even treasure experts could not tell. He wrote only five poems, but the capital is a fine work, which is enough to be included in the list of famous poets in the field of ci. Especially what? Especially because of these hobbies, he paid special attention to the cultural undertakings in the Southern Tang Dynasty, invested a lot of money to set up schools, collected books, and then recruited these literary and artistic talents. There are often some literary and artistic activities similar to seminars between monarchs and ministers. On one occasion, Feng Yansi wrote a sentence, including a famous sentence that he was proud of, which was called "The wind wrinkled a pool of spring water". Li Jing played a joke on him. He said that the wind wrinkled the spring water in the pond. What do you care? Feng Yansi is good at flattery, and he immediately went on to say that it is not as good as your Majesty's "building a small building to blow, building a jade to make you feel cold". This "small building blows jade cold" is just a famous sentence in one of Li Jing's sentences. We can guess how strong the cultural atmosphere is in the middle of the court in the southern Tang Dynasty from the casual conversation between the monarch and the minister.

With such a father, Li Yu will learn the art of governing the country. I'm afraid he will learn nothing. But in literature and art, Li Yu got a good education and development because of his father's example and subtle influence, and because of the cultural environment created by his father. In this respect, he showed amazing talent. Not only did he learn 100%, but shine on you was better than Blue. What music, calligraphy and painting, poetry, he is almost eighteen "martial arts" everything. Li Jing is an ideal father and Li Yu's mentor. He not only provided Wei with a luxurious material life, but also guided and encouraged him to enter the vast literary and artistic world. Under the protection and upbringing of his father, Li Yu's boyhood life could have been very calm. He could have been a free and wealthy idle man, who regarded art as the spice of life. But don't forget, as we mentioned earlier, Li Yu also has a brother, and it is this brother who casts a shadow over Li Yu's quiet life, turning him from a rich man into an idle hermit and taking art as his whole life. Who is this brother sometimes? What happened between him and Li Yu?

Too many.

You can see for yourself.