Multi-talented Tang Ming Emperor Li Longji

As the saying goes: no gold is perfect, no one is perfect, so is the emperor, Chinese emperors, outstanding performance in civil and military affairs, most of the poor personal cultivation. And outstanding talent and skill, but most of the political performance is not good. The former, such as Qin Huang Hanwu, Genghis Khan, Ming Zu Qingzong and so on, will only bend the bow to shoot a big eagle, with which to talk about poetry and song, is tantamount to a lute to a cow; the latter, such as the Southern Tang Dynasty after the Lord Li Yu, the Northern Song Dynasty Song Emperor Huizong, painting and calligraphy are good, know the music, become an artist, calligrapher is really well-deserved. It is a pity that the political performance is not satisfactory, are the dead king. Looking at Chinese history, only one emperor, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, can be considered as a double-quality emperor who had both brilliant political performance and talent and skill, and although he also failed to end well, he was not bad at all. The first is the Emperor Tang Mingzong, who was the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty. > Tang Ming Huang is a multi-talented king. History books say he "sex heroic, good horseback riding and archery. Through the music and rhythm, the calendar of the science of the elephant", "the nature of the English break multi-arts, especially know the music and rhythm, good eight points of the book". Li Longji's artistic cells seem to be inherent, he loved music since childhood. 6 years old can sing and dance, revealing musical qualifications, in the early Wu Zetian reign of a palace dance, at the age of six, Li Longji had appeared on the stage, dressed in drag, performed an ancient dance drama, "long life of the West River Women," won a full house applause. When he was a young man, he kept a collection of loose music in his residence for his own amusement. Before ascending to the throne, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty often used his love of music as a tactical tool in his political struggles. In the latter part of the reign of Emperor Tang Zhongzong, faced with the severe situation of Weiwu's power in the "post-Wu Zetian period", Li Longji was determined to eradicate the dissident forces and completely restore the Li Tang regime. For example, during his tenure as the Luzhou Farewell, he consciously took advantage of the prevailing social trend of the aristocrats and their own expertise in music, and through organizing various forms of musical activities, he made friends with a wide range of talented people to improve his political strength and numb his political opponents. After killing Princess Taiping, by the total control of the government, the beginning of the reign in order to consolidate their position, also attaches great importance to the music of the ritual function. > after succeeding the throne, Li Longji further expanded the royal music department management organization. In addition to the establishment of the Taishang Temple Drum Blower Department and the Dale Department, but also increased the pear orchard, the workshop, so that it and the Drum Blower Department and the Dale Department coexist. Especially in the east and west capital of the two capitals were set up around the two workshops, by the palace direct management, thus greatly improving the status of secular music. The six canons of the Tang Dynasty, Volume 14, recorded that the Tang Xuanzong Kaiyuan late daluo department of personnel management establishment exceeded the previous generation, which has "order 1 person, the prime minister 1 person, the House of 3 people, the history of the 6 people, the music is 8 people, 8 people in charge of 8 people, palm solid 6 people, the text of the dance two dances of the Lang 140 people." In total, there were 19 managers and 140 musicians. The establishment of the Drum and Blow Department was "1 order, 1 chancellor, 3 prefectures, 6 historians, 4 musicians, 4 officials, and 4 palm guards." *** counted 19 management officials. > At the same time, and set up a "Pearland", selected three hundred musicians and hundreds of courtesans to learn music and song, personally taught "Pearland" disciples, called "Emperor Pearland disciples." One of them is located in Chang'an Guanghua Gate North forbidden garden, equipped with a large square, and can tug-of-war, playing ball; the second is located in Penglai Palace side of the Yichunyuan, divided into men and women in two parts. The Ziji Tongjian records: "The old system, elegant and popular music, are subordinate to the Taishang. On the know sound and rhythm, to too often the Department of Rituals and Music, should not be advocating superiority of miscellanea; was more set up around the workshop to teach the common music, ordered the right primus general Fan and for the make. And select hundreds of musicians, teaching themselves the law of the song in the pear orchard, called the 'emperor pear orchard disciples'. And teach the court ladies to practice. And choose the girls, put Yichunyuan, to give their families." "pear orchard", Li Longji to nine or five as the Royal troupe master, leisure time, he often went to the pear orchard to direct the rehearsal of musicians, because his musical attainments are very high, "the sound of the hair, there is a sound error, Xuanzong will be aware of and correct." To the children rehearsal from time to time to teach and correct, happy, therefore, the opera world as his grandfather. > because of his hobby and advocate, "Tang's heyday, where the music people, sound people, too often miscellaneous household children affiliated with too often and drums and blowing Department ...... total number of sound people, to tens of thousands of people." Tang Xuanzong also made a number of major reforms of the Tang music system, the most famous is the adjustment of the original nine music, "change ten music" as "sitting part of the Kabuki", "standing part of the Kabuki" and the Department of elegant music. "If you always enjoy the banquet, the first day with a sitting, set up the Department of music on the name seal, please play the Royal Note and down. And will, the first play sitting part of the kabuki, the second play standing part of the kabuki, the second play disk horse, the second play scattered music and finished" ("New Tang Dynasty Book - rituals and music"). Tatebukuro's scale is larger, more people, as many as one hundred dozens of people, or even thousands of people. Sit in the Department of the number of less than three to a dozen people. > Li Longji proficient in a variety of musical instruments, pipa, erhu, flute, capricorn drums, none. The best is the capricorn drum and jade flute. Capricorn drum is also his very favorite. The drums were introduced during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and had become extremely popular during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Playing capricorn drums is like commanding an orchestra, at that time Li Longji on the capricorn drum performance has a very high level of skill his Chancellor Song said that when he played "the head is like the green mountain peaks, hands like white rain", that is to say, Tang Xuanzong's head is like mountain peaks as motionless, and the drumsticks seem to be like the rain to the drum surface. > He is also an extraordinary music composer, good at composing music, in the first half of the 8th century, in terms of the scope of the world's music, Li Longji can be regarded as a rare master of composition. Li Longji had a lot of compositional genius, history books have a lot of records: "on the hole know the sound of the law, by the heavenly indulgence, all the silk pipe, must create its wonderful. If the production of the song, random that is, do not set up chapters, take the appropriate short and long, should be finger scattered sound, all in the point of the beat. As for the clear and turbid changes, the call of the law, the ruler and the minister, and the things, iterative system, although the ancient Kui, Kuang, can not be over." The number of creations is also very considerable, "Capricorn Drum Records" even put the 92 exhaustive drum song creation rights, all belong to him, "Xuanzong and make new songs more than 40, and new music score." His masterpieces include "Neishang Yuyi Song", "Small Broken Formation Music", "Good Spring" and "High Autumn Wind", and more than a hundred other pieces of music. The famous "Nishang Yuyi Qu" consists of 36 parts, including a preface (6 parts), a middle preface (18 parts) and a breakthrough (12 parts). Legend has it that it was composed by Emperor Li Longji of Tang Xuanzong during the reign of Emperor Kaiyuan, and its content depicts the myth that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang went to the Moon Palace to meet the fairies, and that the dancers "did not wear the ordinary clothes of other people. The dancer "does not wear the ordinary clothes of other people. Rainbow dress Xiapi step shaking crown, tin tassel tired Pei Shan Shan," just like a Taoist fairy dress. The dance posture is also "floating and spinning back to the snow lightly, sweetly sending the dragon to be surprised, small hanging hands to suppress the powerless, diagonally trailing skirt when the clouds want to be born", "the smoke moth slightly not win the form, wind sleeve low as if there is love. On the Yuan point of the hair inviting calyx green, the Queen Mother waved her arms to leave flying Qiong", so it seems that the mood and the myth of the Moon Palace is similar. > his fascination with the arts and music, incurred Minister of Rites Zhang Ting and other ministers of counseling: "on the Spring and Autumn tripod, it is appropriate to respect the scriptures and the arts, near the end of the Shi, still simple, deep to pleasure Zheng sound, good hunting as a precaution." Exhortation to the emperor away from the sound and color of the omission, apparently did not work, "although the upper can not be used, want to open up the road of speech, salty reward." But in the Tianbao years later, Tang Xuanzong in the long ascendancy in the rich and prosperous world gradually change, and thought the world can not be worried, live in the forbidden, idle political affairs, dedicated to the sound and color for entertainment, finally brewed into the Anshi rebellion. > multi-talented Li Longji, also very favorite calligraphy, Xuanzong calligraphy and Taizong. Its calligraphy is rich and fertile beauty, give a person line line simple feeling. Tang Dou "book fugue" cloud: "Kaiyuan should Qian, Shenwu smart, the bones of the giant Li, the tablet version of the momentous, think like a spring and spit the wind, the pen for the sea and swallowed the whale." Huang Shan valley said: "xuanzong book spot still have grandfather's wind. Ancient and Modern Calligraphy Garden" said: "Tang Minghuang's work of eight points of chapter and grass, rich and luxuriant Yingte." Heirloom inscriptions are "Ji Taishan Inscription", "Qing Tang Guan Ji Sheng Inscription", "Shidai filial piety scripture", regular script has "given Yu Zhengdao", running script has "Gaizhou assassin Zhang Jingzhong book" and the ink "Ode" and so on.