There is a saying in the ancient painting world that cattle and horses are the most difficult to draw. Because these two animals are common things in daily life, and they are also self-aware animals. Without a deep foundation, it is difficult to grasp its charm and be able to resonate with the audience.
Therefore, the "Eight Juntu" is very precious, and it can also be matched by the "Five Bull Diagram" of professional cattle painting. The author is a professional civil servant, and in his words, painting is just a hobby.
However, between "Five Bulls" and the author Han Di, there is a helpless historical story.
First, be famous
Han Di's uncle's name was Han Damin, and he was a Fengge Sheren during the Wu Zetian period. Fengge Sheren is also a common Zhongshu Sheren, and it is easy to understand why they have to change their names, after all, Wu Zetian is a female emperor.
One day, Han Damin received a task, that is, Emperor Wu ordered Li Xingzhuo, the governor of Liang Prefecture, to be killed, on the grounds of rebellion. The real reason for this is that Li Xingzhu belonged to the Li Tang imperial family, and Wu Zetian was to eliminate hidden dangers.
Han Damin felt that Li Dudu was innocent and refused to carry out the order. In the end, Wu Zetian changed a person and gave Li Xingzhuo death, but the disobedient Han Damin was also given to die at home.
Let's talk about Han Xiu's father, Han Xiu. Han Xiu was the chancellor of the Tang Xuanzong dynasty, and was known as the Wei Zheng of the Xuanzong Dynasty.
How "afraid" was Tang Xuanzong towards him? According to the historical records, Emperor Xuanzong made a slight mistake, so he immediately asked around: "Does Prime Minister Han know about this?" As soon as the words fell, Han Xiu's exhortation to the emperor's behavior was delivered, making the emperor always sullen.
In order to meet the emperor, his subordinates said: Han Xiu is too annoying, you are tortured by him and you are emaciated, why don't you find an excuse to degrade him out of Beijing?
Xuanzong said: "Although I have lost weight, the country has become richer. With Han Xiu, I slept soundly. This is the origin of the idiom "jun thin national fat".
With two upright predecessors proofing, Han Di's character does not need to be guessed much, and he is also a righteous gentleman. Therefore, I also believe that he said that he "painting is a hobby, because it is not important at all compared to work, and I have not thought of imparting skills", which is sincere, not modest and polite.
Second, a generation of capable subjects
From Xuanzong to Dezong, Han Di went through four dynasties. Starting from a small magistrate, he eventually became the envoy and prime minister of the clan town, and he worked diligently and strictly throughout his life.
His highlights began in 771 AD, when he became a household attendant and began to contact the world's finances. Before him, due to objective reasons such as the Anshi Rebellion, the taxes collected in various places were independent, and the goods entering and leaving the warehouse were also independent, and there was no national unified law, resulting in the emptiness of the state finances.
After Han Di took power, due to his honesty and diligence, everyone could not find a handle. Therefore, under his strict measures, the state formed a unified collection and warehousing management system, and the state's savings gradually recovered.
In the process of formulating the rules, Han Di used strict methods, and his subordinates complained about it. The criticism caused by this style of doing things also accompanied him throughout his life.
Tang Dezong noticed this fierce "god of wealth" and transferred Han Di from the central government to Zhenjiang soon after he ascended the throne. Don't think this is derogatory, this is reuse!
Because Zhenjiang was the capital of the navy of Fanzhen Town at that time, it was home to 15 states, all of which were rich in Jianghuai and was one of the main sources of taxation in the Tang Dynasty. The emperor sent Han Di as the envoy of the naval department of the town, which was to see his excellent financial ability.
When he arrived in Zhenjiang, Han Jiedushi also lived up to expectations and soon showed excellent administrative ability. First of all, after his arrival, the bandit plague in the Zhenjiang area was completely eradicated. Second, the high GDP index of the place has been raised to a higher level.
But it also comes at a cost. First of all, Han Di saved the prison against the bandits. As long as they are involved with bandits, they are all executed, and there is no such thing as detention. Then the young man who has just entered the industry for 1 month and the bandit leader who occupies the mountain is a treatment. This is not in accordance with legal requirements.
Second, the economic indicators at that time were mainly derived from agricultural development. In order to protect farming, Han Di expelled all cattle slaughterers in his jurisdiction. The slaughterers who slaughter cattle are worse off than the bandits, because once they are found slaughtering, the result is that they are beheaded and displayed in public, and they have to "violently die for several days". This caused a very big discussion in the society at that time.
It seems to be a crude method, but it indirectly maintains the trend of the Tang Dynasty. In 783, the Jingyuan Mutiny suddenly broke out in Guanzhong, and the rebels briefly captured Chang'an. Emperor Dezong fled in a hurry and ran to Qianxian County, Shaanxi.
The rebellious Fanzhen Jiedu in the Central Plains made Li Xilie openly claim the title of emperor, and at that time the rebels had already captured Kaifeng and were besieging Ningling. Li Xilie also did a historically famous thing, that is, imprisoned and killed Yan Zhenqing.
Han Di commanded tens of thousands of troops into Henan and relieved the siege of Ningling. At the same time, the Jiedushi of other towns jointly quelled the rebellion, and it can be said that in this counter-rebellion, Han Diju made great contributions.
Through analysis, he believes that Chang'an can no longer live for a long time, and Luoyang is also the place of the four wars in the Central Plains. Therefore, he hoped that the imperial court would use the south as a companion capital, and once something happened, it could move south to avoid disasters.
To this end, he built dozens of new houses in the stone city and dug more than 100 deep wells.
The huge construction cost did not fall from the sky, but was the result of Han Di's forcible apportionment to the local people.
Such an approach is to do good and do bad things. First of all, the common people will not say that Han Jiedu is good, only dare to be angry and dare not speak. The rumor of "scavenging the people's fat and the people's ointment" soon reached the emperor's ears. The emperor was naturally very unhappy about doing such a thing in a tax-heavy place.
Secondly, in the counterinsurgency, Han Di showed his strong overall planning ability and coordination ability. Whether it was politics, military, or finance, all aspects of work were orderly, and in the chaotic era of feudal division at that time, this was very uneasy for the emperor.
Finally, and most importantly, there is the construction of Stone City. Han Di said that this was to build a capital for the imperial court, but others said that it was Han Jiedushi who was preparing to declare himself emperor. After all, there were examples of Li Xilie calling himself emperor before, and the emperor could not fully believe in Han Di's personality, after all, people can change.
In the end, under the protection of the chancellor Li Bi, Emperor Dezong put aside his murderous heart and transferred Han Di back to Chang'an to serve as prime minister.
3. Famous paintings passed down from generation to generation
After Han Di became prime minister, he also served as a salt and iron monopoly and a financial officer. It seems that he holds great power, but in fact, the rise and fall of the light and the dark have deprived the military power in their hands. It didn't matter to Han Di, it was all about serving the imperial court. For the emperor, there is a problem, after all, there is an unstable factor.
Moreover, the reuse of Han Di was also forced by no one to use, and at that time, there was no better financial expert besides him.
Han Di was also well aware of the emperor's worries, so he created the Five Bulls Chart. The historical status of this painting does not need to be described in detail, and Han Di wanted to use this painting to represent the industrious and obedient conduct of the five brothers of the Han family. The main purpose was to show the emperor his heart.
In particular, the head of the cage, the cow with the nose ring, looked helpless. In fact, the author expresses that he does not linger on the position of power and has the intention of retreating.
Although the "Five Bull Diagram" has been handed down, for the author Han Di, life is not very happy. This is the sadness of the noh in the chaotic era.
Author: Our special guest author Kan Dashan
References: "Han Di Wu Niu Tu", "Biography of Emperor Dezong of Tang"