In some dramas or television and film works adapted in later generations, the character images have a strong directionality and are the result of artificial processing.
The fabricated image is quickly disseminated by the media, so that the historical image of many historical figures is misunderstood as a literary and artistic image, the most famous of which is the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" supporting Liu Anti-Cao's ideas, not to completely deny artistic creation, but we must respect historical facts.
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a eunuch who loyally assisted the emperor, but because of Li Bai's words, he was "defined as a clown" by later generations, and it was not until his tomb was rediscovered that he was able to settle the injustice.
First, the family road falls
Feng Yuanyi was born into a family of eunuchs, his father Feng Junheng was a former Assassin of Panzhou, and his mother was the great-granddaughter of the Sui Dynasty general Mai Tiejian, and his family background is not to be described as prominent.
But it was such a child from a noble background who ushered in a major change in his life when he was 10 years old.
After Wu Zetian established Wu Zhou, he began to set off a wave of "counterinsurgency" throughout the country, exiled a large number of political enemies, and the Lingnan region, which was responsible for receiving exiled prisoners at that time, also became the focus of Wu Zetian's attention.
Wan Guojun, who was in charge of handling this matter, was well aware of Wu Zetian's intentions, and after arriving in Lingnan, he carried out a great purge of the Lingnan officialdom without saying anything, and Feng Junheng was also the target of this purge.
Framed by Wan Guojun, Wu Zetian ordered the confiscation of Feng Junheng's family's property.
Feng Junheng, who was unsuccessful in the official field, soon died in resentment, leaving Feng Yuanyi and his mother to rely on each other.
In order to survive, the mother and son had to beg along the street, barely hungry, but in the end there was no way out, and the mother Mai Shi had no choice but to sell the young Feng Yuanyi to a rich family as a slave.
Two coups
To live is to have hope, and the encounters of life are always full of coincidences. In order to curry favor with Wu Zetian, Lingnan invited Li Qianli to send two boys to Beijing, one of whom was Feng Yuanyi. Of course, before entering the palace, you must be castrated and become a eunuch.
Due to his natural handsomeness, wit and cleverness, coupled with his hard work, Feng Yuanyi learned a good martial art and was especially good at archery.
Soon, he stood out among many eunuchs, and his survival in the court was to pay attention to the background of the mountain, and after being introduced, he became the adopted son of the internal servant Gao Yanfu, changing his surname to Gao and minglishi.
The wheel of history is always rolling forward irreversible, after Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, the Tang Dynasty returned to Li Tang's world, and the nobles of Gao Lishi also appeared at this time, not the crown prince Li Xian, but Li Longji, the king of Linzi, the two were similar in age, and they were the same at first sight.
Later, when the Tang Long coup broke out, empress Dowager Wei listened to the government, set up Emperor Li Xian, and finally even collaborated with Princess Anle to poison him.
Just as Empress Wei was triumphantly preparing to retake Wu Zetian's old path, Li Longji, the king of Linzi, and Princess Taiping led the army to attack, and Empress Wei's party was eradicated in chaos.
It is said that the battle between the court is important in the combination of the inside and the outside, and Li Longji, who is far away in Linzi, knows what is happening in the palace, and there must be an internal response in the DPRK, and this inner response is his best friend Gao Lishi.
After Li Longji's father Li Dan ascended the throne, he became a hand-wavering treasurer, and the authority of the world was handed over to Li Longji and Princess Taiping.
They all said that a mountain could not tolerate two tigers, and the two of them launched a power struggle behind their backs. Later, Li Longji ascended to the throne as he wished, but Princess Taiping was still not dead hearted and plotted to launch a coup d'état, but with the assistance of Gao Lishi and others, Li Longji successfully quelled the rebellion.
3. Be faithful to the Lord
After experiencing two upheavals, the relationship between Gao Lishi and Li Longji became closer, and the Tang Dynasty also had a "Kaiyuan prosperous era" during the Xuanzong period.
Unlike the cunning eunuchs of the past, Gao Lishi was good at understanding people and had a deep understanding of the political situation, which could help Xuanzong make correct decisions.
During Emperor Xuanzong's slack reign, he repeatedly asked Gao Lishi who could be entrusted, and Gao Lishi also spoke bluntly, negating Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and other important ministers, and even pointing directly to An Lushan's ambitions.
After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Emperor Xuanzong sighed: "Qing's words in the past are just that."
Assisted in the prosperous times, accompanied by the bleak times, Gao Lishi was loyal to the Lord, and carefully took care of Xuanzong's body when he fled to Shu land with Xuanzong, even if he was at the end of the road, Gao Lishi did not complain half a word, and always accompanied Xuanzong.
After returning to Chang'an, in the face of the aggressiveness of Li Fuguo's army, Gao Lishi did not flinch, always protecting Xuanzong and letting him enter the city safely.
4. The only burial
Wanting to add to the guilt, Li Fuguo, in order to curry favor with Emperor Suzong of Tang, aimed his spearhead at Gao Lishi, who was at Emperor Xuanzong's side, and framed him for conspiring against the party in a vain attempt to rebel.
Emperor Suzong also pushed the boat along the water and exiled GaoLishi to Wuzhou, and at this time, Xuanzong could not even protect himself, let alone save Gaolishi.
In 762, Li Heng of Tang Suzong and Li Longji of Tang Xuanzong died one after another, and it was also in this year that Gao Lishi was pardoned and returned to Chang'an, hoping to see his "old friend" who had not been seen for a long time, but did not think that the original parting had become a farewell.
After learning of Li Longji's death, Colliers cried bitterly and almost collapsed.
In the same year, due to excessive grief and overwork, Colliers vomited blood in a temple and died at the age of 73.
After learning of Colliers' death, according to the will left by Li Longji, He allowed Colliers to accompany him to be buried. Therefore, the only funerary tomb in today's Tang Tai Mausoleum is the burial place of Gao Lishi, and the two masters and servants are finally buried together.
The descendants felt loyal to his death and used his epitaph to tell such a touching story to future generations.
Through this stele, we can see the real historical image of Colliers. Although no one is perfect and gold is not perfect, Gao Lishi is undoubtedly an important figure in the Xuanzong period, and he is not a clown at all.
Later generations only because of Li Bai's words "take off my shoes for me", he was portrayed as a negative character, which is obviously inappropriate.
5. Summary
Real history is always more wonderful than fiction, and the life of the Tang Dynasty eunuch Gao Lishi is presented to the world. Not a flattering villain, nor a self-absorbed courtier, Colliers is a wise man with great insight and execution.
The strong character honed from childhood in suffering made him more calm in the face of the court's deceit, and helped Li Longji achieve hegemony.
"Only at the low ebb can we witness faithful believers", Gao Lishi was also able to not abandon and faithfully assist when Xuanzong fell, which shows his frankness as a person. The two met as before and jointly created the Taiping Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty for forty years.
There is no unbroken feast in the world, and the lives of the master and servant are shattered by reality, but they still maintain a precious "friendship", which transcends the relationship between kings and subjects, beyond time and space.
It is undeniable that artistic creation is an activity that exerts human subjective initiative and can produce meaning, but when it comes to historical figures, we will inevitably be a little extreme. History is always left to future generations to judge, and the stereotype of famous people is even deeper.
When creating or adapting literary works, once it involves historical figures, we need to have the courage to know mistakes and correct them, respect historical facts, and respect historical figures, which is the obligation and responsibility of everyone.