The Twenty-Seventh of the New Series of Chinese Poets
"Debate Xu Ling"
Xu Ling was the "Generation Wenzong" of the Southern Dynasty Liang Chenjian, and was called "Xu Yu" together with Yu Xin, and the "Xu Yu Body" created by the two of them was the best at the time, becoming a typical representative of the Southern Dynasty Palace Poetry.
The biggest feature of palace poetry is that it is light and beautiful, and the details of court life are presented to the world to the greatest extent.
"I don't see the lone bird, where does the incense come from?" "Green daisy and red face are two phases, and there is no end to the thoughts of a thousand women." "Embroidered tents and hidden lamps and candles are not enough for a thousand years a night." ...... New and elegant, and so on.
Xu Ling is good at composing poetry, more eloquent, and has been praised as "The Qilin in heaven" and "The Face of the World" since childhood. His ability to write at the age of eight is not innate, but is influenced by the style of generations of his family.
His great-grandfather Xu Pingdao, his grandfather Xu Chaozhi, and his father Xu Bao were all literary talents, and the entire family spanned the political and literary circles of the Southern Dynasty for a hundred years, which was rare in the world, interpreting the truth that "the rich are not more than three generations, but you can pass it on from generation to generation".
Xu Ling's eloquence was highlighted by his outstanding response to the Eastern Wei envoy at the age of 42. From the Southern Liang capital Jiankang to the Eastern Wei capital City of Yicheng, official exchanges inevitably received wind and dust. However, Wei Hui, the ceremonial official of the State of Wei, was quite contemptuous of Xu Ling, and there was a bit of arrogance in his words, but when he saw that the weather on the day of the banquet was extremely hot, he deliberately said to him: "Today's heat was brought by Xu Changshi. ”
Literati are light on each other, and this has been true since ancient times. Isn't this a deliberate set-up? But Wei Shuo dared to challenge, and he also had the strength and confidence. He is also one of the "three talents" in the north.
Fortunately, Xu Ling calmly replied, "Once upon a time, Wang Su came here to make etiquette for your country; now I am here to let you know the cold and heat." ”
Stealing chicken does not make it into erosion of rice. Wei listened, greatly ashamed, and admired his talent from then on, not daring to despise him.
Literaryly, Xu Ling presided over the compilation of a collection of poems, "Yutai Xinyong", which was included in the famous "Peacock Southeast Flying". He created a variety of exemplary works with rich content and different forms, pushing the creation of piao wen, poetry and fu to a higher realm.
As an official, he does not cause trouble, and he is not afraid of things. He could openly impeach Emperor Wen of Chen's younger brother Chen Xuan (蒨蒨) under Emperor Wen of Chen, the powerful minister Bao Shengrui (叡僧叡) under Chen Huan the Prince of Ancheng, as well as Shizhong (侍中), Zhongshu Jian (中書監) and others, making generous statements and awe-inspiring righteousness, causing King Ancheng to sweat and panic. Fortunately, the starting point is just and correct, and King An Cheng did not hold a grudge in his heart and waited for an opportunity to take revenge. Later, he also took the opportunity to act, supported King Ancheng as Emperor Xuan of Chen, was awarded the title of Marquis of Jianchang County for his merits, and was also appointed as the official Shangshu, who also served as a major writer, in charge of the selection and appointment of officials in the world.
With such a high position of authority, Xu Ling did not abuse his power. I am reminded of a profound quote by Li Hongzhang in the TV series "Toward the Republic": "Any official in the official field of the Great Qing Dynasty, as long as the power is in his hands, will use the power to balance the impulse of the disobedient, which is very terrible and often causes irreparable consequences." The reason why the Qing Dynasty was worse every day was because the official's desire for power was not restrained, and all those who had nothing to do with power, including the servants of the county government and the small officials who collected taxes, were using their power indefinitely and wantonly infringing on the people. ”
But Xu Ling was clean and honest in government and lived a simple life. Most of his salary was donated to the poor, even to the point where he could not open the pot, and the men who followed him could not understand it at all.
Therefore, he was able to die peacefully at the age of 77.
