Preface
Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, his life was full of legends and poetry, but he had a different situation: he was a monarch who did not want to be a king, but he became a literary giant known as the "Emperor of Ancient Words".
This contradictory identity is thought-provoking, and it also raises all kinds of questions about his becoming emperor. How did he ascend to the throne? Was it a coincidence or providence? What kind of performance did he perform in governing the country? Let's uncover the story behind his becoming emperor.
1. The literati are in charge and do not want to be kings
In the spring of 961, the Southern Tang Dynasty ushered in a sudden change. The young prince Li Yu was forced to inherit the throne after the death of his father, Li Jing. This is undoubtedly a huge blow to this talented man who loves literature.
Li Yu has shown extraordinary literary talent since he was a child, and his poems are like twinkling stars in the night sky, illuminating the literary world of the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, the throne of power dragged him into a world he never imagined.
At the succession ceremony, Li Yu's face was pale, and his eyes revealed deep melancholy. He took the heavy jade seal, and his heart was full of endless disappointment and helplessness. This soul, which should have belonged to the poet, is now forced to bear the burden of being the head of a nation.
Li Yu's different pupils flickered with a strange light in the candlelight, as if indicating his doomed fate. He tried to recreate the glory of the Tang Dynasty by holding a grand court banquet, but this was just a dream for him to escape from reality.
The exhortations of the ministers of the DPRK and China were ignored by him one by one like the leaves of the autumn sunset. He was still immersed in his literary and artistic world, turning a blind eye to the increasingly grim situation in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Second, cut the number and seek harmony, and do my own thing
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is the autumn of 971. The Great Zhou (Song Dynasty) iron cavalry in the north began to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty, the war drums rumbled, and there was a tense atmosphere in Jinling City.
Facing the approaching enemy army, Li Yu's heart was full of fear and uneasiness. He hurriedly called himself sick, cut off his imperial title, and tried to exchange his identity as the "lord of Jiangnan" for a moment of peace.
However, this did not calm Li Yu's heart. He continued to live a dissolute life at court, ignoring the warnings of the courtiers. When the news came that the Song army was manufacturing weapons and warships on the border, he not only did not act, but suppressed these voices.
In the face of Zhao Kuangyin's envoy, Li Yu even withdrew the kiss that symbolized the king's power, but in private, he still insisted on his literary and artistic pursuits, unwilling to face the reality of the imminent demise of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
In the dead of night, Li Yu often stood alone in an empty palace, looking at the starry sky, his heart was full of nostalgia for his homeland and confusion about the future. His life, like an endless dream, is both beautiful and cruel. And the fate of Nantang is also like the stars in the night sky, twinkling and will eventually disappear.
Third, the country will not die, and the word will add color
In 975, the flames of war finally reached the border of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin's iron cavalry swept like a raging storm, and the cities of the Southern Tang Dynasty were lost one after another, and there was chaos in Jinling City.
Li Yu stood at the highest point of the palace, looking at the beacon fire in the distance, and his heart was full of powerlessness. He knew that in this war, Nantang had already lost. The decision to surrender without a fight filled Li Yu's heart with humiliation.
He was escorted to the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty and began a long life under house arrest. There, he ceased to be the lord of a nation, but a conquered marquis, a prisoner who had lost his freedom.
Li Yu's heart was full of longing for his homeland and deep self-reproach for the pain of losing his country. During the days of house arrest, he placed his soul in poetry.
His lyrics, like drops of blood and tears, record the despair and helplessness in his heart. He wrote in "Poppy Beauty": "When is the spring flower and autumn moon, how much do you know about the past." Each line of poetry is his reminiscence of the past years and a silent cry for the future fate.
However, these emotionally charged words did not make his incarceration any easier. The ambition to restore the country revealed in his words aroused Zhao Kuangyin's vigilance. Li Yu's heart has always burned with loyalty to Nantang and a desire for freedom, and even when he is in prison, his soul has never succumbed.
Fourth, the literati are persistent, and fate is ruthless
During the days of house arrest, Li Yu's literati temperament became more and more prominent. His dedication to poetry is like his persistence in life.
In his cell, he recorded his thoughts and feelings with pen and ink, and those poignant words and phrases, like the brightest stars in the night sky, illuminated his gloomy life.
However, this literati's persistence has also become a shackle that he cannot get rid of. His cowardice and evasion made Nantang seem powerless in the face of crisis. He tries to escape reality through poetry, but finds that he can't escape the pain and guilt inside.
In the middle of the night, Li Yu faced the wall of his cell alone, his heart filled with remorse for his past. He remembered his decisions, and those escapist behaviors were now irreparable mistakes.
His tears dripped down the paper and turned into a song of pathos. He knows that his life has been determined by fate, and all he can do is to find the last solace in poetry.
5. Poetry lasts forever and is the light of eternity
Just as Li Yu is immersed in his literary world, an even bigger storm is quietly approaching. His poetry, his fame, and even his life will be tested like never before. In this storm of fate, how will Li Yu deal with himself, and can his poetry become his final salvation?
With the passage of time, Li Yu's body and spirit gradually weakened. In his poems, he began to feel the impermanence of life and completely give up on the future. He knew his time was running out.
In the last stage of his life, Li Yu's lyrics became deeper and more tragic. On a cold winter night, Li Yu sat alone in the dim light, holding a pen in his hand, and a blank piece of paper in front of him.
His heart is full of reluctance to give up on life and unwilling to the future. He picked up his pen and slowly wrote a new poem. This poem is full of contemplation of life and death, helplessness of fate, and infinite love for literature.
At the moment when this poem was completed, Li Yu felt an unprecedented calm. He knew that his mission had been accomplished, and that his poems had become an eternal light, illuminating the path of future generations.
He put down the pen and quietly closed his eyes, as if waiting for something. And in the distant future, Li Yu's poems have really become eternal. His words have been praised by later generations and have become treasures in the treasure house of Chinese culture. His name, along with those great literati and writers, will always be remembered.
epilogue
Li Yu's life, like a tragic poem, interweaves the reserve of the literati with the helplessness of the king, and finally turns it into an eternal cultural treasure.
His poems have become a weapon for him to fight against fate and an eternal spiritual legacy. His tragic fate reflects the fate of a literati monarch who cannot be self-directed in the torrent of history.
But it is this persistence and contradiction that makes Li Yu's life shine so brightly, like the brightest star in the night sky, forever illuminating people's hearts.