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The rolling Yangtze River is passing away, and the waves are sweeping away the heroes.
The position of the emperor seems to be overwhelming and indispensable, however, in the ruthless torrent of history, even the emperor who reigns over the world cannot escape the tricks of fate. When the back of the dynasty gradually blurred, when the dragon robe could not be exchanged for a lifetime of stability, those kings who once dominated the country, at the last moment of their lives, often used the pen as a sword, with poetry to send affection, leaving a shocking 'desperate poem'.
These poems are not only the catharsis of their personal feelings, but also the profound emotion of the vicissitudes of the times and the impermanence of life. In Chinese history, there are these four emperors, who left their own desperate poems before they died.
1. "Song of the Fall" - Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu in history, actually did not call the emperor, but as the biggest hero of the overthrow of Qiang Qin, but also the biggest opponent in Liu Bang's life, he almost dominated the world at the peak, and Taishi Gong included it in the "Benji", alongside the emperor. But in the end, he was defeated by Liu Bang, in the face of the siege of the army, embattled desperate situation, Xiang Yu had a feeling, and sang the eternal "Song of the Fall", the gist of the poem is:
The strength of my Xiang Yu can pull up the mountains, and my momentum overshadows the world, but time is not for me, luck no longer favors me, and even my black horse cannot lead me out of the encirclement. I can't do anything about it because the black horse can't move forward, and what can I do in the face of my beloved Yu Ji?
Through concise and deep language, "Song of the Fall" shows the fragile and melancholy inner emotional world of this hero in the face of defeat. This poem is a classic work in ancient Chinese literature that describes the emotions of the hero's end, which has been passed down through the ages, and perfectly and profoundly embodies the complex and tragic character of Xiang Yu.
2. "Song of Sorrow" - Liu Bian
Emperor Liu Wei (176–190), the twelfth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, reigned for a short period of time, from April 189 to September of the same year. As the son of Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty and Empress He, Liu Wei ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, but due to his young age and personality, he was considered unfit to assume the responsibilities of the emperor immediately, and the actual power was in the hands of He Jin and other relatives and eunuchs. Soon after, the famous "Rebellion of the Ten Standing Servants" occurred, and the powerful minister Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to enter Luoyang, took control of the imperial court, and deposed Liu Wei in September 189 and renamed his brother Liu Xie as emperor. After Liu Wei was deposed, he was demoted to the king of Hongnong, and was finally forced to commit suicide by Dong Zhuo in 190 at the age of 15. Before his death, the poor young son of heaven left this heart-wrenching "Tragic Song". The gist of the poem is:
Destiny is impermanent, why did I encounter such a difficult situation. I was forced to relinquish my position as emperor and retreat to a state of isolation like a prince. Faced with the persecution of my rebellious courtiers, I knew that my life could not continue. He is about to leave the world and go to the dark and mysterious other side ("mysterious" may refer to the world after death).
This poem profoundly expresses Liu Bian's despair in the last moments of his life, his hatred for the usurper and rebels, his helpless acceptance of his fate, and his deep sorrow for saying goodbye to his relatives forever.
3. "Dying Poems" - Yuan Ziyou
Yuan Ziyou, the word Yanda, he is the grandson of Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong, the third son of Pengcheng Wuxuan Wang Yuanxian, and his mother is Li Yuanhua. Yuan Ziyou was born in 507 A.D., he was handsome, courageous, and used as a companion of Emperor Xiaoming Yuan Xu when he was young, and the two had a very friendly relationship. After the sudden death of Emperor Yuan Xu of Xiaoming, Yuan Ziyou was enthroned as the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty and changed to Yuan Jianyi. Despite facing Er Zhurong's vigorous suppression, Yuan Ziyou was still diligent in political affairs, concerned about the people's welfare, and lived a frugal life. Unwilling to be controlled by Er Zhurong all the time, he planned to assassinate Er Zhurong who intended to usurp the throne, but after Er Zhurong was killed, Yuan Ziyou was retaliated by Er Zhurong's nephew Zhu Zhao, and was captured and went north to Jinyang, where he was hanged at the age of 24. Before his death, he left this deathbed poem, the gist of which is:
Once the power is taken away, the short life will come to an end, and how can we not feel sad in the face of the long road of death. Leaving the capital with a grudge is about to become a ghost in a foreign land. After death, he will be forever closed under the Nine Springs, and he will never see the light again. Birds chirp in the branches of the green pines, missing their lost mates, and aspen rustles in the autumn wind, sending a message of withering and declining. I once heard that death is painful, but I didn't know that I would have to suffer the pain of death.
This poem perfectly expresses Yuan Ziyu's complex feelings in the face of death, showing his nostalgia for life and his acceptance of the inevitability of death. In the poem, through the phrase "power goes to life, and worry comes to death", it is expressed that after the loss of imperial power, the road of life becomes short, and the shadow of death is long and full of worry. He left the capital with hatred and walked into the road of Yellow Springs with sadness in his heart. "When the tunnel door is closed for a while, the dark court will not be restored" means the end of life, the tomb door is closed, and the light can no longer be seen. Finally, through the depiction of natural scenes, such as the birds singing on the green pines and the poplar trees swaying in the wind, he expresses his deep attachment to the human world and the emotion that he has never wanted to experience the pain of death in the past. The whole poem reveals a strong sense of sorrow and helplessness, which greatly shows the tragic color of Yuan Ziyou as the emperor of the end.
4. "Poppy Beauty" - Li Yu
Li Yu (937-978), formerly known as Li Congjia, the sixth son of Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was known as the Southern Tang Dynasty and Li Houzhu. He was a versatile king, good at poetry, calligraphy, painting and music, especially in the creation of words, known as the "Emperor of Words". He was a great lyricist, but unfortunately not a great emperor.
When Li Yu succeeded to the throne, the Southern Tang Dynasty was already in a difficult situation both internally and externally, and the Song Dynasty in the north gradually became stronger and threatened the security of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Although Li Yu tried to maintain the peace by honoring the Song Dynasty as orthodox and paying tribute, he ultimately failed to save the country's fortunes. In the eighth year of Kaibao (975), the Southern Tang Dynasty was broken by the Song Dynasty, and Li Yu surrendered and was captured in Bianjing.
Li Yu's "When is the Spring Flower and Autumn Moon" is one of his most well-known works, and it is also his masterpiece. This poem was composed in the third year of Taizong Taiping's rejuvenation of the Northern Song Dynasty (978 AD), about three years after Li Yu was captured in Bianjing, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which was also Li Yu's birthday. Seeing that the mountains and rivers were not there, Li Yu expressed the deep pain of losing his country and the helplessness of his personal fate through this poem.
In this poem, Li Yu compares his bleak status as a prisoner and his deep nostalgia for his homeland of the Southern Tang Dynasty through the natural scenes of "Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon", "Xiaolou East Wind", and "Moonlight". He lamented that "the carved fence and jade masonry should still be there", but everything has long been wrong, implying that the prosperity of the Southern Tang Dynasty has passed, and his youth and the glory of the dynasty are no more. Finally, "How sad can you be?" Just like a river of spring water flowing eastward", he used the surging spring water to compare his endless sorrow, the image is vivid and touching.
But the singing of this song caused Song Taizong to be dissatisfied, thinking that Li Yu had the ambition to restore the country, and finally gave him poisoned wine to commit suicide. Now thousands of years have passed, whether it is the Great Song Dynasty or the Southern Tang Dynasty, it has long disappeared in the long river of history, but Li Yu's "Poppy Beauty" is undoubtedly a classic expression of loss and sorrow in the history of Chinese literature, forever engraved in the context of history.