Tang Xuanzong

Tang Xuanzong lived his life in vain. When he was in the prime of life, he lived so wonderfully and lived so richly. The waning years are no match for the ravages of time, the weakness of human nature, and a tragic ending is not a loss. Nowadays, ordinary young people are walking on thin ice, just trying to survive and painstakingly planning for retirement, which is worth thinking about. In fact, old people are already miserable, so they still have to live young and carefree.

If we want to talk about a figure with particularly great contrast in Chinese history, it is naturally inseparable from Tang Xuanzong. When Tang Xuanzong was young, he was wise and decisive. He teamed up with Princess Taiping to eradicate Empress Wei, and then eliminated Princess Taiping, creating the prosperous Kaiyuan era. He is good at employing people and grasping the context of the times. He was also versatile and romantic, and his love story with Concubine Yang became a precious story genre for literati. He is also such a person. Because of his great achievements and the growth of his age, his energy has declined, he has neglected political affairs, trusted others, and finally ruined the prosperous age he created. The ups and downs of his life make people lament the impermanence of the world.

After reading this book, I sat quietly by the window for a long time! There always seems to be regrets in life! Tang Xuanzong and Li Longji were prosperous in the Kaiyuan era, and also dim and arrogant in the Yuanbao period. However, during the Kaiyuan period, the relationship between Yao Chong, Song Jing, and Zhang Jiuling was far beyond that of monarchs and ministers. It was a mutual appreciation between outstanding people. Cherishing each other; Teacher Mengman described Li Longji and Yao Chong as being in the honeymoon period, described Li Longji's words to Zhang as affectionate, and described Zhang Jiuling as a fashionable man who is like a jade in the eyes of Li Longji. Look, these words are so amazing!

The Ming Emperor in the prosperous times and the faint king in the troubled times: Salvaging the warmth of history in the folds of human nature When the bright moon above Chang'an City reflected Li Longji's old face for the last time, could the emperor who created the prosperous Kaiyuan era understand his ups and downs in his life? "Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty" written by Meng Man is not a cold specimen of an emperor, but an epic of life written with body temperature. The author cuts through the folds of history with scalpel-like precision. In the entanglement of power and human nature, he restores to us a living monarch of the prosperous age and the prosperous Tang Dynasty that oscillated violently between glory and decadence. 1. Spiritual dark spots under the light of the prosperous age In the Qinzheng Hall in the early years of Kaiyuan, there was a mountain of memorials on the desk of the young emperor. Li Longji personally rubbed the copper sample of "Kaiyuan Tongbao" repeatedly. This detail exposed the fatal contradiction in his character: he was obsessed with the exquisiteness of order and intoxicated with the pleasure of creation. When he personally taught the "Neon Shang Yu Yi Song" in the Liyuan, this artist's sensitivity had quietly corroded the politicians' rationality. Meng Man keenly pointed out that the wise emperor who spent all night reviewing memorials in the Qinzheng Hall and the foolish emperor who indulged in sexual activities in Huaqing Pool were two sides of the same coin. The reform of the imperial examination system was like a double-edged sword. While breaking the monopoly of the clans, it also cultivated power experts like Li Linfu. The innovation of the Jiedushi system was originally intended to consolidate border defense, but it unexpectedly supported a military behemoth like An Lushan. These seemingly perfect institutional designs gradually became alienated under the corrosion of human greed and became a dark vortex that swallowed up the prosperous age. The author uses a large number of palace files and literati's notes to corroborate each other, revealing the fatal game between institutional rationality and human desire and ambition. 2. The collapse of human nature at the peak of power When the pear blossoms fell in Maweipo, the white silk around Yang Yuhuan's neck tightened the throat of the entire prosperous Tang Dynasty. This seemingly sudden mutiny was actually the inevitable outbreak of a long-term distortion of the power structure. By restoring the financial account books of the Tianbao period, Mengman revealed the terrible truth behind the appearance of a prosperous age: one-third of the empire's finances were used for the Yang sisters' cosmetics, but the imperial army's food and salary were repeatedly deducted. When an emperor puts his personal desires above public instruments, even the most sophisticated power machine will rust and collapse. When Fan Yang raised troops in Anlu Mountain, Chang'an City was still singing and dancing every night. This collective cognitive dissonance exposed the fatal arrogance of the elite in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The beauty of "clouds think of clothes, flowers think of faces" in Li Bai's poems, and the lamentation of "the smell of wine and meat in a wealthy family" in Du Fu's poems constitute a double mirror image of the schizophrenia of the times. The author shuttles between poetry, murals, and Dunhuang documents to piece together a cultural psychological map of prosperity and decline. 3. Modern Enlightenment from Historical Folds When we stare at the broken bronze mirror of the "Moon Palace Chanjuan" in the Shaanxi History Museum, the broken mirror is like a historical prism from the Kaiyuan Tianbao period. Mengman does not simply blame the tragedy on a certain person or system, but takes us into the fog of the decision-making scene: On a snowy night, did the old Xuanzong really not understand An Lushan's ambition? Or has he already fallen into a cognitive closed loop and would rather believe carefully crafted lies? The most moving part of this biography is that it reveals the shining light of chance in historical necessity. If Zhang Jiuling had lived ten more years, and if Li Linfu had died five years earlier, would the fate of the prosperous Tang Dynasty have been rewritten? The author uses counterfactual deduction to tear off the cloak of historical certainty, allowing us to see the tremendous tension of human nature's choices at the juncture of history. This narrative strategy makes distant history suddenly have a burning reality. The ruins of the Daming Palace cast long shadows under the setting sun, like the last sigh of the prosperous Kaiyuan era. Monman tells us with this speculative biography: History is never a black and white moral judgment, but the gathering and dissipation of countless glimmers of human nature. When we gaze at Li Longji's imperial life with compassion, we see not only the fall of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but also the eternal dilemma of human nature in the maze of power. In this sense, "Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty" is not only a biography of an emperor, but also a mirror that reflects ancient and modern civilizations.

Tang Xuanzong was really a complicated man. He created the prosperous Kaiyuan era, but encountered the Anshi Rebellion. Just like those relatives and friends around me who have successful careers, their lives are not always smooth sailing. However, the love story between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei is really touching and makes me cherish the people around me even more. This book not only helped me understand history, but also made me think more about life.

A prosperous age and a tragic song, I was filled with emotions after reading it. Teacher Mengman's eloquent talk made me understand a lot of things that I didn't understand before. In the writings of Teacher Mengman, political wisdom, institutional design, human sophistication, ups and downs of destiny, etc., Not only paint a colorful picture of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao era, but also are precious treasures left to people by history.

The life of Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty was a legendary life. He created the prosperous age of Kaiyuan and destroyed his own prosperous age. As a person, there will always be advantages and disadvantages, but as an emperor, these can reflect the times. But the inspiration and experience left to our descendants are profound. -In fact, no matter it is great or small, the human body will eventually die, but what comforts us is that the mountains and rivers are not old, and the spirit of the prosperous age will last forever.

Very exciting and detailed

Good book with easy to understand and detailed explanations

This book is very wonderful and writes about human nature

The prosperous Tang Dynasty was full of atmosphere, and the world was at peace. Wen Cheng is eternal and unparalleled, and Wu Ding brings peace to all nations. I still believe that prosperity lasts for a long time, but forgetting the road is difficult. The loess seals the years, and the west wind sings in the sky.

Clear logic and rich content

Beautiful and well written

Good, good, good, good

Easy to understand and explain the profound things in a simple way

Delicate writing style and detailed content

Do not need the good-looking ones

Right, right, right, right

From a personal perspective, being awesome means having the ability to create prosperity with one hand and destroy it with one hand. Don't be too rich in life.

Mengman studies the history of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, so I will continue to look for her other works.