Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Regarding whether Brother Ji drinks or not, I repost an article for reference.

In June of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), the Anlushan rebels broke through Tongguan and endangered Chang'an. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty fled to Shu in a hurry with his family.When the escape team entered the sloping valley leading to Chengdu, Zhidun, who was in charge of the food, brought Wei Ti a pot of cooked wine from the farmhouse to his master. He knelt down in front of the horse's head and offered it four times. Xuanzong never accepted it and treated him badly. He said, I have been abstaining from alcohol for 40 years. If you don’t believe me, ask Gao Lishi.

"Old News of the Ciliu Family" written by Li Deyu, a famous prime minister in the late Tang Dynasty, is the earliest record of Tang Xuanzong's abstention from drinking.According to records, Wei Ti was very scared at the time, thinking that his master mistakenly thought the wine was poisonous and did not dare to drink it, so he changed the container. However, Tang Xuanzong still did not take the wine, saying that when he first became emperor, he "took a taste of it and got drunk and hurt one person. I I mourn him as a warning."That is to say, he once hurt someone while drinking at a banquet and stopped drinking from then on.In "Tang Yulin" written by Wang Can of the Song Dynasty, Wei Ti "self-cited one", that is, after drinking a large glass first, he still did not offer the wine to show Xuanzong's firm attitude towards abstaining from drinking.

How much alcohol did Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty have? "Tang Yulin" records a drinking incident when he was leaving Luzhou, which proves Xuanzong's drinking capacity.One year in late spring, several disciples from wealthy families visited Kunming Pool.While they were drinking, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty uniformed himself with an eagle and rushed forward. Several people were very unhappy.Suddenly a young man holding a wine boat sang: Today it is appropriate to speak of oneself as an official of the clan.When the wine was passed to Xuanzong, he loudly said: Great-grandson of the emperor, son of the ancestor of the emperor, father-in-law, king of Linzi, Li.Several children from wealthy families were shocked at that time. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty drank three silver boats in a row, drank a huge amount of stuffing, and rode away on horseback.The silver boat here is not a ferry boat, but a silver boat-shaped wine vessel used for drinking in the Tang Dynasty.Looking at the lively scene of Xuanzong drinking at that time, such a wine vessel should not have a smaller capacity than the current goblet.

This story also shows that when Tang Xuanzong was not emperor, he not only knew how to drink, but his drinking capacity was not lower than ordinary people.So, after he became emperor, did he really lose his temper as he said? "Zizhi Tongjian" tells about the friendly relationship between Xuanzong and his brothers: In the second year of Kaiyuan (AD 714), "whenever the kings came to the side gate, they would have a feast with each other when they retired." "Five awnings were set up in the palace. He often spent time with the kings. Or he would talk about composing poems, and he would spend time drinking, playing games, and hunting." In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), Xuanzong prohibited the kings from interacting with their ministers. The brother-in-law of Xue King Li Ye violated the discipline, and Li Ye and his The concubine was so frightened that Xuanzong not only did not blame her, but instead "feasted with her".At this time, Xuanzong at least drank a lot of wine with his brothers. No one seemed to believe that he had given up drinking just after taking office.

What Tang Xuanzong said about drinking hurting people may be due to the drinking accidents that occurred during this period.In the years that followed until he fled to Chengdu, was he really abstaining from alcohol?At that time, the people were prosperous, the country was strong, and the finances were prosperous. Whenever there was a festival or happy event, Xuanzong would hold a big banquet and summon officials from all over to get drunk before resting.In April of the 20th year of Kaiyuan (AD 732), he hosted a banquet for hundreds of officials in Dongzhou, Shangyang. He drank a group of people until they were staggering, and even gave the drunken ministers quilts and carriages.At such a grand banquet, and everyone was enjoying themselves so much, it seemed that it was not Xuanzong's character to let others drink without him drinking.

From the poems of Li Bai, Du Fu and others, we know that people who like to drink twice like to show off when writing poems, and Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is no exception. "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" also contains several wine poems by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, but due to their average level, very few of them have been widely circulated.For example, in the 17th year of Kaiyuan (729), Song Jing, Zhang Shuo, and Yuwen Rongrong were promoted to higher positions and took office on the same day.Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict to set up a banquet, and met all the officials in the East Hall of Shangshu Province. He gave the poem "Happy gatherings of palace swallows, drinking wine from the North Dipper", Zhang Shuohe's poem "Chrysanthemums blowing on the royal wine, orchid leaves holding heavenly words" " and Yu Wenrong's "Fei Wen Yao descended and gave wine to the jade cup", all describe drinking scenes.This at least shows that Tang Xuanzong’s daily life was closely related to drinking.

"Tang Yulin" records a scene of drinking and giving orders, which shows that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was really drunk: During the Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong had a banquet with his ministers and issued calendar orders.The supreme strongman gave the order. He picked up a large piece of meat, stuffed it into Huang Banchuo's mouth, and said: "Seji point." Huang Banchuo then took the golden tassel in front of Xuanzong's banquet and put it into his boots, saying: "The inner wealth is good." ".There is a thing called Jinboluo. Li Bai said in "Pair of Wine" that "Pu wine, Jinboluo, Wu Ji's fifteen thin horses carry it". It is a large-mouthed flat wine glass made of gold used by people in the Tang Dynasty when drinking.If Xuanzong doesn't drink, what's the use of putting this thing in front of him?This story shows that Tang Xuanzong not only drank wine, but also drank with Gao Lishi and other court officials from time to time. Gao Lishi and others knew that Xuanzong was addicted to alcohol.

"The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" written by Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties also records many new things about Xuanzong's drinking.One of them, "Waking Up the Hop Flowers," says, "The Emperor Ming and his concubine Xinghua Qingguan, who had just woken up from a hangover, leaned on the concubine's shoulders and looked at peony medicine together." "Fengliu Formation" says, "Whenever the Emperor Ming and his concubines were drunk, they would make the concubines lead more than a hundred prostitutes in the palace, and the emperor would lead more than a hundred people from small and medium nobles, and arrange them in two formations in Yeting. They were called Feng Liu Formations." In addition, In the inner palace of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was also his favorite collection - the self-warming cup, which was a wine utensil used to cook wine. Although "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" is a historical material in the form of notes and has a strong story-telling, it has a causal relationship with Xuanzong's drinking incident mentioned in "Tang Yulin".

Regarding Tang Xuanzong's abstinence from alcohol, Bai Juyi also gave a negative answer. In "Song of Everlasting Regret", he had two lines describing Xuanzong's drunkenness: "The golden house pretends to be a coquettish person to wait for the night, and the jade building is drunk and spring after the banquet."It means that (Yang Guifei) dressed up in the deep palace and went to serve the king charmingly.The banquet in the Jade Tower was over, and the emperor took the drunk to bed.If Tang Xuanzong really quit drinking, it is indeed a big failure for Bai Juyi to write like this. As a long-time official, how could Bai Juyi make others laugh? Many historical materials show that after Tang Xuanzong became emperor, no matter whether he drank to death or not, , drinking is a common thing, but the idea of ​​abstaining from alcohol is a true lie.

So why did Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty pretend to quit drinking?First, it was not the right time for Wei Ti to offer wine.As a cadre in charge of food in the inner palace, Wei Ti must have known that his master was a drinker, but this time he flattered him in the wrong place. At this time, Xuanzong was running away with his tail between his legs. The country, the country, and the country were in danger, and the lives of his concubines and descendants could not be saved. .When the escape team reached Jixian Palace in Xianyang, if Yang Guozhong hadn't hurriedly bought a Hu cake from the market and presented it to Xuanzong, he might still be hungry.In the critical situation of ruining the country and destroying the family, Tang Xuanzong, who was used to living a good life, didn't even have any food to go with the wine. He really wasn't in the mood to drink this wine.

Second, Concubine Yang Guifei had just been hanged.Tang Xuanzong's escape team first passed Maweipo and then entered Xiegu. When Wei Ti offered wine, the scene of Maweipo hanging Concubine Yang to death still flashed in Xuanzong's mind from time to time. This woman was his spiritual sustenance and support in his later years. His beloved, it was this woman who had a drink with him in Huaqing Palace; it was also this woman who drunkenly played with him in Chenxiang Pavilion.In front of Concubine Yang, he, a dignified emperor, seemed to be reduced to a "escort" man who accompanied him to eat, play, and drink. Now that this woman was killed, Xuanzong's heart was like a knife and an ax. If you pick up the wine glass again at this time, how can you not think of the past of drinking together in pairs? Wouldn't it be like adding salt to the scars and inserting a knife into the heart?I really can't drink this wine.

At that time, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty made up this lie without forgetting to play a little trick, which made him appear very confident.According to the "Old News of the Ciliu Family", when Xuanzong explained to Wei Ti the reason for his refusal to drink, he pointed at Gao Lishi and the waiters and said confidently: "We all know this." In front of Xuanzong, Gao Lishi and his like were just a group of people who obeyed. Pugs, if their master says they have quit drinking, they will definitely say they are teetotal and have already hung up their alcoholic beverages; if their master says they have quit drinking for 40 years, they will definitely point their fingers and nod their heads frequently.For such a low-level lie, Li Deyu actually sang loudly: "This is the same as the stern warning."Being rich in the world for only fifty years, isn’t it just a matter of course?
A lie about quitting drinking hides so many unspeakable secrets, and a touching story leaves behind so many revelations.If Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had made fewer trips to Huaqing Tu, had two drinks with his concubine the night before, and opened the door for work on time the next morning, would he still have to rack his brains to make up lies?

(End of this chapter)