Emperors of the Taiping era, such as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Renzong of Song, and Emperor Shizong of Ming (Emperor Jiajing), loved to be associated with mediocrity and elegance. Since it is associated with mediocrity and elegance, it is necessary to reuse a few literati to embellish the prosperous era. Literary celebrities who can write poetry and lyrics are naturally favored by the emperor. In this way, there were actually many literati in ancient times who wrote poems and lyrics according to orders.
Looking at the entire ancient world, only the famous Northern Song poet Liu Yong had the greatest fame for “writing lyrics according to orders”. Li Bai also often wrote poems in accordance with orders, such as the famous “Qingping Tune” – “Clouds desire clothes, flowers desire beauty, spring breeze brushes the threshold, revealing the splendor. If it weren’t for the group meeting at Yushan, they would meet under the moon at Yaotai. There are a total of three songs, I won’t list them one by one. These three poems were ordered by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to be written by Li Bai about Yang Guifei.
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a famous treacherous minister named Yan Song, whose son was named Yan Shifan. Yan Shifan is a one eyed dragon and a greedy ghost, but he is also a skilled writer of green poems. Green lyrics are difficult to write and are said to be used by Taoist priests to converse with the heavens, so naturally most people cannot understand them. The emperor is fond of this, but few people can write it; I don’t want to write anything I can because it’s too difficult. So the emperor ordered Yan Song to write, and Yan Song asked his talented son Yan Shifan to write. Yan Shifan also wrote lyrics in accordance with orders.
Neither Li Bai nor Yan Shifan hyped up the idea of “writing poems in accordance with orders”; Unfortunately, Liu Yong used it to “hype up” and became the most famous lyricist for “writing according to orders”. Why is that?
Because Li Bai and Yan Shifan were highly valued and held high positions by the emperor during their time, there was no need to hype them up. Liu Yong is different. On the one hand, he used this banner to vent his frustrations and mock himself: Everyone, look at me, I am so talented, but the emperor doesn’t value me and discriminates against me; Since the emperor doesn’t like me, I’ll continue to wander around the brothel!
On the other hand, using this banner also means that one does not associate with ordinary literati: what are you? I was ordered by the emperor to write the lyrics! There is a bit of hype involved. So the question arises: since Liu Yong is relatively destitute and often frequents brothels, why does the emperor still ask him to “write lyrics according to orders”? it’s a long story.
At the beginning of the birth of words, it was to make up for a deficiency in poetry. Poetry expresses aspirations “, since ancient times, poetry has been used to express lofty aspirations and emotions, which is very lofty and positive. However, people are always a bit narrow-minded, sometimes affectionate towards each other, and sometimes with a bit of negative energy. Poets are no exception. What should we do at this moment? Write words.
So there are many things that men and women love in the lyrics. Song poetry still talks about great truths, the more it talks, the less interesting it becomes; The words are becoming increasingly emotional. Words are also easy to spread, especially being sung by brothel women. As a result, words were considered by people at that time to have a low level of style and a petty bourgeois sentiment, and could only be used as entertainment rather than a career. You use writing lyrics as a pastime, such as Su Shi, who is still favored by the court; If you make writing a career, such as Liu Yong, you will be rejected by the authorities.
Liu Yong’s literary talent was remarkable. In the Song Dynasty, which valued literary talent, he passed the imperial examination not only once, but also three or five times to become a successful candidate. But he took the imperial examination for more than ten years (one subject was taken every year in the Song Dynasty), and only barely managed to pass. The reason for this is because he is too famous; Officials take a look, huh? Why does this person look like Liu Yong? No, a lyricist, how can he match it?
Once, after finally passing the palace examination, Song Renzong personally reviewed the papers and saw the name of Liu Yong. Isn’t this person Liu Sanbian? Liu Sanbian is the original name of Liu Yong. Liu Yong had a phrase called ‘endure the floating name, replace it with shallow and humble singing.’ The emperor then said, ‘Let’s go and sing shallow and humble, why bother with floating name?’ With one sentence, Liu Yong was thrown back to his original form.
Repeatedly and repeatedly taking exams, Liu Yong finally passed the imperial examination. However, the Ministry of Personnel knew that the emperor did not like this person and dared not give him an official position. An official felt sorry for him and reported to the emperor, “After all, Liu Yong is also a talented person. Should we use him?” The emperor said, “Is this Liu Yong the one who wrote the lyrics, Liu Sanbian?” The official replied, “Yes.” The emperor then made a final decision and said, “So, let’s go write the lyrics
This is the origin of Liu Yong’s “writing lyrics according to orders”. Obviously, he put on a big banner and claimed to be “writing according to orders” to express his frustration. In the end, Liu Yong only became a small official in the Ministry of Works, known as the “Tuntian Yuanwailang”, with little to do because there was basically no land reclamation in the Song Dynasty. He can only wander around the brothel.
