When it comes to the Tang Dynasty, you may always think of Tang poetry, and when it comes to Tang poetry, Li Bai is undoubtedly the first person, and he is also known as the “Poet Immortal” by later generations. But the Tang Dynasty had not only Tang poetry, but also many outstanding figures in other aspects, such as Pei Min’s sword dance, which can be compared to Li Bai’s poetry, among the three masterpieces of the Tang Dynasty. Speaking of Pei Min, many people may not have heard of his name. So, who exactly is this person? To what extent can his sword dance be combined with Li Bai’s poetry?
Pei Min was born during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and was known as the Sword Saint due to his superb swordsmanship. In the book “Independent Chronicles”, it was described that Pei Min’s swordsmanship was said to be able to throw swords very far away, dozens of zhang high. Whenever Pei Min danced with his sword, many people would watch nearby and be impressed by his swordsmanship. So what are the stories of Pei Min?
There are many stories about Pei Min, some of which are quite famous, such as Pei Min shooting tigers and Pei Min shooting strange spiders.
The story of Pei Min shooting tigers tells of Pei Min shooting 31 tigers in a day while serving in Beiping. When he was proud, an old man told him that the tigers he shot were not tigers, but the real ones were 30 miles north. The old man also said that Pei Min couldn’t subdue the real tigers when he encountered them, he had to flee for his life. So Pei Min rode his horse to the forest where tigers roamed, intending to prove to the old man that he could shoot and kill tigers. But when the tiger really came out, Pei Min was very scared, dropped his bow and arrow and ran away. From then on, Pei Min never shot tigers again.
The story of Pei Min shooting a strange spider tells of a time when Pei Min was walking in the deep mountains and encountered a very large spider. The spider was as big as a wheel and its web was as big as a piece of cloth, so Pei Min almost got entangled in this huge spider web. Later, Pei Min shot and killed the spider with a bow and arrow and brought it home. Later, when Pei Min’s subordinates were injured, Pei Min took out the spider web and applied it to the soldier’s wound, which had a very good hemostatic effect. This is the story of Pei Min shooting the spider.
The evaluation of Pei Min in later generations is very high, and Wang Wei even wrote a poem called “To General Pei” to praise Pei Min.
Pei Min and Li Bai
Pei Min and Li Bai were both famous figures of the Tang Dynasty, with Pei Min’s swordsmanship and Li Bai’s poetry being one of the three masterpieces of the Tang Dynasty. Not only that, Li Bai also learned swordsmanship from Pei Min, because Pei Min’s swordsmanship is very famous and he is known as the Sword Saint.
Pei Min’s swordsmanship is extremely advanced, and there are many stories about him, such as Pei Min shooting tigers, Pei Min shooting spiders, Pei Min dancing swords, etc. Famous painter Wu Daozi once saw Pei Min painting famous paintings after dancing swords. In later generations, it was also said that Pei Min’s swordsmanship was not that powerful, just flower fist and leg embroidery, and had no practicality at all. However, in the “Chronicles of the Court and the People”, it is recorded that Pei Min once went on a campaign with the governor of Youzhou to resist the arrows fired by the Xi people. After being besieged, Pei Min danced his sword on horseback to resist the arrows. The Xi people were surprised to see him, and in the end, the Xi people dispersed. This shows that Pei Min’s swordsmanship is still very high, after all, his swordsmanship was included in the Three Treasures of the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Wenzong.
Li Bai was a famous romantic poet of the Tang Dynasty, with the courtesy name Taibai and the literary name Qinglian Jushi. He was later known as the Poet Immortal. Li Bai’s three favorite things are writing poetry, drinking alcohol, and dancing swords. Li Bai actually learned swordsmanship at a very young age. He claimed to have been skilled in swordsmanship at the age of fifteen. Although Li Bai was not very tall as an adult, he was very thin and light as a swallow, and his swordsmanship was also very impressive. When Li Bai was young, he studied under the renowned swordsman Pei Min in order to improve his swordsmanship. Pei Min was already recognized as the top master of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Bai’s swordsmanship was not low. Therefore, some people say that Pei Min was the first swordsman and Li Bai was the second. Of course, many people disagree with this view, but overall, Li Bai’s swordsmanship is not bad.
