Have you read both of Luo Binwang’s most famous poems

Luo Binwang was one of the most famous poets of the Tang Dynasty, known as one of the “Four Great Poets of the Early Tang Dynasty” along with Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, and Lu Zhaolin. Luo Binwang wrote many poems throughout his life, among which one is well-known in China, and that is the famous “Ode to the Goose”. The history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look.
Goose, goose, goose, song to the sky. White fur floats on green water, red palms stir clear waves. “This work, created when Luo Binwang was seven years old, has not only been passed down through the ages, but has also been included in modern primary school textbooks and has become one of the earliest classic Tang poems that children come into contact with. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that “Ode to the Goose” has made King Luo Bin famous for eternity.
However, Luo Binwang also had a famous work, although not as well-known as “Ode to the Goose”, which had a huge social influence at the time. The name of the work is “On behalf of Li Jingye, Fighting against Wu Xiao”. We can see several keywords “Li Jingye” and “Wu Hao” from the title. Li Jingye was the grandson of the famous Tang Dynasty general Li Ji. After Li Ji’s death, Li Jingye inherited his grandfather’s title as Duke of England and became a famous “official of three generations” in the Tang Dynasty. Wu Hao is a relatively unfamiliar name to many people, but she also has another alias that is well-known to women and children in China, which is the famous Wu Zetian. Therefore, from the title of this work, it can be seen that it is a proclamation written by Luo Binwang on behalf of Li Jingye to condemn Wu Zetian. So the question is, why did Luo Binwang do this? We have to talk about the historical background at that time first.
Wu Zetian was originally a concubine (talented person) of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but many historical records vaguely suggest that Li Zhi, as the crown prince, had an intimate relationship with Wu Zetian while Emperor Taizong was still alive. After the death of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Zhi inherited the throne and became Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Due to his lingering affection for Wu Zetian, he kept her by his side and conferred her the title of “Zhaoyi”.
Wu Zetian was ruthless and had a deep sense of authority. She resorted to many extreme measures in order to ascend to power, the most shocking of which was to personally kill her newborn daughter and then blame Queen Wang. In the end, Empress Wang was deposed and Empress Wu Zetian successfully took control of the central palace, becoming the empress of the world.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, had weak willpower and was also prone to illness, occasionally unable to attend court due to illness. Wu Zetian took advantage of these opportunities to constantly interfere in court affairs and support her own power. In the end, while Emperor Gaozong of Tang was still alive, Wu Zetian had already become the actual controller of the Tang Empire.
After the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Wu Zetian gained complete control over the court. She and her third son, Li Xian (Emperor Zhongzong of Tang), inherited the throne for only over fifty days before being ordered to be deposed by Empress Wu Zetian and replaced by her fourth son, Li Dan (Emperor Ruizong of Tang). However, the abolition of the emperor clearly shook the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, causing a great shock in both the court and the public.
The first person to openly oppose Wu Zetian was Li Jingye, the grandson of Li Ji mentioned above. At that time, Li Jingye, who was demoted and released, recruited a large number of people in the Yangzhou area who, like him, had a prominent family background but were released and dismissed due to various mistakes. These people are filled with hatred towards Wu Zetian and also hope to have the opportunity to revive their family business. So, they took the event of Wu Zetian’s abdication of the emperor as an opportunity and rebelled under the banner of supporting the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.
Since ancient times, military operations have always emphasized the importance of having a renowned commander. Li Jingye claimed to support the restoration of Tang Zhongzong, which can be considered as finding an ideal excuse for the rebels. In order to make the action more provocative, Li Jingye appointed Luo Binwang, who was serving as a staff member in his mansion at the time, as the artistic and cultural commander, in charge of document organization, and asked him to draft a proclamation to attack Wu Zetian. King Luo Binwang was already very resentful of Wu Zetian’s various methods, so with the support of Li Jingye, he waved his pen and wrote the famous “On behalf of Li Jingye, Conquering Wu Cong” in a fluent manner. At the beginning of this article, Wu Zetian’s numerous crimes are listed, which are difficult to record; Afterwards, it was pointed out that the Wu clan was the root of the downfall of the country, thus emphasizing the necessity of suppressing the Wu clan; Emphasizing again that our own uprising is a completely just action; Finally, we call on all the meritorious officials and relatives across the country to join forces to support the country. The entire text demonstrates strong persuasiveness and appeal.
However, although Luo Binwang was talented, he could not see the general trend of the world clearly. He thought that as long as Li Jingye raised his arms and shouted loudly, people all over the world would join in the great cause of suppressing Wu Zetian. In fact, the number of people who responded to Li Jingye’s uprising was extremely limited, and the rebellion lasted only three months before it was suppressed by the army sent by Wu Zetian. Li Jingye was defeated in battle and died, and as the author of the anti martial arts proclamation, Luo Binwang naturally could not escape the fate of eternal destruction. Some people say he was killed at the same time as Li Jingye; Some people say he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river; Some people also say that he escaped from life and went into seclusion. In short, this great scholar in the history of the Tang Dynasty disappeared from the world and disappeared without a trace.