Li Shen was a poet of the Tang Dynasty, and the well-known “Compassion for Farmers” is his work. However, besides being a poet, Li Shen also had another identity, which was the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. At the age of 35, Li Shen passed the imperial examination and subsequently held various official positions such as Zhongshu Shilang and Shangshu Youpu She. In addition, Li Shen was also a participant in the New Yuefu Movement and wrote as many as twenty “Yuefu New Questions”. Perhaps most people are familiar with Li Shen’s poetry, but not this person, so this time we will introduce Li Shen to everyone and see what his career path was like, after all, he was also a figure who became a prime minister.
At noon on the day of hoeing the crops, sweat drips down the soil. Who would have thought that every grain of food on the plate would be hard-earned? “This short and concise poem, in just four sentences, expresses the hard work of farmers in farming, the difficulty of obtaining food, and calls on people to cherish food and not waste it extravagantly. Compassion for Farmers “can be said to be one of the earliest ancient poems we come into contact with. Elementary school students can recite it, so many people like to say,” You’re not even as good as a elementary school student when condemning those who waste food
It’s hard to say if it’s not as good as elementary school students, but let’s not use ‘Compassion for Farmers’ as an example anymore. Poetry is a good poem, but the author Li Shen is not a clean and frugal person. According to current internet terminology, it would be Li Shen’s downfall. Li Shen, a poet in the mid to late Tang Dynasty, was a participant in the New Yuefu Movement in the literary world and had good relationships with Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi, and others; But in terms of politics and personal style, his controversy is quite significant.
Li Shenzu was also once prominent, and his great grandfather was Li Jingxuan, the imperial censor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. However, with the defeat and exile of Li Jingxuan in the war, the Li family gradually lost power; In the generation of Li Shen, due to the early death of his father, he had no choice but to move to Wuxi with his mother.
Li Shen truly experienced the hardships of the people when he was young, so he was only able to write poems like “Compassion for Farmers” after he passed the high school examination at the age of 35. When he first entered the officialdom, Li Shen also had aspirations and ideals. Li Shen first entered the officialdom during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, but shortly after he clarified the rules of the officialdom, he was forced to get involved in the Niu Li Party struggle.
The Niu Li Party Struggle refers to the party struggle led by Niu Sengru, Li Zongmin, and others in the court at that time. Li Shen defected to the Li Party, and from then on, he became a member of the ranks of feudal lords and ministers, not only holding the position of prime minister, but also being conferred the title of Duke of Zhao.
Li Shen could no longer write poetry like ‘Compassion for Farmers’, and even began to use his official position to intimidate his former classmates. According to “Yunxi Youyi”, Li Shen had a classmate named Cui. Once, when Cui’s servant had a dispute with someone, Li Shen found out about it. Li Shen directly sentenced Cui’s servant to death and arrested him together. And his reason for doing so was only because he felt that Cui did not come to visit him in advance and did not show enough respect for him. In the end, he fought twenty battles against Cui before letting him go.
Liu Yuxi once wrote a poem titled “To Li Sikong, a courtesan”: “With a high bun and new makeup on his cloud temples, Du Weiniang sings in the spring breeze. It is commonplace to meddle in other people’s affairs, cutting off the intestines of the Suzhou governor.” This poem was written at Li Shen’s banquet, and Li Sikong refers to Li Shen. This shows how much Li Shen enjoys his daily life.
Some people are like ‘drinking ice for ten years, unable to cool down hot blood’. Li Shen has also had hot blood before, but he eventually became such an unbearable figure. No wonder the teachers didn’t mention Li Shen when teaching us to recite ‘Compassion for Farmers’. This lifestyle is too lamentable.
