The Tang Dynasty is widely recognized as one of the most powerful eras in China, which is a concern for many readers. Let’s learn about it together and provide a reference for everyone.
Throughout history, we have always found many talented and beautiful people. But not all knowledgeable people can be appreciated by the rulers at that time. Some talented people can only live their lives in despair. The talented scholar we are going to talk about today, although appreciated by the ruler Wu Zetian at that time, was called a “scum” by later generations. He is none other than Song Zhiwen.
In the early days, Song Zhiwen was actually very dazzling. Once, Wu Zetian traveled to the Xiangshan Temple in Longmen, Luoyang, and invited all the officials to compose poems and essays together. Whoever could quickly compose a poem would be rewarded with a brocade robe, and the talented woman at that time, Shangguan Wan’er, would be appointed as the judge. Rewarding the brocade robe is the highest honor. Upon hearing this news, officials wrote poems one after another, hoping to determine their superiority. As a result, the Left Censor Dongfangqiu was the first to create a poem called ‘Wing Chun Snow’.
So, Dongfang Qiu obtained this brocade robe with satisfaction. Before Dongfang Qiu could regain his senses, Song Zhiwen had already written his own poem called ‘The Response to the Dragon Gate’. Upon seeing it, Shangguan Wan’er was very pleased and praised Song Zhiwen’s poetry for its beauty. Even the officials present at the time appreciated this poem.
However, something unexpected happened as Empress Wu Zetian snatched the brocade robe that had just been given to Dongfang Qiu and announced that it would be given to Song Zhiwen, also known as the famous Dragon Gate Robe in history. From this incident, we can see that Song Zhiwen had a deep literary background and was recognized by everyone at that time. In addition, Song Zhiwen was very influential and highly respected by Wu Zetian at that time. In theory, he should be highly respected by the world. But later on, all his non gentlemanly behavior broke people’s love for him.
Song Zhiwen had a nephew named Liu Xiyi, who was also very talented in poetry creation. “The flowers are similar every year, but the people are different every year.” This line of poetry, which is still sung by people today, is written by his nephew.
At that time, Song Zhiwen discovered his nephew’s talent and greatly appreciated him. However, Song Zhiwen not only did not reuse his nephew, but also demanded that his nephew’s poetry be taken as his own. At first, Liu Xiyi reluctantly agreed to Song Zhiwen’s unreasonable request, but later he changed his mind. The furious Song Zhiwen actually killed Liu Xiyi and mercilessly took Liu Xiyi’s poetry for himself because of this matter. It is obvious that Song Zhiwen has a talent, but lacks the demeanor of a righteous gentleman, which can be described as heartless and unjust.
Not only that, Song Zhiwen also betrayed his former friend for the sake of his career. After the death of Wu Zetian, the power of the Wu family began to weaken, and Song Zhiwen was implicated by the deaths of Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong’s brothers, and was demoted to a remote area in the south.
But how could Song Zhiwen, who was only interested in profit, be willing to decline. With the help of Zhang Zhongzhi, he secretly returned to Luoyang. Later, he accidentally heard that Zhang Zhongzhi wanted to rebel. In order to be promoted, Song Zhiwen reported this matter to the court, resulting in the killing of Zhang Zhongzhi’s entire family. Killing relatives and selling friends is highly despised by people. But Song Zhiwen did all sorts of bad things for his own benefit and was eventually abandoned by the world.
However, bad people have their own retribution. Later, Song Zhiwen was executed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, ending his short life.
