What was the identity of He Zhu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty Although born into a noble family, he sank into the ranks of subordinates

Many people are not familiar with the story of the Northern Song Dynasty poet He Zhu. Let’s follow the editor of the History Encyclopedia to appreciate it together.
In various cultural and historical textbooks, Song Ci is undoubtedly a peak, and its position is unshakable. And all along, we have highly praised the words and works written in textbooks, almost never questioning their value. But do you know that even though the phrase ‘a river of smoke and rain, a city full of fluff, plum blossoms in yellow rain’ has been sung to this day, some poets are still ‘cowardly’? He was born into a noble family, but in the end, he was smoothed out by life and became a subordinate.
1、 Royal relatives and relatives who “snub Pommeled Horse in front of the door”
The Northern Song Dynasty belonged to the Zhao family. Over the course of more than a hundred years, the imperial family has branched out and fallen apart, with numerous relatives in law. The number of royal relatives and relatives in the Northern Song Dynasty is no longer a small number. He Zhu, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty, is one of them.
He Zhuzi Fanghui, also known as Qinghu Laolao.
He claimed to be a Tang Dynasty poet named He Zhizhang, with ancestral roots in Shanyin (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), but grew up in Weizhou (now Jixian, Henan). Only the He family knows whether He Zhu is a descendant of He Zhizhang. But his identity as a royal relative is very clear.
The He family was a military official family in the Northern Song Dynasty. He Zhu’s great grandfather, great grandfather, and great grandfather were all court guards, and his father was also a palace attendant and a gatekeeper. The founding monarch of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, and his wife, Empress Xiaohui He, were of the same clan as He Zhu. And He Zhu’s first wife was the daughter of a Song dynasty royal family. His father-in-law was Zhao Kezhang, Duke Ji of the Song Dynasty.
So no matter which marriage relationship we look at, He Zhu is a genuine aristocrat of the Northern Song Dynasty.
However, although He Zhu’s aristocratic status is true, his life situation is not like that of a legitimate aristocrat. Although He Zhu’s father entered the palace as a military attendant, he passed away while still a low-level military official. So the He Zhu family, who lost their backbone, did not have the same family conditions as ordinary nobles. Although He Zhu’s father-in-law was a descendant of the royal family, he was only the great grandson of Zhao Yanmei, the younger brother of Emperor Taizu of Song. Because Zhao Yanmei was once punished for committing crimes, many of his great grandchildren became famous for their literature and had little political power.
Therefore, under the name of an aristocrat, He Zhu was actually a down and out aristocrat who “snubbed Pommeled Horse in front of the door” from the very beginning. Looking back at He Zhu’s life, this awkward identity seems to reflect his tragic experiences.
2、 Unrestrained and unrestrained scholars who are out of place
The national policy of emphasizing literature over martial arts in the Northern Song Dynasty is well-known to women and children. Under such circumstances, it is natural for the descendants of military official families like He Zhu to have a difficult future ahead. He later transitioned from martial arts to literature and was also influenced by this national policy. Although He Zhu himself is also very talented, taking the path of the imperial examination may not necessarily have no way out. However, due to the excessive emphasis on literature in the Northern Song Dynasty and the absorption of a large number of scholars into the bureaucratic system, He Zhu was ultimately buried in the chaotic situation of “less land in prefectures and counties than before… and five times more officials than before”, becoming a sacrificial lamb of the Northern Song Dynasty’s policy of valuing literature over martial arts.
And He Zhu is different from ordinary scholars, his character is also incompatible with the scholar community. In the History of the Song Dynasty, He Zhu is described as “seven feet long, with an iron colored face and bulging eyebrows and eyes… He has a strange and ugly appearance, with a green and black color and a heroic spirit. He is known as the ‘He Guitou’ and is known for his boldness and strength.” Compared to scholars, he is more like a knight. Although he comes from a noble background, He Zhu is still very ‘silent’. As long as he is not comfortable with himself, He Zhu will not care about the other party’s identity and status, and will use his utmost words of slander
So, despite his noble background, his family declined, the country valued literature over martial arts, and He Zhu’s own character was incompatible with the political arena. The chivalrous He Zhu became a “coward” in the political arena, experiencing ups and downs in the political situation of the Northern Song Dynasty and ultimately living a tragic life.
3、 A generation of renowned poets known for their ‘national misfortune and fortune’
From the age of 17 to 40, He Zhu has been honing his skills and advancing in the ranks of military officials. He has held positions such as Right Class Hall Supervisor, Lincheng Liquor Tax Supervisor, Xuzhou Baofeng Money Supervisor, Hezhou Border Inspection Supervisor, and Jiangxia Baoquan Money Supervisor, but he has always been frustrated and unsuccessful. So in the seventh year of Yuanyou (1092), on the recommendation of Su Shi, Li Qingchen and others, He Zhu left the military official team and began to become a civil servant.
If the military officials at that time were all under the suppression of civil officials, then civil officials were fiercely competitive and unable to move forward even if they were misplaced. Although He Zhu received help from Su Shi, he did not belong to the old party. Wang Anshi’s new party also did not have a place for He Zhu. So He Zhu, who had few literary appearances, may be in a more difficult situation among a group of civil officials than when he was a military officer. Therefore, after being unable to resist reality, He Zhu ultimately chose to immerse himself in a secluded life of learning.
The approach of He Zhu, who evades politics, reality, and seeks to protect himself, is naturally negative. This is the proud and cowardly side of him. However, objectively speaking, He Zhu’s reclusive scholar life of “5000 volumes of hate letters, exploring the roots of every word”, as well as his unique personality and experiences of both literature and martial arts, still allowed him to occupy an important place in the literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty.
There are two major schools of poetry in the Northern Song Dynasty, namely the bold and unrestrained style represented by Su Shi and Xin Qiji, which we are familiar with, and the graceful and restrained style represented by Liu Yong and Li Qingzhao. But between these two schools, in terms of boldness
In terms of elegance, emotion, technique, content, rhythm, and even the vernacular advocated by Hu Shi (referring to Hu Shi), there is no one who excels in the field of Fang Hui (i.e. He Zhu) poetry.
”(Long Yusheng’s “On the Quality of Hu Shi’s Poetry in He Fang Hui”)
Therefore, it can be said that although He Zhu was somewhat timid in his career, he played an indispensable pivotal role in the development of Song Ci, inheriting the bold and graceful styles. Although he has noble bloodline and is relegated to the lower ranks in politics, He Zhu has always been the “He Ghost Head”, unconstrained and unconventional.