Chapter 28 Li Longji/The Emperor Who Loves Music

Li Longji (685-762), that is, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was also known as Tang Minghuang because of his posthumous title of Emperor Xiaoming, the Great Sage of the Dao.The third son of Tang Ruizong Li Dan.He is versatile, proficient in poetry, calligraphy, and especially fond of music.In the early stage, he made great efforts to govern and created a prosperous age in the Yuan Dynasty. The social economy developed greatly. In the later stage, he indulged in sensual pleasures and appointed Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong to be in power. , started to go downhill.On the way to escape from the defeat, he was mutinied by Maweipo and forced to kill his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan, and then died of depression.

Li Longji is a musical genius. He is good at composing. It is said that many famous music works in the Tang Dynasty were composed or adapted by him, such as "Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes Song", "Ziyun Jiong", "Longchi Music", "Xiaopozhen Music" ", "Guangshengle", "Lingboxian", "Shengshoule", etc. Among them, "Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes Song" is the most famous song and dance in the Tang Dynasty. Li Longji likes the Jiegu the most, calling it "the leader of the octave".He also formulated the titles of ninety-two Jiegu songs such as "Sejuteng", "Qipasuo" and "Yaoyangguang", and composed many Jiegu solos.One year in February, the peach, plum, and apricot blossoms in the imperial garden were in bud, and the willow trees also spit out new leaves.Li Longji was very happy, and said: "Such a beautiful scenery, can you not judge it?" So he asked Gao Lishi to bring a Jiegu, and improvised a song "Good Spring", and played it to the flowers and willows. The buds are all open.He also wrote a song "The Autumn Wind is High", which he plays every time the autumn is clear.It must be "the distant wind comes slowly, and the leaves of the garden follow."His skill in playing Jiegu is very superb, even the most famous musician Li Guinian is not as good as him.Once, he asked Li Guinian how many drum sticks he had broken.Li Guinian said that more than five thousand sticks were broken.Li Longji said that there were three cabinets of drum sticks he broke.Later, another cabinet was broken, making a total of four cabinets.

Li Longji is also a master of flute.It is said that one day when he was in court, he kept pressing up and down his abdomen with his fingers. After retreating, Gao Lishi asked: "Your Majesty always presses his abdomen with his fingers. Could it be that the holy body is uncomfortable?" Xuanzong replied: " No. I dreamed about the moon palace last night, and the music played by the immortals was very light and clear, which made me intoxicated. When we parted, the immortals played music for me again. When going to court, I was afraid of forgetting, so I used my hands to search up and down, not because of any uneasiness in the body." The emperor of the Tang Dynasty never forgot music when dealing with the government. Although it is only a legend, it can be seen that Li Longji is obsessed with music. Probably compared to Li Houzhu's obsession with poetry and Song Huizong's obsession with painting, it is even worse.

When I was in Lishan, there were many birds on the mountain. There was a bird named Aluandui, which had a very beautiful cry.Li Longji imitated its call with a jade flute and wrote a flute song called "A Luan Dui". Until the middle Tang Dynasty, people at the foot of Mount Li could still play this song. Li Longji's greatest contribution to the music of the Tang Dynasty lies in his vigorous advocacy of music.He established music institutions such as Jiaofang and Liyuan in the court to cultivate musical talents, and personally composed, performed, and directed music, creating a generation of music.In his spare time, he often goes to Liyuan to guide the rehearsal of the musicians. He has extremely high musical attainments and can point out the mistakes of the performers in time. "Old Tang Book Music Records" records: "Xuanzong taught three hundred musicians of Taichang to play silk and bamboo in his spare time when he was listening to the government. The sound was played together. If there was a mistake, Xuanzong would be aware of it and correct it." Hundreds of people Even today, it is not easy for a professionally trained musician to play together and hear the mistakes, but Li Longji can do it. His musical talent is indeed extraordinary.Due to Li Longji's personal guidance, the Liyuan artists at that time were known as "disciples of the Emperor's Liyuan".

After the "Anshi Rebellion", Li Longji fled to the middle of Sichuan, and heard the sound of wind chimes on the plank road. Because he missed Yang Yuhuan, he wrote a song "Yulin Bell". Later it became a poem.