Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven "Prime Minister of Thick Ink" Liu Yong

Prime Minister Liu Yong is widely circulated among the people. There are many anecdotes about him fighting wits and courage with Qianlong and Heshen in unofficial history.There is such a person in history. Liu Yong (1719-1804), courtesy name Chongru, nicknamed Shi'an, Qingyuan, Xiangyan, Shiyanfeng Daoren, etc., was born in Zhucheng, Shandong.His father, Liu Tongxun, was also a bachelor, and Liu Yong's official career was relatively smooth, which is somewhat due to his father. It is said that Liu Yong is a gentleman, behaves freely, is unkempt, and wears tattered clothes, even though his elbows and heels are exposed, he doesn't care at all.One day when he went to the palace, a louse crawled up his collar and slowly climbed to his beard. Qianlong couldn't help laughing secretly when he saw it.Liu Yong was puzzled when he saw it, not knowing what Qianlong was laughing at.After returning home, an outsider saw him and reminded him to catch the lice. Only then did Liu Yong understand the reason for Qianlong's secret smile, so he said to the outsider, "Don't kill this lice. This lice has crawled on his beard several times. Great fortune, you are not as lucky as it!"

It's so grotesque that Liu Yong has been an official for decades, with a meager family and few families; while Manxiang Heshen, who was at the same time as him, was full of power and wealth, and even the gatekeeper of his family had more than a million taels of silver.Liu Yong often quietly took his court clothes to the pawnshop opened by Heshen to pawn for money, but Heshen's disciples didn't know it at all. Once it was the New Year's Day celebration, and all the colleagues were wearing fox fur and sable coats. Only Liu Yong was wearing tattered clothes and looked extremely shy. Qianlong was very unhappy when he saw it. , pretending to be poor like this?"

Liu Yong kowtowed and replied, "All my clothes are in Heshen's pawn shop." Qianlong summoned Heshen to ask, but Heshen was at a loss, so Liu Yong showed the pawn ticket and said, "I have the ticket, how can I say I don't have it?" He Shen was so embarrassed that he was speechless, so Qianlong said: "You should return Liu Yong's clothes, he is so cold." After coming out of the court, Boss He Shen was not happy, Liu Yong covered his mouth and snickered and said, "The emperor asked fiercely, I couldn't find anything to say for a while, so I had to carry my brother out, no wonder."

He Shen couldn't laugh or cry, and shook his head helplessly at Liu Yong.Liu Yong is so humorous and funny, anyone dares to make a joke, but no one can do anything about it. People call him "Little Zhucheng". Liu Yong is not only grotesque and humorous, but also has excellent calligraphy and poetry, even surpassing his political achievements, and is called "the prime minister with thick ink".Especially his calligraphy, during the Qianlong and Jiaqing years, together with Weng Wengang, Liang Tongshu and Wang Wenzhi, were called the "Four Masters of the Qing Dynasty".According to Xu Ke's "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" records:

The calligraphy of Liu Wenqing in Zhucheng, for example, is regarded by the commentators as the sound of Huang Zhong and Da Lu, and the utensils of the moon hall of the Qing temple, as the crown of a generation of calligraphers, because he has integrated the calligraphy of all the great masters of the past dynasties and formed a family of his own.The so-called golden sound and jade vibration are the great accomplishments of the group saints.Sizhou Yangwenjing Gong Shixiang has collected many authentic works of Qing Dynasty. It is said that since he entered the CI library and ascended the stage pavilion, his physique has changed repeatedly, and his body is unpredictable.After middle age, the pen is vigorous and the situation is magnificent.Entering the Taiwan Pavilion, the splendor will return to the plain, and you will reach the state of perfection.People who talk about calligraphy in the world often say that it has more flesh and less bones, and they don't know the beauty of its calligraphy. It is accumulating essence and restraining energy.

This passage properly evaluates Liu Yong's calligraphy, which is just like his personality, grotesque and humorous, with restrained vigor, almost like Tai Chi.Liu Yong's handwriting is good, and he has his own style, so it is extremely difficult for others to imitate successfully.When he was a minister, every time he finished writing the judgment, he would draw a "ten" character. If his subordinates imitated it, Liu Yong could recognize it at a glance and said: "My characters cannot be imitated." However, Liu Yong's evaluation of himself is: "I have three skills in my life: inscriptions and postscripts are the first, poetry is second, and words are second." So, how about Liu Yong's poems?

Fa Shishan said in "Wumen Poetry Talk": "Mr. Liu Shi'an's small poems are the most far-reaching." Ruan Heng's "Yingzhou Bi Tan" said: "Shi'an and Liu Xiangguo's calligraphy is the best in China, but poems are rare, and most of them are recited. It was copied from a scroll, and the characters are so strong that anyone who is deeper than Shaoling can't read it." After reading other people's comments, let's look at his two little poems again, and you can comment on the flavor yourself. Kangxi and Qianlong sent people to search for the source of the Yellow River several times, and finally found it in the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong (1759).In this regard, Liu Yong wrote a poem titled "Small Portrait of the Source of Inscription", and his poem is as follows:

Thirty thousand communicated with Tuyi envoys, and the expedition to the stars was enlonged. Seeking the sky from a source, the nine tunes are clearly in the eyes. Do not return the secret to the sacred mirror, and the family style of Feiteng Jueyu. The Sri Lankan people seem to have no past and present, and the immortals swim on the back of the whale to the east of the sea. Let’s look at a little poem titled “Temple Gate”: Forcibly trap the Dharma on the hero, and the Zen couch and futon are swept away. Today is the road at the foot of Qingliang Mountain, and the wine flag is blowing in the depths of the apricot blossoms.

Calligraphy and painting are like people, and poetry is like people.There is a famous saying in Chinese literary theory: "Writing is like the person." All works of a person's own style are the reflection of his personality.It seems that this statement is true. As an official, Liu Yong is tactful, his sharpness is hidden in his ignorance, and his bone strength is hidden in his clumsiness. This is similar to his calligraphy and poetry.No matter which angle you look at, he is an interesting character.But this kind of interest seems to reveal a kind of historical sadness, which is a sign of helplessness in the crisis of the prosperous age.