Han Yu

Han Yu (768-824), also known as Tuizhi, was a writer, philosopher, and thinker in the Tang Dynasty. He was a native of Heyang (now Mengzhou City, Jiaozuo, Henan Province) and Han nationality. His ancestral home is Changli, Hebei Province, and he is known as Han Changli in the world. In his later years, he served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also known as the Ministry of Official Affairs of Han. His posthumous title is "Wen", also known as Han Wen Gong. He and Liu Zongyuan were both advocates of the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty, advocating learning the prose language of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, breaking parallelism into prose, and expanding the expressive function of classical Chinese. Su Shi in the Song Dynasty called him "the founder of the Eight Dynasties of Literature", and people in the Ming Dynasty regarded him as the head of the eight great writers of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Together with Liu Zongyuan, he was called "Han Liu". Ideologically, Han Yu was the founder of the concept of "Taoism" in China and a landmark figure who respected Confucianism and opposed Buddhism. ► 575 poems

Life of characters

Hard childhood
In the third year of the Dali calendar (768), Han Yu was born. His ancestors had all been officials in the court or local areas, and his father Han Zhongqing was the secretary at that time. Han Zhongqing died when Han Yu was three years old. He was raised by his elder brother Han Hui.

In the twelfth year of Dali (777), Han Hui was demoted to Shaozhou governor because he was implicated by Yuan Zai. He died of illness not long after taking office in Shaozhou. After Han Hui's early death, Han Yu first returned to his hometown of Heyang with his widowed sister-in-law to bury his brother. However, he could not stay for a long time and had to flee to Xuanzhou in the south of the Yangtze River with his widowed sister-in-law Zheng. Han Yu spent this period in hardship and upheaval. Han Yu considered himself an orphan and studied hard since he was a child. He did not need praise or encouragement from others.

The Road to the Imperial Examination
In the second year of Zhenyuan (786), Han Yu left Xuancheng and went to Chang'an alone. During this period, Han Yu went to Hezhong Prefecture (i.e. Puzhou, today's Yongji, Shanxi Province) to join his clan brother Han Dan in order to get the recommendation of Hunyan, the military governor of Hezhong, but he got nothing.

In the autumn of the third year of Zhenyuan (787), Han Yu went to Chang'an after obtaining the qualification of rural tribute. That year, Han Yu landed in Chang'an and had nothing to rely on for his life. The sad news came that his brother Han Dan had died unexpectedly. Around the end of this year, Han Yu was able to meet with Ma Sui, King of Peking, by chance. During this time, Han Yu received help from Ma Sui, and later wrote "Cat Xiang Luck" to appreciate his virtues.

Between the third and fifth years of Zhenyuan (787-789), Han Yu took the imperial examination three times and failed each time. In the fifth year of Zhenyuan (789), Han Yu returned to Xuancheng.

In the eighth year of Zhenyuan (792), Han Yu took the Jinshi examination for the fourth time and finally became a Jinshi. The following year, he took the official examination of Erudue Hongci and failed. In the same year, Han Yu's sister-in-law, Mrs. Zheng, passed away. He returned to Heyang to mourn her for five months.

In the tenth year of Zhenyuan (794), he went to Chang'an again to take the erudite macroci examination, but failed again.

In the eleventh year of Zhenyuan (795), he took the Erxue Hongci examination for the third time and still failed. During this period, I wrote to the prime minister three times, but received no reply. In the same year, he left Chang'an and returned to Heyang County via Tongguan, then went to Luoyang, the eastern capital.

Entered the shogunate twice
In July of the twelfth year of Zhenyuan (796), Han Yu was recommended by Dong Jin, the military governor of Xuanwu, and was offered the post of Secretary Provincial Secretary, and served as the observation and promotion officer of the military governor of Xuanwu. During the three years when Han Yu served as an observation and promotion officer, while guiding young people such as Li Ao and Zhang Ji to study literature, he also used every opportunity to vigorously promote his own ideas on prose innovation.

In February of the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan (799), Dong Jin passed away, and Han Yu left the country with Dong Jin's coffin. Just four days after Han Yu left, the Xuanwu army mutinied. Lu Changyuan and others who stayed behind were killed, and the army was in chaos. Han Yu was spared because he left first. Han Yu followed Dong Jin's coffin to Luoyang, and then arrived in Xuzhou at the end of February. In the autumn of the same year, Han Yu accepted the appointment of Zhang Jianfeng, the military envoy of Xu Sihao's Jiedu, and served as a military official during the Jiedu period, testing Xielu Lang. In the winter of the same year, Zhang Jianfeng sent Han Yu to Chang'an to rectify the situation. Han Yu talks straightforwardly and frankly, never fearing or avoiding anything. His conduct is firm and pure, but he is not good at handling ordinary affairs.

In the spring of the 16th year of Zhenyuan (800), Han Yu returned to Xuzhou, left Xuzhou in the summer and returned to Luoyang. In the winter of the same year, Han Yu went to Chang'an to take the Civil Service Examination for the fourth time.

Repeatedly demoted
In the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan (801), he passed the election. In the spring of the following year, Han Yu was appointed as the fourth doctor of the Imperial Academy. He once took leave and returned to Luoyang to visit Mount Huashan.

In the 19th year of Zhenyuan (803), Han Yu was promoted to the supervisory censor. At that time, there was a severe drought in the Guanzhong area. After his inspection, Han Yu found that the victims were displaced and begging everywhere, and starvation was everywhere in Guanzhong. Seeing the serious disaster, Han Yu was heartbroken. However, Jing Zhaoyin Li Shi, who was in charge of the administration of the capital at that time, blocked the news and falsely reported that Guanzhong had a bumper grain harvest and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. In anger, Han Yu wrote "On the Conditions of Drought and Human Hunger", but was slandered by Li Shi and others. In December of the same year, he was demoted to the magistrate of Yangshan County in Lianzhou.

In the spring of the 20th year of Zhenyuan (804), Han Yu arrived in Yangshan County to take up his post.

In the spring of the 21st year of Zhenyuan (805), Han Yu was pardoned and left Yangshan County between summer and autumn. In August, he was awarded Jiangling Dacao and joined the army.

In June of the first year of Yuanhe (806), Han Yu was recalled to Chang'an, and the official authorized him to know Dr. Guozi. In the third year of Yuanhe (808), Han Yu officially served as Dr. Guozi.

On June 10, the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), he was awarded the title of Wai Lang, an official of the capital, and the branch of Dongdu and the ancestral department.

In the fifth year of Yuanhe (810), he was granted the title of County Magistrate of Henan. At that time, the four vassal towns of Wei, Yun, You, and Zhen each had their own vassal residences, secretly raising soldiers and harboring fugitives with evil intentions. Han Yu wanted to expose their illegal behavior, so he deployed officials and cut off their contacts with the people in advance. He waited until dawn to announce the incident. The left-behind officials were very frightened and were forced to stop.

In the sixth year of Yuanhe (811), he served as Shangshu's official official, Yuanwailang, and returned to Chang'an.

In February of the seventh year of Yuanhe (812), he was reinstated as Doctor Guozi.

In the eighth year of Yuanhe (813), Han Yu believed that he was highly talented and learned, but was repeatedly criticized, so he wrote "Jin Xue Jie" as a metaphor. After reading it, the prime minister sympathized with Han Yu and thought he had historical talents, so he transferred Han Yu to Bibu doctor and editor of the History Museum, and was ordered to compile "Shunzong Shilu".

In October of the ninth year of Yuanhe (814), Han Yu was appointed as a doctor of imperial examinations and was still employed as a compiler in the History Museum. In December of the same year, he was appointed Zhizhi.

In the first month of the tenth year of Yuanhe (815), he was promoted to Zhongshu Sheren, and was later awarded a Feiyu bag. Soon, people who disliked Han Yu claimed that when he was the governor of Jiangling, Pei Jun, the governor of Jingnan, stayed at his house and treated him generously. Pei Jun's son Pei E was a mediocre person. When Pei E visited his father, Han Yu still called Pei E by his name in the preface of his farewell article. This statement aroused great repercussions among the court officials, and Han Yu was changed to the title of Crown Prince You Shuzi.

Follow the expedition to Huaixi
In August of the twelfth year of Yuanhe (817), Prime Minister Pei Du was appointed as the envoy of Xuanwei in Huaixi and the envoy of Zhangyi Army. He hired Han Yu to be the marching commander and gave him purple clothes and a goldfish bag. Han Yu once suggested that Pei Du send thousands of elite soldiers into Caizhou from a small road to capture Wu Yuanji. Before Pei Du had time to pick it up, Li Su had already brought troops from Wencheng (now Tanghe, Henan) into Caizhou on a snowy night, and indeed captured Wu Yuanji. All the strategists of the three armies felt sorry for Han Yu. Han Yu then said to Pei Du: "With the momentum of pacifying Huaixi, King Chengzong of Zhenzhou can be persuaded with words instead of using troops." He then found Bo Qi. He dictated a letter to Wang Chengzong, the Chengde Jiedushi envoy, and asked Bo Qi to write it down, and then brought the letter to Zhenzhou to inform Wang Chengzong. Wang Chengzong took a picture of the military power and presented the two states of De and Di to express his obedience to the imperial court.

In December of the same year, after Huaixi was pacified, Han Yu returned to the court with Pei Du and was appointed minister of punishment for his merits. Xianzong ordered him to write the "Ping Huaixi Stele", which narrated Pei Du's deeds in a large space. At that time, Li Su took the lead in entering Caizhou and captured Wu Yuanji alive, and he made the greatest contribution. He was aggrieved by what Han Yu wrote. Li Su's wife was banned from entering the palace and complained that the inscription on the stele was inconsistent with the facts. Emperor Xianzong ordered that the inscription written by Han Yu be rubbed out and Duan Wenchang, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, wrote it again and carved it into stone.

In April of the 13th year of Yuanhe (818), Shangshu Zuopushe Zheng Yuqing was appointed as the detailed envoy because he was familiar with the regulations, and revised the court rituals and the five good and bad rites. Han Yu was appointed as deputy envoy to participate in the revision work.

Admonition to Welcome the Buddha's Bones
In the first month of the fourteenth year of Yuanhe (819), Xianzong sent envoys to Fengxiang to welcome the Buddha's bones, and Chang'an suddenly set off a craze for Buddhist belief. Regardless of his personal safety, Han Yu resolutely wrote "On the Table of Buddha's Bones" to strongly dissuade him. He believed that enshrining Buddha's bones was ridiculous and demanded that the Buddha's bones be burned so that the people of the world could not be misled by the Buddha's bones. Xianzong was furious after reading the memorial and wanted to execute Han Yu with capital punishment. Pei Du, Cui Qun and others tried their best to persuade him, but Xianzong was still angry. People were shocked and lamented for a while, and even the emperor's relatives thought that the crime against Han was too serious, so they interceded for him, and Xianzong demoted him to the governor of Chaozhou.

After Han Yu arrived in Chaozhou, he presented a memorial to defend himself. Xianzong said to the prime minister: "Yesterday I received Han Yu's letter after he arrived in Chaozhou, so I remembered that he loved me very much when I thought about his admonishment to welcome the Buddha's bones. Don't I know? But as a minister, Han Yu should not say that the Lord's worship of the Buddha will shorten his life. I hate him for being too rash." Xianzong wanted to re-appoint Han Yu, so he mentioned this matter first and observed the attitude of the prime minister. However, Emperor Tongping Zhangshi hated Han Yu's outspokenness and was afraid that he would be re-employed, so he responded first: "After all, Han Yu is too wild and rude, so he can consider transferring to another county for the time being." Coinciding with the amnesty, Xianzong moved Han Yu to Yuanzhou (now Yichun, Jiangxi) in October of the same year.

In the spring of the fifteenth year of Yuanhe (820), Han Yu arrived in Yuanzhou. According to the custom in Yuanzhou, if a commoner's daughter is mortgaged to be a slave, and if the daughter is not redeemed beyond the contract period, she will not be a domestic slave by the person who paid the money. After Han Yu arrived, he tried to redeem the men and women who had been enslaved as domestic slaves and let them return to their parents. So this custom was banned and people were not allowed to be bought as slaves.

In September of this year, Han Yu entered the DPRK as the son of the emperor to offer wine sacrifices, and returned to Chang'an in the winter.

Going to Zhenzhou as an envoy
In July of the first year of Changqing (821), Han Yu was transferred to the post of minister of the Ministry of War. At that time, Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei Province) mutinied and killed Tian Hongzheng, the newly appointed Chengde Jiedu envoy. It is known that the military envoy Wang Tingcuo claimed to be the queen and asked for a Jie Yue from the imperial court.

In February of the second year of Changqing (822), the imperial court pardoned Wang Tingmin and Chengde soldiers, and ordered Han Yu to serve as a consolation envoy to Zhenzhou.

When Han Yu was about to set off, all the officials were worried about his safety. Yuan Zhen said: "Han Yu is a pity." Tang Muzong also regretted it and ordered Han Yu to observe the changes in the situation after arriving at the border of Chengdu Army and not to rush into the country to prevent unexpected events. Han Yu said: "The emperor ordered me to suspend entry. This is out of benevolence and concern for my personal safety; however, it is my duty as a minister to carry out the emperor's orders without fear of death." So he decided to go alone.

After arriving at Zhenzhou, Wang Ting's soldiers drew their swords and drew their bows to greet Han Yu. After Han Yu arrived in the guest room, the soldiers were still surrounding the courtyard with weapons in hand. Wang Tingmin said to Han Yu: "The reason why you are so arrogant and rude is all done by these soldiers, not my original intention." Han Yu said sternly: "The emperor thinks that you have the ability to be a general, so he appointed you as the military governor, but I didn't expect that you can't command these soldiers!"

A soldier stepped forward with a weapon in his hand and said: "The former Grand Master ( Refers to Wang Wujun) who defeated Zhu Tao for the country, and his bloody clothes are still here. How did our army fail the imperial court, so that he was punished as a traitor? "Han Yu said: "You can still remember that the first grand master was a rebel, and then he surrendered to the imperial court and became a noble. Is it still far from being a rebel to becoming a noble? Shi Dao, the separatist regime rebelled, are there any of their descendants who are still alive and serving as officials? "Everyone replied: "No." Han Yu also said: "Tian Hongzheng promoted Wei Bo to submit to the imperial court. Although his descendants were still children, they were all awarded high officials; Wang Chengyuan submitted to the imperial court for his virtue and was appointed as a governor before he became an adult; Liu Wu and Li were appointed governors. You initially rebelled with Li Shidao and Wu Yuanji, and later surrendered to the imperial court. Have you ever heard of these situations? "Everyone replied: "Tian Hong is mean, so our army is uneasy."

Han Yu said, "But you people also killed Mr. Tian and harmed his family. Why do you think everyone is good?" Wang Tingmin was afraid that the soldiers' morale would be shaken, so he ordered them to go out. Then he said to Han Yu: "What do you want me to do when you come to Chengde this time?" Han Yu said: "There are many generals like Niu Yuanyi among the generals of the Sixth Army of Shence, but the imperial court has the overall situation in mind and cannot abandon him. Why are you still surrounding Shenzhou and not letting him out of the city?" Wang Tingcuo said, "I will let him out of the city right away." He and Han Yu had a banquet together. Just as Niu Yuanyi escaped and was surrounded, Wang Tingzuo did not pursue him.

Late Life
In September of the second year of Changqing (822), Han Yu was transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In June of the following year, he was promoted to Jing Zhaoyin and Yushi Dafu. After hearing the news, the officers and soldiers of the Shence Army did not dare to break the law. They said to each other privately: "He even dared to burn the bones of Buddha. How dare we break the law!"

Not long after Han Yu took office, he was impeached by the censor Zhongcheng Li Shen for not attending eunuch visits. Han Yu refused to accept it and said that this move was approved by Mu Zong. The two of them were going back and forth, arguing endlessly. Prime Minister Li Fengji took the opportunity to report that the two had a bad relationship, so the imperial court sent Li Shen as the observation envoy to western Zhejiang, and Han Yu was also promoted to Minister of War. Soon after, Mu Zong learned of the incident and appointed Han Yu as Minister of Civil Service.

Died of illness at home
In August of the fourth year of Changqing (824), Han Yu took leave due to illness. On December 2 of the same year (December 25), Han Yu died at his home in Jing'anli, Chang'an, at the age of fifty-seven. Received the title of Minister of Rites and a posthumous title. In March of the following year, he was buried in Heyang.

In the first year of Yuanfeng (1078), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty posthumously named Han Yu the Bo of Changli and allowed him to worship in the Confucius Temple. ▲

Reference materials: Perfect

1. Bian Xiaoxuan, Zhang Qinghua, Yan Qi. "Critical Biography of Han Yu". Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 1998: 462, "Old Tang Book·Volume 160·Biography 110" 3. Bian Xiaoxuan, Zhang Qinghua, Yan Qi. "Critical Biography of Han Yu". Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 1998: 524, Lu Dafang et al. "Chronology of Han Yu". Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1991
Evaluation

Han Yu is a character with a strong aura and presence. As a leader in the literary world, he "holds the handle of literature and looks high at the world" and "has been famous all over the world for more than thirty years" (Liu Yuxi's "Essays on Sacrifice to Korean Officials"); as a writer, he dares to pioneer the trend, and his articles and poems are majestic; as an individual "person", he is upright and courageous, has a great personality, and is a sincere and great husband. Such a person is a good person, but he is also a person of good temperament. Not only is he very emotional, but he is also sensitive to many subtle pleasures or worries in life, and he also has a humorous side. ——Pan Xiangli

Han Yu is indeed a rare historical talent, and his influence dwarfs countless emperors and generals. On the political stage of the Mid-Tang Dynasty, he played the roles of supervisory censor, merit-examination doctor, Zhongzhizhigao, minister of the Ministry of punishment, sacrificial wine of the Imperial Academy, minister of the Ministry of official affairs, etc., and he achieved political achievements in all his roles. But his main contribution was in literature. He was an advocate of the ancient prose movement, advocating the inheritance of the prose tradition of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, and opposed the parallel prose that focused on tonal and rhythmic contrasts but neglected content. Weiwen is majestic, thorough in reasoning, and highly logical. He is respected as the first of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". In terms of feudal ideology and morality, he also made unique achievements. He resolutely opposed Buddhism and advocated Confucianism. He regarded himself as inheriting Confucianism and was the forerunner of the Neo-Confucianists of the Song and Ming Dynasties. Therefore, Su Shi of the Song Dynasty highly praised him and said that he had made great achievements in "literary literature has caused the decline of eight generations, and Taoism has helped the world." ▲



Main Achievements

Political Advice
Politically, Han Yu advocated the unification of the world and opposed the separatism of vassal towns. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, he accompanied Pei Du to quell the rebellion in the Huaixi feudal town. Han Yu was once demoted to Chaozhou for introducing Buddhist bones. Later, because of his outstanding political performance, he moved to Yuanzhou, now Yichun, Jiangxi, and served as the governor of Yuanzhou. During his tenure in Yuanzhou, Han Yu made outstanding political achievements and trained the first number one scholar in Jiangxi Province at that time. Now there is a sandbank in the Xiujiang River in Yichun, named Zhuangyuanzhou. Legend has it that it was the place where students studied. There is the Zhuangyuan Building on the highest hill in Yichun City, and there is Changli Road in Yichun City, both to commemorate Han Yu's special achievements.

Educational Thought
Han Yu entered the Imperial College for three years to become a doctor, and for a time he served as the imperial chaplain, recruited disciples, and personally taught academics. He left articles on teaching, motivating underachievers, and promoting talents. He can be regarded as an educator with creative insights. Han Yu tried his best to change his attitude of being a teacher and recruited many younger students. Liu Zongyuan once praised: "We don't hear of teachers in today's world. Han Yu ignored the customs, laughed and insulted, recruited junior students, and wrote "Teacher's Theory". Because he resisted Yan and became a teacher, he gained a crazy reputation." Han Yu's major papers on education include "Teacher's Theory", "Jinxue Jie" and "Miscellaneous Theory of Four Horses" and so on. In these articles, he emphasized the importance of seeking teachers, pointing out that "people are not born with knowledge"; he put forward the proposition that "where the Tao exists, there exists the teacher", and believed that as long as a learned person is one's own teacher; he also proposed that "the work is better than diligence, and the waste is play; the success is in thinking, and the destruction is in casualness" "There are talented people in the world, and then there are thousand-mile horses. There are always thousand-mile horses, but there are not always thousand-mile horses. Therefore, although there are famous horses, they are humiliated and die in stalls, so they are not called thousand-mile horses." The issue of treating talents and using talents. Han Yu's idea of ​​identifying talents, cultivating talents, and using talents is a new development of Confucius's "rewarding talents" and Mozi's ideas of "advocating talents". It is also a powerful criticism of the decadent ideas of the feudal aristocrats who select people for their own merits and use people as relatives.

Literary Achievements
Ancient Chinese Movement
Later generations called him, Liu Zongyuan, Su Shi, Su Che, Su Xun, Zeng Gong, Ouyang Xiu, and Wang Anshi, the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and respected him as the head of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Du Mu juxtaposed Korean writing with Du's poetry and called it "Hanbi of Du's poetry"; Su Shi called him "the decline of literature in eight generations". The ancient prose movement advocated by Han Liu opened up the development path of ancient prose since the Tang Dynasty. Korean poetry strives for novelty, emphasis on momentum, and originality. Han Yu used literature as poetry, introduced new ancient Chinese language, composition, and techniques into the poetry world, enhanced the expressive function of poetry, expanded the field of poetry, and corrected the mediocre poetry style since the Dali (766-780). Han Yu actively led the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty and made this movement a great success. The so-called ancient prose movement is to change the parallel style of prose since the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties and restore the prose style of the pre-Qin era. Han Yu pushed the ancient prose movement to a new stage. The purpose of Han Yu's promotion of ancient prose is: "to understand its words, the original intention is the ancient way." Use ancient prose to revitalize Confucianism and restore the "holy way". Han Yu believed that "literature carries Tao", and that literature and Tao must be organically combined. The first thing that should be paid attention to is Tao. Han Yu put forward a theory based on "Things that are not equal will scream" and believed that people "have no choice but to speak later". Han Yu believed that in terms of style, we should learn from the writings of ancient sages. But it is necessary to "learn the meaning, not the words". Han Yu also proposed that writing articles should "only focus on stating the truth", get rid of clichés, and strive for innovation. Han Yu's leadership of the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty was successful. From then on, "ancient prose has undergone a major change since the Tang Dynasty" and the obscene writing style was changed. Su Shi called this "the decline of eight generations of literature". Han Yu's literary ideas had a positive impact on the development of literary theories and literary practices of later generations.

Literary Creation
Han Yu’s works are very rich, with more than 700 poems and essays extant, including nearly 400 prose. Han Yu's prose and poetry creations realized his own theory. His works of various genres such as poems, essays, narratives, biographies, notes, odes, praises, books, prefaces, elegy, sacrificial essays, epigraphs, statements, tables, essays, etc., all have outstanding achievements.
Han Yu's prose is rich in content, diverse in form, clear and concise in language, novel and vivid, and has set a model for the classical prose movement. The Korean style is vigorous and unrestrained, with twists and turns freely. His prose works can be roughly divided into the following categories: Essays. Compared with essays, essays are more free and casual. They may be long or short, solemn or humorous. The prose varies according to the situation, and each has its own purpose. For example, "Jinxuejie" uses the method of setting questions and answers to make irony and truth. The whole text uses the method of diction and poetry to arrange parallels and parallels, and the writing is relaxed and lively. The most noteworthy among the essays are those concise short essays that mock reality and have sharp arguments, such as "Miscellaneous Comments" and "Huolin Jie". They are lively and eclectic in form and have high literary value. Most of the prefaces (i.e. prefaces to gifts) are concise, concise and original, expressing various emotions about the real society, such as "Postscript to the Biography of Zhang Zhongcheng", "Preface to Farewell to Li Yuan's Return to Pangu", "Preface to Farewell to Meng Dongye", etc. In addition, Han Yu also showed his outstanding ability to narrate objects in his biographies and epitaphs, such as "The Biography of Mao Ying" and "Epitaph of Liu Zihou". Biography and lyrical prose, Han Yu's biography inherits the tradition of "Historical Records", depicts characters in the narrative, and discusses and expresses emotions appropriately and skillfully. "Postscript to the Biography of Zhang Zhongcheng" is recognized as a famous work. Among his lyrical essays, "Essay on Sacrifice to the Twelve Langs" is also a thousand-year-old unique tune in the memorial essays, with a strong lyrical color.
Han Yu is also a famous poet. His artistic features are mainly strange, majestic and grotesque. For example, "Lu Hun Mountain Fire and Huang Fu's Rhyme", "Lunar Eclipse Poetry Imitation of Yuchuan Zi Zu" and so on are strange and profound in content; "Nanshan Poetry", "Farewell to Dou Sizhi of Yueyang Tower", "Meng Dongye's Lost Son", etc. are magnificent in realm. However, in the pursuit of novelty, Korean poetry often tends to fill in unfamiliar words, idioms, and rhymes. Han Yu also has a kind of simple and natural poems. Korean poetry is in an ancient style and has few modern styles, but there are also excellent verses and quatrains. For example, Qilu "Moved to Languan from the left to show his nephew Xiang", "Answer to Zhang's eleven merits", "Inscribed on Yiliang", Qijue "First sent to Zhang Twelve Pavilions from Tongguan", "Inscribed on the Temple of King Zhao of Chu", etc. ▲



Anecdotes and allusions

Kingchi Temple
After Han Yu came to Chaozhou, he met a monk on the street one day. He had a very ferocious appearance, especially the two tusks sticking out of his mouth. Han Yu thought that this was definitely not a good person, and wanted to knock off his tusks. When Han Yu returned to the office, the gatekeeper brought a red envelope and said it was from a monk. Han Yu opened it and saw a pair of tusks inside, which were exactly the same as the monk's two tusks. He thought, I wanted to knock out his teeth, but I didn't say it. How did he know it? Han Yu immediately sent people to look for the monk everywhere. After meeting and talking, Han Yu found out that he was the famous monk Dadian of Lingshan Temple in Chaozhou and a knowledgeable man. Han Yu felt ashamed that he could judge others by their appearance and hurriedly apologized to him. From then on, the two became good friends. In order to commemorate the friendship between Han Yu and monk Dadian, later generations built a nunnery in the city called "Kingchi nunnery".

Setting up water cloth
In ancient times, the rowers in Hanjiang River in Chaozhou had to carry fir trees and tie fir rows. Sometimes they jumped into the river and sometimes climbed ashore. Their clothes got wet and dried, and then got wet again. They often suffered from stomachaches and rheumatism. So they simply worked shirtless and without clothes. Women who carried water and washed clothes by the river every day saw the dischargers naked and complained to the government. After negotiations with the government, the discharge workers had no choice but to put on their clothes. Han Yu came to Chaozhou. After hearing about this incident, he ran to the riverside to check the situation of the rowing workers setting up and releasing the rows. Han Yu believed that the discharge workers were prone to getting sick because they wore wet clothes all day long. After returning to the Yamen, he sent people to the riverside to inform the rowers: from now on, you don't have to wear clothes to tie the rows and row elbows, just tie a piece of cloth around your waist to cover your shame. This piece of cloth later became the bath cloth that Chaozhou workers and farmers carried when working. Chaozhou people called it "water cloth".

A man of good temperament
Han Yu has a cheerful and open-minded personality, and when interacting with others, his attitude remains unchanged regardless of whether the other person is prosperous or in decline. When he was young, he was friendly with Meng Jiao and Zhang Ji. Their reputation and status were not high. Han Yu did not avoid the cold and heat, and praised and respected them among the officials. Zhang Ji finally became a Jinshi and received an official salary. Later, although Han Yu had a distinguished status, whenever he had free time after finishing official business, he would talk, have dinner, and write essays and poems with them, just like in the past. And he treated those powerful and powerful people as if they were slaves, staring and disdainful. Han Yu was very good at coaxing and encouraging the underachievers. He stayed at home and was treated like a guest sixty-seven out of ten times. Even if he couldn't eat breakfast, he still looked pleasant and didn't care. He always takes it as his mission to revitalize reputation, educate people and promote benevolence and righteousness. Nearly ten people helped marry orphaned girls who were close friends at home and abroad.

Unlocking the Ministry of Personnel
Han Yu once served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. At that time, Ling Shi had the most power among the officials in the Ministry of Personnel. Because the Ministry of Personnel used to be locked up, officials waiting for election and appointment could not come to the Ministry of Personnel to meet. After Han Yu took office, he released the locks and allowed candidate officials to come and go. He said: "The reason why people are afraid of ghosts is because they cannot see ghosts; if they could see them, then people would not be afraid of ghosts." The four characters "Feiyu Leap" are engraved on the Wolong Stone on the back right side of Yanxi Pavilion, followed by He Jian's regular script inscription and postscript: "Han Gong's big character is rare in the world, Qianlong Renyin, Jianbing Duoyang Mountain, the four characters were obtained by the natives "Han Yu" stone carvings of "Kite Flying and Fish Leaping" can be found in Shihu Garden in Weifang, Guangdong, Han Wengong Temple in Chaozhou, Guangxi, Xiaoxi Lake in Hezhou, Guangxi, Qixing Rock in Zhaoqing and other places, and have a wide influence.

Crossing the Horse to Lead the Mountain
When Han Yu arrived in Chaozhou, it happened that Chaozhou was hit by heavy rains, floods occurred, and the countryside was completely white. He inspected outside the city and saw a mountain torrent coming from the north, so he rode his horse to the north of the city. He first looked at the water situation and then the terrain, and then ordered his followers Zhang Qian and Li Wan to follow his horse and plant bamboo poles wherever the horse passed as a mark of the embankment line. After Han Yu installed the embankment line, he notified the people to build the embankment according to the pole mark. The people were very happy after hearing this and rushed over one after another. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived in the north of the city, they saw that a mountain range had been formed where the bamboo poles were inserted, blocking the flood from the north. Since then, there have been no floods here. People have legends: "Han Wengong led his horse across the mountain." This mountain was later called "Zhugan Mountain".

Kill the crocodiles
When Han Yu was demoted to Chaozhou as governor, there was a river in Chaozhou. There were many man-eating crocodiles in the river, which became a local pest. Many people who crossed the river were eaten by them. One day, another commoner was killed. Han Yu was worried: If the crocodile is not eliminated, there will be endless troubles. So Han Yu ordered the preparation of sacrifices and decided to go to the riverside in person to set up an altar to sacrifice the crocodile. After Han Yu placed the sacrifices, he shouted to the river: "Crocodile! Crocodile! Han came here to serve as an official in order to benefit the people. But you are making trouble here. Now you are limited to three days to take others of your own species out to sea. The time can be extended to five days or even seven days. If you don't leave after seven days, you will be severely punished." Since then, there has never been a crocodile-eating incident in Chaozhou. People call the place where Han Yu sacrificed crocodiles "Hanpu", the ferry "Handu", the river "Hanjiang", and the mountain across the river is called "Hanshan".

Dream of Swallowing Dan Seal
Han Yu once had a dream when he was young. In the dream, there was a man and a roll of Dan Seal. He was forced to swallow the Dan Seal, and there was a person beside him holding his palms and laughing. He suddenly felt frightened and woke up.

After waking up, Han Yu felt as if something was choking in his stomach, and he could still write down one or two words in it. His writing skills were extraordinary. Later, when I met Meng Jiao, I always felt that I had seen him before. After thinking about it carefully, I was surprised to find that Meng Jiao was the person laughing next to me in the dream. This matter is recorded in "The Biography of Strangers", and the record in "Longcheng Lu" is also more detailed. It is said that after Han Yu woke up, "his writing style was not like a human book. When he met Meng Jiao later, he seemed familiar to him, and when he thought about it, he was the one laughing in his dreams."

The "Dan Zhuan" mentioned in the dream is the text of Taoist mantras, which are often written with cinnabar, and the strokes are like clouds in seal script. Han Yu clearly opposed Buddhist beliefs, but he believed in Taoist elixirs. As for Taoist incantations, I am actually not interested in them. The appearance of "Dan Zhuan" in Han Yu's dream can be understood from two points: the first is the nightmare caused by Han Yu's pursuit of literature. He pursued a unique calligraphy with a special style, so he displayed it in his dream with the common "Dan Zhuan"; the second may be a metaphor for the "ancient prose" advocated by Han Yu and others. "Dan Zhuan" evolved from the shape of large seal and small seal in ancient Qin and Han Dynasties. A writer and thinker's behavior and thoughts can affect his sleep situation. As the saying goes, "Think about something during the day and think about it at night."

About this dream, Han Yu told people after he attracted attention, so it is not ruled out that there are additional elements. And in the dream, Meng Jiao was holding his palms and laughing, which should be encouraged, not ridiculed. Probably Han Yu subconsciously hoped to have such a friend, so that after he later met Meng Jiao and had a close relationship with him, he naturally connected the "laughing" person in the dream with his close friend Meng Jiao.

Misrepresentation of appearance
Shen Kuo once recorded in "Mengxi Bi Tan": People in the world paint Han Yu's portrait, with a small face, beautiful beard, and wearing a gauze hat. This is actually Han Xizai of the Southern Tang Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there is still a portrait of Han Xizai painted at that time preserved, with a very clear inscription. Han Xizai's posthumous name was Wenjing, and people in the south of the Yangtze River called him Han Wengong, so the world mistakenly thought he was Han Yu. Han Yu was fat and had little beard. After that, Han Yu was worthy of Confucius, and all the paintings in Confucius temples in various states and counties were painted by Han Xizai. Later generations could not tell the difference, so they always believed that the portrait of Han Xizai was that of Han Yu.

A romantic nature
According to records, Han Yu indulged in lust and had many wives and concubines, which caused a great decline in his sexual function. He often took aphrodisiacs. Ancient aphrodisiacs often contained sulfur, and eating too much was harmful. Han Yu listened to others' suggestions and ground the sulfur into powder and fed it to the roosters. When the roosters grew up, they would eat chicken. This allowed the roosters to absorb the toxicity of the sulfur first, thus indirectly obtaining the aphrodisiac effect of sulfur. However, eating too much in this way still caused him to die. Song Taogu's "Qing Yi Lu" records: "In his later years, Changli Gong was very lipophilic, so he could take it. He stirred porridge and rice with sulfur powder and ate chickens without intercourse. He cooked for a thousand days in the restaurant, which was named 'Huolingku'. He made only one meal a day." However, "he also showed success in the beginning and died in the end."

Retreat and submit a letter
According to Li Zhao's "Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty": Han Yu once climbed Mount Huashan with his guests. After reaching the top of the mountain, he found that the surroundings were extremely dangerous and dangerous, and it was estimated that he would not be able to move forward. In a state of extreme horror, he wrote a suicide note and cried wildly. The magistrate of Huayin County, where Huashan is located, tried his best to save him.

Later, Zhao Wenbei, a centenarian from Shanxi Province, swam to the "Repository for Han Yu's Retirement" and laughed endlessly after hearing Han Yu's anecdotes. Later generations also inscribed on the side "The poet Zhao Wenbei cried loudly when Han retreated in Canglongling and laughed at Han Chu when he was 100 years old." Later in the Qing Dynasty, when Li Bai climbed the mountain here, he showed another mentality when he cried and laughed, and wrote a poem: "The danger of Hua is the mountain. Han Lao cries, Zhao Lao laughs, and each cry and smile conveys two wonderful things. Li Bai neither laughs nor cries, but he roars on the independent mountain." Han Yu lost his father when he was 3 years old, and he was demoted to Guangdong with his brother Han Hui. After his brother's death, he moved to Xuancheng with his sister-in-law Zheng. He studied at the age of 7 and was able to write at the age of 13. He learned from the disciples of Duguji and Liang Su, and cared about politics, which determined the direction of his life's efforts. In the eighth year of Zhenyuan (792), he passed the Jinshi title and successively promoted officials for Jiedushi and supervised the censor. At the end of the year, Dezong was demoted because he wrote a letter about the malpractices of current affairs. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, he served as doctor of Guozi, editor of the History Museum, and editor of the Zhongshu Sheren. In the 14th year of Yuanhe (819), he was demoted as the governor of Chaozhou for remonstrating with Xianzong to welcome the bones of Buddha. During the reign of Emperor Mu Zong, he successively served as the Minister of the Imperial Family, Minister of the Ministry of War, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Jing Zhaoyin and Imperial Censor. He died in the first month of the fourth year of Changqing (824).

Han Yu was politically opposed to the separatist regime of vassal towns. During the Yuanhe period of Xianzong, he actively participated in the war against Wu Yuanji, a rebel vassal in Huaixi, and served as Pei Du's marching commander. He believed in Confucianism ideologically and strongly opposed Buddhism and Elders. At the same time, he promoted the theory of destiny, believing that "heaven" can reward good and punish evil, and humans can only comply with and obey destiny. His theistic thinking adapted to the need to consolidate feudal rule.

In literature, Han Yu opposed parallel prose since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, advocated ancient prose, and advocated that writing should carry the Tao. Together with Liu Zongyuan, he was an advocate of the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty. Due to the advocacy of him and Liu Zongyuan and others, the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty was formed, which opened up the development path of ancient prose since the Tang and Song Dynasties. His ancient writings are of various styles, including political treatises, memorials, book chapters, prefaces, miscellanies, biographies, memorial texts, epitaphs and even legends. His expositions are powerful, rigorous in structure and logical, with famous articles such as "Admonishment to Welcome the Buddha's Bone Table", "Yuan Dao", "Yuan Destruction", "Contending Ministers", "Shi Shuo", etc.; narratives are clear in love and hatred and highly lyrical, such as "Preface to Farewell to Li Yuan's Return to Pangu", "Preface to Farewell to Dong Shaonan", "Postscript of the Biography of Zhang Zhongcheng", "Essay on Commemoration to Twelve Langs", "Epitaph of Liu Zihou", etc. Korean is bold and unrestrained, has a distinctive style, and is also unique in language. It is especially good at refining words and phrases and bringing forth new ones. Many penetrating words have been turned into idioms and are still preserved in literary language and people's spoken language. Although Korean poetry is not as successful as its prose, it still occupies an important position in the mid-Tang Dynasty and has a great influence on Song poetry. Later generations spoke highly of Han Yu and respected him as the head of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". Du Mu juxtaposed Korean writing with Du (Fu's) poetry and called it "Du's poetry and Hanbi"; Su Shi called him "the rise of poetry and the decline of poetry in eight generations".