Nalan Xingde

Nalan Xingde (1655-1685), a Manchurian with the courtesy name Rongruo and Lengya Mountain native, was one of the most famous poets in the Qing Dynasty. His poem "Nalan Ci" enjoyed a high reputation in the Qing Dynasty and even the entire Chinese poetry circle, and also occupied a glorious place in the history of Chinese literature. He lived during the period of integration of Manchu and Han Dynasties, and the rise and fall of his aristocratic family was typically related to the state affairs of the dynasty. Although he serves the emperor, he longs for ordinary experiences. The special living environment and background, coupled with his personal extraordinary talent, give his poetry creation a unique personality and distinctive artistic style. The "Mulan Hua Ling·Nai Gu Jue Ci" that has been passed down to this day - "If life is only as it was when we first met, why is the autumn wind sad and painted on the fan? It is easy to change the heart of the old, but it is said that the heart of the old is easy to change." Full of artistic conception, it is one of his many representative works.

Scenery

When Nalanxingde was 22 years old, he took the Jinshi examination again and ranked seventh in the second class. Emperor Kangxi made an exception by granting him the official position of third-class bodyguard, and later he was promoted to second-class, and then to first-class. As the imperial guard beside the emperor, he participated in romantic and elegant poetry as a handsome and mighty military attache. He accompanied the emperor on hunting tours in the south and north, traveled far and wide, and was ordered to participate in important strategic reconnaissance. He sang poems with the emperor and translated and translated works. Because of his holy will, he was rewarded many times. He was an enviable young talent with both civil and military skills. He was a highly respected minister of the emperor and a high-ranking official with a promising future.

But as a prodigy in poetry and art, deep down he was tired of the vulgar officialdom and the life of a servant, and had no interest in fame or fortune. Although "I live in a high gate and a wide mansion, I often think about the mountains and rivers, fish and birds". His poems and prose are all excellent, especially his lyrics, and he is world-famous. When he was 24 years old, he compiled and selected his poems into a collection called "Side Hat Collection" and "Drinking Water Collection". Later, someone added and filled in the gaps in the two collections of poetry, totaling 349 poems. They were edited together and combined into "Nalan Collection". The handed down "Nalan Ci" enjoyed a high reputation in society at that time and was highly praised by literati and bachelors. It became an outstanding representative of the Ci community of that era. People at the time said, "Every family is competing to sing "Drinking Water Ci". How many people know about Nalan's thoughts?" This shows the great influence of his Ci.

In terms of making friends, the most outstanding feature of Nalan Xingde is that the people he made friends with were "all handsome and different at the same time, and they are known as difficult to get along with." Most of these people who did not want to conform to the conventional were commoner literati from the Han nationality in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Gu Zhenguan, Yan Shengsun, Zhu Yizun, Chen Weisong, Jiang Chenying, etc. Nalan Xingde was extremely sincere to his friends. He not only spared money and righteousness, but also respected their character and talents. Just like Pingyuan Jun, who had three thousand diners, many celebrities and talented people surrounded him at that time, making his residence, Lushui Pavilion (now Neenbo Pavilion, the former residence of Song Qingling) famous for the gathering of literati and poets, which objectively promoted the cultural prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong. The reason is that to a certain extent, Nalan Xingde was able to learn the knowledge of Han culture that he admired from Han intellectuals. More importantly, he had lofty ideals and noble personality that were different from those of ordinary playboys of Manchu nobles. This obviously made his actions deviate from the mainstream of society and became a focus of research for later generations. ▲

Character’s life

Nalan Xingde was born on the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month in the eleventh year of Shunzhi (January 19, 1655 AD). Nalan had read poetry and books since he was a child, and studied both literature and martial arts. At the age of eighteen, he took part in the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination and passed the examination. At the age of nineteen, he passed the examination and became a tribute scholar. In the twelfth year of Kangxi's reign, he missed the imperial examination due to illness. In the 15th year of Kangxi's reign, he took the supplementary imperial examination and passed the second, seventh and seventh place in the examination, and was awarded the title of Jinshi. During this period, Nalan Xingde studied hard and worshiped Xu Qianxue as his teacher. Under the guidance of famous teachers, he presided over the compilation of a Confucian compilation - "Tongzhitang Jingjie" in two years, which was highly appreciated by the emperor and laid the foundation for future development. He also compiled his knowledge and insights from the classics and history into a four-volume "Lushui Pavilion Miscellaneous Knowledge", which includes history, geography, astronomy, calendar, Buddhism, music, literature, textual research and other knowledge, showing a considerable breadth of knowledge and hobbies.

Imperial Guard
Nalan Xingde was only twenty-two years old when he became a Jinshi. Kangxi loved his talent, and because of Nalan’s prominent background, his family was related to the royal family (Nalan’s mother was born in Aixinjue Luo royal family; Nalan's great-grandfather Jin Taiji was Yehebubeile, and his sister Menggu Gege was Huang Taiji's biological mother), so he was left by Kangxi to be a third-class bodyguard. Soon after, he was promoted to a first-class bodyguard and accompanied Kangxi on many tours. He also sent Solon as an envoy to inspect the situation of Tsarist Russia's invasion of the border areas.

Poems of Love
As the eldest son of Nalan Mingzhu, an important minister of the dynasty, he was destined to be rich and prosperous, with flowers blooming. As the emperor's side, he participated in romantic and elegant poetry as a handsome and powerful military officer. He accompanied the emperor on hunting tours in the south and north, traveled far and wide, and was ordered to participate in important strategic reconnaissance. He sang poems with the emperor and translated and translated works. Because of his holy will, he was rewarded many times. He was an enviable young talent with both civil and military skills. He was a highly respected minister of the emperor and a high-ranking official with a promising future.

But as a prodigy in poetry and art, he was indifferent to fame and wealth, and deep down he hated the vulgarity and hypocrisy of officialdom. Although he "lived in a high-rise building, he often thought of fish and birds in the mountains and rivers." Although Nalan knew how to ride, shoot, and study all his life, he was not able to express his enthusiasm in his position as a first-class bodyguard.