Li Yu (Southern Tang)

Li Yu (Li Congjia)
"Last Ruler" of Southern Tang (more...)

an illustration from Sancai Tuhui (1609)
3rd and last ruler[1] of Southern Tang
Reign summer 961 – 1 January 976[2]
Predecessor Li Jing, father
Born 937 or early 938[3]
likely modern Nanjing, Jiangsu
Died 15 August 978(978-08-15) (aged 40–41[4])
modern Kaifeng, Henan
Spouse
Issue
Another son died young		 Li Zhongyu, son
Full name

Surname: Lǐ (李)
Given name: Cóngjiā (從嘉), later changed to Yù (煜)
Courtesy name: Chóngguāng (重光)

Noble titles

Duke of Anding 安定公
959: Prince of Wu 吳王
971: King of Jiangnan 江南國主
975: Marquess Wei Ming 違命侯

Posthumous name
none
Father Li Jing
Mother Empress Zhong
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.
Li Yu
Chinese 李煜

Li Yu (Chinese: 李煜; c. 937[3] – 15 August 978[5]), before 961 known as Li Congjia (李從嘉), also known as Li Houzhu (李後主; literally "Last Ruler Li" or "Last Lord Li"), was the third ruler[1] of the Southern Tang state during imperial China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned from 961 until 976, when he was captured by the invading Song Dynasty armies which annexed his kingdom. He died by poison on orders of Emperor Taizong of Song after 2 years essentially as an exiled prisoner.

Although an incompetent ruler, he was a representative lyric poet during his era, even to the extent of having been called the "first true master" of the ci form.[6]

Early life

In the same Chinese year Li Congjia was born, his grandfather Xu Zhigao, also known as Xu Gao (Li Bian) founded the state Qi (齊), renaming it Tang (known as the Southern Tang) 2 years later. When Li Congjia was 6, his father Li Jing became the next Southern Tang emperor. With Li Jing naming his younger brother Li Jingsui his heir apparent, his sixth eldest son Li Congjia seemed unlikely to ever succeed the throne. However, many of Li Congjia's brothers died very young, and after the death of the second eldest brother Li Hongmao (李弘茂) in 951, Li Congjia all of a sudden found himself right behind Li Hongji — the eldest brother — and uncle Li Jingsui in the succession line.[7][8]

Li Hongji, a withdrawn and troubled young man, resented his crown prince uncle, whom he saw as a political enemy standing in his way. He also disliked his younger brother Li Congjia, even though they shared the same biological mother, Empress Zhong. Fearing the possible results of this family enmity, Li Congjia tried hard to be inconspicuous and focused on the arts, including poetry, painting and music. He loved reading, a passion encouraged by his father, also an acclaimed poet.[9] At the age of 17, Li Congjia married Zhou Ehuang, chancellor Zhou Zong's daughter and a year his senior. Lady Zhou was not only highly educated but also multi-talented in music and the arts and the young couple enjoyed a very intimate relationship.[10]

Accession to the throne

In 955, a year after Li Congjia's marriage, Southern Tang was invaded by Later Zhou. The resistance war did not end until spring 958, after Li Jing ceded all prefectures north of the Yangtze River to his powerful northern neighbor. Li Jing also relinquished all imperial trappings, degrading his own title from emperor to king (國主).[11] The national humiliation was soon followed by familial tragedy: later that year Li Hongji poisoned uncle Li Jingsui to death, which was followed by his own death a few months later, allegedly hastened by many encounters with Li Jingsui's vengeful ghost.[7]

Not long after Li Hongji's death in 959, Li Congjia was given the post of royal secretary (尚書令) so that he could familiarize himself of governmental affairs. However, despite being the king's eldest surviving son, a few ministers considered him too dissolute and weak for the crown prince position, including Zhong Mo, who pleaded to have Li Congjia's younger brother Li Congshan chosen instead. Li Jing found Zhong's suggestion offensive and demoted him.[8][12]

Suffering from poor health, Li Jing decided to transfer all responsibilities to his successor. He named Li Congjia the crown prince in spring 961 to take over in the capital Jinling (金陵; modern Nanjing, Jiangsu) while he retired to the southern city of Hongzhou (洪州; modern Nanchang, Jiangxi). A few months later he died, and Li Congjia officially succeeded the throne, not without a last-second effort by Li Congshan to challenge him. By then Zhong Mo had also died, so Li Congshan asked chancellor Xu You to bring Li Jing's last will to him. Xu refused and confided in Li Congjia of Li Congshan's intentions. Li Congjia — changing his name to Li Yu — did not punish his younger brother other than a slight demotion.[9]

As Southern Tang ruler

Appeasing the Song Dynasty

A year before Li Yu ascended the throne, Southern Tang's nominal overlord Later Zhou had been replaced by the Song Dynasty established by former Later Zhou general Zhao Kuangyin, who had earlier participated in several campaigns against Southern Tang. Knowing the limit of Southern Tang's military strength and trying hard to be subservient to the northern court, Li Yu immediately sent a high official Feng Yanlu with a letter — whose language was of extreme humility[13] — to inform Song of his succession. Things got to a rocky start: during his accession to the throne Li Yu built a golden rooster, a symbol of imperial power, the news of which infuriated Zhao Kuangyin. In the end, the Southern Tang ambassador in the Song capital of Bianliang (汴梁; modern Kaifeng, Henan) had to give the explanation that the golden rooster was actually a "weird bird" to satisfy the Song emperor.[12]

Such an embarrassing relationship would define Li's entire reign, as tribute payments, both regular and irregular, drained the Southern Tang treasury. Essentially Li was ready to fulfill Emperor Taizu of Song's every demand except go to Bianliang himself. In 963, Li Congshan who accompanied a tributary mission was held hostage in Bianliang and had to write letters on behalf of the Song emperor asking his elder brother also join him at the Song court. Li Yu, naturally, did not heed the request.[7]

Successive deaths in the family

Li Yu remained close to his musically gifted wife Zhou Ehuang — now Queen Zhou — so close that he sometimes canceled government meetings to enjoy her performances. The absences continued until a censor (監察御史) spoke out against it.[10]

In around 964, the second of the couple's 2 sons, a 3-year-old still called by his milk name Ruibao (瑞保),[14] died unexpectedly. Li would mourn his son by himself so as not to sadden his wife more than necessary,[7] but Queen Zhou was completely devastated and quickly deteriorated in health. During her illness, Li attended her so devotedly that he did not disrobe for days.[10] When the queen finally succumbed to illness, Li mourned so bitterly until "his bones stuck out and he could stand up only with the aid of a staff."[13] In addition to several grieving poems, he chiseled the roughly 2000 characters of his "Dirge for the Zhaohui Queen Zhou" (昭惠周后誄) — "Zhaohui" being her posthumous name — to her headstone himself.[10] Part of the dirge read (as translated by Daniel Bryant):[15]

孰謂逝者 Who is it says, of those departed,
荏苒彌疏 they grow more remote as times goes by?
我思姝子 I long for her, that beautiful lady,
永念猶初 eternally remembering, just as at first.
愛而不見 "I love her but I cannot see her";
我心毀如 my heart seems to blaze and burn.
寒暑斯疚 With chills and fever I am afflicted,
吾寧禦諸 can I ever overcome this?

While Li Yu was almost certainly sincere in his love for his wife, during her last days he also engaged in a secret sexual relationship with the queen's younger sister, who was only around 14 at that time. Worst of all, the queen discovered the "affair"[16] which probably hastened her demise and multiplied Li Yu's regret. A few months later, in late 965, disaster stroke again: Queen Dowager Zhong died after several months of attentive care-taking by Li. The subsequent mourning period delayed Li's marriage to the younger Lady Zhou until 968.[10]

Deaths of Lin Renzhao and Pan You

After conquering Jingnan, the Hunan region and Later Shu, the Song Dynasty army set off to invade Southern Han in 971, Southern Tang's southwestern neighbor. Lin Renzhao, the Southern Tang military governor of Zhenhai Command (鎮海軍) centering in Wuchang (in modern Hubei), believed the opportunity golden to attack the Song cities around Yangzhou (in modern Jiangsu) as the main Song army would be a long distance away and already severely fatigued. Li Yu immediately rejected Lin's request: "Stop the nonsense talks, (stop) destroying (our) country!"[17]

What Li was perhaps unaware was a year before, the Song military had gotten hold of an important chart with detailed measurements of Yangtze River crossing points, provided by a Southern Tang defector named Fan Ruoshui. After the conquest of Southern Han, their next step was to eliminate Lin Renzhao. In 974, Emperor Taizu of Song got hold of a Lin portrait through agents working in Southern Tang, and Li Congshan, the hostage kept in Bianliang, was then made to believe that Lin's loyalty was with Song. When Li Yu was told of this, he without a thorough investigation secretly poisoned Lin to death. Chancellor Chen Qiao angrily reacted to Lin's death: "Seeing loyal ministers killed, I don't know where I will die!".[17]

Fall of Southern Tang

Not known for his governing skill, Houzhu was nevertheless a highly accomplished scholar, he allowed himself indulgence with artistic and literature pursuits, with little regard to the strong Song Kingdom that was eying its weaker neighbor. In 971, Houzhu dropped the name of Tang from its Kingdom's name, in a desperate move to please the mighty Emperor Taizu of Song.

Of the many other kingdoms surrounding the Southern Tang, only Wuyue to the east had yet to fall. The Southern Tang's turn came in 974, when, after several refusals to summons to the Song court, on the excuse of illness, Song Dynasty armies invaded. After a year long siege of the Southern Tang capital, modern Nanjing, Li Houzhu surrendered, in 975; and, he and his family were taken as captives to the Song capital at present-day Kaifeng.[18] In a later poem, Li wrote about the shame and regret he had on the day he was taken away from Jinling (as translated by Hsiung Ting[19]):

四十年來家國 For forty years my country and my home —
三千里地山河 Three thousand li of mountains and rivers.
鳳閣龍樓連霄漢 The Phoenix Pavilion and Dragon Tower reaching up to the Milky Way,
玉樹瓊枝作烟蘿 Jade trees and jasper branches forming a cloudy net —
幾曾識干戈 Not once did I touch sword or spear!
一旦歸為臣虜 Suddenly I became a captive slave.
沈腰潘鬢銷磨 Frail my waist, gray my temples, grinding away.
最是倉皇辭廟日 Never shall I forget the day when I bade hasty farewell at the ancestral temple.
教坊猶奏別離歌 The court musicians played the farewell songs,
揮淚對宮娥 My tears streamed as I gazed at the court maidens.

Devotion to the arts

Although, Li Yu indeed was a great exponent and developer of the Ci poetry form, which form sometimes or often seems to characterize poetry of the Song Dynasty, there is also some difficulty in categorizing him as a Song poet: the Southern Tang state is more of a continuation of Tang than a precursor on the Song side of the divide of the history of the Tang-Song transition, also known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Li Yu represents both a continuation of the Tang poetry tradition, as well as representing the Ci poetic style which is so especially associated with the poetry of Song.

Li Houzhu devoted much of his time to pleasure-making and literature, and this is reflected in his early poems. A second phase of Li's ci poems seems to have been the development of an even sadder style after the death of his wife, in 964.[20] His best-known, and saddest, poems were composed during the years of his captivity, after he formally abdicated his reign to the Song, in 975. He was created the Marquess of Wei Ming (Chinese: 違命侯; literally, the Marquess of Disobeyed Edicts), a token title only: actually, he was a prisoner, though with the outward accoutrements of a prince. Li's works from this period dwell on his regret for the lost kingdom and the pleasures it had brought him.

He developed the ci by broadening its scope from love to history and philosophy, particularly in his later works. He also introduced the two stanza form, and made great use of contrasts between longer lines of nine characters and shorter ones of three and five. Only 45 of his ci poems survive, thirty of which have been verified to be his authentic works, the other of which are possibly composed by other writers: also, seventeen shi style poems remain to his credit.[20] His story remains very popular in many Cantonese operas.

Death

He was poisoned by the Song emperor Taizong in 978, after he had written a poem that, in a veiled manner, lamented the destruction of his empire and the rape of his second wife Empress Zhou the Young by the Song emperor. After his death, he was posthumously created the Prince of Wu (吳王).

Writing

Ci poetry

Further information: Ci (poetry)

The roughly 40 (some of which incomplete owing to damaged manuscripts) ci poems possibly written by Li Yu are summarized in the table below. The ci as a poetic form follows set patterns or tunes (詞牌).

A few poems have been set to music in modern times, most notably the 3 songs in superstar Teresa Teng's 1983 album Light Exquisite Feelings. Some of the songs are mentioned below.

Tune First line Notes
Cǎi Sāng Zǐ (采桑子) Lù Lú Jīn Jǐng Wú Tóng Wǎn (轆轤金井梧桐晚)
Tíng Qián Chūn Zhú Hóng Yīng Jìn (庭前春逐紅英盡)
Cháng Xiāng Sī (長相思) Yún Yī Guā (雲一緺)
Dǎo Liàn Zǐ Ling (搗練子令) Shēn Yuàn Jìng (深院靜)
Dié Liàn Huā (蝶戀花) Yáo Yè Tíng Gāo Xián Xìn Bù (遙夜亭臯閑信步)
Huàn Xī Shā (浣溪沙) Hóng Rì Yǐ Gāo Sān Zhàng Tòu (紅日已高三丈透)
Làng Táo Shā (浪淘沙) Lián Wài Yǔ Chán Chán (簾外雨潺潺) Tune written as Làng Táo Shā Lìng (浪淘沙令)
Wǎng Shì Zhǐ Kān Āi (往事只堪哀)
Lín Jiāng Xiān (臨江仙) Qín Lóu Bù Jiàn Chuī Xiāo Nǚ (秦樓不見吹簫女) Tune written as Xiè Xīn Ēn (謝新恩)
Missing 1 character in the sixth line
Yīng Táo Luò Jìn Chūn Guī Qù (櫻桃落盡春歸去) Authenticity of the last 3 lines questioned[21]
Liǔ Zhī (柳枝) Fēng Qíng Jiàn Lǎo Jiàn Chūn Xiū (風情漸老見春羞)
Pò Zhèn Zǐ (破陣子) Sì Shí Nián Lái Jiā Guó (四十年來家國) Shiao Lih-ju sang it in Mandarin[22]
Pú Sà Mán (菩薩蠻) Huā Míng Yuè Àn Lóng Qīng Wù (花明月暗籠輕霧)
Péng Lái Yuàn Bì Tiān Tái Nǚ (蓬萊院閉天台女)
Rén Shēng Chóu Hèn Hé Néng Miǎn (人生愁恨何能免) Tune written as Zǐ Yè Gē (子夜歌)
Tóng Huáng Yùn Cuì Qiāng Hán Zhú (銅簧韻脆鏘寒竹)
Xún Chūn Xū Shì Xiān Chūn Zǎo (尋春須是先春早) Tune written as Zǐ Yè Gē (子夜歌)
Qīng Píng Yuè (清平樂) Bié Lái Chūn Bàn (別來春半)
Ruǎn Láng Guī (阮郎歸) Dōng Fēng Chuī Shuǐ Rì Xián Shān (東風吹水日銜山) Possibly by Feng Yansi[23]
Sān Tái Lìng (三臺令) Bù Mèi Juàn Cháng Gèng (不寐倦長更) Authorship questioned[24]
Wàng Jiāng Nán (望江南) Duō Shǎo Hèn (多少恨)
Duō Shǎo Lèi (多少淚)
Xián Mèng Yuǎn (閑夢遠)
2nd line: Nán Guó Zhèng Fāng Chūn (南國正芳春) 		Tune written as Wàng Jiāng Méi (望江梅)
Xián Mèng Yuǎn (閑夢遠)
2nd line: Nán Guó Zhèng Qīng Qiū (南國正清秋)
Wū Yè Tí (烏夜啼) Zuó Yè Fēng Jiān Yǔ (昨夜風兼雨)
Xǐ Qiān Yīng (喜遷鶯) Xiǎo Yuè Zhuì (曉月墜)
Xiāng Jiàn Huān (相見歡) Lín Huā Xiè Liǎo Chūn Hóng (林花謝了春紅) Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin[25]
Wú Yán Dú Shàng Xī Lóu (無言獨上西樓) Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin[26]
Shiao Lih-ju sang it in Mandarin[27]
Xiè Xīn Ēn (謝新恩) Jīn Chuāng Lì Kùn Qǐ Huán Yōng (金窗力困起還慵) Missing the rest of the poem
Rǎn Rǎn Qiū Guāng Liú Bù Zhù (冉冉秋光留不住) Possibly missing lines and/or characters[28]
Tíng Kōng Kè Sàn Rén Guī Hòu (庭空客散人歸後)
Yīng Huā Luò Jìn Chūn Jiāng Kùn (櫻花落盡春將困) Missing 2 lines
Yīng Huā Luò Jìn Jiē Qián Yuè (櫻花落盡階前月)
Yī Hú Zhū (一斛珠) Wǎn Zhuāng Chū Guò (晚妝初過)
Yú Fù (漁父) Làng Huā Yǒu Yì Qiān Chóng Xuě (浪花有意千重雪)
Yī Zhào Chūn Fēng Yī Yè Zhōu (一棹春風一葉舟)
Yù Lóu Chūn (玉樓春) Wǎn Zhuāng Chū Liǎo Míng Jī Xuě (晚妝初了明肌雪) Chang Chen sang it in Mandarin[29]
Yú Měi Rén (虞美人) Chūn Huā Qiū Yuè Hé Shí Liǎo (春花秋月何時了) Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin[30]
Chan Ho Tak sang it in Cantonese[31]
Huang Yee-ling and others sang it in Taiwanese[32]
Huang Fei sang it in Taiwanese[33]
Fēng Huí Xiǎo Yuàn Tíng Wú Lǜ (風回小院庭蕪綠)

One of Li Yu's most famous poems, popularly known as "Alone Up the Western Tower" (獨上西樓), was written after his capture. As translated by Chan Hong-mo:[34]

無言獨上西樓 Alone to silence, up the western tower, I myself bestow.
月如鉤 Like silver curtain hook, so does the moon glow.
寂寞梧桐 The fallen leaves of one forsaken parasol
深院鎖清秋 Make deeper still the limpid autumn locked up in the court below.
剪不斷 Try cutting it, it is still profuse –
理還亂 More minding will but more confuse –
是離愁 Ah, parting's such enduring sorrow!
別有一番滋味在心頭 It leaves behind a very special taste the heart alone could know.

Shi poetry

Further information: Shi (poetry)

Li Yu's poems in the form of shi include:

"To the Tune of Liǔ Zhī" mentioned in the ci section may also be classified as a shi.

Prose writing

Though miscellaneous in character, Li Yu's surviving prose writings also demonstrated his poetic genius. For example, "Dirge for the Zhaohui Queen Zhou" is rhymed and almost entirely in regular four-character metre, resembling the dominant fu form a millennium before.

Calligraphy

"Traveling on the River in First Snow" (江行初雪) by the Southern Tang painter Zhao Gan (趙幹), National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. The column of 11 characters on the right edge of the painting, which specified the artist and the title, was written by Li Yu.

Li Yu's calligraphy style has been dubbed "golden inlaid dagger" (金錯刀) for its perceived force and clarity. As one Song Dynasty writer noted: "The large characters are like split bamboo, the small ones like clusters of needles; altogether unlike anything done with a brush!"[35]

Television series

Three independent television series focused on the complex relationships between Li Yu (Li Houzhu), Emperor Taizu of Song (Zhao Kuangyin) and the various women in their lives. They are:

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Unlike his father and grandfather, Li Yu never ruled as an emperor. His official title as a ruler was a king (國主), the same as his father after 958. During Li Yu's reign from 961 until 974, Southern Tang was nominally a vassal state of the Song Dyasty. Even after the rejection of the relationship following the Song invasion in 974, Li Yu never declared himself emperor.
  2. ↑ Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian, ch. 16.
  3. 1 2 From his date and Chinese age at death we can deduct that he was born some time between 13 February 937 and 1 February 938.
  4. ↑ Song Shi, ch. 478.
  5. ↑ Song Shi, ch. 4.
  6. ↑ Indiana Companion p. 555
  7. 1 2 3 4 Shiguo Chunqiu, ch. 19.
  8. 1 2 Wudai Shiji, ch. 62.
  9. 1 2 Kurz, p. 91.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Shiguo Chunqiu, ch. 18.
  11. ↑ Shiguo Chunqiu, ch. 16.
  12. 1 2 Shiguo Chunqiu, ch. 17.
  13. 1 2 Bryant, p. xxiv.
  14. ↑ The child was posthumously called Li Zhongxuan (李仲宣).
  15. ↑ Bryant, p. 118.
  16. ↑ No Chinese sovereign was expected to be completely faithful to one's spouse.
  17. 1 2 Shiguo Chunqiu, ch.24
  18. ↑ Wu, 213
  19. ↑ Hsiung, p. 332
  20. 1 2 Davis, xx
  21. ↑ Bryant, p. 69.
  22. ↑ The song, "Shān Hé Lèi" (山河淚), with music by Lee Shih Shiong and Lee Wei Shiong, served as an ending theme song of the 1986 Singaporean TV series The Sword and the Song, of which Li Yu is a central character. It was also included in her 1986 album Heart Rain (心雨).
  23. ↑ Bryant, p. 85.
  24. ↑ Bryant, p. 131.
  25. ↑ The song, "Yān Zhǐ Lèi" (胭脂淚), with music by Liu Chia-chang, was included in her 1983 album Light Exquisite Feelings.
  26. ↑ The song, "Dú Shàng Xī Lóu" (獨上西樓), with music by Liu Chia-chang, was included in her 1983 album Light Exquisite Feelings.
  27. ↑ The song, "Dú Shàng Xī Lóu", with music by Lee Shih Shiong and Lee Wei Shiong, served as an ending theme song of the 1986 TV series The Sword and the Song. It was also included in her 1986 album Heart Rain.
  28. ↑ Bryant, p. 97.
  29. ↑ The song, "Yù Lóu Chūn", with music by Tso Hung-yuen, served as an ending theme song of the 1996 Taiwanese TV series Love, Sword, Mountain & River, of which Li Yu is a central character. It was also included in the drama's soundtrack album.
  30. ↑ The song, "Jǐ Duō Chóu" (幾多愁), with music by Tan Chien-chang, was included in her 1983 album Light Exquisite Feelings. It was later covered by Fei Yu-ching for the ending theme song to the 2006 Chinese TV series Li Houzhu and Zhao Kuangyin, of which Li Yu is a central character.
  31. ↑ The song, "Chèun Fà Chàu Yùht" (春花秋月), with music by Lai Siu Tin, was included in his 1994 compilation album Greatest Hits (金碟精選).
  32. ↑ The song, "Chhun Hoe Chhiu Go̍at" (春花秋月) featuring Cheng Jun-wei, Hsu Fu-kai and Wu Jun-hong, with music by Ho Ching-ching, was included in her 2008 album Telling Myself (講乎自己聽).
  33. ↑ The song, "Gû Bí Jîn" (虞美人), with music by Chang Nai-jen, served as the ending theme song of the 2008 Taiwanese TV series Pili Shen Zhou II: The Devil Relics. It was also included in her 2012 compilation album The Best of Huang Fei 2 (盛開).
  34. ↑ Chan, p. 169.
  35. ↑ Bryant, p. xxiii.

Sources

Primary sources
Secondary sources
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Zhongzhu of Southern Tang
Li Jing (李璟)		 Emperor of Southern Tang
961–975 		Succeeded by
None (End of kingdom)
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