Happy encounter with a pot of wine. Many things in ancient and modern times are all talked about with laughter. ——Yang Shen

There will always be many misunderstandings in life, but as the saying goes, gold will always shine. Some people are unknown during their lifetime, but after their death they are spread throughout the ages. Yang Shen, a famous writer during the Ming Dynasty in my country, was the most talented man in the Ming Dynasty. Because his behavior was different from ordinary people, he was regarded as a generation of hooligans. In his later years, he left behind the poem "Linjiang Immortal". Because of the popularity of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", this poem has been called an eternal masterpiece.

The reputation of the young prodigy spreads

Yang Shen was born in Xiaoshun Hutong, Beijing in 1488. His family comes from a scholarly family, and he is the son of Yang Tinghe, a scholar of the Ministry of Personnel during the Ming Dynasty. And his grandfather was Yang Chunzhi, who studied under Hu Guangti. Our ancestors have been officials for four generations, and they are a family of officials. Yang Shen has been extremely smart since he was a child, and he likes reading and studying very much. This is probably inseparable from the influence of his family environment.

When he was 7 years old, his mother began to teach him some famous poems from the Tang Dynasty. He often read them once or twice, and then he could recite them and understand their meanings. In this way, he began to have an indissoluble bond with poetry. When he was 11 years old, he began to write some modern-style poems by himself. He was a well-known child prodigy in the local area.

When he was 12 years old, he imitated "Diaogu Battle Essay". His uncle, the Minister of War, read this poem and admired Yang Shen very much, and asked Yang Shen to imitate "Guo Qin Lun". . After my grandfather saw it, he kept praising it. He also left behind a strange sentence that is called a famous aphorism by later generations: "The soul of the brothel is broken by the red powder, and the bones are covered with moss in the daylight."

One day his father and some uncles were looking at the paintings. In his spare time, his father wanted to give him a temporary test to see what level his poetry had reached. Then he pointed to a painting, stipulated the meaning of the poem, and asked Yang Shen to write a poem on the spot. As a child who is not yet underage, the difficulty is not generally high. But I didn't expect that Yang Shen just thought for a while and then wrote a poem. Every sentence in the poem was very concise, thoughtful and profound. When the uncles at home saw the poems written by Yang Shen, they felt that he would achieve great success in the future and were relieved about his studies.

When he was 13 years old, Yang Shen memorized the entire "Book of Changes" in just 20 days. Later, when my father entered the capital, he wrote poems while watching the scenery during this journey. Many poems were left behind during this journey. Among them, "Poems of Yellow Leaves" shocked literary lovers all over the capital after it was spread back to the capital. Among them, Li Dongyang, the chief minister of the cabinet, took a fancy to Yang Shen's talent and took Yang Shen under his sect as his closed disciple. Although the relationship was between master and apprentice, he called Yang Shen his little friend, and the two of them interacted with each other as their peers.

Living up to expectations, he was the top scorer in high school at the age of 24

After studying with Li Dongyang for many years, he took the examination when Yang Shen was 21 years old. The examiner at the time saw the article written by Yang Shen. , I feel that this article is rich in content at home and can be called a masterpiece. And ranked this article No. 1 among all test papers. But what he didn't expect was that something unexpected happened, and the candle actually fell on the exam paper and burned Yang Shen's exam paper. As a result, Yang Shen's test papers were gone and his reputation was lost.

But Yang Shen did not lose heart, but studied harder. Finally, in 1511, at the age of 24, he won the top prize in high school and was awarded the position of editor in the Hanlin Academy. Of course, as a person with such achievements at that time, it also aroused the suspicion of many people. Many people believed that the marking officer Li Dongyang must have revealed the test questions to him. Some even said that he was the top scorer in high school because his father was an important official of the imperial court.

The political career was bumpy

Various rumors spread among the people, but later he used his knowledge to dispel these rumors. But later, because of the death of his mother, he went home to observe mourning for a period of time. After Shouxiao returned, he officially entered the political stage in his life.

But Yang Shen’s political career has not been smooth sailing. Because Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty at that time, often played around with his concubines and ignored the government affairs. In this matter, Yang Shen wrote a memorial to accuse him of his behavior, hoping that he could focus on managing the government instead of having fun, but as the emperor, Zhu Houzhao did not listen to his opinions. In the end, when Yang Shen saw such an emperor and such a country, he resigned and returned home.

Until 1521, due to the death of Zhu Houzhao, the new emperor ascended the throne. His father proposed to Ming Shizong Zhu Houcong that Yang Shen return to the Hanlin Academy to compile. However, he was an upright man and still dared to speak out. When he was lecturing to Zhu Houcong, he reminded Zhu Houcong indirectly that there was no need to pardon the crimes of some traitorous officials. Unfortunately, Yang Shen didn't know how to give advice in a proper way. His fierce words made Zhu Houconn unhappy. In this way, Yang Shen was gradually disliked by the emperor. It can be said that although he had great ambitions at that time, it was difficult for him to display his political talents because he did not understand some of the underlying rules in the officialdom.

He was demoted to Yunnan for life and exiled for more than 30 years

Later, during the disputes over the "Great Rites", his father was forced to resign and return home, and he did not want to He then had affairs with some shameless villains and repeatedly submitted letters of resignation. Later, Yang Shen also invited fellow Jinshi scholars of the same year to denounce the powerful traitors at that time. When Zhu Houcong heard about it, he was very angry and ordered his arrest and imprisonment. In this way, Yang Shen was beaten many times and when he was almost dead, he was sent to Yunnan.

On the way to Yunnan, he was ambushed by many enemies and almost died. During his more than 30 years in exile, he still adhered to his true intentions and never bowed to evil forces. During his exile, he wrote many poems about things. They are all expressing feelings about loyal ministers and are used to express their upright personality and ideals. When encountering something dishonest, they will use poetry to criticize other people's behavior.

A generation of gangsters

However, Yang Shen also showed his "gangster" side during this period of exile. He often wears women's hair and uses feminine rouge on his face. Every time he went out, he had to be carried by students, and he was often accompanied by two female actors. A few strange people were wandering around in the downtown area. It was this strange dress and bohemian behavior that made Yang Shen known as a "generation of hooligans" at that time.

When his father Yang Tinghe died in 1529, he was allowed to return to his hometown to bury his father. He was treated well by many local officials along the way. According to Ming Dynasty law, after reaching the age of 60, you can return home from exile. However, due to the excessive reaction of the Yang family and his son to the "Grand Ceremony Discussion", Zhu Houcong became even more resentful towards them.

When Yang Shen turned sixty, no government dared to accept Yang Shen's return home. Yang Shen died in 1559 at the age of 72. After Yang Shen's death, he was sent back to his hometown by local officials and buried next to his father's tomb. Yang Shen was a talented man with great ambitions, but his great future was ruined because of his direct advice.

His life is regrettable, but life cannot be repeated. He left many classic poetry collections for future generations, which are worthy of learning and reference by future generations. In his later years, he even wrote "Linjiang Immortal", which is known as the eternal masterpiece. "The rolling water of the Yangtze River passes eastward, and the waves wash away the heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure are all gone. The green mountains are still there, and the sunsets are red several times.

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