Li Longji (A.D. 685-762), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was a man who loved both destruction and abuse. To be fair, he is not a wrong figure in the Tang Dynasty. In 7 10, Li Longji, aged 26, put down the chaos of Hou Wei with lightning speed, helped his father Li Dan to ascend to the throne, and became the crown prince on his own. Since then, he has made steady progress on the road to the throne of the emperor. Two years later, Li Longji ascended the throne of the emperor, took over the power, and kept some powers of the emperor's father. In 7 13, with extremely decisive actions, the hidden danger of Princess Taiping's political group was eliminated, which not only consolidated the power he had gained, but also forced his father to hand over all the power. Although these two actions were presented in the form of contradictions within the ruling group, their significance was remarkable: the stability in the early Tang Dynasty was maintained and developed, and then the prosperity in the Kaiyuan period was formed, which was inseparable from Li Longji's efforts. Throughout the history of the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong succeeded Wu Zetian and Li Longji succeeded Wu Zetian. Therefore, we should positively evaluate Li Longji's two struggles before and after he ascended the throne.

After Li Longji fully grasped the big handle of the emperor, he selected some people from the cold clan to hold important positions and appointed several prime ministers with both ability and political integrity. The country's political situation is stable and production continues to develop. Since the establishment of the Li Tang Dynasty, this is also the best situation since the National Defense University came to power. In the late kaiyuan period, the policy direction gradually changed: heavily stationed in the frontier to relax the defense of the Central Plains, and lost the belief of being prepared for danger in times of peace: to guard against the contradictions between civil servants and civil servants, civil servants and military commanders, and military commanders and military commanders, causing everyone in the ruling group to feel insecure and guard against each other; Excessive profligacy, excessive rewards, and ignorance of saving money make the national treasury empty and unable to cope with emergencies; Lost control of various forces and lost the necessary vigilance. It was no accident that An Lushan and Shi Siming attacked Chang 'an with soldiers from john young. After the Anshi Rebellion, Li Longji fled to Sichuan in a hurry, and the Tang Dynasty went from bad to worse. However, Li Longji's worship of Mount Tai is at the climax of the prosperous new century.

At the end of the 12th year of Kaiyuan (A.D. 724), ministers such as Ai Di Cui, Yao, and Zhang wrote successively requesting to worship Mount Tai. After some humility, Tang Xuanzong agreed. His imperial edict of worshipping Zen is preserved in Yuan Gui and Quan Tang Wen. He said:

Since ancient times, people who are destined to be emperors will not want to seal the father of Mount Tai Zen Beam to repay the kindness of the Emperor and declare their success! This existed before Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. However, from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties until the Northern Zhou and Sui Dynasties, the system of emperors holding ceremonies was lost for unknown reasons, and the laws and regulations were also destroyed by the abandonment of emperor discipline. After thousands of years of silence, no one inherited Zen. However, the extremes meet, and the Emperor of Heaven blessed the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, and the picture of the heavenly book was very small. When the Emperor Gaozong arrived, the amenorrhea ceremony resumed. Emperor Gaozong accepted justice, sealed Mount Tai, worshipped hundreds of gods and inspired the world. He inherited the traditions of Yin and Zhou Dynasties and the heritage of Tang Yao and Yu Xia. Emperor Zhongzong's virtue, Emperor Zong Rui's thoroughfare pure, and Emperor Tang's kindness mighty, there is nothing to praise. I suffered many disasters in previous years. I served the first court, faithfully carried out Zongrui's will, and finally inherited the great cause of the emperor. Therefore, nine temples were established to show filial piety to ancestors, to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth to show piety to gods, and to advocate frugal, anti-luxury and conscientious work. I dare not say that it is more beautiful than the previous emperor, but I am careful every day. I really want to follow the lessons of my ancestors. As for the mountain patrol ceremony, it has been fourteen (three) years since I felt that I was too shallow in morality to rush into it. Now, the crops are abundant, the products are rich, there is no punishment, the gift is righteous, the country is harmonious and United, and the atmosphere is good. Ambassadors and leaders sent by remote ethnic minorities and neighboring countries serve different ethnic groups in all directions and arrive at the court every day every month; Rare birds and animals, sweet dew and clear spring, all kinds of auspicious signs appear in Lin Yuan every night. Princes and ministers are loyal to the court; Dr. Confucian scholars, who wrote great works outside, did not think that the gods were in harmony with us and the common people were in harmony with us. This is all because of the kindness left by the sages. So I can get the blessing of God, rely on the blessing of my ancestors, and enjoy the status of emperor with my humble body. I will accept your suggestions, carry forward the tradition of sealing Mount Tai, show off the grand plan of Emperor Gaozu and continue the great cause of Emperor Taizong. Gaozu and Taizong were always sacrificed, and I will always feel their deep gratitude. On November 10th, 13th year of Kaiyuan, Taishan can hold a ceremony according to the closed-door practice. Relevant departments and ministers, Confucian scholars, should make careful preparations for the ceremony. But we shouldn't overwork the people. We must practise what I like. I should report to you all the things I have worked out, such as the etiquette of closed-door meditation and mobilizing the army to accompany the guards. I hereby announce to people in all directions.

This declaration did not put forward any new ideas. The practice of strict economy described in this paper is also very different from the practical guidance in the process of Tang leading the people to climb Mount Tai. According to records, Tang led the cavalry in a huge ceremonial procession, with a thousand horses of one color as a square, "looking like a cloud from a distance", from which we can imagine the prosperity of riding.

Due to Li Longji's instructions, his ministers Zhang Shuo and Xu Jian actively drafted the etiquette clauses of the main poem, while Foreign Minister Zhao Dongxi, Dr. Hou Xingguo of the Imperial College and four teaching assistants Shi Jingben participated in the drafting and giving lectures. The etiquette system that feudal rulers paid attention to was nothing more than how long, how wide and how high the altar was, and how many steps it had to be famous. Nothing more than when to light the fire and when to kneel. When to bury the jade mold and whether to wash your hands when offering sacrifices to the gods. These are always boring, and even Tang Xuanzong seems to have a headache. He decided to "make it happen".

Another preparation made by Li Longji Group of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty for climbing Mount Tai was to consider the national security during the period of seclusion. In the Kaiyuan era, the Turks in the north were still an unstable factor. Therefore, before sealing Mount Tai in Dongyue, Zhang said that he would send more troops to the northern border to guard against Turks. However, Dr. Guangting of the Ministry of War believes that Zen's worship of heaven shows success, and suddenly recruiting an army is somewhat inconsistent with reality. Zhang said that the reason is that the Tu 'e people never kept their word, although they invited peace. Moreover, Sha Xiao, the current leader, is very political-minded, good at motivating his officials, and his civil servants are resourceful and military commanders are brave and good at fighting. If they take advantage of the opportunity of sealing Mount Tai in the East and deploy troops to invade, they will also be unable to cope at the moment. Therefore, Pei Guangting suggested sending envoys and asked Sha Xiao to send ministers to follow Xuanzong to seal Mount Tai. In this way, Xiaosha did not dare to disobey or act rashly. Zhang said that he accepted Pei Guangting's suggestion and sent Yuan Zhen, an official of Zhongshu Province, to make a surprise mission. When Sha Xiao met Yuan Zhen, he proposed to marry Princess Tang, saying: "The Tubo people are not good, but the Tang Dynasty married them; Xi people and Qidan people used to be my family's rights, and your Tang court also married the princess to them. And we suddenly asked to marry Princess Tang many times before and after, but Tang never agreed. Why? " Yuan Zhen replied, "You are Khan, commensurate with the fact that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was a father and son. How can a father and son get married? " Sha Xiao was very dissatisfied with Yuan Zhen's answer, saying, "Tubo and Qidan are also surnames given by the Tang Dynasty, but they can marry Princess Tang. What's wrong with this precedent? And I heard that the princesses who went to Tubo and Qidan were not the emperor's own daughters. I propose now, whether it is true or not, as long as I have a reputation. I have repeatedly asked for disagreement, and I really can't get through! " Yuan Zhen saw that he was sincere and affectionate, and promised to intercede with Qin Huang for him. Therefore, Arshid Jelifa, the minister of the Little Killing Sect, went to worship Yuan Zhen and went to Mount Tai to worship Zen with Xuanzong.

After making all the preparations, Li Longji, Xuanzong, arrived in Mount Tai on November 7th in the 13th year of Kaiyuan (AD 7251February 16) and held a meditation ceremony.

According to Old Tang Book, when Li Longji's car was driving to the west of Mount Tai, the northeast wind suddenly blew, blowing from noon to night. The tent where the accompanying officials lived was not blown apart, and the pillars supporting the tent were blown off. The officials made a fuss and panicked. Zhang said, "Don't panic. Poseidon came to meet the emperor." . When we reached the foot of Mount Tai, the weather was fine and there was no wind. But Xuanzong fasting night; The wind is strong and the cold is biting. Xuanzong stopped eating and stood under the night dew until midnight. He prayed to God devoutly: "If I am guilty, please God punish me. If other attendants were not blessed to attend meditation on the mountain, they also asked to punish me. Soldiers and horseback riding can't stand the cold wind, please stop. " After Xuanzong prayed, the wind stopped and the temperature in the mountains warmed up. On the day when Xuanzong went up the mountain, the soldiers set up posts all the way from the foot of the mountain to the altar at the top of the mountain. They formed a "human" signaling line, which was responsible for paging time and conveying the orders of the emperor and ministers. It only took a while to get there. At night, the side of the mountain road is ablaze, and piles of flames are connected. From the foot of the mountain, it seems that the stars have been connected from the ground to the sky. On this day, Mount Tai was very lively: the weather on the mountain was sunny, the breeze was blowing from the south, the songs were heard, and the sound of silk and bamboo floated into the sky.

Li Longji climbed the mountain on 1 1 month 17. This morning, he rode up the mountain along the valley from the southern foot of Mount Tai. At first, it was decided that there would be three sacrificial ceremonies, two at the foot of the mountain and one on the mountain. However, He Zhangzhi, a bachelor of etiquette, believes that God should belong to the throne; The five parties are emperors and ministers; Although the gods who sacrifice are all wearing the word "Emperor", their status is not equal. Xuanzong is the emperor, so he should sacrifice to the Emperor of Heaven according to the ceremony, and the ceremony should be completed in "three". Therefore, these three kinds of worship activities should be carried out on the top of the mountain. When offering sacrifices to the five gods at the foot of the mountain, the minister should preside over it. Xuanzong agreed, saying that he and Zhang Zhi had the same idea. This is a reform of Tang Xuanzong's sacrifice etiquette to Mount Tai.

Tang asked him, "Why did the last emperor's Mount Tai imperial seal (according to the prayers engraved on it) close to Zen?" He replied: "Jade and silk are people who worship Zen and explain their wishes to the gods. The emperors who came to Mount Tai to worship Zen in the previous generation wanted to live forever or become immortals. Such things are naturally subtle and secret, so the world behind them doesn't know. " Xuanzong said: "The purpose of my return to Mount Tai is to seek happiness for the people all over the world. I don't have any secret requirements, so I should show the jade seal to the ministers and let them understand my original intention. " The free translation of "Jade Butterfly" by Tang is as follows:

The ministers who succeeded to the throne in the Tang Dynasty sincerely showed that God was thousands of people: God helped us to be surnamed Li and make people's property and wealth conform to the virtues of the earth (the ancients had the idea of recycling, and called the five elements of the Yin and Yang family-gold, wood, water, fire and earth-five virtues, which have been repeated throughout the ages. The Tang Dynasty belonged to Tude. Gaozu and Taizong were ordered by the Emperor of Heaven to establish the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Gaozong went to Taishan to practice meditation, and he was prosperous every day; Zhongzong suffered setbacks after he ascended the throne. Thanks to heaven and earth, I am loyal to martial arts, pacify civil strife and support my father Zong Rui. I have been in office for thirteen years. Thank God, all the seas are at peace. I want to worship Mount Tai and thank Heaven and Earth for their success. Children and grandchildren enjoy the highest salary, and ordinary people enjoy the happiness from heaven.

The second reform of Tang Xuanzong's worship of Mount Tai was to publish the imperial seal and publicly declare: "Pray for Shu Ren, without secret." The first reform showed that Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was slightly superior to the former Emperor Wu who named Mount Tai as Zen.

To commemorate this ceremony, Li Longji personally wrote an inscription on Mount Ji and carved a cliff on the top of Mount Tai. This is the "Cliff Monument" on Daguan Peak that we see today. The full text of the inscription on Mount Ji is over 1000 words. Carved in neat stereotyped writing on the natural cliff standing on the mountain, the font is magnificent and flying, which can be called outstanding structure. The whole monument is magnificent, and the unusual inscriptions are comparable. The free translation of the full text is as follows;

It has been 14 years since I took over as emperor, but I only feel that my moral level is not high, I don't know the truth of governing the country and leveling the world, and I often feel that I am unable to be emperor. World peace is really hard to achieve. Now, I don't know if I have committed the crime of heaven and earth, but I am still holding a heart here, like crossing a river. Fortunately, the emperor loved him and gave him many times. The Prime Minister and hundreds of officials made concerted efforts to rule the country and level the world, making the four seas a family, implementing various laws and regulations smoothly, and making the people happy year after year. Officials at all levels conspired to encourage me to hold a meditation ceremony in Mount Tai. Everyone says that filial piety is greater than a newborn father, and ceremony is greater than success. Since the auspicious symbol appeared in the gift, China people's desire was so strong that they invited me to meditate again. I refused politely many times, but I didn't get it. I had to take an examination of Yu Shunshi's classics, deduce the rules and regulations of the Han Dynasty, and mobilize the Royal Sixth Army. Along the way, the flags were neat, the soldiers and horses were silent, and the whole team was serious and United, respectful and orderly, until Taishan was smooth sailing.

The book "Erya" says: "Mount Tai is the East Yue". Zhou Li said: "Mount Tai is the town mountain of Yanzhou." In fact, because Mount Tai marks the beginning of all things, it is called "Dai"; Mount Tai is the first of the five mountains, so it is also called "crossing" the fate of emperors and changing dynasties. Everyone should start the world, state his success, record his achievements in ancient books, and record his name and year number. I inherited my predecessor, that is, the throne, and followed this rule only to repay the grace given by God and seek happiness for the people all over the world. How dare I despise history and compare it with the famous emperors of past dynasties! Therefore, an altar was set up on Mount Tai to receive offerings from all sides. I just personally held a sacrificial ceremony on Mount Tai, hoping that my meager sincerity could achieve God's will. This is also a sincere desire to respect God and God on an equal footing because of the high mountains.

1 1 month 1 1 day, a meditation ceremony was held in Taishan, offering sacrifices to the gods, with my great-grandfather. Please all the gods in the sky come down and offer sacrifices. The second is to set up an altar in Sheshou Mountain, asking the ancestors for help and offering sacrifices to the earth god. Please all the gods come to sacrifice.

On the 13th of the same month, I met with various governors, and the Lord advised me that the son of heaven should be blessed by the God in heaven. Ministers must pay tribute and celebrate by knocking at the door for the first time and shouting long live. Please state your virtue as a warning when celebrating the big day. Everything is coordinated and reasonable, the harmony between man and nature is logical, and the diligent interest rate is often slaughtered. This is the contemporary merit line! Everything grows with time, hundreds of millions of people depend on it, and appointing officials at all levels to manage it is also a contemporary achievement! There are one or two Dish who can faithfully pursue the way of harmony and love. This kind of good atmosphere can spread among countries, and it is also a contemporary virtue! People in remote areas with different clothes and different voices pay tribute with translators, which is an awareness that only saints can achieve. Now that it has come true, what else can I admire? Strange animals, rare birds and animals and all kinds of treasures gather in the court every month and every day, and the prosperous Hongyuan has arrived. What doubts do I have? From now on, we should be prudent, unify the imperial court system, purge the French discipline, weigh the past rules and regulations, remedy the political deficiencies in time, keep the simple and convenient, and abolish the complex and harsh ones. Always thinking about the example of being a man can reflect the rules of heaven.

Ah ah! People are born for the people, and only the emperor can govern them. If we can give generous benefits to the people all over the world, we can understand the truth of respecting heaven. Everything can grow on the earth, and only the emperor can make it flourish. If we can give people all over the world rich life nutrition, we can understand the truth of piety to the earth. When heaven and earth are clear, the reason of ghosts and gods is also accessible. My ancestors were either talented or virtuous, and my soul was in heaven, saying, "Little Sun sacrificed virtue to the Emperor of Heaven; Only by offering sacrifices to the emperor on time can we bear the blessing of the emperor. " They also said: "After the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji inherited the new life of the Emperor of Heaven and our old business, and kept the throne forever, and his descendants also inherited the throne." How dare my youngest son give orders to the Emperor of Heaven? Only by working together with the ministers and appeasing the people of the world can we be determined to carry forward the merits and demerits of our predecessors and strive to get rid of the evils that appear in future generations. If one person doesn't work hard, please invite 10 thousand people to punish me; If everyone works hard to the end, please look at me in heaven. I will try my best to practice three virtues: kindness, thrift and humility. Kindness is to tolerate and protect all kinds of opinions; Thrift can set an example for future people; A complacent person will certainly attract others' harm, and a self-deprecating person will certainly get a reward from heaven. If it can be implemented in this way, then all norms will be easy to follow and the foundation of the country will last for a long time. I hope that future generations can see what I said and understand my mind, just as they can know the foundation of the tree by seeing the treetops. Yue Ming:

God gave birth to the people, established the emperor to govern, and the five emperors obeyed the orders of the emperor, so they respected heaven as the son of heaven. Dynasties passed by one after another, but people who succeeded the emperor after that emerged one after another. People with low morality are killed, and people with high morality rise. Great-grandfather, wise and strong, got rid of the high winds of the Sui Dynasty, studied grass politics, and occupied the world. God opened the border for them and quietly lifted the seal of the border for them; People's martial arts are brilliant and culture is peaceful. Emperor Gaozong inspected the ancient system, compilation and application of the favor, and achieved great unity in the vast land of Kyushu. He also held a amenorrhea ceremony, and his achievements can be compared with those of Shun Di and Dayu. He stood on Mount Tai, defending my ancestor God. Zhongzong continued the national luck of the Tang Dynasty and revived the old state. Zong Rui Ming Sheng is respected by the world for his kindness. He was modest and politically educated, but he gave the gift of sealing Mount Tai to future generations. Myanmar thought of me as a teenager, inherited the ancestors of the five wise men and became an emperor. I dare not boast of my great achievements, let alone how high my morality is. I just worship my grandfather's sacrificial songs, inherit the wishes of my ancestors, touch the world with my piety, and hope that heaven and earth will bless the people all over the world. There were seventy-two emperors who worshipped Mount Tai in ancient times. Some of them meditate in Tingting Mountain, while others meditate in Yun Yun. Their bodies are no longer visible, but their reputation is still circulating. I follow my ancestors with good morals and carry forward their merits. Alchemists often cheat, books written by Confucian scholars are often not credible, and the dissolute queen and emperor try to live forever and deceive God with a moment's jade. Qin Shihuang's visit to Mount Tai was a disaster, and the record of Emperor Wudi's visit to Mount Tai was unclear, all because their morality did not cooperate with the worship of heaven, so they suffered various setbacks. An emperor's morality depends on his achievements, and his good reputation cannot be determined by his personal desires. I carved my thoughts on the high mountains and cliffs to announce the five mountains.

As the emperor, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty thought that he had inherited the destiny, always thinking about "the world is beautiful" and thinking about "raising thousands of people with abundance", which is better than living in the deep palace hall, but the disabled people tried their best to make people hungry for half a day. Grasping the handle of politics, it is better to put forward the view that "the Tao is observing politics, and the name does not follow the desire", instead of using power to sell the ruler who made mistakes. Li Longji claimed that "Gu Wei is immoral, does not know the truth, and it is difficult to appoint a husband, but it is difficult to find a husband." It's better than those stupid overlords who claim to be god's lower bound and are naturally superior. Therefore, this cliff tablet engraved with the inscription of Mount Ji stands on the top of Mount Tai and is not a complete antique. It provides some materials for future generations to identify, compare and think, and provides a direct basis for people to cherish and look forward to history.

When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty sealed Mount Tai, the leaders of China's ethnic minorities and the kings or envoys of neighboring friendly countries all went to Mount Tai to attend the pilgrimage ceremony and left their names on the tablet "Ode to Mount Tai" inscribed by Su Tingpei, the minister of rites at the top of Mount Tai. However, the inscription written by He Zhang, known as "Xu Yan's great craftsmanship" in the Tang Dynasty, was worn away by the people of later generations and engraved with the four characters of "loyalty, filial piety and modesty".

As mentioned above, Tang lived on Mount Tai on horseback, but the notes of the Tang people said that he rode a mule. According to legend, when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty meditated on Mount Tai, Yizhou (now Chengdu, Sichuan) once offered a white mule, which was extremely magnificent. Tang led the white mule up and down the mountain, down to the foothills, and suddenly reported that the white mule was dead. In order to reward the white mule for carrying him up and down the mountain, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty named him "General White Mule". Today, on the hillside to the east of Hong Men, Mount Tai, there is still the site of "White Mule Tomb".

After Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty sealed Mount Tai, he was very proud. Order the promotion of officials at all levels. Zhang Shuling, secretary-general of China Academy of Sciences, said that as the host of Zen, you can naturally take advantage of this special opportunity. According to Notes of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang said that Zheng Yi, the son-in-law, was a nine-rank official. After Dengfeng was promoted to four products and five products, he was eligible to attend the celebration banquet held by the emperor. According to legend, at the banquet, Tang Zongzong paid great attention to this person and claimed that he had never known him before. The ministers replied humorously: "This is the power of Mount Tai". Witty words solve problems. Tang Xuan showed that he was a hero of Zen Buddhism. Later generations linked Mount Tai with his father-in-law, calling him