Appearance and mask
In the Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty and the History of the North, it is said that he is "soft outside and firm inside, full of sound and emotion"; In "The Monument to the Bell of My King in Lanling", he said "cool and colorful"; In the book "Old Tangqu", he said that he was "both talented and beautiful"; In the story of Sui and Tang Dynasties, he was described as a "beauty in white". It can be seen that the beauty of the warrior Lan Ling is beyond doubt and extraordinary. He has a handsome appearance that ordinary men do not have. Later generations suspected that his beauty might come from his humble mother. If it weren't for my mother's amazing appearance, how could she attract the favor of my father, who is far from being in the same position and expensive?
However, the beauty of the warrior Lan Ling brought him great distress. In the era of the separatist regime in that place, in the era of years of war in that place, as the children of princes and princes, they have to be tested by war every moment. Because of his handsome appearance, he is often despised by his opponents when he fights with them on the battlefield. To this end, he had to order people to make some hideous "big faces" and wear them on their faces every time they went out to achieve the purpose of deterring their opponents. "The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty" says: "The generation came from the Northern Qi Dynasty. Lan Ling, a warrior in the Northern Qi Dynasty, is respectful, brave and beautiful, and often wears a mask to face the enemy. I tried to attack Zhou Shi Jin Yong at the gates, bravely crowned the three armed forces and strengthened the people. So I danced to make his command effective. This is called "Warrior Lan Ling enters the array". "Yuefu Miscellanies" drum rack said: "There are generations, which began in the Northern Qi Dynasty. The SHEN WOO brothers are brave and good at fighting. He wore a mask every time he went to war, but he won in the end. Performers wear purple waist and gold whip. In the Tang Dynasty, Cui's Jiao Fangji said: "The big noodles came from the northern Qi Dynasty." . The soldier Lan Ling is respectful and brave, but she looks like a woman. She felt that she was not enough to threaten the enemy, so she carved a mask and chickened out because the play was also a song. "Thus, LanLing warrior often go out with a ferocious mask, not hearsay, nor groundless. Later, the appearance of "facial makeup" in Beijing opera may be related to the influence of "Mask of Lanling Warriors" and dance music "Lanling Warriors Ensemble".
Fame and reputation
Historically, the warrior Lan Ling was a famous soldier with both civil and military skills and wisdom and courage in the Northern Dynasties. Some people say that he is "brave and good at fighting", while others say that he is "brave and invincible in the three armed forces." This shows that his bravery is not only because he wears a ferocious mask. Threats alone will certainly not scare off the enemy. The key is that he has his own fighting skills beyond ordinary people. The ferocious mask only adds a legendary aura to his bravery and invincibility. The warrior Lan Ling participated in numerous battles, big and small, in his life. One of them is the famous Mangshan War in history. In 564 AD, the Turks in the northern grassland and the Northern Zhou Dynasty in the Loess Plateau attacked the Northern Qi Dynasty. Luoyang, an important town in the Northern Qi Dynasty, was besieged by hundreds of thousands of troops in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Northern Qi hurriedly mobilized troops to clear the way. Outside Luoyang, the Northern Qi reinforcements attacked again and again, and they were all defeated by the Northern Zhou army, and the whole army was about to collapse. At this time, the soldier Lan Ling, who was appointed as General Zhong Jun, was dressed in "bedding face", armor and a sword in his hand. He led 500 cavalry, bravely entered the encirclement of Zhou Jun, and reached Luoyang at the gates. The Beiqi army guarding the city was trapped for many days and dared not open the door rashly. The soldier Lan Ling took off his mask, and the Beiqi army in the city immediately cheered, opened the gate, and joined forces with the army outside the city to bravely kill the defeated Zhou Jun. "The Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" records: "When Mangshan was defeated, the long-term workers were the Central Army, and 500 soldiers were led to ride on Zhou Jun, and then they were besieged by Jin Yong. The people in the city were very knowledgeable. The long-term workers avoided showing their faces, but they were saved by the crossbowman, so they won a great victory. The samurai have a common song, which is "Introduction Song of Samurai Lanling". " There is also a record in the history books: Zhou Jun "abandoned the camp, from Mangshan to Shui Gu, three miles, military equipment, full of Sichuan and Ze." It was this great victory that made the warrior Lan Ling famous, and the Northern Qi Emperor added him as a minister.
The warrior Lan Ling is not only brave and good at fighting, but also has outstanding achievements. He was loyal to this matter and waited for its success, which was widely known in the military and society at that time. According to the book of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he "worked hard for the generals, and every time he got something sweet, he would share it with the soldiers." As a relative of the troubled times dynasty, it is really hard to share joys and sorrows with soldiers without shelves. Even for his "political enemies", he can be lenient. According to historical records, the long-term worker joined the army when he was in Yingzhou. Yang accused him of taking bribes and bending the law, and the long-term worker was dismissed. When Gao Changgong made a comeback and led troops to attack Ding Yang, Shenyang was executing orders in Gao Changgong's camp, so he was very afraid that Gao Changgong would take the opportunity to retaliate and kill himself. To this end, Gao Changgong comforted him and said, "I didn't mean to." But Yang's right heart is still not practical, and he has to beg for punishment. Gao Changgong had to make a small mistake and hit Yang Erban so that he could settle down. The Book of Northern Qi also recorded a very touching detail of his "civilian". When he went to court, he said that "all the servants who followed him were scattered, and only the long-term workers returned alone." Afterwards, Gao Changgong was able to shrug off, "no punishment". It can be seen that he is very generous and kind to his servants. In the crazy era of Northern Qi Dynasty, when people were "not treated as human beings" and beheaded and killed at every turn, his generous and kind side was unique, exuding warm human brilliance and making people admire him.
A difficult chapter
Wood is beautiful in the forest, the wind will be destroyed, work will cover the Lord, and disaster will fall. The pinnacle of life glory may often be the starting point of tragedy. For the warrior Lan Ling, the biggest sorrow is that he was born into a crazy, almost abnormal royal family. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, in just 28 years, there have been six emperors in the Northern Dynasties. It's terrible that uncles torture each other and brothers kill each other. One is shorter than the other, and one is crazier than the other. Although the warrior Lan Ling has a soft appearance, outstanding military exploits, and has been careful all his life, he has tried his best to avoid disasters and protect himself, but he still can't change his tragic fate.
"The Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" contains: long-term workers "Lisi Zhou Mu, who is in the second state of Qingying, is quite rich in goods." Bribery people often go in and out at the door, which makes people make irresponsible remarks. But what is the purpose of the greedy people's money is unknown. According to himself, this is to tarnish his reputation and avoid the jealousy of the court. After Mangshan won a great victory, Wu Cheng gave him 20 beautiful concubines, but he was "just one of them" because he was afraid of being too ostentatious and jealous. It also says: the long-term worker "has a thousand dollars to pay for it, and he will burn it on the day he dies." In other words, before he died, he burned all the debts owed to him by others. Judging from his character in dealing with people, he is generous and kind, unlike a greedy and lecherous person. Many historians believe that Gao Changgong was deliberately greedy for money and polluted himself in order to avoid disaster.
The Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty records that in Ding Yang, it belonged to Wei Xiangyuan and said, "Since the King was sent by North Korea, how could he be so greedy?" Chang Hong didn't answer. Xiang Xiang said, "Didn't Mangshan win a great victory, fearing jealousy and wanting to pollute?" The long-term worker said, "Of course." Xiang yuan said, "If the imperial court is jealous of the king, it is easy to punish him here. If you seek pleasure, you will be in trouble quickly." Dragon Palace tears, please take care of your knees. Xiang Yuan said, "Wang Wei has a great reputation. He'd better stay at home and get sick. Don't interfere in political affairs. " Living in such a horrible royal family, you can't help but be nervous. Since then, whenever a long-term worker encounters a war, he refuses to get sick. Deliberately "not treating diseases" in order to avoid disasters. Once, Jianghuai was disturbed and the military affairs were in an emergency. He dared not worship the general again, but felt sorry for himself: "I was swollen last year, why not send it today?" I really want to hit my face and pretend to be a patient.
Gao Wei, the ruler of the late Northern Qi Dynasty, was weak. Compared with his ancestors, Gao Wei is more dissolute and less cruel, but he is not soft when he kills his relatives. One day in 565 AD, Gao Wei and the warrior Lan Ling talked about the victory of Mangshan, and said humanely, "It's too late to regret the war." The soldier Lan Ling was excited, warm and affectionate when he heard that his brother was so distressed by himself.
I calmly replied, "My family is kind, but I have no feelings." It was this expression of intimacy and loyalty that led to his death. The history book says, "The emperor disliked family matters, so he avoided them." Because in the eyes of Gao Wei, the narrow-minded ruler, family affairs are my Gao Wei's, not something you casually say. I began to wonder whether the warrior Lan Ling, who has the military power, wants to replace it and turn "state affairs" into "family affairs".
After the warrior Lan Ling said the wrong thing, he was deeply troubled and worried all day long. Although he has repeatedly kept a low profile and deliberately played down himself, he can't escape the tragic fate of "if you tell me to die, I have to die". One day in May in the fourth year of Wuping (AD 573), the late Lord Gao Wei sent an envoy to visit his brother Gao Su, and the gift was a glass of poisoned wine. The warrior Lan Ling was so angry that he said to his beloved Princess Zheng, "I am loyal to my work, and I am embarrassed by heaven!" Zheng Fei advised him, "Why don't you ask God?" Naive Zheng Fei thought it might just be a misunderstanding between brothers. As long as Gao Su intercedes with the emperor, he can get his own life back. And the warrior Lan Ling himself knows that it is useless to find a backward master to explain. A year ago, Hu Luguang, an old etiquette expert who risked his life, was also innocently lured into the palace and brutally strangled with a bowstring. In despair, the soldier Lan Ling left a sentence, "How can I see the beauty of heaven?" So he gulped it down and resolutely left this messy world. Burn all the bonds before he dies. At that time, the warrior Lan Ling was only 30 years old and was buried in the capital city of Yexi (now Linzhang County, Handan) after his death. The killing of the military commander Lan Ling marked the end of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Four years later, the Northern Qi Dynasty, which lost its military pillar, was destroyed by the Northern Zhou Emperor Yu Wenyong, and almost all the descendants of Gao were slaughtered.
Millennium ancient songs
It was also in the "Great Victory in Mangshan Mountain" that the Northern Qi warriors celebrated their victory with masked songs and dances, and the widely circulated "Warrior Lan Ling entered the array" was born. Later, the song was fixed as a solo dance by a man wearing a mask to direct the assassination. The melody is tragic, imposing, simple and melodious, describing the heroic scene and intense emotion at that time.
After the birth of this song, it quickly spread among the people. In the Sui Dynasty, it was officially included in the court dance music. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, classified it as "non-pronunciation" and banned it by imperial edict. Since then, it has gradually faded the true colors of Wu Qu and evolved into a "soft dance". During the Southern Song Dynasty, it evolved into Yuefu, named Warrior Lanling Slow, which was divided into Yue tune and Dashi tune. When singing in Yue Diao, it is divided into three sections and 24 beats. Mao Kai said in "A Record of Yinqiao" that "in the end, this kind of voice is still stirring", and there are still "legacy voices" to be discovered. The warrior Lan Ling is slow and sings in a big stone tone, which is divided into two parts, 16 beats. According to Wang Zhuo's Bi Ji Man Zhi, it is already an "old song". Later, this song was gradually lost in China. Fortunately, the Lanling samurai ensemble introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty retained several real features. In ancient Japan, this song was played repeatedly during the horse racing festival on May 5, the sumo festival on July 7 and the archery competition to celebrate the victory. Until now, when the annual Japanese classical music and dance performance was held in Nara, Japan on 1 month 15, "Brave Lanling Ensemble" was the first solo performance. The Japanese regard it as orthodox elegant music and cherish it all the more. There is a very strict system of "attacking the name" and "secret biography" to preserve and inherit it, so that we are fortunate enough to enjoy the original and rich Lanling dance music after thousands of years. 1986, the cultural relics in Cixian County, Hebei Province found this song through Japanese experts. On September 6th, 1992, that is, 1428 after the song came out, an elegant orchestra, organized by Ma Zhongli, cultural administrator of Handan City, and led by Professor Li Zhikan of Nara University, Japan, dedicated and performed this song in front of the tomb of Lanling Warriors in Cixian County. The ensemble of the warrior Lan Ling returned to his hometown.
The soldier Lanling Gaosu Tomb is located 5 kilometers south of Cixian County, Handan City. The tomb is very high, surrounded by transparent walls, and there is a pavilion in the cemetery. 1920, local villagers dug up the monument of the warrior Gao Su in Lanling when they were building roads to borrow soil. Yang Wen's four lines and sixteen characters are engraved on the tablet: "The tablet of Lanling loyal to King Wu is the same as Huang Yue's, with the right teacher and the right comfort". The inscription truly records the life experience of the warrior Lan Ling Gao Su and the year of the monument. Although the handwriting is dim, it is still vigorous and simple. Because of its historical value and artistic value of calligraphy, it is called the first product of North Monument. 1988, the warrior lanling monument was listed as a key protected cultural relic by the state.
Facing the heroic statue in front of the tomb of the warrior Lan Ling and the tall enclosure behind him, every time I walk to the front, it not only makes people look back, sigh and imagine. Legendary life, chaotic times.
The tragedy of heroes may be the sorrow of that era.