In July of the third year of Tianbao's reign (744), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, He Zhizhang, who had white hair and beard, was lying on the bed, coughing repeatedly. The breeze blows outside the window and the water of Mirror Lake ripples. Suddenly, he stopped coughing and muttered something. His son He Fu leaned over and listened carefully. It turned out that what he was reading was a poem he had written recently: I have been away from my hometown for many years, and recently I have been busy with people. Only the mirror lake water in front of the door, the spring breeze does not change the old waves.
As I thought about it, my voice became lower and lower, and gradually became inaudible.
He Zhizhang was born in Yongxing, Yuezhou (now Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang) in the fourth year of Emperor Xianqing's reign (659). He Zhizhang had an ancestor named He Deren, who was from Shanyin, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). The eight He Deren brothers were all well-educated men, and they were all famous for their poetry. They were known as the "Xunshi of Yingchuan" at that time. People at the time said: "In learning and practice, we can learn from He Deji, and He Deren is elegant and elegant."
He Deren was an aide to King Yang Jian of Qi during the Sui Dynasty. In the eleventh year of Daye, Yang Jian was offended, and most of the aides of the Prince of Qi were exiled and executed. However, He Deren was spared due to his loyalty and was released as an official in Hedong County. Soon Li Yuan was transferred to Shanxi Hedong Comfort Ambassador, and He Deren became good friends with Li Jiancheng. Li Yuan took control of Chang'an, and He Deren became the prince Xima. In the ninth year of Wude, Li Jiancheng was killed, and He Deren died of illness subsequently. Twenty volumes of collected works have been handed down.
In the first year of Emperor Qianfeng's reign (666), when He Zhizhang was seven years old, his family moved from Yongxing to Shanyin. The purpose of moving was to absorb the culture of the He Deren family and learn from "Meng Mu's three moves". It is said that when Mencius was a child, he first lived next to a tomb and learned how to play and play for burying the dead. Mother Meng said, "My child will not be a piper in the future." So he moved to live in a busy city and learned how to shout at merchants to raise prices. Mother Meng said My child was not going to be a small trader in the future, so he moved again and came to the school. He learned the Confucian method of bowing to advance or retreat. Mother Meng said, my child will be a high official in the future. Mencius grew up and became a great master.
So the environment is very important for a person to become a talent. Nowadays, many people leave their hometowns and move from villages to big cities, wandering around in order to create a good environment for their children to grow up. They are called modern mothers.
Under the influence of the Shanyin He family, He Zhizhang made rapid progress and became famous for his writing at a young age. At that time, there were four major families in the south of the Yangtze River: Zhu Zhang, Lu Gu, and He Zhizhang. An aunt married the censor Lu Yuanfang and gave birth to a child, one year older than He Zhizhang, named Lu Jingchu. Lu Jingchu had a very good relationship with He Zhizhang. He Zhizhang was open-minded and open-minded by nature, and he liked to talk about the past and the present. Lu Jingchu often told people that Brother He was a gentleman with his suave speech and was really a romantic man. I have been away from others for a long time and don't care about them at all. But if you don't see Brother He for a day, you will be stingy.
Confucius said that people can be classmates, but not share the same path; people can share the same path, but not share the same authority. Although He Zhizhang was a talented scholar, Lu Jingchu passed the Jinshi examination early and served successively as a member of the Yangzhou army and a Luoyang county captain. In the first year of Zhengsheng of Wuzhou (695), Lu Yuanfang became the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and vigorously selected people close to the party as officials. Someone impeached him for running a secret party, Wu Zetian was angry and dismissed him, and handled daily work as a white man, and Lu Yuanfang recommended people as before. Wu Zetian asked, why don't you cherish the opportunity? Lu Yuanfang said, Confucius said, "What do you know?" I am relatively familiar with my relatives and friends and know that they are talented, but I don’t know much about others. If I recommend a mediocre person, you can punish me. Wu Zetian investigated and found out that the person she had recommended was indeed successful, so she stopped.
In this year, the 30-year-old He Zhizhang passed the Jinshi examination. The reason why he passed the exam was because his friend Lu Jingchu said good things to him in front of his father. He Zhizhang first awarded the four doctorate degrees to Guozi, which was done by Lu Yuanfang. A doctor is an academic officer who specializes in teaching knowledge to the king's grandson. According to the practice of the Tang Dynasty, Jinshi generally had to go to the grassroots level to train and serve as county captains or chief registrars. After doing well, they would be promoted as appropriate. For example, Lu Jing passed the Jinshi examination at the beginning and started as a county captain. However, Lu Jingchu knew that although He Zhizhang was knowledgeable, he liked to brag and was not suitable for dealing with complicated worldly affairs. He was only suitable for teaching and educating people, so he made him an academic officer.
In the second year of Emperor Ruizong Jingyun of the Tang Dynasty (711), Lu Jingchu became prime minister.
There is no way that spring flowers cannot be planted on trees, but they will be able to recommend kings with their immortality.
Peaches and plums do not speak, but they create their own mistakes. I have trained so many talents for the country, why doesn’t the king promote me? Look at me look at me look at me.
In the twelfth year of Kaiyuan (724), He Zhizhang's fortune turned.
This year, Li Longji decided to go to Mount Tai to enshrine the throne, and asked Zhang Shuo to form a team to draft the etiquette of the enshrinement and correct the outdated old rituals. The team of Zhang Shu's group was composed of the book editors of Lizheng Academy. He Zhizhang is Dr. Taichang, and performing sacrifices is his specialty, so he needs to provide advice on many specific rituals. Since there are five emperors in the sky (the Central Emperor Yellow Emperor, the Eastern Emperor Qing Emperor, the Southern Emperor Red Emperor, the Western Emperor White Emperor, and the Northern Emperor Black Emperor), Li Longji only wanted to worship one, so he asked He Zhizhang what to do. He Zhizhang said that there is only one boss in the sky, which is God Haotian (the Central Yellow Emperor). As for the other four emperors, they are all subordinates of God Haotian. Although the emperor's title is the same, the monarch and his ministers are in different places. So as long as you go up the mountain to worship God Haotian, the ministers can worship the other four emperors at the bottom of the mountain.
Li Longji was overjoyed when he heard this, "Lao He, you have touched my heart. I thought so too, so I asked you."
In the 13th year of Kaiyuan (725), Li Longji changed Lizheng Academy into Jixian Palace Academy. He Zhizhang, who was nearly 60 years old, was appointed as Minister of Rites and Bachelor of Jixian Academy. Double happiness. Prime Minister Yuan Qianyao asked Zhang, who was also a bachelor of Jixian Academy and was in charge of the daily work of Jixian Academy, and said that He Gong had two officials at once, which was enough for him to be favored, but I want to know which one is better, bachelor or minister? Zhang said, the minister does specific work, and the bachelor teaches the ways of the previous kings. Each has its own merits.
In March of that year, He Zhizhang was proud of the spring breeze. He went out to play and saw the shade of green willows. I don’t know who cuts out the thin leaves. The spring breeze in February is like scissors.
The century-old tree finally sprouts new branches.
In the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan (735), Li Bai came to Chang'an from Shu and stayed in a hotel. He Zhizhang, who was the prince's attendant at the time, heard of his name for a long time, so he went to the hotel in vain. Look at him. He Zhizhang marveled at Li Bai's aura and sighed at Li Bai's poems. He said, "You are the immortal who was relegated by heaven, so you "exchanged the golden turtle for wine, and got drunk with him." The golden turtle should be a goldfish and was a token worn by officials of the Tang Dynasty, equivalent to a work permit. The golden turtle was only used for a period of time during the reign of Wu Zhou, and later it was changed to a goldfish. Senior officials of the fifth rank and above have their names engraved on their goldfish, while officials below the fifth rank do not have their names engraved on them. In "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an", He Zhizhang's friend Jiao Sui was killed and the goldfish was taken away. Therefore, Xie Jingui's exchange for wine was not really to exchange his work ID for wine, but to show his work ID to prove his identity and get a drink on credit from the store.
After He Zhizhang's death, Li Bai wrote a poem to recall the first meeting between the two: The prince was a guest of Duke He, and when he met Yu in the Ziji Palace in Chang'an, he called Yu "the banished immortal" and exchanged wine for pleasure by undressing the golden tortoise. . After his death, he felt sad about wine, so he wrote this poem: There are crazy visitors in Siming Dynasty, and the romantic congratulations to Jizhen. When we met in Chang'an, he called me an immortal. What used to be a good cup has turned into dust under the pine tree. The golden turtle changed the drinking place, but the towel was stained with tears.
He Zhizhang said, "It is especially festive in the late festivals. Every time I get drunk, I will compose poems, alternating with cursive and cursive lines. I am so eccentric at the time that I wake up and write back, which is not necessarily the case." Confucius said that after a person reaches seventy, he will He Zhizhang is the one who can "do as he pleases without breaking the rules."
In the third year of Tianbao (744), the 85-year-old He Zhizhang fell seriously ill and almost died. When he woke up, he resigned with Li Longji and wanted to go home. Fallen leaves return to their roots, and wanderers miss their hometown. Li Longji was saddened after hearing this, but he did not force him to stay. He took the prince and other civil and military officials to see him off, and even wrote a farewell poem himself: He entered the Taoism in his golden age, and even took a hairpin when he died. Don't hesitate to be virtuous, it's like having a noble heart. The secret key is found in the world, and the secrets are scattered outside. There is only a blue gate, and the heroes are deeply saddened.
Li Longji asked him if he had any other requests. He said, I have a son who hasn’t been named yet. Please give him one. Li Longji said that in life, integrity is the first priority, and those who are honest are also trustworthy. Let’s call your son He Fu. He Zhizhang went home happily.
In the late autumn of that year, when the fallen leaves were falling, He Zhizhang rode a skinny donkey and took his son on his way home. In the early spring of the following year, I returned to my hometown after an absence of more than fifty years. Things had changed a lot.
He Zhizhang met two children on the way and asked about the location of the old house in the village. The children pointed it out to him and asked, "Grandpa, where did you come from?"
He Zhizhang returned home and wrote a poem casually: When the young man left home and his boss came back, his local pronunciation remained unchanged and his hair on his temples faded. Children who don't recognize each other laugh and ask where the guest is from.
On his deathbed, He Zhizhang suddenly remembered something and told his son that the emperor was making fun of me. I am from Wu, and the character "Fu" is the character "Zhao" plus the character "Zi". He named my son Fu, doesn't he call you He Zhao?
After speaking, he died of illness.