Another remarkable story involves a scholar playing polo: According to Wang Dingbao's *Tang Zhiyan* from the Five Dynasties period, in the fourth year of the Qianfu reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, newly appointed scholars gathered at the Moon Lantern Pavilion to prepare for a polo match. Suddenly, several members of the Shence Army stormed the field and occupied it. The newly appointed scholar Liu Tan stepped forward, "galloping swiftly and striking the ball with lightning speed, leaving them all astonished. Suddenly, he snatched the ball and smashed it into the air, its whereabouts unknown. The others, ashamed and disheartened, fled in disarray." He single-handedly stole the ball from the Shence Army and knocked it away, preventing them from playing and causing them great embarrassment in front of thousands of spectators. Truly a display of elegance and charisma.
Polo was played from the Han and Tang dynasties to the Song and Ming dynasties. Unfortunately, due to the Qing dynasty's restrictions on martial arts and horse breeding, this exciting sport eventually disappeared, as people turned to opium.
By the way, women also participated in polo in the past. The Xi'an Polo website has a news article with pictures titled: "Xi'an Tang Dynasty Ladies' Polo"—this is a performance event designated by the Xi'an Municipal People's Government's Ancient Culture and Art Festival, based on historical accounts of classical Tang Dynasty court equestrianism. The match is divided into four periods, each lasting eight minutes, and is played on the stadium's football pitch.
Five ladies dressed in classical attire compete against five guards. The game is fierce and intense, following the rules of "Chinese Polo". After being performed at the Xi'an Ancient Culture and Art Festival Stadium and the Fengtai Stadium in Beijing to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has become one of the signature programs of the Xi'an Tang Dynasty Ladies Polo Team.
Sponsoring the event and hosting the competition in a stadium with a capacity of 10,000 people provides a huge business opportunity for showcasing traditional Chinese equestrian sports. With the support of the Chinese Equestrian Association, we are confident in recreating the Tang Dynasty court lady polo painting, a symbol of Chinese sports displayed in the lobby of the International Olympic Committee. We call for polo to return to its homeland, inviting tourists to Xi'an, an ancient city, to participate in the Classical Polo Art Festival. This will bring together beautiful women, exquisite costumes, and renowned horses from around the world to showcase the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties in Xi'an, and revive the glory of the Silk Road.
We welcome discerning investors to collaborate on this development. With the goal of creating an international brand, we aim to make it a top-tier sports, cultural, and tourism destination, vying for participation in international events in 2008 and 2010.
Wow, the photos show men and women playing polo in Tang Dynasty-style clothing! I'll try to play a game next time I'm in Xi'an. Sigh, the people of Xi'an are so lucky.
The Huan clan originated from the Jiang surname and were descendants of Duke Huan of Qi. They took their surname from the posthumous title of Duke Huan. During the Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties, they were a prominent family comparable to the Wang and Xie families. Because they produced eleven generals during the Jin dynasty, the Huan clan's ancestral hall was named "Kuangjin Hall". Unfortunately, at the end of the Eastern Jin dynasty, Huan Xuan, the youngest son of Huan Wen, usurped the throne but was defeated, leading to the extermination of the Huan clan.
The Huan family later faded into obscurity until the Tang Dynasty produced a prime minister named Huan Yanfan, a meritorious official who helped Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian regain the throne. He was once enfeoffed as the Prince of Fuyang, but was cruelly persecuted to death by Wu Zetian's nephew, Wu Sansi. "At that time, Wu Sansi harbored resentment towards the Empress Dowager and feared it would harm the Wu clan... Wang Tongjiao plotted to kill Sansi, but the plot was exposed, and Sansi falsely accused Yanfan and others of treason... Emperor Ye had promised him not to die, so he was exiled to Rangzhou, imprisoned for life, and his sons and brothers over the age of sixteen were exiled to Lingnan... Sansi also persuaded Crown Prince Jiemin to request the extermination of Yanfan and his three clans, but the emperor refused. Sansi worried that the five men would be reinstated, so he accepted Cui Shi's plan and sent Zhou Lizhen to forge an imperial edict to kill them. Lizhen arrived in Guizhou, met Yanfan, bound him, dragged him to a bamboo raft, and when his flesh was all gone, beat him to death. He was fifty-four years old."
This means that Wu Sansi, jealous of loyal officials like Huan Yanfan and Zhang Jianzhi, framed them in every way, even intending to kill Huan's entire clan. Emperor Zhongzong, a foolish ruler, though not complying, still demoted Huan's benefactor, and exiled his sons over sixteen years old to Guangdong and Guangxi. Not content with this, Wu Sansi ordered Zhou Lizhen to tie Huan Yanfan to a bamboo raft and drag him along, rubbing off all the flesh, before beating him to death with sticks. (I'm utterly speechless; the cruelty of history is far beyond what fiction can depict). When Emperor Ruizong Li Dan ascended the throne, "Yanfan and others were posthumously restored to their official titles and ranks, granted fiefs of two hundred households, and allowed to return to their descendants. They were posthumously honored with the title 'Zhonglie' (忠烈, meaning loyal and valiant)." During the reign of Emperor Dezong Li Shi, Yanfan was posthumously granted the title of Situ (司徒, meaning Minister of Works).
Huan Yanfan was skilled in writing, but did not particularly enjoy reading. His ambition lay solely in loyalty and filial piety. He was usually silent, but when discussing matters before the emperor, even when questioned, he remained calm and composed, his words becoming increasingly sharp. He was a composed and dignified prime minister, and I admired his demeanor.
The *Taiping Guangji* contains a story about him: Huan Yanfan, the Prince of Fuyang, was unrestrained in his youth, valuing grand principles over trivial matters. Once, he and his friends drank in the wilderness. At dusk, they dispersed, and Huan and his companions, completely drunk, slept in the wilderness. After midnight, a monster suddenly appeared, over ten feet tall and ten arm spans thick, wielding a long spear, glaring and shouting as it charged. Everyone else was terrified and lay motionless, but Huan, bold as ever, jumped up, yelling and charging at the monster. The monster turned back, encountering a large willow tree. Huan snapped off a branch and used it to strike the monster, producing a rustling sound, as if hitting nothing in the air. After a few blows, the monster collapsed and crawled away. Huan pursued it more and more urgently, until finally the monster entered an ancient tomb. At dawn, it turned out to be a dilapidated paper shrine used for funerals.
This story is very interesting. "He was unrestrained, had great principles, and did not concern himself with trivial matters. He often roamed with his friends and knights-errant, drinking in the wilderness." He was free-spirited and unconventional, yet also brave and resourceful. This is exactly the kind of man I admire.
He had two younger brothers, Huan Xuanfan and Huan Chenfan, who respectively served as the Prefect of Changzhou and the Vice Minister of Works, but there are no records of his descendants.
A prominent surname has been lost to history. To this day, I have never met a real person with the surname Huan. (If anyone knows, please tell me.) I have seen many friends still mistaking Huan for Heng. Qier even joked that it is strange for someone to have such a strange surname. It is truly lamentable how heartless history is.
Sun Fujia: China's first top scholar in the imperial examinations. "Dust and sand turn to ashes upon entering, gold, though hammered a thousand times, grows ever redder" is a poem of praise by Mr. Bo Yang after recounting Sun Fujia's deeds. I've been unable to find its source; did Mr. Guo himself compose it? Well, I'll borrow it then.
Yang Shidao, a member of the imperial family of the Sui Dynasty, married Princess Changguang, the fifth daughter of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. He was an excellent poet, but not a very good official.
Cen Wenben: During the Sui Dynasty, at the age of fourteen, he appealed for his father and was exonerated from a wrongful imprisonment. During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, he was promoted to Zhongshu Sheren (a high-ranking official in the Imperial Secretariat). Imperial edicts and documents concerning important military and national affairs were all written by him. He would often have six or seven subordinates each hold paper and pen and dictate to him, and each would complete an article in a short time. Emperor Taizong valued him highly and promoted him to Zhongshu Shilang (another high-ranking official in the Imperial Secretariat), in charge of confidential matters. He was practically Emperor Taizong's first-class confidential secretary and top writer. Later, he replaced Yang Shidao as Zhongshu Ling (the Grand Secretary).
Ma Zhou: He later succeeded Cen Wenben as the Grand Secretary, and was known as the Prime Minister in plain clothes.
Yan Lide: His father was Yan Pi, and his brother was Yan Liben; all three were renowned painters of the Tang Dynasty. Like Jiang Xingben, who fought in the battle against Gaochang, Yan Lide was a master craftsman and senior engineer. He served in several major Tang Dynasty battles, directing construction projects (it's strange how many ancient people were so multi-talented, proficient in both literature and science). The Xiangcheng Palace can be considered one of his few major failures. Originally built in Ruzhou, roughly in present-day Linchi, Henan, Emperor Taizong encountered snakes upon moving in and suffered from the damp heat. Two days later, he dismantled the palace and distributed the materials to the people.
"Chengchuan" means to travel by carriage or horse at public expense.
Xingyang: Located between Luoyang and Zhengzhou, it was once the site of Ao, the capital of the early Shang Dynasty, and the capital of the State of Zheng during the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, once served as the prefect of Xingyang during the Sui Dynasty. I think the name is beautiful, and it always reminds me of the hegemony of Duke Zhuang of Zheng during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, so I'll give it to Huan She as his hometown.
Chapter 37
37. [White Path]
In this image-driven era of longing and reflection (having not drawn maps for so long, I've become rusty with geography. As always, the scale may not be accurate, but the general directions are still reliable).
↑Up North and Down South
Xueyantuo in the Northern Desert
...promise
...real
...water
...Southern Eastern Turks
...Wuchuan
...Green Mountain
...Baidaochuan
...Shanyang Ridge
...Dingxiang
Shuozhou
.........Daizhou
Wutai
Bingzhou
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...Baiya
Luoyang and Xingyang
Ruzhou
Xingyang is Huan She's hometown, and Xiangcheng Palace in Ruzhou is where he captured the snake. Wei Ying pursued Huan She from Ruzhou to Luoyang, where he fell from his horse at Baiya. After the emperor dismantled Xiangcheng Palace, he returned to Luoyang, while Huan She followed Li Shiji in Bingzhou. What about the other place names? Okay, read the following text first, and then come back to check the map. Remember to review! :)
"The Eastern Turks were crushed by the iron hooves of the Tang people ten years ago, each one castrated into a cowardly pheasant by the Tang's long-handled swords. Look, what shines in my hand are the precious swords and whips bestowed by the Tang emperor. We will use them to cut off the stubborn brass heads of the Turks, whip their weak, viper-like bellies, and tear out their greasy intestines. Men of the Xueyantuo, let the strong liquor burn your greedy, inflated hearts, sharpen your outstretched claws with your curved swords, trample the southern green mountains (the eastern branch of the Yin Mountains) with ten thousand horses, occupy the sweet-grazing Hetao region, seize the fattest cattle and sheep, and piles of gold and silver jewels, and countless large-breasted women. If you so desire, even the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty will become the blood-stained land beneath your feet, and the Tang people will weep all night for you!"
"Great Zhenzhu Bilge Khan, respected Dadushe, we will forever follow your mighty steeds and make the Turks slaves of their former slaves!"
The Xueyantuo were formed by combining the Xue and Yantuo tribes, and belonged to the fifteen tribes of the Tiele. They had suffered greatly from the ravages of the Turks. In the third year of the Zhenguan era, the current emperor conferred the title of Zhenzhu Bilge Khan upon the Xueyantuo chieftain Yinan, and established the Tingyudujun Mountain (present-day eastern branch of the Khangai Mountains in Mongolia) to contain the Eastern Turks. In the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, after the Tang army decisively defeated the Eastern Turks, the northern deserts were left vulnerable. The Xueyantuo seized the opportunity to advance eastward and establish a khanate, extending from the Shiwei in the east to the Jinshan Mountains in the west, bordering the desert in the south and the Gobi Desert in the north. Various tribes submitted to them, and they ruled a population of one million. The emperor, concerned about their growing power, sent envoys in the twelfth year to formally invest them and appoint their two sons as Lesser Khans. This was outwardly a show of respect, but in reality, it was a means to divide and weaken them.
The Tang court pacified and appeased the 100,000 surrendered Eastern Turks, and many Turkic nobles were granted Tang titles, making up half of the officials in the capital, with as many as 10,000 residing in Chang'an. However, in the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan era, General Ashina Jieshe's assassination attempt failed, and the Tang court began to reconsider, believing that settling the Turks south of the Ordos region posed a significant threat. Ashina Simo, the former Eastern Turkic chieftain, who was then the Right General of the Martial Guard, Governor of Huaizhou, and Prince of Huaihua in the Tang Dynasty, was now granted the title of Yiminishushilibi Khan and led his former associates across the Yellow River to rebuild the Eastern Turkic Khaganate as a bulwark for China. The emperor decreed that the Xueyantuo and the Eastern Turks should use the Han Sea (present-day Lake Baikal) as the boundary, each residing in the north and south respectively, and that if they crossed the boundary and invaded, the Celestial Empire would certainly send troops to punish them.
(If you're not scared off by these gibberish names, then I'll sneak a kiss on you today, on this Qixi Festival, but it'll be forfeited if I don't. Thinking of how Huan Lang and Wei Ying finally reunited on Qixi, I can't help but sigh.)
The emperor had originally planned to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai in February of the following year, but in June of this year, a comet invaded the Taiwei constellation, and ministers advised against it, deeming it an ominous sign, so the plan was cancelled. The Xueyantuo, far away in the desert, were unaware of the changes. Zhenzhu Bilge Khan Yinan secretly thought he could take advantage of the emperor's eastern tour and the country's vulnerability to invade the south. Therefore, as soon as winter arrived, he ordered his son, Dadu, to convene a meeting of the Tongluo, Pugu, Uyghur, Mohe, and Xixi tribes, gathering 200,000 troops and stationing them at Baidaochuan (northwest of present-day Hohhot, Inner Mongolia), holding Shanyang Ridge to attack the Eastern Turks. Ashina Simo was defeated and retreated to Shuozhou (present-day Shuoxian, Shanxi) within the Great Wall, appealing to the central government for help.
"Ashina Simo, do you know you're now a watchdog for the Han people? If you still consider yourself a descendant of Ashina, with the blood of a wolf flowing in your veins, then get out of the Han Great Wall! Shameful!" The Xueyantuo, exhausted from their thousand-mile southward campaign, only wanted a quick victory against the Eastern Turks. However, the enemy retreated inside the Great Wall, refusing to come out. The steppe people lacked siege weapons, leaving Dadu She (She was an official title; Dadu was the son of Yinan. It's estimated that the Xueyantuo, like many other ethnic groups, were still in a period of having names but no surnames) in a dilemma. He cursed outside the Great Wall every day, hoping to provoke Ashina Simo into battle.
A watchdog? Ashina Simo retreated from the watchtower, shaking his head in exasperation. A watchdog might bark at shadows and scare people, but how often have you seen a watchdog waiting for its master to come and rescue it, not daring to utter a sound? When did Ashina's descendants fall to such a state of groveling and begging?
Dadushe and Ashina Simo had been locked in a stalemate for several days inside and outside the Great Wall. Just as they were about to provoke each other with another verbal battle, they suddenly heard distant rumblings of thunder and the sound of dust rising into the sky. "Sandstorm! She, it's a sandstorm!" Dadushe slapped one of his subordinates, a Beg, on the head: "How can a sandstorm come from the south?"
Ashina Simo, watching from the city wall, saw billowing yellow dust engulfing the cold sun, plunging Shuozhou into darkness as if into a deep night, the earth trembling and sinking. Gradually, the thunderous roar of iron hooves and metal clappers grew louder, causing both sides facing off on the Great Wall to feel their eardrums rupture and their hearts pound as if struck by a thousand-pound hammer. Soldiers struggled to cover their ears, many warhorses went limp, and even Dadu She was thrown from his mount.
Suddenly, six blood-red banners, like a giant axe of a god, cleaved through the ten-mile-long gloom, and then five flags of red, white, black, green, and yellow fluttered and covered the area, and a sea of silver armor surged in like a tide under the moon.
"The Heavenly Khan's army has arrived!" Ashina Simo sent men to greet the Tang army while ordering his soldiers to shout in unison, wiping away a cold sweat. In the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, he had been captured alive by Zhang Baoxiang, the deputy commander of Wei Gong Li Jing's army, from Jieli Khan. The brutality of the battlefield and the ferocity of the Tang army had shattered all the Turks' honor and confidence. Today, the powerful presence of the central reinforcements brought him back to those unbearable memories. The Tang people were the nightmare of all the steppe people.
The newcomer was none other than Li Shiji, Minister of War and Grand General of Bingzhou. He was appointed by imperial decree as the Commander-in-Chief of the Shuozhou Road Army, leading 60,000 troops and 1,200 cavalry to garrison Yuguang, heading directly north to confront the enemy head-on. The Tang army had marched 400 li from Bingzhou, still gleaming in their armor. They made no noise in battle, but at the sound of a horn, the drums roared, and bows and crossbows fired in unison. Cavalry, leaping troops, and surprise attacks rushed into the enemy lines. Da Du left a portion of his troops to fight to the death, while he himself fled in panic from Chike Lake. The siege of Shuozhou was thus lifted.