The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Reading Li Daoyuan's "Notes on the Classic of Waterways", we feel as if we are surrounded by the scenery of the Three Gorges in all four seasons.

Through the scenes depicted in ink and color, we can see Li Daoyuan's outstanding literary talent.

He was a writer, but Li Daoyuan was also an upright and incorruptible official.

Li Daoyuan's life was a life of pursuit of truth and justice, and also a life of fighting to the end against the powerful.

Although he failed to escape the vortex of power struggle, his "Notes on the Classic of Waterways" will remain in the world forever and become an important material for geography research in later generations.

"Li Daoyuan, also known by his courtesy name Shanchang, is the founder of travel literature."

"Born into an official family, his father Li Fan was the governor of Qingzhou."

"He traveled extensively throughout his life, had a difficult life, and a bumpy career."

"A commentary on the classics of water has been preserved for thousands of years. A loyal and upright official died in the underworld."

"Because he was born into an official family, his father was the governor of Qingzhou in Shandong who helped the Northern Wei general Murong Baiyao attack the Southern Song Dynasty and successfully captured it."

"Li Daoyuan did not rely on the recommendation of aristocratic families to enter the officialdom like other poor students."

"Instead, after his father Li Fan passed away, he inherited his title of Marquis of Yongning and thus entered the official career."

"Although he was demoted to an earl according to custom, he still has a noble title."

"In the 17th year of Taihe, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang."

"Li Daoyuan was appointed as Shangshu Lang, accompanying the emperor in handling government affairs."

"In the 18th year of Taihe, Li Daoyuan accompanied Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty on a tour of inspection in the north."

"Because of his strict law enforcement and integrity as an official, he was highly appreciated by Lieutenant Imperial Censor Li Biao."

"Li Biao then recommended Li Daoyuan to the imperial court, and Li Daoyuan was promoted from the Grand Tutor to the Imperial Censor."

"However, the good times did not last long. Li Biao, who served as the Lieutenant Censor, was not tolerated by the powerful in the capital because he strictly performed his duties as a prosecutor."

"In the 22nd year of Taihe, Emperor Xiaowen led his army to attack the Southern Dynasty."

"The Han nobles who stayed in Luoyang joined forces with the Xianbei nobles to launch a crackdown on the newly rebuilt Imperial Censorate."

"Li Biao was also arrested and impeached by Li Chong and removed from office."

"Li Daoyuan, who had just served as Imperial Censor for four years, was also dismissed because of this."

"During the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, Li Daoyuan was demoted to Jizhou and appointed as the Chief of the Jizhou Zhendong Prefecture."

"In his three years as an official, Li Daoyuan has governed with integrity and enforced the law strictly."

"We adopted harsh measures to punish thieves and criminals, causing them to flee."

"The people in the areas under my jurisdiction live in peace and are not disturbed by thieves."

"Li Daoyuan's reputation spread, and the people of Jizhou respected him, and the traitors and thieves were in awe of him."

"In the first year of Yongping, Li Daoyuan was transferred to be the governor of Luyang County."

"Because Luyang is a southern border area, there has never been a school there."

"Li Daoyuan proposed to the court to establish a school in order to promote education and educate the villagers."

"It has improved the cultural literacy of the people in Luyang and made certain contributions to the development of culture in border areas."

"During the Yanchang period, Li Daoyuan served as the governor of East Jingzhou. During his time there, he was as fierce and harsh as if he were in Jizhou."

"As a result, the local barbarians were extremely dissatisfied and complained to Emperor Xuanwu."

"I requested the former governor Kou Zuli to return to Dongjing to resume his post, but he was dismissed from office for committing a crime on his way back to Beijing."

"Until the fifth year of Emperor Xiaoming's reign, he was reinstated and appointed the governor of Henan and governed the capital Luoyang."

"In the same year, the Xianbei nobles and soldiers in the north launched the Six Garrisons Uprising because of the decline in their treatment."

"The Northern Wei Dynasty sent troops to suppress the rebellion many times, but the situation remained stalemate, so the reigning Emperor Xiaoming decided to adopt a conciliatory policy."

"He also ordered Li Daoyuan, who had just recovered, to be the Imperial Guardsman and the Imperial Assistant Minister, and to rush to the northern towns and march to the frontiers."

"He was promoted to Lieutenant Censor for suppressing the rebellion on the frontier."

"From being a lieutenant censor to being demoted to being the chief officer of Jizhou, and then being transferred to being the governor of Luyang County and the governor of Dongjingzhou."

"He was later appointed as the governor of Henan, and was promoted to lieutenant censor when he marched to the frontier."

"Li Daoyuan's career was full of ups and downs, but he left behind a unique brilliance that was unique to him."

Chen Zi'ang: Li Daoyuan, the greatest geographer, traveled across half of China.

Li Daoyuan was born during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, into a family of officials in Ligezhuang Village, Heping Office, Gaobeidian City.

He was extremely talented and ambitious when he was young, and was highly appreciated by Emperor Xiaowen. He entered the official career when he was about 20 years old.

He held various official positions throughout his life, which was full of ups and downs.

But one thing is for sure: he never backed down from his mission to make the Northern Wei Dynasty strong and unified.

Li Daoyuan loved traveling when he was young. Later, when he became an official, he traveled to various places.

Wherever he went, in addition to visiting famous places of interest, he also carefully surveyed the water flows and terrain.

Understand the coastal geography, landforms, soil, climate, people’s production and life, regional changes, etc.

Gradually, he discovered that the ancient geographical book "Water Classic" lacked accurate records of the origins and development of rivers, so he personally annotated "Water Classic".

As an official of the Northern Wei regime, Li Daoyuan worked hard for the country.

At the same time, he is also a knowledgeable scholar, an outstanding geographer and essayist.

He was rigorous in his academic research and put a lot of effort into writing "Shui Jing Zhu".

The amount of information collected is incalculable.

There are 436 books cited in "Shui Jing Zhu" alone.

It includes all ancient documentary materials such as scriptures, history, geography, maps, local chronicles, biographies, poems, letters, dictionaries, etc.

In order to write "Shui Jing Zhu" well, he also conducted many field surveys, which he called his surveys "visiting, reading and searching for channels".

In addition, he also collected a large number of folk songs, inscriptions on bronze and stone tablets, and proverbs, and there were about 350 inscriptions on bronze and stone tablets alone.

Many long-lost works are known today because they were cited in "Shui Jing Zhu".

Li Daoyuan's "Annotations to the Classic of Waterways" contains records of 1252 rivers and more than 100 species of animals.

There are more than 140 species of plants, more than 500 lakes, hundreds of springs, and nearly 300 valleys.

There are even more beaches, with more than 60 in the "Zhejiang Water Notes" alone, and more than 60 waterfalls recorded in the entire book.

In terms of agricultural production, it not only records the farming system, military farms, land reclamation, etc., but also records more than a dozen water conservancy projects such as dams, lakes, canals, dikes, ponds, and sluices.

Although Li Daoyuan's life was full of twists and turns, it was also very exciting. It began with water and ended with water.

"As a teenager, Li Daoyuan traveled around with his father Li Fan."

"Under the influence and guidance of his father, Li Daoyuan developed a strong interest in physical geography."

"When he was a teenager, Li Daoyuan traveled around Shandong with his father."

“I often go with friends to visit natural places with mountains and water, and inspect rivers.”

"During the inspection, the rushing river water created splashes of water, and the sonorous sound of water echoed in the valley."

"The beautiful and melodious river intoxicated Li Daoyuan and made him more interested in geography."

"During his travels, books were always with Li Daoyuan, becoming an important part of his life that he could not part with."

"He was studious and read many strange books, including books on geographical descriptions."

"Li Daoyuan has read almost all of them, and he is very serious about studying."

“I try to clarify every question thoroughly, but different books describe the same question differently.”

"Li Daoyuan is even more interested in the cause and the root of the problem."

"Over time, quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes, and there is a lot of quality reading."

"It enabled Li Daoyuan to acquire profound knowledge and become a famous scholar at that time."

"But the ancient geography books at that time were either too complicated or not detailed enough."

“Although it specializes in recording rivers, it does not contain any geographical knowledge other than rivers.”

“And the geography changes over time.”

“Tribes migrate, place names change, rivers change their course, towns and villages rise and fall.”

"The books on geography handed down from ancient times can no longer meet people's needs."

"Out of necessity and a strong interest in geography, Li Daoyuan began his journey of writing books during his dismissal from office."

"In order to obtain authentic geographical information for his Shui Jing Zhu, Li Daoyuan conducted long-term field investigations and visited historical sites."

"His footprints can be found in Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu and other places."

"Every time he arrived at a place, Li Daoyuan would carefully observe the local water flow and topography, and explore the local products and customs, local conditions and habits, historical ups and downs, historical sites, and popular myths and legends."

"He devoted his life to the careful research and analysis, the introduction of a large number of historical documents, and the publication of the Shui Jing Zhu."

"In terms of geography, this is known as the most systematic and comprehensive geographical work in ancient China."

"It not only records in detail the historical relics, stories about people, myths and legends of more than a thousand rivers, large and small."

"It also extensively involves other natural phenomena such as the geological features, natural climate, local customs, historical ups and downs, etc. in each river basin."

“It also includes many folk songs and proverbs in dialects, which are of great reference value for studying the history and geography of ancient my country.”

"In the process of writing Shui Jing Zhu, Li Daoyuan recorded some of the stone inscriptions he saw during field investigations and introduced a large number of historical documents and materials."

"Most of these have been lost in the long river of history and with the passage of time. Shui Jing Zhu has become an extremely valuable material for studying the history of the development of Chinese civilization."

"In terms of literature, the language used in Shui Jing Zhu is also outstanding." "The words and sentences used in the text are extremely vivid, novel and varied."

Yang Jiong: Li Daoyuan, the author of the immortal "Notes on the Classic of Waterways", was a marquis, but was eventually brutally murdered.

Li Daoyuan loved the vast mountains and rivers of his motherland. He not only researched the history of geography, which he was passionate about, but also passionately described the beautiful scenery of these vast mountains and rivers.

Li Daoyuan's "Annotations to the Classic of Waterways" is filled with masterpieces that have been passed down through history without interruption.

Therefore, it has a significant position in my country's geographical history and literary history.

Unlike his well-known status in geography and literary history, Li Daoyuan's political experience and achievements as well as his tragic end in death may be less well known.

Li Daoyuan came from a family of officials; his great-grandfather and grandfather were both officials of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

His father, Li Fan, rose from being a servant in the Eastern Palace to the position of Shangshu Youcheng, Governor of Qingzhou, and General Pingdong. He made great contributions to the Northern Wei Dynasty and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongning by the Northern Wei emperor.

Li Daoyuan entered the official career, inherited the title, and became the new Marquis of Yongning.

When Li Daoyuan was an official, he enforced the law strictly and impartially. His subordinates were very afraid of him, and some scoundrels and troublemakers would run away when they heard he was coming.

But he also really works for the people and seeks benefits for them.

It is said that when he was the prefect of Luyang, he built schools in the local area to promote education, which greatly promoted the development of local cultural and educational undertakings.

Li Daoyuan not only had good administrative skills, but also outstanding military talents.

He once led his army to attack the rebel general Yuan Faseng in Pengcheng and won the victory.

Because Li Daoyuan always had a reputation for being strict in his administration, the aristocratic and powerful families were very afraid of him.

When he was the Lieutenant Censor, Yuan Yue, the Prince of Runan and the Governor of Sizhou, was very fond of a servant named Qiu Nian.

Not only did he sleep and wake up with the attendant, but the attendant also helped him select state officials and interfered with the government's administrative orders.

Li Daoyuan secretly investigated and finally found out Qiu Nian's whereabouts. He seized the opportunity to arrest him and put him in prison.

Yuan Yue petitioned the Empress Dowager to save Qiu Nian's life, and the Emperor also ordered a pardon for Qiu Nian.

However, Li Daoyuan felt that he could not allow this male favorite to remain in the world and corrupt human morals, so he decisively executed him and exposed the ugliness of Yuan Yue and the male favorite.

As a result, not only did the Prince of Runan lose face, but the Queen Mother and the Emperor also felt that Li Daoyuan was not giving them face.

Therefore, they were very angry with Li Daoyuan and determined to give him a good beating.

However, Li Daoyuan was an upright and honest official, and was loyal and responsible to the court.

Although he had offended the Queen Mother and other powerful people, there was no excuse to punish him.

In the third year of Xiaochang, Xiao Baoyin, the governor of Yongzhou, was found to have obvious signs of rebellion.

At that time, the Minister of the Court, Prince Chengyang Yuanhui, had always hated Li Daoyuan, so he secretly suggested to the emperor to send Li Daoyuan as ambassador to Guanyou.

In this way, the treacherous villain and the brainless and incompetent emperor colluded with each other and pushed the upright and honest Li Daoyuan into a wolf's den and a tiger's lair.

When Li Daoyuan led his entourage on a diplomatic mission to Guanyou, they arrived at the Yinpan County Post Station.

Because some powerful people wanted to get rid of Li Daoyuan, the thorn in their side, on the way, they sent spies to exchange information with the rebels.

The rebel general Xiao Baoyin was worried that Li Daoyuan would do something bad to him, so he sent troops to surround the Yinpan County Post Station.

The post station is on the hill, and the drinking well water is at the foot of the hill.

In order to solve the problem of food and drink for his entourage, Li Daoyuan had to send people to dig a well for water, but after digging twenty or thirty meters deep, there was still no water.

All the personnel were exhausted, but the rebels took the opportunity to climb over the wall and killed Li Daoyuan and others by surprise.

Li Daoyuan and others fought a desperate battle with the rebels, but were outnumbered and eventually died unyieldingly. His younger brother and two sons were also killed.

Although on the surface this incident was that Minister Li Daoyuan was killed by the rebels, in fact everyone knows that it was the court officials who used the rebels to kill loyal ministers and generals.

It is sad and lamentable that the geographer, an honest and upright official in his sixties, died heroically in a desperate fight with the rebels.

But Li Daoyuan and his brothers and descendants probably did not realize until their death that it was the court for which he died that colluded with the rebels and murdered him in order to put him to death.

The death of Li Daoyuan also clearly demonstrated that the feudal dynasty's emperor's mind was unpredictable.

"For example, in his Water Classic, Li Daoyuan never used clichés to describe the waterfall."

"It is to give full play to his rich imagination and the profound knowledge accumulated through reading."

"According to the different forms of waterfalls, they are described in vivid and novel literary language."

"He created a descriptive language that is different from others from different angles and aspects."

"In the Water Classic Notes: Notes on Clear Water, Li Daoyuan's description of the clarity of water is no longer the direct description of the clarity of water that most people use."

"Instead, it is written from the fish's perspective, looking down at the swimming fish, which is like flying in the air."

“It allows readers to intuitively feel the clarity of the water, and it is also unique.”

"The fishermen's songs, folk songs, proverbs and dialects recorded in it are classic popular languages ​​handed down from generation to generation in various places. The writing is also gorgeous and the language is fresh and beautiful."

"In the Annotations to the Xiang River in Shui Jing Zhu, Li Daoyuan collected local fishermen's songs."

"The winding river path is described vividly, just like a beautiful landscape painting."

"It complements the vivid, novel, varied and distinctive language written by Li Daoyuan."

"Li Daoyuan is known for his love for nature and landscapes, his profound knowledge, and his wonderful writing language."

"He vividly described the magnificence of the motherland's beautiful mountains and rivers, and created the classic work "Waterways of the South".

"Presenting the mountains, rivers, culture, and customs of the motherland in the form of texts inspires people's love for the motherland's mountains and rivers."

“It shines with its own great value in terms of history, geography, literature, and patriotism.”

"However, Li Daoyuan, who had made great achievements in geography and literature and had a profound influence on later generations, had a sad ending."

"In the second year of Xiaochang, Li Daoyuan was appointed General of Annan and Lieutenant Censor."

"In the struggle for imperial power between Yuan Hui and Yuan Yuan, Yuan Hui framed Yuan Yuan."

"Li Daoyuan, knowing the truth, vigorously presented the facts and collected evidence to overturn Yuan Yuan's case."

"He thus offended Yuan Hui, and later offended Runan King Yuan Yue by executing Runan King Yuan Yue's favorite minister Qiu Nian."

"He governed strictly and did not avoid powerful nobles. During his time in office, he constantly violated the interests of powerful nobles and damaged their reputation."

"The powerful and influential people even wanted to kill him."

"In the third year of Xiaochang in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xiao Baoyin, a member of the Southern Qi royal family and the governor of Yongzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty, showed obvious signs of launching a rebellion in Chang'an."

"In order to find out the truth about Xiao Baoyin's rebellion, Emperor Xiaoming discussed with his ministers and decided to send a minister to Yongzhou."

"Because Li Daoyuan was hated by Yuan Hui, Yuan Yue and other powerful people, they tried their best to instigate Empress Dowager Hu to appoint Li Daoyuan as the ambassador to Guanyou, hoping to get rid of Li Daoyuan through Xiao Baoyin."

"In order to successfully get rid of Li Daoyuan, the King of Runan sent people to Yongzhou to spread the rumor that Li Daoyuan was coming to deal with Xiao Baoyin. Sure enough, the evil plan succeeded."

"Xiao Baoyin sent people to attack Li Daoyuan on the way and trapped him on the hill of Yinpan Posthouse."

"Due to the lack of water, Li Daoyuan and his men were unable to resist and were eventually killed by Xiao Baoyin's men."

"Li Daoyuan, who was a fair official and a strict law enforcer, eventually died an untimely death at the age of 59."

Zhang Jiuling: Li Daoyuan made the powerful and influential people fearful when he was in the court, and his "Notes on the Classic of Waterways" when he was in the wild became a model of travel literature.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Li Daoyuan was born in Zhuo County, Fanyang County of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

As the son of Qingzhou governor Li Fan, Li Daoyuan had no worries about food and clothing since childhood, and developed a hobby of traveling around the mountains and rivers.

After Li Fan died, Li Daoyuan inherited his father's title of Marquis of Yongning, but was later downgraded to earl according to regulations.

Four years later, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang in order to implement his own Sinicization reforms. Li Daoyuan, who was considered to be knowledgeable among many Han officials, was appointed as Shangshu Lang.

On the recommendation of Lieutenant Censor Li Biao, Li Daoyuan, who was known for his strict and fair enforcement of the law, was promoted to the position of Assistant Censor.

Four years later, as Li Biao was impeached by Shangshu Pushe Li Chong, Li Daoyuan was also implicated and dismissed from office.

Li Daoyuan was sent to Jizhou to serve as the Chief of Zhendong Prefecture. Due to his strict governance, the local people were very respectful of him, and the thieves fled from his jurisdiction.

Li Daoyuan, who had outstanding political achievements, was renamed as the prefect of Luyang. After taking office, he proposed to set up schools to promote education based on local conditions. The bandits in Luyang County dared not to commit crimes after hearing that Li Daoyuan had taken office.

Later, Li Daoyuan was transferred to be the governor of East Jingzhou, but his harsh governing style was rejected by the people of Jingzhou.

Emperor Xuanwu then issued an edict to recall Li Daoyuan to the capital, and Li Daoyuan was dismissed from office shortly afterwards.

After being dismissed from office this time, Li Daoyuan, who had a rare period of free time, was finally able to begin annotating the "Water Classic", which was said to have been written by Guo Pu, a famous alchemist in the Jin Dynasty.

Li Daoyuan, who had been unemployed at home for nearly ten years, was appointed as the governor of Henan. At this time, a massive uprising was breaking out in the six northern towns.

Li Daoyuan was also ordered to lead his troops to quell the rebellion. During the process of suppressing the rebellion, he demonstrated extraordinary military talent and was named General of Annan and Lieutenant Censor.

However, for a man like Li Daoyuan who was upright in character and harsh in his methods, a higher position meant greater danger.

After his law enforcement authority was increased, Li Daoyuan began to frequently interfere in the illegal and disorderly activities of the powerful, causing clan ministers such as Prince of Runan Yuan Yue and Prince of Chengyang Yuan Hui to resent him.

Xiao Baoyin, the sixth son of Emperor Ming of Qi who defected to Northern Wei, secretly plotted a rebellion and proclaimed himself emperor. Yuan Hui, who wanted to put Li Daoyuan to death, took the opportunity to persuade Empress Dowager Hu to send Li Daoyuan as an envoy to monitor Xiao Baoyin.

Obviously, this was a mission that was destined to have no return.

After a long journey, Li Daoyuan arrived outside the city of Chang'an where Xiao Baoyin was stationed, but before he could see Xiao Baoyin, he was besieged at Yinpan Posthouse by his subordinate Guo Zihui's army.

Even though Li Daoyuan had studied a large number of water systems throughout his life, he still could not dig out a water source on the besieged hill.

In the end, Li Daoyuan and his companions were brutally killed by the rebels due to lack of water and unable to resist.

As an official and general, Li Daoyuan worked hard and his political and military achievements were remarkable.

As a geographer, his work "Notes on the Classic of Waterways" records a number of historical and cultural stories related to rivers, which are rich and interesting in content.

It not only has extremely high geographical and historical value, but also has great literary value, and is regarded as the pioneering work of my country's travel literature.

Even the study of Li Daoyuan's "Water Classic" gave birth to a discipline called Lixue.

Although Li Daoyuan died under the butcher knife of the rebels, his work "Waterways of the South" became an immortal classic because it condensed his wisdom and hard work, and it still has a huge and lasting influence today. (End of this chapter)