The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Food is the most important thing for people. Chinese people have known since ancient times how hard it is to get every spoonful of rice.

In order to educate future generations to cherish food, he created many poems and songs that have been passed down through the ages.

The best of these is "Mercy for the Peasants"

When the hoe was on the day of the day, Khan dripped down the soil.

Who knows dishes on the menu, A Journey.

This poem is familiar to everyone, from young children to the elderly.

But what many people don’t know is that it was the poet Li Shen who wrote the famous line “Every grain of rice is hard-earned.”

But later on, his temperament changed drastically and he brought harm to the people.

"Li Shen was born in the seventh year of the Dali period into a family of officials in Wucheng County, Huzhou."

"His great-grandfather Li Jingxuan once served as the Minister of the Central Secretariat during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and was given the title of Duke Wenxian of Zhao."

"My grandfather, Li Shouyi, was the magistrate of Pi County in Chengdu, and my father, Li Wu, served as the magistrate of three counties, namely Jintan, Wucheng, and Jinling."

"In the eighth year of the Dali period, Li Shen suffered from a sudden attack of breast disease, but recovered after seven days."

"Li Shen lost his father when he was six years old, and his mother, Lu, taught him the classics."

"In his early years, Li Shen was from a poor family. He was short and sturdy, so he was nicknamed Short Li. When he was 15 years old, he often studied at Huishan Temple in Wuxi, Runzhou."

"Li Shen was able to write poetry. He witnessed the miserable life of peasants who worked all day but could not even get enough food and clothing, so he wrote "Two Poems of Pity for the Peasants."

"After being passed on orally, his reputation spread, and Wei Xiaqing, then governor of Suzhou, often praised Li Shen's talent."

"Afterwards, Li Shen went to Chang'an to take the imperial examination, where he was appreciated by Han Yu, a scholar at the time, who recommended Li Shen to the examiner."

"After the recommendation, Li Shen met the talented scholar Lü Wen, who commented that Li Shen would definitely be appointed as prime minister in the future."

"Afterwards, Li Shen still failed the exam, so he began to travel around Suzhou."

"Not long after, Wei Xiaqing's daughter married Yuan Zhen, and Li Shen was invited to attend the wedding, where he met the scholar Yuan Zhen."

"Through Yuan Zhen, he met Bai Juyi, who was still an official at the time, and became good friends with the two of them."

"In the first year of Yuanhe, Li Shen passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, and was appointed as an assistant teacher of the Imperial Academy."

"But this was not his ambition, so he returned to Nanjing and worked for Li Qi, the governor."

"Li Qi admired Li Shen's talent and appointed him, but Li Shen thought Li Qi acted tyrannically and arrogantly, so he refused the letter of appointment and gifts, which angered Li Qi."

"Li Qi once wanted to kill Li Shen, but Li Shen escaped in time and escaped."

"Afterwards, Li Qi's rebellion failed and he was killed. The court commended Li Shen and appointed him as the Right Picker of Relics."

"The New Yuefu Movement took place in the fourth year of Yuanhe, and Li Shen served as the pioneer of the movement."

"The direct promoters of the movement were Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi, and the 12 poems in response to each other marked the beginning of the Yuan and Bai New Yuefu Movement."

"From then on, Yuan and Bai created many Yuefu poems, all of which were titled "New Yuefu"."

"Before the 12th year of the Yuanhe reign, Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi and Li Shen were more focused on the creation of new Yuefu and stopped writing Yuefu with ancient themes."

"Tang Muzong summoned Li Shen to the palace to serve as a Hanlin scholar, and he served in the palace with the literati Li Deyu and Yuan Zhen. The three of them were called the Three Talents."

"Not long after, Li Shen was transferred to the position of Right Assistant Minister."

Su Shi: Li Shen came from a family of officials. His father, Li Wu, had served as an official in many places and his family was well-off.

Therefore, if the subsequent changes had not occurred.

Li Shen probably did not have the opportunity to witness the hard life of the lower-class people, so he would not have been able to write "Song of Pity the Peasants".

However, things don't always turn out as planned. When Li Shen was 5 years old, Li Wu died in office.

From then on, Li Shen, who lost his father at a young age, depended on his mother for life.

Li Shen was too young to take care of himself, so the burden of supporting their family fell on his mother.

In that era, due to the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, business was ranked at the bottom.

Moreover, it is rare for men to do business, let alone women.

Therefore, the mother and son could only support their family through farm work.

The hardships in his childhood made Li Shen precocious, and he noticed his mother's hard work early on.

Not only that, at the bottom of society, he also saw many people like him and his mother who relied on God to survive.

As he grew older and gradually became a young man, Li Shen felt more deeply the suffering of the people.

Out of sympathy for the people who worked hard in the fields under the scorching sun, and also out of emotion about his own tragic fate, he wrote "Pity the Peasants".

Even at that time, "Song of Pity the Peasants" was widely circulated.

The neighbors in the countryside praised Li Shen as a good boy who understood the poverty of the common people, and Li Shen was even given the title of a poet who sympathized with the peasants.

In ancient times, there were few people from poor families who did not want to study to change their destiny.

Li Shen was no exception. Although he lived in poverty, his mother never treated him unfairly in education.

After his father passed away, Li Shen's mother took on the responsibility of teaching Li Shen to read.

Children of poor families have to grow up early. Under the education of his mother, Li Shen was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child. He only needed to study hard for a few years and pass the imperial examination one day.

Later, after Li Shen's mother died, he went to the capital, hoping to enter the official career like his grandfather and father.

However, Li Shen took part in the imperial examinations several times, but failed each time.

But it was not entirely without gain. During the years in Chang'an, he made close friends such as Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi, and they often recited poems and composed couplets, and they were very happy.

When Li Shen was 36 years old, the door to his official career finally opened.

In this year, Li Shen finally passed the imperial examination and became an assistant professor at the Imperial College.

Later, Li Shen left Chang'an and went to Jinling, where he entered the residence of Jiedushi Li Qi.

"In March of the first year of Changqing, Li Shen was appointed as the Deputy Director of Sixun and the Director of Imperial Edicts."

"In February of the following year, Li Shen was promoted to Zhongshu Sheren and concurrently served as Hanlin Academician."

"After Yuan Zhen became prime minister, Li Fengji, the then prime minister, falsely accused Yuan Zhen of having something to hide and was dismissed. Li Shen was transferred to be the governor of Tongzhou."

"In September of the second year of Changqing, Li Fengji sent Li Deyu out of the capital to serve as the governor of western Zhejiang, appointed Niu Sengru, who was involved in the Niu-Li faction dispute, as the prime minister, and sent Li Shen as the chief censor."

"Then he deliberately sowed discord between Li Shen and Han Yu, and both were subsequently demoted."

"At the same time, Li Shen was deeply loved by Emperor Muzong of Tang. Although he was demoted to a distant place, he still sent eunuchs to express his condolences."

"Afterwards, Li Shen reported that he was framed by Li Fengji. After Tang Muzong learned the truth, he appointed Li Shen as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"After the eunuch Wang Shoucheng came to power, Li Fengji ordered his disciples to curry favor with Wang Shoucheng in order to exclude Li Shen."

"At the same time, they were discussing strategies on how to suppress Li Shen. It happened that Li Shen's nephew Li Yu, who lived in seclusion in Huayang, came to the capital to visit Li Shen."

"After Li Yu arrived in the capital, he told Li Fengji what Li Shen had said about his insults, and Li Fengji became furious."

"I asked my disciples Zhang Youxin and Li Xuzhi for advice. They suggested developing new disciples and waiting for an opportunity to deal with Li Shen."

"Li Fengji agreed to this plan and promoted Li Yu and others to official positions in order to expand his power and suppress Li Shen."

"In the fourth year of Changqing, Emperor Muzong of Tang died and Emperor Jingzong ascended the throne."

"After Jingzong ascended the throne, Li Shen lost power."

"Li Fengji once again conspired with his disciples Zhang Youxin, Su Yu and others to expel Li Shen."

"Wang Shoucheng then mentioned to Jingzong the original issue of the crown prince, and pointed out that Li Fengji had firmly supported Jingzong as the crown prince, but Li Shen supported Prince Shen as the crown prince."

"When Emperor Jingzong heard about this, he began to have doubts about opposing the crown prince. Then Li Fengji wrote a letter to impeach Li Shen, saying that Li Shen had done something unfavorable to Emperor Jingzong when he was a Hanlin scholar."

"He also requested that Li Shen be demoted to the position of Sima of Duanzhou. Jingzong followed his advice, and Li Shen was subsequently demoted."

"After Li Shen was demoted, Hanlin scholar Wei Chuhou made a memorial to Emperor Jingzong and argued that Li Fengji was a treacherous and evil person."

"Li Shen was implicated without reason, and Li Fengji presented the case against Li Shen."

"Tang Jingzong gradually realized that Li Shen was wronged, and at the same time, the palace was investigating old matters."

"Jingzong read the memorial submitted by the Minister of the Central Secretariat Pei Du, Li Shen and others, asking Muzong to make Jingzong the crown prince." "After reading it, Jingzong ordered the burning of all the slanderous memorials submitted by Li Fengji's followers. The false accusations gradually subsided, and Li Shen and his party were saved."

Xin Qiji: However, Li Shen was very dissatisfied with Li Qi's style of doing things and was sentenced to prison.

He was not released until Li Qi was killed. After seeing the light of day again, he returned to Huishan Temple in Wuxi to study.

Li Shen's newly-started official career was interrupted, but fortunately he did not give up.

Three years later, Li Shen regrouped and once again set out for Chang'an.

In the fourth year of Yuanhe, Li Shen went to Beijing again and served as a proofreader.

Together with his good friends Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi and others, he advocated the New Yuefu poetry style and launched the New Yuefu Movement.

After the New Music Bureau Movement, Li Shen was promoted to Right Picker of Relics and later to Hanlin Academician.

Just as Li Shen was rising in status, he was involved in the Niu-Li factional struggle and became an important figure in Li Deyu's camp.

At the beginning, the Li Party was strong and Li Shen was also in his prime. He successively served as Chief Censor and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and other important positions.

However, the good times did not last long. Li Deyu lost power and his accomplice Li Shen was demoted and exiled, once again reaching the lowest point in his life.

Unexpectedly, eight years later, Li Deyu made a comeback and became the prime minister, and Li Shen was re-employed.

After that, he rose rapidly, first served as the governor of Huainan, and later went to Beijing to be appointed prime minister, and was granted the title of Duke of Zhao.

At this point, after decades of ups and downs in officialdom, Li Shen finally rose to prominence.

After many ups and downs, Li Shen finally realized his childhood wish.

He escaped from his extremely poor background and rose to prominence, bringing honor to his family.

He became the kind of person he most wanted to be, but after achieving success and fame, there was no trace of the poet who loved farmers in him.

There is a widely circulated story about Li Shen.

It is said that when Li Shen was at his poorest, he could not even solve the problem of food and clothing.

In order to fill his stomach, he could only go to General Li Yuan's house in the capital to eat and drink.

In order to satisfy his own hunger, Li Shen did not care about his own face.

To show his sincerity, he called Li Yuanjiang "uncle", just wanting this cheap uncle to give him food.

However, things change over time. After Li Shen became successful, the person who came to curry favor with him became Li Yuanjiang.

But Li Shen was very vengeful and did not have a good face when facing his uncle who came to curry favor with him.

Only after Li Yuanjiang acknowledged Li Shen as his grandfather did he reluctantly accept the flattery of Li Yuanjiang as his grandson.

He looks like a smug villain, not presentable enough.

Li Shen once handled a case when he was the governor of Huainan.

"In April of the first year of the Baoli reign, Emperor Jingzong issued a general amnesty. Li Fengji and Li Shen had a grudge against each other."

"In the draft pardon for the officials who were transferred to the interior, Li Shen was not mentioned. Wei Chuhou made another memorial to discuss the matter."

"Jingzong ordered the amnesty to be retrieved and ordered Li Fengji to add a clause to allow demoted officials to be transferred to the interior at their discretion."

"In May, Li Shen was transferred to the interior to serve as the Chief of Jiangzhou."

"After being promoted twice, he was appointed as the Prince's guest and worked in the Eastern Capital."

"From the first year of Baoli to the fourth year of Taihe, Li Shen served successively as the governor of Jiangzhou, Chuzhou, and Shouzhou."

"In July of the seventh year of the Dahe era, Li Shen was appointed as the Inspector of the Left, the Governor of Yuezhou, and the Inspector of East Zhejiang."

"Three years later, Zheng Tan, the leader of the Li Party, became prime minister, Li Deyu was appointed as the governor of western Zhejiang, and Li Shen was appointed as the governor of Henan."

"In June of the same year, Li Shen was appointed as the acting minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the governor of Bianzhou, the governor of Xuanwu, and the governor of Songhao Bianying."

"In the second year of Kaicheng, there was drought in summer and autumn, and a large number of locusts appeared."

"There was no disaster in the Bian and Song regions under Li Shen's jurisdiction, so Emperor Jingzong issued an edict to commend Li Shen."

"When Li Shen was 67 years old, he compiled his own collection of poems titled "Recalling Past Travels", using various genres to recount his experiences and travels throughout his life."

"It expresses nostalgia and a sense of prosperity and decline, and many of them are landscape paintings recalling the travels around the world."

"Not long after, Li Shen was appointed as the acting minister of war."

"After Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, Li Shen was appointed as the Right Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and the Chief Clerk of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office, in charge of the affairs of the Huainan Jiedushi."

"In the first year of Huichang, Li Shen was promoted from the governor of Huainan to the position of prime minister, moved to Xijing and served as the assistant minister of the Ministry of War."

"In the fourth year of Huichang, Li Shen suffered from rheumatism and was unable to attend court."

"He submitted a petition to resign from the position of prime minister, and Emperor Wuzong agreed."

"In November of the same year, Li Shen was appointed as the governor of Huainan again."

"In the fifth year of Huichang, Wu Xiang, the county lieutenant of Jiangdu, was reported for accepting bribes and robbing women. Li Shen, the then governor of Huainan, sentenced Wu Xiang to death after interrogation."

"This case has caused a lot of controversy because the Wu family is a loyal supporter of the Niu Party, and some people think that Li Shen is using public affairs for personal gain."

"In the sixth year of Huichang, Li Shen died of illness at the age of 75. He was given the title of Taiwei and the posthumous title of Wensu."

"After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, Li Deyu lost power and was dismissed from his position as prime minister. Wu Xiang's brother Wu Runa went to the capital to appeal his injustice."

"It is said that when Li Shen was in Huainan, he relied on Li Deyu's power to unjustly kill his brother. Later, Li Shen was stripped of his official position three times, and his descendants were not allowed to serve in the government."

Ouyang Xiu: At that time, someone reported that Wu Xiang, the county magistrate of Jiangdu in Yangzhou, was corrupt and abused his power, and also oppressed the people and robbed women.

When Li Shen found out, he immediately arrested Wu Xiang and sentenced him to death.

It seems that Li Shen did a very good thing for the local people, but in fact things are far from that simple.

After all, a county lieutenant had died, and the matter could not be concealed and not reported to the court.

However, after reporting the matter to the court, the judge suspected that there was something fishy going on, so the court sent some people to investigate.

After investigation, it was found that Wu Xiang had indeed committed corruption, but the amount he embezzled was not much.

It is true that he forcibly married a woman, but according to the law he should not be sentenced to death.

However, Li Shen disregarded the law and directly executed Wu Xiang.

It turned out that the woman who was kidnapped was the local beauty Ayan.

Li Shen took a liking to her at that time and wanted to take her into his house as a concubine.

Unexpectedly, Wu Xiang got there first, which made Li Shen hold a grudge against him.

This is new hatred, and there is also old grudge.

Wu Xiang's uncle Wu Wuling had once offended Li Deyu's father Li Jifu, so the two families were enemies for generations.

Therefore, in order to please Li Deyu, he also relieved his own hatred.

Li Shen took advantage of the situation and killed Wu Xiang directly.

I don’t know if it was because he had suffered enough from poverty when he was young, but after becoming an official, Li Shen indulged in pleasure and had many wives and concubines at home.

Once, his good friend Liu Yuxi came to visit Li Shen and saw many beauties in Li Shen's mansion.

He immediately recited a poem, expressing his heartfelt feelings for one of the beauties.

Seeing that his good friend was interested in his concubine, Li Shen thought that he didn't need another one, so he generously gave the girl that Liu Yuxi liked to him.

In his later years, Li Shen loved eating chicken tongues, but a chicken has only one tongue, which was obviously not enough.

Therefore, whenever Li Shen felt hungry, he would send people to buy more than 300 live chickens, and after buying the chickens, he would pull out their tongues and cook them.

The rest of the parts were all thrown away, the level of extravagance and waste was staggering.

It is hard to imagine that Li Shen, who once wrote that every grain of rice is hard-earned, would eventually become such an extravagant person.

Some people lament that Li Shen's personality changed so drastically from a poet who sympathized with farmers to a corrupt official who brought disaster to the people. But in fact, this is not a contradiction.

Li Shen may have sympathized with the plight of the lower-class peasants when he wrote "Song of Pity the Peasants", but from beginning to end he only wanted to change his own fate.

Therefore, after he turned his life around, he naturally wanted to enjoy himself. He did not care about the circumstances and fate of others. (End of this chapter)