(937年8月15日～978年8月13日)

姓：	李
名：	从嘉
字：	重光
网笔号：	李后主; 钟隐; 锺山隐士; 锺锋隠者; 白莲居士; 莲峰居士
开端 终结 在位 961年 975年  诗词： 《相见欢 Huan meet》   《浪淘沙 Waves》   《虞美人》   《浣溪沙 Huan Xisha》   《玉楼春 Yu Louchun》   《更漏子 change loophole》   《菩萨蛮 Song Form》   《又 and》   《又 and》   《喜迁莺 Xi Ying move》   更多诗歌... 李煜的南唐往事：原本只想平平凡凡过一生 阅读李煜 Li Yu在诗海的作品!!!

初名从嘉，字重光，号钟隐。李璟第六子，901年嗣位，史称南唐后主。即位后对宋称臣纳贡，以求偏安一方。生活上则穷奢极欲。 975年，宋军破金陵，他肉袒出降，虽封作违侯命，实已沦为阶下囚。太平兴国三年七月卒。据宋人王至《默记》，盖为宋太宗赐牵机药所毒毙。他精于书画，谙于音律，工于诗文，词尤为五代之冠。前期词多写宫廷享乐生活，风格柔靡；后期词反映亡国之痛，题材扩大，意境深远，感情真挚，语言清新，极富艺术感染力。后人将他与李璟的作品合辑为《南唐二主词》。

李煜（937年－978年），或称李后主，为南唐的末代君主（因为其父南唐中主李璟在位时，已向后周皇帝柴荣称臣，去了帝号），祖籍徐州。李煜原名从嘉，字重光，号钟山隐士、钟峰隐者、白莲居士、莲峰居士等。政治上毫无建树的李煜在南唐灭亡后被北宋俘虏，但是却成为了中国历史上首屈一指的词人，被誉为词中之帝，作品为千古流传。

[南唐词人与李煜]
　　李璟的儿子李煜（937—978）即李后主，字重光，是五代最有成就的词人，也是整
个词史上一流的大家。他洞晓音律，工书善画，尤擅于作词。李煜的性格本来不合适做
政治家，而南唐的军事力量也根本不能与宋相提并论，所以他二十五岁当了国君以后，
只能在年年向宋朝称臣纳贡的情况下，苟安于一隅之地。当他三十九岁时，南唐终于为
宋所灭，已经投降的李煜也被押到汴京，开始了半是俘虏、半是寓公的生活，过了两年
多被宋太宗用毒药杀死。
　　李煜的前半生，尽管当的是宋朝附属国的儿皇帝，但毕竟是富庶的南唐的一国之主，
生活相当豪华奢侈。他的词作的题材范围，也没有超出花间词人、冯延巳及其父李璟，
或写宫廷生活及歌舞宴饮，如《玉楼春》（“晚妆初了明肌雪”）、《浣溪沙》（“红
日已高三丈透”），或是沿袭传统题材写男女恋情，如《一斛珠》（“晓妆初过”）、
《菩萨蛮》（“花明月暗笼轻雾”），或写离愁别恨，如《采桑子》（“庭前春逐红英
尽”）、《清平乐》（“别来春半”）等等；但当他成了亡国之君，被拘于汴京之后，
“日夕只以眼泪洗面”（王铚《默记》），亡国的悔恨，对江南故国的思念，伴着孤寂、
悲凉的心境，使他的词转向了写思乡之情、亡国之恨，像《望江梅》（“闲梦远”）、
《望江南》（“多少恨”）、《子夜歌》（“人生愁恨何能免”）以及著名的《虞美人》
（“春花秋月何时了”）、《浪淘沙》（“帘外雨潺潺”）等。
　　在李煜之前，冯延巳、李璟等人已经开始采用一些比较清新的文人语言及比较流畅
的形式结构来写抒情的词了，这使南唐词风与西蜀词风有了一些差异。李煜早期的词虽
说没有太大的创新，一些花间词人常用的秾丽光鲜的辞语典故也每每出现在他的作品中，
但他还是沿着其前辈的方向前进了一步，更多地表现了一种与晚唐及西蜀花间词不同的
风格。花间词的意象细密堆砌，意绪隐约，在镂金错玉、五光十色中呈现一种云遮雾罩、
曲折回环的效果，但由于它注重的是视觉意象的外在描摹，而且跳跃性太大，所以每每
显得零乱纷散，而李煜的词则流动清晰。他多以描述对象的心理活动、感情起伏为主线，
把视觉意象贯穿在情绪主线之中一一呈露，意象与意蕴结合得十分自然。我们以花间词
人牛峤的《菩萨蛮》与他的《菩萨蛮》相比，牛词作：
　　玉楼冰簟鸳鸯锦，粉融香汗流山枕。帘外辘轳声，敛眉含笑惊。柳阴烟漠漠，低鬓
蝉钗落。须作一生拼，尽君今日欢。
　　李词作：
　　花明月暗笼轻雾，今宵好向郎边去。刬袜步香阶，手提金缕鞋。画堂南畔见，一向
偎人颤。奴为出来难，教君恣意怜。
　　两首词写的都是男女幽会。牛词用语显然秾丽香艳，李词显然自然清新；牛词中，
玉楼、冰簟、鸳鸯锦、粉、汗、枕、辘轳、柳阴、鬓、钗，意象重叠稠密，令人目不暇
给，但相当多的是一种外在点缀，而李词则完全是一个连贯的动态过程，就连首句，也
是为了构成一种气氛来烘托幽会之“幽”，而后面每一个细节，都通过女子偷跑出来的
过程描写来形象地表现少女幽会时又惊又喜、向心上人撒娇的微妙情感。字面虽仍显得
华丽，却没有妨碍抒情。再以花间词人魏承班《渔歌子》与李煜的《清平乐》比较，魏
词如下：
　　柳如眉，云似发，鲛绡雾縠笼春雪。梦魂惊，钟漏歇，窗外晓莺残月。几多情，无
处说，落花飞絮清明节。少年郎，容易别，一去音书断绝。
　　李煜词如下：
　　别来春半，触目柔肠断。砌下落梅如雪乱，拂了一身还满。雁来音信无凭，路遥归
梦难成，离恨恰如春草，更行更远还生。
　　两首写的都是女子春日里思念远人的离愁别恨。魏词上阕除了“梦魂惊”外，用了
许多词藻来描摹女子的容貌与她所处的环境，而与主题联系并不紧密；李词上阕则一下
子便揭出“别”这一主题，而在写外部环境时，实际上是在写人的心理：
　　相思之情尤如雪花般飞舞的梅瓣，令人烦乱惆怅，这烦乱惆怅又如落花拂了又满似
地绵绵不绝。下阕，魏词显得有些粗率，而李词则很细腻；魏词下阕与上阙构不成一个
意脉连贯的完整氛围，而李词下阕则紧接上阕，末两句以春草无际来形容离恨不绝如缕
而难以排解，以“更行更远还生”与上阕“拂了一身还满”相呼应，烘托出一腔绵绵愁
绪。因而，李煜的词在语言、意象上显得清新，在结构、意脉上显得完整连贯，不仅注
重外在视觉感受而且更注重内在心理描述，不仅注重静态物体而且更注重动态过程，因
此抒情内涵更丰富，表现力更强。
　　代表李煜最高成就的是他的后期词，主要是写亡国的愁苦、悔恨和绝望。据说下面
这首《破阵子》写于他亡国之时：
　　四十年来家国，三千里地山河。凤阁龙楼连霄汉，玉树琼枝作烟萝，几曾识干戈？
一旦归为臣虏，沈腰潘鬓消磨，最是仓皇辞庙日，教坊犹奏别离歌，垂泪对宫娥。
　　显然这首词有软弱的儿皇帝的可怜相，但这是他从一国之君一下子变为阶下囚时最
真诚的自白了。他过去写情人幽会，写男女离愁，写旷逸情致，其实不全是他作为国君
的真实生活内容，有许多是通过揣摩他人的心理写出来的，毕竟隔了一层，有时不免有
点做作。而亡国之后的愁苦、悔恨、绝望，则是他自己亲身的体验，真情的流露，因此，
便更真挚，更深切。无论是《相见欢》中抒写的时光倏忽、人生长恨，还是《乌夜啼》
中所叹息的往事成空如一梦；无论是《浪淘沙》中“一任珠帘闲不卷”的满怀愁绪，还
是另一首同调中的“梦里不知身是客”的伤感，都源自他那“一江春水向东流”似的内
心感情，因而具有感人的力量。
　　出自真情的词并不需要过多的修饰，何况李煜周围此时也没有了那金镶玉砌的凤阁
龙楼、肌雪肤明的春殿嫔娥了，因此，李煜后期词便完全脱去了秾丽色彩与脂粉气味，
也减少了对于感情直接显露的阻碍，使胸中的真情一泄而出，如《相见欢》：
　　林花谢了春红，太匆匆，无奈朝来寒雨晚来风。
　　胭脂泪，留人醉，几时重？自是人生长恨水长东。
　　上阕虽写景，但这大自然的岁华变迁无一不是抒写人生的岁华变迁，朝雨晚风苦苦
相逼，摧残着春意，也销磨人的青春；
　　下阕写人，而人也与自然一样，在风风雨雨中韶华消尽，所以末句说“人生长恨水
长东”。没有一点秾丽香艳的修饰，没有一点镶金嵌玉的词藻，完全是直率地倾吐情怀。
并不是说真情的抒发便不需要语言的锤炼和修辞的琢磨，但语言上过分的雕琢、过分的
罗列、过分的修饰会造成读者注意力的分散，使读者注意外在的描摹而减弱了阅读时凝
心观照中的移情体验，因此，写情的词很忌讳过分艳丽的词藻与过分密集的意象。李煜
的词在这一点上把握得极好，他多采用白描手法，自然流畅地表达某种情思，如著名的
《虞美人》：
　　春花秋月何时了，往事知多少？小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中。雕阑玉砌
依然在，只是朱颜改，问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流。
　　语言是清晰的，意境是透明的，它不依靠外在的描摹来烘托气氛，而是以自己的心
境去观照事物、想象事物，使一切都笼罩在他的故国之思中。这样，词中所用的意象就
在“情”的贯穿下，构成了和谐完整的意境。再看另一首著名的《浪淘沙》：
　　帘外用潺潺，春意阑珊。罗衾不耐五更寒，梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢。独自莫凭
栏，无限江山，别时容易见时难。流水落花春去也，天上人间。
　　这首词的层次比上两首丰富一些，变化也多一些。先写帘外雨，春意渐去，渲染出
一种令人怅惘的氛围；再写睡，五更时寒意侵人，静谧而凄清，梦醒忆梦，梦里唤起的
往日的欢娱恰与醒后孤寂相映，梦中贪欢心境恰与醒时悔恨痛苦心境相对，表现出一种
悔恨的复杂情绪。下阕拓开，写凭栏远眺，与梦境相配合，写自己亡国之恨，最后以无
可奈何的一声长叹收束，又与上阕开头相呼应，写出一种涵意复杂的“春去也”的悲哀。
这首词也完全是以主体的心理活动的呈露来贯穿意象，即以情御景的，结构回环往复，
首尾呼应，给人以清晰完整而流动的感觉。
　　应该说，李煜前后期词在艺术上是有一致之处的，即它以动态的呈露为词的意脉，
因而使词显得流畅连贯；它以抒情为词的目的，因而词中不多用辞藻；它的意象选择得
很精心，常能与情感表现融为一体；它的结构设计也很巧妙，能使词的感情基调鲜明突
出。但是，前期词题材比较陈旧，语言上受唐五代词人影响较多，而且有些并非出自切
身体验，所以不易深入。后期词则发自内心，写的是从未有人写过的作为亡国君主的故
国之思，而词中流露的，又主要是追惜年华、感慨人事变迁无情、哀叹命运等容易引起
普通人共鸣的情绪，因此艺术感染力大大加强；更由于他采用了唐五代词人少用的白描
手法，以清新的语言写情，因而形成了他独特的风格。
（中国文学史，章培恒 骆玉明，youth扫校）

Li Yu (Chinese: 李煜; c. 937 – 15 August 978), before 961 known as Li Congjia (李從嘉), also known as Li Houzhu (李後主; literally "Last Ruler Li" or "Last Lord Li"), was the third ruler of the Southern Tang state during imperial China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned from 961 until 976, when he was captured by the invading Song dynasty armies which annexed his kingdom. He died by poison on orders of Emperor Taizong of Song after 2 years essentially as an exiled prisoner.

Although an incompetent ruler, he was a representative lyric poet during his era, even to the extent of having been called the "first true master" of the ci form.

Early life

In the same Chinese year Li Congjia was born, his grandfather Xu Zhigao, also known as Xu Gao (Li Bian) founded the state Qi (齊), renaming it Tang (known as the Southern Tang) 2 years later. When Li Congjia was 6, his father Li Jing became the next Southern Tang emperor. With Li Jing naming his younger brother Li Jingsui his heir apparent, his sixth eldest son Li Congjia seemed unlikely to ever succeed the throne. However, many of Li Congjia's brothers died very young, and after the death of the second eldest brother Li Hongmao (李弘茂) in 951, Li Congjia all of a sudden found himself right behind Li Hongji — the eldest brother — and uncle Li Jingsui in the succession line.

Li Hongji, a withdrawn and troubled young man, resented his crown prince uncle, whom he saw as a political enemy standing in his way. He also disliked his younger brother Li Congjia, even though they shared the same biological mother, Empress Zhong. Fearing the possible results of this family enmity, Li Congjia tried hard to be inconspicuous and focused on the arts, including poetry, painting and music. He loved reading, a passion encouraged by his father, also an acclaimed poet. At the age of 17, Li Congjia married Zhou Ehuang, chancellor Zhou Zong's daughter and a year his senior. Lady Zhou was not only highly educated but also multi-talented in music and the arts and the young couple enjoyed a very intimate relationship.

Accession to the throne

In 955, a year after Li Congjia's marriage, Southern Tang was invaded by Later Zhou. The resistance war did not end until spring 958, after Li Jing ceded all prefectures north of the Yangtze River to his powerful northern neighbor. Li Jing also relinquished all imperial trappings, degrading his own title from emperor to king (國主). The national humiliation was soon followed by familial tragedy: later that year Li Hongji poisoned uncle Li Jingsui to death, which was followed by his own death a few months later, allegedly hastened by many encounters with Li Jingsui's vengeful ghost.

Not long after Li Hongji's death in 959, Li Congjia was given the post of royal secretary (尚書令) so that he could familiarize himself of governmental affairs. However, despite being the king's eldest surviving son, a few ministers considered him too dissolute and weak for the crown prince position, including Zhong Mo, who pleaded to have Li Congjia's younger brother Li Congshan chosen instead. Li Jing found Zhong's suggestion offensive and demoted him.

Suffering from poor health, Li Jing decided to transfer all responsibilities to his successor. He named Li Congjia the crown prince in spring 961 to take over in the capital Jinling (金陵; modern Nanjing, Jiangsu) while he retired to the southern city of Hongzhou (洪州; modern Nanchang, Jiangxi). A few months later he died, and Li Congjia officially succeeded the throne, not without a last-second effort by Li Congshan to challenge him. By then Zhong Mo had also died, so Li Congshan asked chancellor Xu You to bring Li Jing's last will to him. Xu refused and confided in Li Congjia of Li Congshan's intentions. Li Congjia — changing his name to Li Yu — did not punish his younger brother other than a slight demotion.

As Southern Tang ruler

Appeasing the Song Dynasty

A year before Li Yu ascended the throne, Southern Tang's nominal overlord Later Zhou had been replaced by the Song dynasty established by former Later Zhou general Zhao Kuangyin, who had earlier participated in several campaigns against Southern Tang. Knowing the limit of Southern Tang's military strength and trying hard to be subservient to the northern court, Li Yu immediately sent a high official Feng Yanlu with a letter — whose language was of extreme humility — to inform Song of his succession. Things got to a rocky start: during his accession to the throne Li Yu built a golden rooster, a symbol of imperial power, the news of which infuriated Zhao Kuangyin. In the end, the Southern Tang ambassador in the Song capital of Bianliang (汴梁; modern Kaifeng, Henan) had to give the explanation that the golden rooster was actually a "weird bird" to satisfy the Song emperor.

Such an embarrassing relationship would define Li's entire reign, as tribute payments, both regular and irregular, drained the Southern Tang treasury. Essentially Li was ready to fulfill Emperor Taizu of Song's every demand except go to Bianliang himself. In 963, Li Congshan who accompanied a tributary mission was held hostage in Bianliang and had to write letters on behalf of the Song emperor asking his elder brother also join him at the Song court. Li Yu, naturally, did not heed the request.

Successive deaths in the family

Li Yu remained close to his musically gifted wife Zhou Ehuang — now Queen Zhou — so close that he sometimes canceled government meetings to enjoy her performances. The absences continued until a censor (監察御史) spoke out against it.

In around 964, the second of the couple's 2 sons, a 3-year-old still called by his milk name Ruibao (瑞保), died unexpectedly. Li would mourn his son by himself so as not to sadden his wife more than necessary, but Queen Zhou was completely devastated and quickly deteriorated in health. During her illness, Li attended her so devotedly that he did not disrobe for days. When the queen finally succumbed to illness, Li mourned so bitterly until "his bones stuck out and he could stand up only with the aid of a staff." In addition to several grieving poems, he chiseled the roughly 2000 characters of his "Dirge for the Zhaohui Queen Zhou" (昭惠周后誄) — "Zhaohui" being her posthumous name — to her headstone himself. Part of the dirge read (as translated by Daniel Bryant):

孰謂逝者		Who is it says, of those departed,
荏苒彌疏		they grow more remote as times goes by?
我思姝子		I long for her, that beautiful lady,
永念猶初		eternally remembering, just as at first.
愛而不見		"I love her but I cannot see her";
我心毀如		my heart seems to blaze and burn.
寒暑斯疚		With chills and fever I am afflicted,
吾寧禦諸		can I ever overcome this?

While Li Yu was almost certainly sincere in his love for his wife, during her last days he also engaged in a secret sexual relationship with Queen Zhou the Younger, the queen's younger sister, who was only around 14 at that time. Worst of all, the queen discovered the "affair" which probably hastened her demise and multiplied Li Yu's regret. A few months later, in late 965, disaster stroke again: Queen Dowager Zhong died after several months of attentive care-taking by Li. The subsequent mourning period delayed Li's marriage to the younger Lady Zhou until 968.

Deaths of Lin Renzhao and Pan You

After conquering Jingnan, the Hunan region and Later Shu, the Song Dynasty army set off to invade Southern Han in 971, Southern Tang's southwestern neighbor. Lin Renzhao, the Southern Tang military governor of Zhenhai Command (鎮海軍) centering in Wuchang (in modern Hubei), believed the opportunity golden to attack the Song cities around Yangzhou (in modern Jiangsu) as the main Song army would be a long distance away and already severely fatigued. Li Yu immediately rejected Lin's request: "Stop the nonsense talks, (stop) destroying (our) country!"

What Li was perhaps unaware was a year before, the Song military had gotten hold of an important chart with detailed measurements of Yangtze River crossing points, provided by a Southern Tang defector named Fan Ruoshui. After the conquest of Southern Han, their next step was to eliminate Lin Renzhao. In 974, Emperor Taizu of Song got hold of a Lin portrait through agents working in Southern Tang, and Li Congshan, the hostage kept in Bianliang, was then made to believe that Lin's loyalty was with Song. When Li Yu was told of this, he without a thorough investigation secretly poisoned Lin to death. Chancellor Chen Qiao angrily reacted to Lin's death: "Seeing loyal ministers killed, I don't know where I will die!".

Fall of Southern Tang

Not known for his governing skill, Houzhu was nevertheless a highly accomplished scholar, he allowed himself indulgence with artistic and literature pursuits, with little regard to the strong Song Kingdom that was eying its weaker neighbor. In 971, Houzhu dropped the name of Tang from its Kingdom's name, in a desperate move to please the mighty Emperor Taizu of Song.

Of the many other kingdoms surrounding the Southern Tang, only Wuyue to the east had yet to fall. The Southern Tang's turn came in 974, when, after several refusals to summons to the Song court, on the excuse of illness, Song dynasty armies invaded. After a year long siege of the Southern Tang capital, modern Nanjing, Li Houzhu surrendered, in 975; and, he and his family were taken as captives to the Song capital at present-day Kaifeng. In a later poem, Li wrote about the shame and regret he had on the day he was taken away from Jinling (as translated by Hsiung Ting):

四十年來家國		For forty years my country and my home —
三千里地山河		Three thousand li of mountains and rivers.
鳳閣龍樓連霄漢		The Phoenix Pavilion and Dragon Tower reaching up to the Milky Way,
玉樹瓊枝作烟蘿		Jade trees and jasper branches forming a cloudy net —
幾曾識干戈		Not once did I touch sword or spear!
一旦歸為臣虜		Suddenly I became a captive slave.
沈腰潘鬢銷磨		Frail my waist, gray my temples, grinding away.
最是倉皇辭廟日		Never shall I forget the day when I bade hasty farewell at the ancestral temple.
教坊猶奏別離歌		The court musicians played the farewell songs,
揮淚對宮娥		My tears streamed as I gazed at the court maidens.

Devotion to the arts

Although, Li Yu indeed was a great exponent and developer of the Ci poetry form, which form sometimes or often seems to characterize poetry of the Song Dynasty, there is also some difficulty in categorizing him as a Song poet: the Southern Tang state is more of a continuation of Tang than a precursor on the Song side of the divide of the history of the Tang-Song transition, also known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Li Yu represents both a continuation of the Tang poetry tradition, as well as representing the Ci poetic style which is so especially associated with the poetry of Song.

Li Houzhu devoted much of his time to pleasure-making and literature, and this is reflected in his early poems. A second phase of Li's ci poems seems to have been the development of an even sadder style after the death of his wife, in 964. His best-known, and saddest, poems were composed during the years of his captivity, after he formally abdicated his reign to the Song, in 975. He was created the Marquess of Wei Ming (Chinese: 違命侯; literally, the Marquess of Disobeyed Edicts), a token title only: actually, he was a prisoner, though with the outward accoutrements of a prince. Li's works from this period dwell on his regret for the lost kingdom and the pleasures it had brought him.

He developed the ci by broadening its scope from love to history and philosophy, particularly in his later works. He also introduced the two stanza form, and made great use of contrasts between longer lines of nine characters and shorter ones of three and five. Only 45 of his ci poems survive, thirty of which have been verified to be his authentic works, the other of which are possibly composed by other writers: also, seventeen shi style poems remain to his credit. His story remains very popular in many Cantonese operas.

Death

He was poisoned by the Song emperor Taizong in 978, after he had written a poem that, in a veiled manner, lamented the destruction of his empire and the rape of his second wife Empress Zhou the Younger by the Song emperor. After his death, he was posthumously created the Prince of Wu (吳王).

Writing

Ci poetry

The roughly 40 (some of which incomplete owing to damaged manuscripts) ci poems possibly written by Li Yu are summarized in the table below. The ci as a poetic form follows set patterns or tunes (詞牌).

A few poems have been set to music in modern times, most notably the 3 songs in superstar Teresa Teng's 1983 album Light Exquisite Feelings. Some of the songs are mentioned below.

Tune	First line	Notes
Cǎi Sāng Zǐ (采桑子)	Lù Lú Jīn Jǐng Wú Tóng Wǎn (轆轤金井梧桐晚)
	Tíng Qián Chūn Zhú Hóng Yīng Jìn (庭前春逐紅英盡)
Cháng Xiāng Sī (長相思)	Yún Yī Guā (雲一緺)
Dǎo Liàn Zǐ Ling (搗練子令)	Shēn Yuàn Jìng (深院靜)
Dié Liàn Huā (蝶戀花)	Yáo Yè Tíng Gāo Xián Xìn Bù (遙夜亭臯閑信步)
Huàn Xī Shā (浣溪沙)	Hóng Rì Yǐ Gāo Sān Zhàng Tòu (紅日已高三丈透)
Làng Táo Shā (浪淘沙)	Lián Wài Yǔ Chán Chán (簾外雨潺潺)	Tune written as Làng Táo Shā Lìng (浪淘沙令)
	Wǎng Shì Zhǐ Kān Āi (往事只堪哀)
Lín Jiāng Xiān (臨江仙)	Qín Lóu Bù Jiàn Chuī Xiāo Nǚ (秦樓不見吹簫女)	Tune written as Xiè Xīn Ēn (謝新恩) Missing 1 character in the sixth line
	Yīng Táo Luò Jìn Chūn Guī Qù (櫻桃落盡春歸去)	Authenticity of the last 3 lines questioned
Liǔ Zhī (柳枝)	Fēng Qíng Jiàn Lǎo Jiàn Chūn Xiū (風情漸老見春羞)
Pò Zhèn Zǐ (破陣子)	Sì Shí Nián Lái Jiā Guó (四十年來家國)	Shiao Lih-ju sang it in Mandarin
Pú Sà Mán (菩薩蠻)	Huā Míng Yuè Àn Lóng Qīng Wù (花明月暗籠輕霧)
	Péng Lái Yuàn Bì Tiān Tái Nǚ (蓬萊院閉天台女)
	Rén Shēng Chóu Hèn Hé Néng Miǎn (人生愁恨何能免)	Tune written as Zǐ Yè Gē (子夜歌)
	Tóng Huáng Yùn Cuì Qiāng Hán Zhú (銅簧韻脆鏘寒竹)
	Xún Chūn Xū Shì Xiān Chūn Zǎo (尋春須是先春早)	Tune written as Zǐ Yè Gē (子夜歌)
Qīng Píng Yuè (清平樂)	Bié Lái Chūn Bàn (別來春半)
Ruǎn Láng Guī (阮郎歸)	Dōng Fēng Chuī Shuǐ Rì Xián Shān (東風吹水日銜山)	Possibly by Feng Yansi
Sān Tái Lìng (三臺令)	Bù Mèi Juàn Cháng Gèng (不寐倦長更)	Authorship questioned
Wàng Jiāng Nán (望江南)	Duō Shǎo Hèn (多少恨)
	Duō Shǎo Lèi (多少淚)
	Xián Mèng Yuǎn (閑夢遠) 2nd line: Nán Guó Zhèng Fāng Chūn (南國正芳春)	Tune written as Wàng Jiāng Méi (望江梅)
	Xián Mèng Yuǎn (閑夢遠) 2nd line: Nán Guó Zhèng Qīng Qiū (南國正清秋)
Wū Yè Tí (烏夜啼)	Zuó Yè Fēng Jiān Yǔ (昨夜風兼雨)
Xǐ Qiān Yīng (喜遷鶯)	Xiǎo Yuè Zhuì (曉月墜)
Xiāng Jiàn Huān (相見歡)	Lín Huā Xiè Liǎo Chūn Hóng (林花謝了春紅)	Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin
	Wú Yán Dú Shàng Xī Lóu (無言獨上西樓)	Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin Shiao Lih-ju sang it in Mandarin
Xiè Xīn Ēn (謝新恩)	Jīn Chuāng Lì Kùn Qǐ Huán Yōng (金窗力困起還慵)	Missing the rest of the poem
	Rǎn Rǎn Qiū Guāng Liú Bù Zhù (冉冉秋光留不住)	Possibly missing lines and/or characters
	Tíng Kōng Kè Sàn Rén Guī Hòu (庭空客散人歸後)
	Yīng Huā Luò Jìn Chūn Jiāng Kùn (櫻花落盡春將困)	Missing 2 lines
	Yīng Huā Luò Jìn Jiē Qián Yuè (櫻花落盡階前月)
Yī Hú Zhū (一斛珠)	Wǎn Zhuāng Chū Guò (晚妝初過)
Yú Fù (漁父)	Làng Huā Yǒu Yì Qiān Chóng Xuě (浪花有意千重雪)
	Yī Zhào Chūn Fēng Yī Yè Zhōu (一棹春風一葉舟)
Yù Lóu Chūn (玉樓春)	Wǎn Zhuāng Chū Liǎo Míng Jī Xuě (晚妝初了明肌雪)	Chang Chen sang it in Mandarin
Yú Měi Rén (虞美人)	Chūn Huā Qiū Yuè Hé Shí Liǎo (春花秋月何時了)	Teresa Teng sang it in Mandarin Chan Ho Tak sang it in Cantonese Huang Yee-ling and others sang it in Taiwanese Huang Fei sang it in Taiwanese
	Fēng Huí Xiǎo Yuàn Tíng Wú Lǜ (風回小院庭蕪綠)

Poetry Examples

Poems like these are often invoked in later periods of strife and confusion by literary figures.

"Western Tower" (獨上西樓)

One of Li Yu's most famous poems, popularly known as "Alone Up the Western Tower" (獨上西樓), was written after his capture. As translated by Chan Hong-mo: This was also rendered into a song by Teresa Teng, one of the most popular Asian singers ever. Teresa Teng 1983: 獨上西樓

無言獨上西樓		Alone to silence, up the western tower, I myself bestow.
月如鉤		Like silver curtain hook, so does the moon glow.
寂寞梧桐		The fallen leaves of one forsaken parasol
深院鎖清秋		Make deeper still the limpid autumn locked up in the court below.
剪不斷		Try cutting it, it is still profuse –
理還亂		More minding will but more confuse –
是離愁		Ah, parting's such enduring sorrow!
別有一番滋味在心頭		It leaves behind a very special taste the heart alone could know.

<<望江南>> "Jiangnan Remembrance" (second stanza)

多少恨，Such hatred,

昨夜梦魂中。Last night I departed in my dream.

还似旧时游上苑，To enjoy the park as of yore,

车如流水马如龙。The carriages flow like water and the horses like dragon.

花月正春风。 Blossoms and the moon in the spring breeze

Shi poetry

Li Yu's poems in the form of shi include:

• "Bìng Qǐ Tí Shān Shě Bì" (病起題山舍壁; "Getting up while Ill: Written Upon the Wall of My Mountain Lodge")
• "Bìng Zhōng Gǎn Huái" (病中感懷; "Feelings while Ill")
• "Bìng Zhōng Shū Shì" (病中書事; "Written while Ill")
• "Dào Shī" (悼詩; "Poem of Mourning")
• "Dù Zhōng Jiāng Wàng Shí Chéng Qì Xià" (渡中江望石城泣下; "Gazing at Stone City from Mid-river and Weeping")
• "Gǎn Huái" (感懷; "My Feelings") — 2 poems
• "Jiǔ Yuè Shí Rì Ǒu Shū" (九月十日偶書; "Jotted Down on the Tenth Day of the Ninth Month")
• "Méi Huā" (梅花; "Plum Blossoms") — 2 poems
• "Qiū Yīng" (秋鶯; "Autumn Warbler")
• "Shū Líng Yán Shǒu Jīn" (書靈筵手巾; "Written on the Napkin for a Sacrificial Banquet")
• "Shū Pí Pá Bèi" (書琵琶背; "Written on the Back of a Pipa")
• "Sòng Dèng Wáng Èr Shí Dì Cóng Yì Mù Xuān Chéng" (送鄧王二十弟從益牧宣城; "On Saying Farewell to My Younger Brother Chongyi, the Prince of Deng, Who is Going Away to Govern Xuancheng") — including a long letter
• "Tí jīn lóu zi hòu" (題金樓子後; "Written at the end of the Jinlouzi") — including a preface
• "Wǎn Chí"(輓辭; "Poem of Mourning") — 2 poems

"To the Tune of Liǔ Zhī" mentioned in the ci section may also be classified as a shi.

Prose writing

Though miscellaneous in character, Li Yu's surviving prose writings also demonstrated his poetic genius. For example, "Dirge for the Zhaohui Queen Zhou" is rhymed and almost entirely in regular four-character metre, resembling the dominant fu form a millennium before.

Calligraphy

Li Yu's calligraphy style has been dubbed "golden inlaid dagger" (金錯刀) for its perceived force and clarity. As one Song Dynasty writer noted: "The large characters are like split bamboo, the small ones like clusters of needles; altogether unlike anything done with a brush!"

Television series

Three independent television series focused on the complex relationships between Li Yu (Li Houzhu), Emperor Taizu of Song (Zhao Kuangyin) and the various women in their lives. They are:

• The Sword and the Song (絕代雙雄), a 1986 Singaporean series starring Li Wenhai as Li Yu.
• Love, Sword, Mountain & River (情劍山河), a 1996 Taiwanese series starring Chin Feng as Li Yu.
• Li Houzhu and Zhao Kuangyin (李後主與趙匡胤), a 2006 Chinese series starring Nicky Wu as Li Yu.

See also

• Song poetry
• Tang poetry

Notes and references

Sources

Primary sources

• (in Chinese) Wu Renchen (1669). Shiguo Chunqiu (十國春秋) [Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms].
• (in Chinese) Toqto'a; et al., eds. (1345). Song Shi (宋史) [History of Song].
• (in Chinese) Ouyang Xiu (1073). Wudai Shiji (五代史記) [Historical Records of the Five Dynasties].
• (in Chinese) Li Tao (1183). Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian (續資治通鑑長編) [Extended Continuation to Zizhi Tongjian].
• (in Chinese) Sima Guang (1086). Zizhi Tongjian (資治通鑑) [Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government].
• (in Chinese) Quan Tangshi (全唐詩) [Complete Tang Poems]. 1705.
• (in Chinese) Lu You (1184). Lushi Nantangshu (陆氏南唐书) [Book of Southern Tang by Lu You].

Secondary sources

• Birch, Cyril, ed. (1965). Anthology of Chinese Literature: from Early Times to the Fourteenth Century. New York: Grove Press. LCCN 65-14202.
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• Chan Hong-mo (2011). The Birth of China Seen Through Poetry. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 981-4335-33-9.
• Chang, Kang-i Sun (1980). The Evolution of Chinese Tz'u Poetry: From Late T'ang to Northern Sung. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-06425-3.
• Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction, The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. Baltimore: Penguin Books (1970).
• Dolling, Susan Wan (1997). A River in Springtime: My Story of Li Yu in Myth and Poetry. Austin, Tex.: Puck's Gold Projects. ISBN 0-9655255-0-3.
• Koh, Malcolm Ho Ping; Nair, Chandran (1975). A Translation: The Poems & Lyrics of Last Lord Lee. Singapore: Woodrose Publications.
• Kurz, Johannes L. (2011). China's Southern Tang Dynasty, 937–976. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-82861-5.
• Liu Yih-ling; Suhrawardy, Shahid (1948). Poems of Lee Hou-chu. Calcutta: Orient Longmans.
• Landau, Julie. 1994. Beyond spring tz'u poems of the Sung dynasty. Translations from the Asian classics. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-09678-X ISBN 978-0-231-09678-2
• Liu, Kezhang. 2006. An appreciation and English translation of one hundred Chines (i.e. Chinese) cis during the Tang and Song dynasties. Pittsburgh, Penn: RoseDog Books. ISBN 0-8059-9008-9 ISBN 978-0-8059-9008-9
• MacKintosh, Duncan and Alan Ayling. 1967. A collection of Chinese lyrics. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
• Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900–1800. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-44515-5.
• Nienhauser, William H, ed. (1986). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-32983-3.
• Pannam, Clifford L. (2000). The Poetry of Li Yu. Ormond, Victoria: Hybrid Publishers. ISBN 1-876462-10-8.
• Payne, Robert, ed. (1947). The White Pony: An Anthology of Chinese Poetry. New York: John Day Company.
• Sze, Arthur (2001). The Silk Dragon: Translations from the Chinese. Port Townsend, Wash.: Copper Canyon Press. ISBN 1-55659-153-5.
• Turner, John A. (1976). A Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. ISBN 0-295-95506-6.
• Wagner, Marsha L. (1984). The Lotus Boat: The Origins of Chinese Tz'u Poetry in T'ang Popular Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04276-0.
• Watson, Burton (1984). The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry, from Early Times to the Thirteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-05682-6.