Shi Hai Chen Fan -- Yang Guifei Ma Wei After Historical Puzzle Unraveled

Author: Wang Huaisheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-18
Features: The works of the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai are renowned for their complexity and numerous spurious compositions, leaving great confusion for later generations. This book begins by examining two of Li Bai's most famous lyrics—Pusizhan (The Lute) and Yiqin'e (Song of Qin)—gradually unveiling the layers of mystery surrounding Li Bai's works and thereby resolving a series of major enigmas in the history of Chinese literature:
1. Hidden within Li Taibai's poems are a large number of works attributed to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei, many of which were composed after the Mawei Incident. These works primarily include:
a. Most of Li Bai's lyrics;
b. Songs of Joy in the Palace, To the Distant, Longing, and others.
2. The true origins of Bai Juyi and Chen Hong's The Longing, Li Shangyin's Mawei·Aby Sea, I Hear the Nine States Still Exist, and other works have been revealed. They were not mere embellishments on folk legends but were indeed based on factual evidence.
3. The true story behind Li Shangyin's Untitled Poem has been uncovered, with a significant portion of it rooted in the tragic love story of Li Bai and Yang Guifei after the Mawei Incident. Early evidence includes Brocade Zither, Green City, and Untitled·Parting is Hard to Meet, Parting is Harder Still.
4. The mystery surrounding Yang Guifei's fate after the Mawei Incident has been solved, with key points being:
a. Yang Guifei did not die in the Mawei Incident. After being rescued by palace attendants, she fled to the areas of modern-day Hubei and Hunan, and reconnected with Emperor Xuanzong in the first year of the Qianyuan era.
b. In July of the second year of the Qianyuan era, Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei had a secret meeting on an island in the Han River outside Xiangyang, where they made the vow, "In heaven, may we be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, may we be branches intertwined."
c. The meeting on the Han River island triggered the Xiangyang Rebellion of Kang Chu Yuan in August of the same year, leading Yang Guifei to decide to flee to Japan. Emperor Xuanzong sent the Japanese envoy Kōan (Abeno Nakamaro) to serve as the Protector General of Annan as a cover for Yang Guifei's escape. Kōan collaborated with the Japanese embassy to Japan, enabling Yang Guifei to cross the East China Sea to Japan in the third month of the first year of the Shangyuan era.
d. Yang Guifei's escape attempt led to the Xiangyang Rebellion of Zhang Weijin in April of the same year, exposing the secret activities of Emperor Xuanzong and others. This ultimately resulted in the Xiangyang Palace Incident in July of the Shangyuan era, where Emperor Shaozong confined Emperor Xuanzong to the Western Palace and punished Gao Lishi, Chen Xuanli, and Wei Lun, among others.
e. After learning the truth, Emperor Shaozong deeply regretted his actions, apologized to his father, and sent messengers to Japan to bring Yang Guifei back. However, Yang Guifei refused to return, leading to the eternal sorrow that has been lamented through the ages.
This discovery will force significant revisions to the history of Chinese literature and the Tang Dynasty.