Tang Menglai

Tang Menglai

Tang Menglai (1628-1698) was a writer in Qing Dynasty. He was born on December 8, 1628 (January 14, 1628) and was 72 years old. He was born in Nanpo village, Zichuan county (now Shandong Province) (now Lingzi Town, Zichuan District). Tang Menglai learned ancient prose from his father when he was young. He was highly valued by the local sages. Gao Heng called him "famous for his prose in the future.". He was elected in the fifth year of Shunzhi (1648) of the Qing Dynasty, became a Jinshi in the next year (1649), and was awarded the Imperial Academy's imperial examination in the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651). Hanlin Academy was ordered to translate "jade box" and "Xuandi Huashu" into Manchu. Tang Menglai thought that the two books were absurd, and they framed people and confused things. Shangshu asked for it, and then spared the loss of admonishment officials Zhang Xuan and Yinrun. In 1652, he asked for leave to go home to bury his relatives. Before he left, admonishment happened. The censor Zhang Xuan impeached Li Daochang, Wang Shiji and others, causing Li, Wang and others to lose their official positions, and he was also listed in the transfer. Zhang Xuan refused, but attacked Tang Menglai's "admonishment" to prevent the translation of Huashu. Tang Menglai was angry with an important member of the imperial court because he impeached him. He fell into the vortex of factional struggle and was dismissed. Zhan Shi, Li Chengxiang and others argued for Tang Menglai, but they had decided to leave, so they left. At that time, Tang Menglai was only 26 years old. After returning to the field, he expressed his love for the mountains and rivers, enjoyed his meditation, sang with Gao Heng and others, and traveled to the South twice. However, he was still concerned about the political affairs of the country. He was a statesman at that time, but he did not become an official again.

Anecdotes of characters

After Tang Menglai returned home from office, although he lived in the forest, he was unwilling to be lonely, concerned about the local political affairs and folk customs, and participated in some administrative activities. He read extensively and was diligent in writing. He wrote 24 volumes of zhihetang collection and 8 volumes of zhihetang Houji, and was recommended to compile Zichuan county annals and Jinan Prefecture annals. He attached great importance to righteousness and compassion for talents, and helped them to make progress. Under his instruction, most of them became celebrities Among them, Su Yuanxing, Tan Zaisheng, Yang Wanchun and others won the title; he also wrote a preface to strange tales from a lonely studio, and had frequent contacts and deep friendship with Pu Songling. In the early Qing Dynasty, with Tang Menglai as the core, a literati circle with extensive and close friends was formed in Zichuan. It can be said that Tang Menglai had a high status in the local area at that time, no matter in terms of personality, composition, or social reputation. Because of this, Tang Menglai was deified by others and gradually evolved into a great man revered by ghosts and gods.

Pu Songling's "mud ghost" and "Hail God" are two best examples of deifying Tang Menglai. In clay ghost, Tang Menglai's cousin takes him to play in the temple. Seeing that the clay ghost's eyes are glazed beads, he likes them very much, so he stealthily picks them out and carries them home. The mud ghost has a spirit. He doesn't dare to blame Tang Menglai, so he turns his anger on his cousin and makes him seriously ill. He scolds him on his behalf: "why do you pick my eyes?" Later, when his cousin's parents learned of the situation, they sincerely prayed, admitted their mistake, and devoutly put the glass beads into the eyes of the mud ghost, and his cousin recovered. Pu Songling commented at the end of the article: Tang Menglai is so bright, how can the mud ghost be so spiritual! Tang Menglai digs his eyes. Why does the mud ghost blame his cousin? This is because Tang menglaigui is an official of the Imperial Academy, and he is upright. From his letters to the Imperial Palace and his visits to the Imperial Palace, we can see that all the gods are afraid, not to mention the clay ghosts?

Hailstone God describes that in his later years, Tang Menglai went to Rizhao, Shandong Province to bury his good friend an. He went to visit Li zuoche temple, hailstone God. Tang Menglai saw a red fish floating to the surface of the water to eat in the ancestral temple pool. It was very interesting. He wanted to throw a small stone at it. He accompanied the Taoist priest to dissuade him. He said that the red fish in the pool were all dragon people, and damage to it would lead to hail disaster. Tang Menglai thought that the Taoist priest's words were absurd, and he really hit the red fish with a stone. Tang Menglai and his entourage left the ancestral hall and walked eastward. A dark cloud in the sky followed them, hailing, and it took about a mile to stop. Tang Menglai's younger brother caught up with him from behind. After telling him the truth, Tang Menglai said with a smile, "is this hail God doing something wrong?" There is a Guandi temple outside the village where an's family lives. A peddler is resting outside. Hail God asks him to send a message to tell an's family that they will accompany Tang Menglai to the funeral tomorrow. An's family was very afraid, so they prepared gifts and went to Li zuoche ancestral hall to pray. The an family solemnly told Tang Menglai that the hail God's words were the most effective. They must believe that if they don't pray devoutly, there may be hail tomorrow. Pu Songling said at the end of the article: Li zuoche, the hail God, is also a God with far-reaching strategies and achievements. At this time, he should not be arrogant and follow Tang Menglai and his party to hail warning. Tang Tai Shi's moral articles are admired by the immortals in the sky and the mortals in the world. In this case, the hail may be a request from the ghosts and gods to trust the gentleman.

Wang Peixun, an official from Zichuan, recorded a strange thing that happened when Tang Menglai studied Taoism in his memoirs of rural gardens during the reign of the Qing Dynasty. The article says that Tang Menglai devoted himself to learning that "one day he sat in silence, saw the viscera, and saw a wisp of white Qi rising from the Dantian. When I visited Henan in the same year, I had sent someone to wait for me. When he asked why he knew, he said, "I've known for a long time." Gai used his static skill to sit in silence all day long. After a long period of clarification, the gods were able to predict everything. From learning dozens of people, but teaching to sit. For a long time, immortals talk to each other in their ears, but no one else hears them. " When Tang Menglai was successful in learning Taoism, he was able to see his heart clearly and foresee his visit in the same year. In this regard, Wang Peixun explained that this is because Tang Menglai sat in silence for a long time. If he could communicate with the immortals, he could predict the future. He also said that his students could listen to the dialogue between the immortals and themselves when they sat in silence like him.

Surprisingly, the Tang clan genealogy of Zhongxin Township in Zichuan county also has a record of deifying Tang Menglai: "72, on June 17, I will go to shidianzizhuang and go out of the west gate of the city to see that Yiwei is very prosperous. I'm suspected to be Guixian since I came from the northwest. Because he ordered his servant to return to his home, he died of no illness. " That is to say, when Tang Menglai was 72 years old, on June 17 of the lunar calendar, he went to dianzi village to play. When he left the west gate of Zichuan City, he saw a large-scale honor guard coming from the northwest. He suspected that it was a trip of dignitaries. Tang Menglai immediately went home with his servant and soon passed away.

Although the above stories and records are absurd, they all reflect Tang Menglai's status in people's hearts. People respect Tang Menglai and miss him. If they want to express this feeling, they arrange many magical things on him. Over time, Tang Menglai is deified.

Main works

Tang Menglai's poems are not confined to the barriers, but are novel and self satisfied. His works written before the 16th year of Shunzhi (1659) have been "burned by the wine stove" (dengdaiji), and the extant works are mainly written during the reign of Kangxi. His poems are elegant and harmonious, but they are also known as "carving practice, mountain frowning and water laughing" (sun Guangsi's preface to zhihetang Collection), which is highly praised by Wang Shi and Shi Runzhang. However, most of them are works of singing and traveling, and few of them are works of facing society and reflecting people's livelihood. His writing is clear and clear, which reflects his concern for the current politics and people's livelihood.

Tang Menglai and Pu Songling are fellow villagers and have close contacts. He once traveled to Laoshan with Gao Heng, Pu Songling, etc. In the late July of the 12th year of Kangxi (1673), they visited Mount Tai with Pu Songling. In 1689, the 28th year of Kangxi reign, Ji'nan Fu Zhi was compiled. Tang Menglai is one of the earliest readers of strange tales from a lonely studio. Both he and Gao Heng wrote preface for strange tales from a lonely studio. Wang Shizhen commented on his poem: "in Mr. Gai's chest, he is as vast as a cloud, as a wind, and as he travels in space. When he enters into the world, he comes out with what he meets, but he never sticks to it. Therefore, his prose is close to Mengzhuang, and his poetry is close to Dongpo. If readers want to measure it according to the size of the ruins, they will lose their meaning. ". Pu Songling should have made a living record for him.

He has 24 volumes of zhihetang collection, jiegelou collection and Lin manlu.

Notes on works

one

Tang Menglai recorded in the collection of zhihetang essays: renzixia, visit Laoshan, see Haishi. There were eight of them. At the beginning of his stay in Xiuzhen temple, he went through the Qing Dynasty and Xiaqing nunnery, ascended the Eight Immortals' mound, and the water was exhausted and the mountain was poor, and the sky was blue. Stay in qingshijian again and watch the sunrise. Back to fanyuanling, it was light rain and clear in the early days. Looking at the sea from the East, the city was surrounded by white clouds, with dozens of battlements and fortresses. Russia saw a person out of green, southbound, after a person carrying rain gear from the shoulder, looking west, if staring. We all wonder if we haven't seen this city when the clouds are gone, and would we rather live on this island after moving to the sea? The local people who inquired from their fellow travelers said, "this sea city is also Cangzhou island." As soon as I eat it, I notice that it's getting lower and lower, and the green mountains are showing up in a bun. As time goes by, the city and the mountains come out, and I feel like I'm asleep. "

2. Tang Menglai recorded in the collection of essays of zhihetang: miscellaneous notes: "Guichou, ascended taidai, stayed in yueding office. Four drums ascend the sun view peak, the sky is full of clouds. Now, the sound of chickens is singing. Looking to the East in the white clouds, the flames pile up three peaks. At the beginning, they are like red durians spitting out. Gradually, the clouds are as red as red, and the brocade and beauty are piled up to realize all kinds of things. Zhu lunpan is trapped. As the sky goes away, the white clouds disappear, the mountains and villages gradually emerge, and the world is now

On the praise of Tang Menglai's portrait in the early Qing Dynasty

Apart from the portrait of Mr. Pu Songling collected in the memorial hall, there is also a precious portrait. Its owner is Tang Menglai, a bosom friend of Pu Songling, a Jinshi in the early Qing Dynasty and a leader of Jinshen in Zichuan.

Tang Menglai (1628-1698) was a writer in Qing Dynasty. Jiwu, Lanting, Baoyan. He was born in Nanpo village, Zichuan, Shandong Province. In the sixth year of Shunzhi (1649) of the Qing Dynasty, he was a Jinshi, who was granted the title of Imperial Academy and was soon moved to the Secretary Academy for review. In the ninth year of Shunzhi's reign, he refused to translate "jade box" and "Huashu" because he had overstepped his duty

Chinese PinYin : Tang Meng Lai