Li Yuanba is a well-known figure in Chinese culture, known for his amazing prowess and bravery, and is known as "the first good man in the world". However, did Li Yuanba really exist? How did his story come about? This article will try to restore a more real Li Yuanba from the perspectives of history and legend, ** Li Yuanba's life experience and image.
The historical prototype of Li Yuanba is Li Xuanba, the word Dade, the third son of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, a native of Chengji, Longxi, and was named King Weihuai. He was born in the fifth year of the Great Cause of the Sui Dynasty (609) and died in the tenth year of the Great Cause of the Sui Dynasty (614), at the age of sixteen, and had no children. Later, his second brother, Li Tai, the fourth son of Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was his heir. After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne as Tang Taizong, Li Tai returned to his sect as a prince and was renamed King Yue, and Tang Taizong changed to Li Baoding, the son of Li Qiong, the king of Xiping, as the heir of Li Xuanba.
Li Xuanba's life has not left too many records in history, only that he died early and had no children, and did not participate in Li Yuan's uprising and Li Shimin's Xuanwumen Change. His name also changed due to the avoidance of different dynasties, sometimes written as Li Yuanba, sometimes as Li Xuanba. Yuan and Xuan are often used, such as avoiding Zhao Xuanlang (legend is the ancestor of the Song Dynasty royal family), Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming Hongwu), Xuanye (Qing Kangxi), such as Li Yuan's fourth son Li Yuanji's younger brothers, maybe "Li Yuanba" will be more correct.
As a cultural symbol, Li Yuanba is mainly shaped by literary and artistic forms such as **, ancient lectures, and dramas. The first ** where Li Yuanba appeared was "Speaking of the Tang Dynasty", and later there were works such as "The Biography of the Xingtang Dynasty", "Wagang Heroes", "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and so on. In these works, Li Yuanba is endowed with many myths and legends, and becomes a heroic figure that transcends history.
In "The Complete Biography of Tang Romance", Li Yuanba is the golden-winged bird of the upper realm, with infinite strength and invincible. Jinyang Palace competed, defeated the Tianbao general Yuwen Chengdu, and became famous in a battle. Later, he was ordered to go to Siming Mountain to protect him, and three hammers knocked away the third good man Pei Yuanqing, with two hammers, and killed only 650,000 of the 1.85 million people and horses of the 18th Road Anti-King in one afternoon (an average of 55 people killed per second). once saw righteousness and courage to save the Qing official Liu Wenjing. Later, in the Purple Mountain, the rebels from all walks of life were defeated, and the jade seal was collected alone. When the army returned to Chang'an, he raised a hammer and scolded the sky, and died in a thunderstorm.
In "The Legend of the Xingtang Dynasty", Li Yuanba is the golden hammer general of the eight sledgehammers, and ** is the golden hammer of the drum urn. In "Wagang Heroes", Li Yuanba is the general of Wagangzhai, and was once known as the four famous generals of the Sui and Tang dynasties along with Luo Cheng, Qin Qiong and others. In "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", Li Yuanba is the head of the eighteen heroes of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and fought side by side with Wei Chigong, Shan Xiongxin and others, and later because he was dissatisfied with Li Shimin's **, he rebelled with Yang Lin, Luo Cheng and others, and was finally killed by Li Shimin.
The image of Li Yuanba has also been reproduced in different media such as film and television, comics, and animation, sometimes as a positive hero, sometimes as a negative rebel, sometimes as a funny fool, and sometimes as a tragic hero. The interpretations and imaginations of different creators of Li Yuanba also reflect different backgrounds and values.
Li Yuanba is a character intertwined with history and legend, and his real identity is Li Xuanba, the third son of Tang Gaozu, King Wei Huai, who died early without a child, and did not participate in the historical process of the Sui and Tang dynasties. His legendary image was created by various literary and artistic forms, and he was endowed with mythology and heroism, becoming a cultural symbol that transcends history. The story of Li Yuanba is not only an imagination and reconstruction of history, but also a praise and nostalgia for heroes.