The song of lasting regret

The Analysis of “ The Song of Lasting Regret”
Introduction
The song of the lasting regret was the most famous romantic poem in the late19 70s, up to mid 80s, written by EO Juyis (Kroll, 1990-1991). The poem is about a notorious love affair between Emperor Li Longji and the lady he raised to the rank of a precious consort, Yang Yabutt, in the 942 C. E. Sogdium- Turkic used military power to overthrow this government. What the author writes is internally contradictory because the song is all about love, yet he later says it was an infatuation. On the other hand, this infatuation makes the emperor abandon government affairs in the name of the love he has for this lady. This plus the grasping of Yang’s distant cousin, Yang Guezbong, have for a long time been regarded in both popular and official history as the main factors that led to the ruin of the long reign of Xuan Zong as well as the near collapse of the dynasty. Lady Yang was also strangled with a cord to death by the emperors closest and oldest confidant (Kroll, 1990-1991).
The author uses a tone that is shows sadness and evident grief. He seeks to know how long he will be in this world to see so many evils happening in the society. He notes that he has shared many sorrows with the couple and that makes him to sit down and grieve for the couple. He talks of how they have wasted their time; approaching fifty years, he does not even have a son. The author writes this poem to express his sorrows for the lost wife. He says he can only offer his respect to her with sleepless nights which are too long for him to bear. The tone that the author uses affects how the message is passed to the audience in that the audience get to connect with his feelings more deeply. The song is about regrets that could have been avoided long before the ruins; now the situation is beyond repair. That why the author is sorrowful and grievous.
The genre of the song is a biography because it portrays the life of the emperor and his girlfriend. The genre determines what gets said and what does not by stressing more on the hiccups and mistakes that led to the near downfall of the dynasty as well as death of lady Yang. Overthrowing of the emperor’s government and take over by Sogdium- Turkic through use of military power portrays how much the dynasty was weak.
The author is not aware of competing points of view because he mainly deals with the love affair of the two; the emperor and lady Yang. In real life, a lover is supposed to protect his partner as well as take his responsibilities seriously but this is not the case as the author highlights. There is tension between what the authors says and what he avoids saying. This is well indicated by only saying that the emperor was only infatuating the lady and that he neglected his official duties. He however does not say how their affair led to the near fall of the empire.
The author’s point of view is that people should know the difference between love and infatuation. Love builds, protects and develops someone. However, infatuation, like that of the emperor to lady Yang kills and destroys. This is well portrayed in the way the infatuation between them led to the destruction of the empire and the emperor’s overthrow by Sogdium- Turkic. Moreover, lady Yang was also killed by being strangled by the emperor’s confidant. All these could not have happened if this was a true love affair. The author holds that point of view so that the readers can learn for themselves and seek true love as opposed to infatuation. The effects that the text has produced since the time it was written is that weak governments are being overthrown by use of military power. Weak leaders are also taking a lot of caution in determining their love partners as well as confidants.
Has the text had consequences in the real world as witnessed in some counties like Uganda. Idi Amin’s government was overthrown by Milton Obote by use of military power because it was very wicked and killed innocent lives, Amin mainly concerned about pleasing himself with all kinds of leisure. The text deepens my understanding of the world in which it was made by getting to know that there are love weaknesses in the China that ruined empires. I have also learnt that there are people who are tired of weak leaders and are in dying to establish a stable government.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the song of the lasting regret is a romantic poem that explains how Emperor Li Longji lost both his dynasty and the young lady he loved because of what he thought was love, yet it was only infatuation. The love between them made people, throughout the empire to value daughters than sons since men seem to be a weaker sex in handling love affairs. This is up to an extent that they end up losing everything they have gained in life as the author regrets.
References
Kroll W. P (1990). “ Po Chi-in Song of Lasting Regret”. Tang studies 8-9. A New Translation. China, Oxford University Press. (1990-1991): pp97-105