Sima Xiangru, a literary giant of a generation
"When Emperor Wu was a literati, his writings were more like those of Sima Xiangru and Sima Qian."
This is a comment in Mr. Lu Xun's "Outline of the History of Chinese Literature". In fact, this is just a matter of style. In terms of long-term value, Sima Xiangru cannot even catch up with Sima Qian.
Mr. Wang Guowei said that of all literature, I love those written in blood. Sima Qian's articles were written with blood, but Sima Xiangru's always seemed to be licked out by his salivating tongue.
For example, the "Letter to Admonish Hunting" selected from "Gu Wen Guan Zhi" advises Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty not to be desperate for hunting all the time, but to cherish one's body for the sake of the country, the country, and the country. It is really disgusting to the extreme.
Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on Sima Xiangru, because the independent personality of a scholar must be supported by money. If he is not financially independent, it will be difficult for his personality and literary style to be independent.
Sima Xiangru's family didn't have much money, so he sent food everywhere. Liang Wang Liu Wuya was good at literature, and Sima Xiangru was his guest and received preferential treatment from him. After Liu Wu's death, Sima Xiangru lost his support, so he left Liang and returned to his hometown in Linqiong, Sichuan, where he lived in poverty.
There is no man to rely on, so I have to rely on women. Wang Ji, the magistrate of Linqiong County, was a good friend of Sima Xiangru. He learned that Zhuo Wenjun, the daughter of Zhuo Wangsun, the richest man in Shu, was newly widowed at home, so he deliberately brought her and Sima Xiangru together. Wen Jun is both talented and beautiful, but Xiang Rukun has no chance. So Wang Ji discussed with him, and the two of them used some tricks.
In ancient times, communication was not as developed as it is now. Therefore, although Sima Xiangru's literary reputation spread far and wide, it was not visible in his hometown. So the first thing Wang Ji had to do was to build momentum for Sima Xiangru. Wang Ji invited Sima Xiangru to live in Duting, Linqiong, and visited him every day. However, Xiangru complained of illness and just stayed behind closed doors. This was a drama arranged by the two of them. Of course Wang Ji would not be angry. Instead, he was more respectful and visited more frequently. Therefore, everyone in Shu knew that a noble person lived here, and he did not even have to give him the honor of the county magistrate.
When the news reached Zhuo Wangsun's ears, he also became curious about Sima Xiangru, so he held a banquet to invite Sima Xiangru. Sima Xiangru continued to pretend to be sick until his friend Wang Ji came to greet him like he was putting out a fire, and Sima Xiangru walked out of the capital pavilion reluctantly.
At this time, everyone saw Sima Xiangru's grace and secretly applauded him. Sima Xiangru didn't seem to hear, and followed Wang Ji to Zhuo Wangsun's house solemnly. People respected him more and more. In fact, this solemnity is also an act, because although Sima Xiangru has good literary talent and is full of literary thoughts when writing, he has a stutter like Han Feizi, so "moving is worse than being still." Unexpectedly, it has a miraculous effect.
The county magistrate came in person, and the atmosphere of the banquet became more and more intense. When the wine was almost finished, at Wang Ji's strong request, Xiangruguguqin was played to add to the fun. Only then did people realize that Xiangru was still good at playing the piano. In fact, Wang Ji and Sima Xiangru had already inquired about it and knew that Wenjun also loved the piano. At the banquet, it was not convenient for her daughter's house to see guests, so she wanted to meet the beautiful woman, so she had to pick her with a harp and turn all the affection into musical notes and send it to her heart. Sima Xiangru played the song "Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix":
The phoenix comes back to its hometown, and travels around the world to seek its phoenix.
If you don't meet me at that time, you will have no generals. How can you realize that you are going to be promoted to this hall now?
There is a beautiful lady in the boudoir, and the people in the room are poisonous to my intestines.
How come they are like mandarin ducks with their necks crossed, soaring together!
The phoenix comes and the phoenix comes to live with me, and I have to entrust the breeding tail to be my concubine forever.
Friendships are harmonious and the hearts are harmonious. Who knows how to meet each other in the middle of the night?
Both wings rise and fly high, without feeling, my thoughts make me sad.
Sima Xiangru's meaning couldn't be more clear. He was showing his love to the sweetheart in his heart. Who is this beauty? Of course it was Wenjun who was hiding behind the curtain. Except for her, probably no one could understand what Sima Xiangru was singing.
She gently opened a corner of the curtain, and Wenjun saw Xiangru leaning on the piano. He was immediately attracted by his handsome appearance, and even saw the way he closed his eyes and played the piano, intoxicated without knowing it. Love it more and more. How did she know that all this was Sima Xiangru's performance? Not only that, Sima Xiangru also conveyed his love to Wenjun through his servant, and Wenjun began to have concerns in his heart.
So when the dinner party was over, Wenjun secretly left home and eloped with Sima Xiangru.
It can be described as true love at first sight!
It’s just that the man had already planned it!
It can be seen from this move that Wenjun is not a traditional charming lady, otherwise how could she be so decisive and bold?
Wenjun followed Sima Xiangru back home, but found only four walls and one window in their house. He thought to himself: Could it be that Xiangru, a handsome young man, was too noble for such a simple hut? ?
I believe no one can bear this for a long time, let alone the eldest daughter of the Zhuo family. So he suggested to Sima Xiangru, why not go back to the vicinity of Zhuo's house and invite his mother's family to support him? So the two sold everything they could, packed up their belongings, returned to Linqiong, and opened a wine shop. Zhuo Wenjun personally bought the wine as a waiter, and Sima Xiangru personally served tea and water.
Since Wenjun eloped with Xiangru, Zhuo Wangsun felt that his face had been disgraced, so he uttered words and no longer recognized Wenjun as his daughter. From then on, the relationship between father and daughter was severed. Now that his daughter is paying for wine, he has lost all face and can only hide at home and refuses to go out to meet people - his eyes can't stand the smiling eyes of others, and his back can't stand the slightest look from others.
Relatives and friends couldn't sit still anymore, and came to persuade Mr. Zhuo one after another - If you stand frozen like this, they have made enough money to drink, and you can save your face? Wherever they sell wine, it’s obviously for your sake! Zhuo Wangsun gritted his teeth after hearing these words, and finally recognized Sima Xiangru as his son-in-law, arranged a make-up wedding, and Sima Xiangru made a lot of money.
Strictly speaking, Sima Xiangru was a freeloader. This bowl of soft rice was given to Sima Xiangru willingly by Zhuo Wenjun. For the Zhuo family, Sima Xiangru's bowl of soft rice is just a drop in the bucket, and there is no loss. This can also be regarded as a redistribution of social wealth.
After eating a certain amount of soft food, Sima Xiangru began to explode. One day Emperor Wu read "Zixu Fu" and was deeply moved by its magnificent words and romantic imagination. He couldn't put it down after reading it. He thought it was written by an ancient man and deeply regretted that he was born too late and couldn't talk to him by candlelight. At this time, Yang Deyi, a Shu native who was in charge of hunting dogs for Emperor Wu, said that Sima Xiangru, the author of "Zixu Fu", was a fellow countryman of the minister.
Emperor Wu did not expect that the author of "Zixu Fu" was still alive and was very happy, so he summoned Sima Xiangru from Shu with an edict and worshiped him as Lang Guan. In fact, during the reign of Emperor Jing, Sima Xiangru had already held this position, but Emperor Jing's life was obviously not as colorful as Emperor Wu. He did not like literary works, and Sima Xiangru's literary talent was of no use, so he defected to Liu Wu, the king of Liang.
Now that "literary friend" Emperor Wu is in power, Sima Xiangru's spring has come. I believe that when the horses and edicts flying from Chang'an arrived at the door of Zhuo Wangsun's house, this big businessman who made his fortune by smelting iron must have a different feeling in his heart.
Oddly enough, many of Xiangru's masterpieces have been passed down to later generations, but the most famous "Nagato Fu" is very problematic. What's the problem?
It turns out that "Nagato Fu" is about the sorrow and helplessness of Emperor Wu's first queen, Chen Ajiao, after she was deposed. It is said that this was written by Gillian in exchange for a hundred gold entrustment to Xiangru, hoping that it could win back the favor of Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu was really moved after reading "Ode to Nagato" and remembered the old joys, so Gillian regained his favor. .
Unfortunately, Gillian in history did not have such a good life, so Sima Qian wrote a biography for Sima Xiangru and did not mention "Nangmen Fu". Therefore, "Nangmen Fu" is probably just a descendant. False trust.
However, this forgery is more real than the real thing, or better than the real thing. The shadow of Sima Xiangru should be smiling.
Sima Xiangru's talent was not limited to literature, he also made great achievements in politics. "Southwestern Yi" is the collective name for the ethnic minorities in southwest Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan in ancient my country. Emperor Wu once worshiped Tang Meng as Zhonglang General, and led more than a thousand soldiers and a baggage team of more than 10,000 people to the southwest to Tong Yelang. Yelang was waiting in the south of Bashu, so he was called Nanyi. Qiongdu and other countries to the west of Bashu learned that Yelang had been rewarded with goods from the Han Dynasty, and they were jealous and came to invite him to court. Xiangru was from Shu, so Emperor Wu appointed him as an envoy to Xiyi. Sima Xiangru returned and reported to Emperor Wu that Qiongdu and other Western Yi were closer to Shu than the Southern Yi, and it was easier to open a road to connect with them. Moreover, prefectures and counties had been set up here during the Qin Dynasty. Later, Chen Sheng launched an attack and the world was in chaos. Yi then took the opportunity to become independent. It would be very convenient if we reset the counties and manage them now.
Most of Emperor Wu's games and excitement were on the map, so he was very happy to see his map expanded by one point. He followed Sima Xiangru's suggestion. Looking back from now, Sima Xiangru contributed to the formation of the current structure of our motherland. However, he was too frivolous and kept accepting bribes on his way to the mission. He was eventually impeached and dismissed from office and returned home.
"What I gain is my fortune, and what I lose is my life." If there is not a circle of literati based on economic independence, if there is not a group of readers above the average level, literati cannot be judged by themselves, or at least cannot be decided by themselves in the short term. If Sima Xiangru could really understand this truth, he should not care about it.
In fact, life is originally empty, so what if you get an eternal literary name?
