The length of human life is inherently uncontrollable, but since ancient times, people have always tried to pursue a longer lifespan. From the emperors of the past to the common people, they all hope that they can live a long and healthy life. Although there is still no panacea, or scientific skills can prolong life. The person I want to talk about today is Deng Zhi, one of the longest-lived famous generals of the Shu Han Dynasty.
First, let's get to know Deng Zhi first
From ancient times to the present, there are still some long-lived elderly people. Today, the person we want to introduce is one of the famous generals of the Shu Han Dynasty- Deng Zhi. After the famous eastern Han general Deng Yu, the Shu Han dynasty was a heavy subject during the Three Kingdoms period.
Deng Zhi's personality was very good and strong, and even the great general Fei Yi had to give him three points of courtesy, but Zong Pre refused to submit to him.
According to historical records, when Deng Zhi returned to the dynasty from Jiangzhou, he happened to meet Zong Pre, so Deng Zhi asked: "Sixty-year-old people in etiquette cannot join the army, and why can you command the army now?" ”
Zong Xuan was very unconvinced when he heard this, so he replied, "You are seventy years old and still hold the military power, why can't I be sixty?" "Refuse to succumb to Deng Zhi. Deng Zhi was furious and frustrated, but he had no words to refute it.
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, volume 45 Shu Shu 15 Deng Zhangzong Yang Chuan 15 Deng Zhi biography records: "Deng Zhi, zi Bo Miao, Yiyang New Savage. Han Situ Yu also after that. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the people of Shu, the end of the see to know. Shi Yizhou engaged in Zhang Yu Shan Xiang, Zhi Xiang Congzhi, Yu Zhi Zhi: "The king is over seventy years old, and he is a great general and a marquis." ''Zhiwen Brazil is too guarded by Pang Xi good soldier, to Yi Yan. The first lord was Dingyi Prefecture, and Zhi was the Governor of Pi Di. The first lord went out to Pi, and Yu Daqizhi, promoted to Pi Ling, moved to Guanghan Taishou. Where the Qing Dynasty has a good reputation, the person is Shang Shu. ”
However, in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The image of Deng Zhi is very similar to that of Zhengshi. Deng Zhi was originally a subordinate of Liu Zhang, but because he was never reused by Liu Zhang, he later followed Liu Bei all the way when Liu Bei attacked the Shu state.
Liu Bei entered Shu and brought a third military force to Yizhou, the Jingzhou Army. Obviously, he did not want to repeat Liu Zhang's mistakes, and he needed to turn the Dongzhou Army and the local powerful forces inherent in Yizhou into the separatist armies he used.
In this year, a large number of "Dongzhou Shi" talents were activated, and Deng Zhi's life ushered in a turning point. Deng Zhi was appointed as the garrison chief of the military grain hoarding station in Pi County.
Not long after, Liu Bei passed through Pi County. Deng Zhi had a high discussion with him, and Liu Bei felt that Deng Zhi was particularly talented, and directly promoted Deng Zhi as the county commander of Pi County.
Later, because Deng Zhi was appreciated by Liu Bei, he became the Taishou of Guanghan. Deng Zhi served as an official near Chengdu, the capital of the Shu Han Dynasty, and performed upright, clean, and outstanding political achievements. As a result, Deng Zhi's official position soared within a few years, and he entered the dynasty as a Shangshu.
2. The Black Ape Incident
However, he never thought that a person who was so capable of fighting would eventually die of "feudal superstition"
According to the birth and death years in the history books, Deng Zhi lived for a total of 73 years, but his birth year is disputed, because according to his conversation with Zong Qian in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his birth year is between the first year of Jianning in the Eastern Han Dynasty (168 AD) and the sixth year of Xiping (177 AD), and he should have been more than eighty years old when he died.
And the reason for his death can be described as a god. According to the "Huayang Guozhi", in the fourteenth year of Yanxi (251 AD), when Deng Zhi went out to Fuling, he saw a group of black apes in Yuanshan, so he pulled a bow and released arrows. Just listening to the sound of "whizzing", the arrow flew out and hit the black ape.
Curiously, the black ape was all right, not only pulling out the arrow itself, but also wrapping the wound with bark and leaves. When Deng Zhi saw this scene, his heart was shocked, this is what an ape can do, this is simply against the code of ethics.
He immediately blurted out: "My life will soon be over." He died soon after in a panic.
III. Analysis of the cause of Deng Zhi's death
Therefore, we can explore the reasons for the death of this long-lived general Deng Zhi from a certain point of view.
(1) High age
And Deng Zhi was nearly eighty years old when he died, and this age is high today, not to mention in ancient times, ancient men's life expectancy is short. At this time, deng zhi's physical functions have reached the limit of the body, and his life is coming to an end.
So even if he hadn't gone out hunting or shot an ape, he might have died. So it can be said that his death was only in accordance with nature.
(2) Stemming from one's own fear of death
Here, we can give an example: you have a gold coin in your pocket, afraid that others will know and afraid of losing it, so you will touch your pocket with your hands every once in a while to see if the gold coin is still there, so your regular action attracts the attention of the thief, and finally the thief steals.
Even if it wasn't stolen by the thief, the pocket that was always touched by you was finally worn out, and the gold coin fell out and lost.
And the story of Dunzhi and the ape is also the common saying that what is afraid of what comes. Stemming from his own fear of death, the ape's accidental events increased his mental burden and made him have to think of the inevitable events of his own death. Thus, in the accumulated psychological cues, his powerful self-suggestion became an inevitable event that directly led to his death.
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chronicle of the State of Huayang