In the history of Chinese poetry, Cao Zhi's Seven Steps poem and the story behind it are quite famous. It was during the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Zhi failed to compete with Cao Pi for the son of the world, and the two left a gap. After Cao Pi became the queen of Wei, he once planned to harm his brother, and under the pretext of letting him compose poetry within seven steps, the poems would not succeed, and if the poems were not good, they would all be executed. In this case, Cao Zhi was anxious to be wise, using the metaphor of the same root and bean to write this popular masterpiece:
Boiled beans are held as a soup, and soy sauce is used as juice.
The beans burned under the kettle, and the beans wept in the kettle.
Born from the same root, why is it too urgent to fry?
Of course, there are several versions of the Seven Steps Poem, and what Xiao Jue lists here may not be very similar to what you have read, but the general content and the thoughts and feelings expressed are consistent. Although Cao Pi was still wary of his talented brother afterwards, the good villains did not let him die. This is also a fortunate event in the Chinese literary world, which continues the artistic life of the most outstanding poets before Li Bai.
After Cao Pi's death, the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, and Cao Zhi thought that he was involved in political life, and the opportunity to show his ambitions arrived. He has written many times, hoping to get a bigger stage. However, Emperor Wei Ming was even more of a ruthless character, and historians commented on his thoughts and plans, far superior to Cao Pi and directly approaching Cao Cao. Such an emperor naturally would not allow others to sleep peacefully on the side of the bed. Therefore, Emperor Wei Ming did not heed Cao Zhi's request at all, but instead moved him around and lived in the rush.
Originally, the two sides had a chance to ease, but in the second year of Taihe, that is, in 228 AD, an irreversible turn occurred. At that time, Emperor Ming of Wei fell ill while touring Chang'an and failed to ascend to the throne for a long time. At this time, the people of the capital Luoyang were panicked, and some people rumored that Cao Rui had died. Several of Cao Rui's sons died prematurely, so some officials were ready to support Cao Zhi to ascend the throne.
When Cao Rui eased up, of course, he became suspicious of Cao Zhi. Between Cao Zhi and Cao Rui, he was both an uncle and nephew, but also a monarch. Between the people, Cao Zhi had the upper hand, but in the heavenly reason, Cao Rui could ask the subject to die, and the subject had to die. Therefore, the situation at that time was very dangerous for Cao Zhi. This time, no one forced him to take seven steps into a poem, and he himself presented this famous poem "Song of Grievances" to Cao Rui:
It is not easy to be a king, but it is difficult to be a good subject. Faithfulness is not evident, but there are doubts. Zhou Gongzuo became king, and Jin Gonggong did not publish. Push the heart to assist the royal family, the second uncle anti-rumors. When sin dwells in the eastern country, weeping often lingers. The Imperial Spirit was in great turmoil, thundering and windy and cold. Pulling up trees and harvesting in autumn, the heavens are not dry. Plain clothes open the gold spoon, feel the end of it. When the matter of the Gongdan is revealed, it is a lament to become a king. I want to turn this song, this song is sad and long. Have fun today, don't forget it later.
In this poem, Cao Zhi is blunt at the beginning, using the words of the Analects, saying that it is not easy to be an emperor, but it is even more difficult to be a courtier. Faithful things are not revealed, but there are often times when they are suspected. When the Duke of Zhou assisted him in becoming king, he also had an uncle-nephew relationship, similar to the relationship between Cao Zhi and Cao Rui, and the Duke of Zhou also suffered from gossip and went into hiding for a time. Therefore, Cao Zhi continued to clarify his views on the examples of the Duke of Zhou and King Cheng.
When the Duke of Zhou assisted him in becoming a king, he once hid the documents that he swore to die in his place as a king in a golden cabinet, and his merits were indelible. He treated Cheng Wang with a heart and heart, but was met with gossip from Guan Shu Ji Xian and Cai Shu Ji Du. When he hid in Luoyang to avoid sin, he always cried and did not dry all day. Fortunately, the heavens sent a great disaster, so that King Cheng suddenly woke up and opened the golden cabinet.
Zhou Gong's loyalty was recognized by the world and cleared his grievances. Cao Zhi hopes to finish playing this sad tune here, so that people will never forget this matter.
On the surface, this poem is a history, but in fact, the intention is very simple, or to show that he and Zhou Gong suffered the same experience, and he was also loyal and slandered. Cao Zhi objectively tells the historical sites, but also hopes to impress his nephew.
So did Cao Zhi impress the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui? Obviously not, despite his brilliance and touching poems, it is clear that mature politicians are not carried away by emotions and do not allow themselves to be exposed to dangerous walls. During the reign of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Zhi was also discouraged and eventually depressed, at the age of 41.