For more than 2,000 years, in Xu Village, where Sima Qian's descendants lived, many stories of Shi Sheng have been passed on by word of mouth.
1. The legend of Sima Qianzu
Sima Qian's history of Qian, the "True Record" straight book, was not tolerated by Emperor Wu of Han. Legend has it that Sima Qian was killed, and his eldest son Sima Jiang (then Yanmen Guan taishou) avenged his father and led an army against the Taihang Mountains. In order to invite merit and receive rewards, Fang Shi played Emperor Wu of Han, saying that Sima Zu's tomb was buried in the Dragon's Den Jidi, and he wanted to produce a "human king" and not destroy it, and the country and mountains would be difficult to protect. Emperor Wu of Han, who had always believed in the theory of gods and ghosts, immediately sent Qin to send Pegasus Xiayang to lead his troops to the south of Gaomen Village and smash all the stone tablets in Sima Cemetery into pieces. When digging the bones of the tomb, he found the coffin of Bogen in Sima Xi's tomb, the phenomenon was strange, and when the coffin was broken, the cobwebs were densely wrapped around a dragon, and he couldn't help but not believe the words of the alchemist, so he swung his sword and beheaded the dragon. Suddenly, blood filled the tomb.
After the officers and soldiers left, the descendants of the Sima family shed tears and collected the violent bones of their ancestors and buried them again. After that, every Qingming Festival, they did not dare to go to the grave in a blatant manner, so they had to set up sacrifices at home and kneel down to worship their ancestors in front of the cemetery.
Until the Jiaqing and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty, the Sima family sought the emperor's favor through the officials of Hancheng in the dynasty, and successively erected two stone monuments in Zuwei. The former wrote: "Han Taishi Sima Gong Gao Men Xian. The latter wrote: "The tomb of Sima Gong of the Han Dynasty." ”
Today, the ershi stele still exists in the south of Gaomen Village in Songdong Town, and the ancestral tomb of Taishi Gong has become a must-visit place for tourists.
2. Descendants of Sima Qian changed their surnames to Tong and Feng
According to legend, after Sima Qian was beaten to prison, the traitor Li Guangli led the Yulin army and rushed straight to the "Taishi Mansion". In a vain attempt to kill the Sima Qian family.
As Lady Lotus reported from the palace, Liu Qianniang dressed as a man and escaped from the capital. Starry Night rushed back to Xiayang Gaomen and told the patriarch Sima Hou about Sima Qian's death and the imminent doom of being exterminated. In order to escape this catastrophe, Sima Hou advocated that only by changing his surname could the whole family move to the wilderness forest of "Old Niupo" in the west of the village.
The urgent sound of the gong resounded throughout the village, and men, women, and children ran to the old ancestral hall with all their might. They all know that if something urgent happens, the gong will not be struck easily. More than two hundred households soon arrived, and Liu Qianniang explained that Sima Qian was in danger of "annihilating the Nine Tribes" in Beijing. Sima Hou repeated the idea of changing his surname and hiding from the old Niupo, and everyone thought that this method was good.
Suddenly, someone asked what surname to change? The patriarch did not think about it beforehand, and when he could not answer for a while, he said to Qianniang: "Xianniang, you are a very learned person, I think, this time change your surname." We must include the reasons so that future generations will understand that we, the Sima family. This great misfortune has happened, remember not to forget. ”
Qianniang said: "Regarding changing my surname, I have thought about it. Our Sima family was able to escape this time, thanks to Madame Lotus in the palace. She was my 'sister-in-law', and I was able to escape early and come back. If I can't come back early, who will report it to you? Isn't the whole nation confused and asked to beheaded? In order to let everyone not forget the great virtue of Lady Lotus. I think that the word 'Sima' can be changed to the word 'Tong and Feng'. What does this mean? 'TongFeng' and 'ventilation' are harmonic words, because there is a reason for 'ventilation to report the message', we have the result of hiding from disasters in advance. What do you think of my statement? ”
Sima Hou was the first to agree, and the whole audience unanimously shouted: "Well changed!" Coincidentally, someone added a vertical painting to the word "Si" on the spot, which became the word "tong", and added two dots to the word "ma" to become the word "Feng". Sima Hou, the patriarch, announced on the spot: "From now on, in our Sima family, the Nagato people will be surnamed Feng, and the two people will have the same surname. Tong and Feng are one. ”
Flee for your life in order to avoid disasters. On the same night, Sima Hou and Liu Qianniang led the whole clan to move to Lao Niupo.
3. The legend of the "Crown Tomb"
Sima Qian was well aware of Emperor Wu of Han's personality, and after the "Records of History" was written, in order to be able to pass it on to future generations, he had already secretly transferred the original "History" to Xia Yang's hometown and hid it in a safe place.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (93 BC). One day in the lunar month, Lady Sima Qian, who was hiding in her hometown of Xiayang, disguised herself to meet Sima Chun (Sima Qian's aunt), the master of the Zhixiu Nunnery, in order to make the "Records of History" see the light of day in the future, and the secret merchant hid in the Dao'an.
Sima Chun was a timid and fearful person, and although he and Sima Qian had flesh and blood feelings, they were unwilling to take this risk. After Liu Qianniang's repeated pleading, Sima Chun had no choice but to agree to this matter. But she set a harsh precept for Liu Qianniang:
(1) Force Liu Qianniang to learn the Tao.
(2) Only chanting is allowed in the nunnery, and no appearance is allowed.
(3) The aunt and nephew pretend not to know, and cover people's eyes and ears with scolding.
In order to preserve the "Records of History", Liu Qianniang accepted these precepts one by one. That night, the Chronicle of History was safely hidden in a secret place.
One day, Liu Qianniang heard that her husband had been killed, and her heart was like a knife. In the midst of the pain, I couldn't help but think of what her husband said when she let her dress up as a man and wear his crown when she fled: "You will miss me in the future, and seeing this crown is like seeing someone." Liu Qianniang thought that her husband was now unjustly dead, with no body and no grave, but his deeds would surely shine in the light of the thousands of autumns, so why not secretly bury his clothes on this high post as a place for posterity to hang? Liu Qianniang thought of this, wiped her face full of tears, opened the box, took out her clothes, and dug a grave in the open space behind the nunnery and buried the crown. In order to have a memory in the future, Qianniang moved a few cypress saplings from the hillside and planted them at the top of the tomb.
It is said that the ancient cypress on the Bagua tomb of Sima Qianci Washi was planted by Liu Qianniang that year.
4. The legend of the "Tomb of True Bones"
There is a tomb on the Phoenix Ridge on the high gate of Hancheng and the west of Xucun Village, which is said to be the real bone tomb of Sima Qian.
Legend has it that after Sima Qian was imprisoned in heaven, the traitor Li Guangli instructed the jailers to keep them under strict supervision. Don't you know that the jailer and Sima Qian came to live, Sima Qian had saved his father's life, but the jailer saw that Sima Qian was tortured, and his heart could not bear it, and he took good care of it. After Sima Qian's death, after some twists and turns, the jailer secretly hid Sima Qian's body in a small earthen cave outside the city. Ten years later, Sima Jiang managed to move his father's backbone back to his hometown of Xiayang and secretly buried him on the Phoenix Ridge north of Xucun.
In order to protect the true bone tomb of wenshi ancestors, the Sima family held a meeting in the old ancestral hall and agreed on three chapters of the law.
(1) No one is allowed to divulge the matter of moving the grave, and the offender shall be executed for disobedience.
(2) The original Temple of General Mei on the post was moved to the front of the tomb, and some people asked about the tomb behind the temple, only to say that General Mei died in battle for the people to suppress thieves here, so they were behind the temple and built a temple to commemorate it.
(3) Every year during the Qingming Festival, the clan still goes to the Tomb of the "Lingzhi'an" in Shibakawa to visit the tomb.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Zhenzong wanted to repay The Divine Physician Fang Yin of Hancheng for saving his life. Fang Yin was crowned king of The Fa, and "Fa Wang Temple" was built everywhere in Hancheng, and Sima Qian's descendants built a "Fa Wang Palace" on the site of the "Mei General Temple" with great fanfare.
The "Palace of the King" once had such an orange union:
True and false, true and false, true and false, true and false can not be distinguished: wrong and wrong, hidden and wrong, hidden and unclear.
Outsiders do not know the meaning of the couplet, but everyone in the Sima family knows it. This is the true bone tomb that asks the descendants to remember that in the "Qingming" festival, they want to sacrifice Shi Gong.
The descendants of Sima Qian in Xucun are obsessed with the ancestors of Wenshi, and every year during the Qingming Festival, in addition to going to the tomb in Zhichuan, at the same time, they sing the "running stage play" for three days and four nights as usual in Fenghuanggang, offering sacrifices to General Mei and the King, and secretly worshipIng Sima Qian. It was not until after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1936 that the play was stopped, but the two tombs have not been broken. The stone arch of the "Palace of the King" still exists in the cemetery, and the remains of Sima Qian's true bone tomb are still visible.
5. The legend of Sima Qian's statue leaving a large beard
The image of Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty and the ink carvings seen do not have beards. It is said that because of his corruption, his beard was stripped off. Why is the statue of Taishi that exists in Sima s hometown, but it has a long beard hanging down to the chest, there is a bitter story in it.
Emperor Wu of Han listened to the bad words of the traitor Li Guangli and put the loyal Sima Qian to "palace punishment", and over time, his beard gradually fell off.
Sima Qian's wife, Liu Qianniang, was a great painter who traveled with her husband around the famous mountains and rivers to help him paint the pictures needed for historical materials. She has painted images of her husband's appearance at all times of his life.
Liu Qianniang after the "Zhi Xiu'an ordination." I firmly believe that the "Taishi Gongshu" is a very valuable work, and in the future, Sima Qian will surely be admired by the world. At that time, if the confidants cannot find the author's grave, temple, or statue by hanging their worship, wouldn't it be a pity for eternity! Sima Qian's descendants could not pay tribute! When I think about it, I can't put it down in my heart.
One year, Sima Jiang suddenly appeared at the "Zhixiu Nunnery" and told his mother that he had sneaked to the capital, killed the cool official Du Zhou, moved back to his father's bones, and was buried on the Phoenix Ridge north of Lao Niupo. Specially to the nunnery, carrying the mother, out of danger, the same as the Taihang Mountain, but also let the mother pension, do their children's filial piety, Liu Qianniang cried: "Son! Your filial piety is understood by your mother. Your Father's 'crown tomb' is here, how can I leave the tomb away...
While crying, she opened the box and handed over to Sima Jiang the more than ten relics of Sima Qian that she had preserved, saying: "The emperor is in charge, the traitors have monopoly power, and it is temporarily impossible to build a temple and statue for your father." You should regard these relics as 'heirlooms', pass them down from generation to generation, and tell your descendants that if you can make statues in the future, remember to make 'long-bearded statues'. ”
Sima Jiang returned to the cottage and invited a statue master, and the statue of his father was the same as the portrait of his mother, and the appearance was the same as that of his mother.
According to legend, the statue of Sima Ancestral Hall of the Han Dynasty is now sculpted according to the portrait of Liu Qianniang, and because it maintains the true appearance of Sima Qian, the cultural relics are of high value.
6. Why is the statue of Sima Qian facing northwest?
According to legend, after Yin Ji built the "Sima Ancestral Hall of the Han Dynasty", there were still a lot of wood and bricks left, and after everyone's deliberation, in the liangshan relics of the northern plains of Xiayang County, a beautiful place was selected to build a temple for Sima Qian's close friend Su Wu to commemorate this loyal han dynasty vassal who had been shepherding sheep in the northern country for nineteen years and was determined not to surrender to the Xiongnu.
On the day that the Suwu Temple was completed, the keepers of the "Sima Qian Temple" suddenly found that after a night's question, the upright statue of Sima Qian, which became head to the northwest, and the cypress treetops on the mountain of "Su Wu Temple" also swung in unison to the southeast, facing the Sima Ancestral Hall in unison. Legend has it that this is because Sima Qian and Su Wu were good friends with like-minded people, born as friends of tribulations, and never forgotten after death. Sima Qian was facing northwest and looking at Su Wu from afar, and they were looking at each other from afar!
Later generations called "Su Wu Temple", there are poems:
The rise and fall of a hundred generations of chess, Su Qing GuBai Shangnan skill.
The heart hangs the Han to make a thousand autumn festivals, and the five-character poem of the river beam is created by hand.
7. The Sacred Bird Worships "Shi Sheng"
Ming Jiajing Hubu Shangshu Zhang Shipei, a native of Hancheng Zhichuan Town? In his later years, he resigned from the government due to illness and returned to his hometown, where he entertained himself by reading and fishing, and called himself the "Old Man of Haobin".
Zhang Shipei greatly admired the township sage Sima Qian, believing that he was a rare sage and sage for thousands of years, but because of his outspokenness, he was tortured and deeply deplored. He often visited Sima Qian's ancestral hall, either by traveling with friends or by hanging himself alone.
Once, when he and his friends were on a pilgrimage to the temple, they stood on the top of the hundred cliffs of the water to enjoy the scenery, at this time, the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and in the middle of the Shiba water oasis, a group of unknown birds took off with their wings fluttering. But when they saw these birds, their feathers as white as snow, their wings as strong as wild geese, circling and flying in front of the Taishi GongXian Hall, if they worshiped, if they sang, if they chirped, and then flew to the sky above the tomb behind the Taishi Gong Hall, shaped like a dance, and then went west.
"The divine bird worships Tai Shi Gong, which shows that although he is dead, he is still alive. Shi Sheng not only aroused the admiration of the scribes, but even the spiritual birds also admired Shi Sheng. Friends all nodded in agreement.
8. The heroic spirit of "Shi Sheng" will live forever
In the early 20th century, a unit in Xi'an organized a tour of employees during the "May Day" festival. Return from Shanxi, take the Hancheng, and worship "Shi Sheng".
Time flies. In the clear sky, a group of more than thirty people walked slowly up the Sima Ancient Road. When we walked to the archway of "Alpine Elevation", several young people were uneasy and calm. Holding up the Oriental Devil's Knife bought from Shanxi, he shouted, "Rush! ”...... Cross the steps up.
At this time, several elderly people in the group could not see it. Say, "Before the saints, you may be so brazen!" As soon as the words fell, the weather suddenly changed, and I saw dark clouds pressing down on the top. Without showing a trace of sunlight, the faces of people cannot be seen clearly from a few meters away. Everyone shuddered and was speechless. The young men were also overwhelmed with fear...
Everyone had exhausted their fun and silently drove back. Sitting in the car, quietly, no one spoke. Who knows, less than a hundred meters away, the dark clouds suddenly receded, and it was a clear sky.
Looking at the tomb of Shi Shengci, it is clearly recognizable, surrounded by pines and cypresses, and the temple is looming, beautiful and spectacular. People couldn't help but let out a long breath: "True God! The car was full of laughter, and all of them sighed that the heroic spirit of "Shi Sheng" would last forever.
Although this accidental phenomenon is a coincidence, it also reflects the revered status of "Shi Sheng" in people's hearts.