In April, the rain and rain are clear, and the South Mountain is clear. There are no willows rising from the wind, but the sunflowers are tilted to the sun. - "Early Summer"
In our enlightenment education, in order to let children better understand some truths and improve their interest in learning, our childhood textbooks are usually some edutainment and education stories. For example, monkeys fishing for the moon, wolves coming, seedlings and rabbits, etc., many of these stories are fictional fables, but there are also some interesting stories of historical celebrities.
I believe that the most familiar historical story when you were a child is "Sima Guang Smashing the Cylinder". Although the name of this story is difficult to say, because of its short and interesting plot, as well as the witty and intelligent image of The vivid Sima Guang described, it has become a small historical story that every child is familiar with.
However, because of the length of this short story, it only tells that Sima Guang rescued the child, but did not mention the subsequent development. I believe many people are curious, what is the reaction of this little child after being rescued? Sima Guang has become a generation of celebrities, so what kind of achievements has this little child who was rescued by him achieve when he grows up? Although this story is not recorded, Sima Guang is a real figure in history, so we can find answers to these questions from historical sources.
The prodigy smashes the cylinder and wits to save people
I believe that everyone is familiar with the story of Sima Guang smashing the cylinder to save people, this story is not made up, but it is really recorded in the historical data. In the "History of Song", not only this interesting incident of Sima Guang's childhood is recorded, but also praised him for being a child prodigy since he was a child, familiar with poetry and books and brilliant.
It is precisely because he has learned a lot of knowledge since he was a child, so after discovering that the little friend who played with him accidentally fell into the tank, Sima Guang did not panic like other children. He calmly thought about countermeasures and quickly came up with a method such as smashing the cylinder and releasing water. Not only did he prevent other children from recklessly going down to save people, and then put themselves in danger, but they also succeeded in rescuing the child who fell into the tank before he drowned.
Although there are still many unreasonable places in this story, such as how can a child move a stone that can break a large vat, and for example, some children play in the garden, why are the parents so coincidentally not nearby? Of course, these unreasonable places do not prevent people from praising Sima Guang's fearless and calm behavior. Later, people also wrote his story into textbooks, teaching some children how to face danger.
Sima Guang became a prodigy in people's hearts because of this story. But we know nothing about the little boy he saved. After he was rescued, what was his attitude toward Sima Guang? Sima Guang became a famous politician and writer in history, so what did this rescued child achieve?
A lifetime of gratitude and worship of the Prime Minister
The child who was rescued was recorded in the history books as Shangguan Shangguang. The people in his family also knew how to be grateful, and the day after the child was rescued, they immediately prepared gifts, expressed their gratitude to Sima Guang, and also taught Shangguan Shangguang to learn from Sima Guang and also to become a calm and calm person.
Moreover, inspired by Sima Guang, Shangguan Shangguang's interest in learning also soared, and he took Sima Guang as an example, studied hard every day, read the scriptures well, and achieved good results in the imperial examination. According to the genealogy of the Shangguan family, this Shangguan Shangguang also rose step by step after entering the workplace, and the highest even achieved the position of prime minister.
Of course, even so, the Shangguan family did not forget Sima Guang's kindness to them, and in the education of their descendants, the Shangguan family would often mention Sima Guang, so that these children would take Sima Guang as a model and become a wise and astute person. Later, in order to better pass on Sima Guang's deeds, the Shangguan family even built a pavilion called the Thanksgiving Pavilion, often reminding future generations not to forget to be grateful.
Of course, these things may have some exaggerated elements. The people of the Shangguan family may also express their gratitude to Sima Guang to Shangguan Shangguang's parents and his children, and others may not even know what Sima Guang did after a generation or two. However, because Sima Guang himself was still very famous at that time, in addition to the reason that he really wanted to remember Sima Guang's kindness, it was not impossible for the Shangguan family to take this opportunity to publicize their relationship with Sima Guang.
It is difficult to verify the real fate
However, it is worth mentioning that unlike the well-known and well-documented Sima Guang, Shangguan Shangguang has almost no record in the history books. Neither the canonical history nor the wild history has appeared, and the only thing that can be verified is a genealogy whose authenticity is in doubt. As for why this situation occurs, there are also many opinions. Some people speculate that although Shangguan Shangguang himself worshipped the prime minister, for some reason his tenure was so short that even the historians did not record it.
There is an extension of this statement, saying that he became a teacher after returning home from his official post and praised Sima Guang while teaching students. Some people also believe that some descendants confused the protagonists in the storytelling when compiling the genealogy, and installed the name of Sima Guang's prime minister on the head of Shangguan Shangguang. Or maybe this prime minister is originally fake, after all, his family's genealogy, no matter how it is written, as long as it is not hyped up, no one cares.
This is also a reason why the story of Sima Guang smashing the cylinder that we have heard since childhood has no follow-up. If there is no historical record, it is likely to mislead their memory of history and make them have a wrong impression, which will adversely affect later cognition.
Of course, there is actually another reason, that is, Sima Guang's reputation after sima guang is too loud. As the literary artist who compiled the Zizhi Tongjian and the prodigy of the time, the whole story must have revolved around Sima Guang. Whether it was the people at that time or the people who listen to the story now, they will definitely focus more on Sima Guang and ignore such an ordinary person as Shangguan Shangguang. Therefore, it also led to Shangguan Shangguang not only not being recorded in the historical data, but even modern people basically do not deliberately examine his fate.
brief summary
Sima Guang saved people out of kindness and did not think of getting rewarded. But his story has been passed down, used as a template for promoting good character, and brought him a good reputation. Therefore, helping others is actually a kind of thing that is beneficial to both parties, other people's difficulties have been solved, they can feel happy and appreciated, and even help the development of life later.
No matter what the outcome of Shangguan Shangguang was after that, at least from various records and speculations of posterity, he was a grateful person. No matter what a person's ability is, the most basic ethics and morality of being a person cannot be broken, and in the face of a person who is kind to himself, even if that person gives us only a small amount of help, we should always be grateful. Only in this way will the interpersonal relationships of the whole society become harmonious and people are more willing to lend a helping hand.
References: History of the Song Dynasty, Early Summer