About 4 kilometers northeast of the small north gate of today's Jingzhou City in Hubei Province, there is a solemn and lush tomb of pine cypresses more than 10 meters above the ground, which is buried with Fan Ji, one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
It is said that behind every successful man, there stands a woman who pays silently, and Fan Ji is the woman behind king Chu Zhuang. It is often said that red face is short-lived, but this sentence has become a real false proposition here in Fan Ji. According to the records of the history books, Fan Ji was not only beautiful and intelligent, but also very virtuous, and could be called the first sage of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Although he was the only prince of the Five Lords of the Spring and Autumn Period to claim the title of king, the king of the State of Chu was not very competent at the beginning of his reign. King Chu Zhuang took over the burden of the Chu state before he was 20 years old, that is, at the beginning of his reign, the king of Chu Zhuang was bent on having fun and did not care much about the country's major affairs. At that time, king Zhuang of Chu was very keen on wild hunting, almost to the point where the playthings lost their minds.
Fan Ji, as the wife of King Chu zhuang, watched her husband's desolation day by day, and many times she gave bitter advice, but king Chu Zhuang just couldn't listen to his heart. The bitter persuasion was useless, and Fan Ji later thought of a way, that is, to never eat animal meat again. Finally, Fan Ji's will finally influenced King Zhuang of Chu, who no longer concentrated on hunting, but spent a lot of time on state affairs, and became more and more diligent and cautious.
This should be placed in the general man, it is estimated that Fan Ji has already been kicked back to her mother's house, you love to eat or not to eat my ass. However, Fan Ji met the King of Chuzhuang, the future overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period. From this incident, we can also see the pattern of King Chu Zhuang himself, and he should have love for Fan Ji. This is the western Han Dynasty literary scholar Liu Xiang's record in his "Biography of the Daughters of Lie", in addition to this matter there are two other things. One is about beauty, and the other is about appointing virtuous subjects.
The passion for beauty should be the true color of men, let alone the king. In Chinese history, there are not a few kings who are addicted to beauty and have fallen into ruin, and Xia you are happy and prosperous, and you have praised yourself and Zhou, which can be described as the lessons of history have been staged from generation to generation. In order to prevent her husband from indulging in beauty too much, Fan Ji later followed in the footsteps of Xia Shang Zhou. So this wife was personally responsible for searching for beautiful women from all over the world, of course, the beautiful women fan ji chose were not only beautiful on the face and body, but also beautiful in the heart.
Fan Ji's beauty pageant not only pays attention to appearance, but also the moral cultivation is the top priority of examination. In doing so, she not only fundamentally eliminated the hidden dangers in the ears around King Chu zhuang, but also touched her husband again, so that King Chu Zhuang had more respect for Fan Ji.
In the State of Chu at that time, Ling Yin was the largest official besides the monarch and was responsible for the administrative affairs of the entire State of Chu. Yu Qiuzi served as the commander of the Chu state for more than ten years, and although this person was very talented, he was not loyal to the Chu state, and he was also nepotistic. However, because Yu Qiuzi could speak, King Zhuang of Chu was not disgusted with him but was still very fond of him. Fan Ji saw this clearly and clearly, so she talked to King Chu Zhuang after a cheerful conversation between King Chu Zhuang and Yu Qiuzi.
Fan Ji knew her husband very well, and she advised King Chu Zhuang to pay attention to methods and methods, and finally under her persuasion, King Chu Zhuang reacquainted herself with Yu Qiuzi. The next morning, King Zhuang of Chu gave Yu Qiuzi the original copy of Fan Ji's words in front of his courtiers. Yu Qiuzi felt ashamed of himself, so he retreated and recommended a sage to the King of Chuzhuang, Sun Shu'ao. King Zhuang of Chu first examined Sun Shu'ao and felt that this person was useful, so he appointed him as the Ling yin of the Chu state. Three years later, with the assistance of Sun Shu'ao, King Zhuang of Chu finally became a hegemon.
The hegemony of king Zhuang of Chu was inseparable from those sages and heroes who helped each other, and the unity of the military and people of the Chu state, but even more inseparable from the woman behind him, Fan Ji. It can be said that the king of Chuzhuang almost went astray several times, and it was Fan Ji who appeared in time to pull the horse rope of the king of Chuzhuang, which avoided the recurrence of the historical tragedy.
The historical record of Fan Ji only stays on how she helped her husband to change from evil to righteousness, and her evaluation is only "Chu Zhiba, Fan Ji's strength", as for her origins, and what kind of years she and King Zhuang of Chu have had. Through the dust of more than two thousand years of history, it is difficult for us to know today.
However, according to the only words of history, through the retrospection of Fan Ji in later generations, we can still consider this today. Fan Ji married the King of Chuzhuang Xionglu in the most beautiful years, when the King of Chuzhuang was still a prince of the Chu Kingdom, and their combination can be described as a langcai woman. Later, King Zhuang of Chu succeeded to the throne, and Fan Ji was made queen. However, Fan Ji did not pamper and be proud, did not compete for the wind and jealousy, usurped power and chaotic government, but stood behind her husband and paid silently, supporting the King of Chu Zhuang to finally achieve a generation of hegemony.
The marriage of King Zhuang of Chu and Fan Ji was loving and went hand in hand. Perhaps the status of men and women at that time was very different, but Fan Ji should have spent a happy life in the palace of the Chu Kingdom. One is the king of the Chu kingdom, and the other is the queen who cares about the world. When Fan Ji died, the King of Chu Zhuang should also be reluctant to give up.