To the surprise of many people, we blamed Zhang Fei for more than 600 years.
▲Zhang Fei
Stills from the 1994 edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms
background:
In the seventh year of Guanghe (184 AD), the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and Liu Bei participated in the suppression, and then in the fifth year of Zhongping (188 AD), he participated in the suppression of Zhang Chun's rebellion, so Liu Bei was made a lieutenant of Anxi County for military merit. However, the times were unlucky, and within a few months, the imperial court ordered that some people who served as officials with military merit should be cut, and Liu Bei was likely to be among them. The imperial court sent inspectors to various places to supervise and issue orders.
▲ Zhang Yide angrily whipped the post
In the second episode of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "Zhang Yide angrily whipped the postmaster, and He Guo's uncle plotted to curse the eunuchs", the postmaster went to Anxi County, was arrogant, and asked Liu Bei if he wanted to bribe, so he wanted to frame Liu Bei. Zhang Fei originally looked at the inspector and saw that the eldest brother was framed, and under the anesthesia of alcohol, he grabbed the inspector and arrested him, tied it to a horse stake, and took a willow branch to fight well.
But is that really the case?
The historian Yu Feng of the Three Kingdoms and Wei Dynasty also recorded in the "Canon Law":
"Later, the prefecture and county were edicted, and those who had military merit as senior officials were in the process of being suspected. Supervise the mail to the county, and prepare it, and prepare it. Hearing that the postmaster was in the transmission house, he was eager to see the postmaster, and the postmaster said that he was sick and refused to see the post, and he hated it, because he returned the rule, and passed on the official's knowledge to the house, and suddenly entered the house, saying, "I was received by the imperial occult sect of the government." Then he will be bound to the bed, and he will go out of bounds, and he will untie himself to tie the neck of the overseer, and tie it to the tree, and whip the rod for more than a hundred people, and want to kill him. The overseer asks for mourning, but he is relieved. ”
This means that the imperial court issued edicts to the states and counties to cut off some of those who used military merit as officials. Liu Bei suspected that he was also on the elimination list, and when the inspector came to Anxi County to lay off employees, Liu Bei was going to see the postmaster. But the Overseer did not see him. Liu Bei was annoyed and broke in with his soldiers, saying that the emperor had secretly ordered me to arrest you. He tied up the governor, whipped him hundreds of times, and tried to kill him. Inspector Post begged bitterly before letting Go post go, and Liu Bei himself fled.
In addition, according to the Western Jin Dynasty historian Chen Shou's "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of the Ancestors", there are similar records:
"Liu Bei, because of his meritorious service in begging the Yellow Turban, sealed an Xi Lieutenant, and the inspector went to the county on official business, asked for advice from the lord first, but did not pass, went straight into the post of the overseer, the staff was two hundred, the silk was tied to his neck and the horse was tied, and he abandoned the official and died."
The "first lord" is Liu Bei. It is very clear here that Liu Bei went to see the inspector, but did not see it, so he broke in and tied up the inspector and beat him with hundreds of rods. He also tied the county lieutenant's seal around the governor's neck, and then abandoned the official and fled.
From the above, it seems that it was probably Liu Bei who whipped the postmaster.
▲ Qing Dynasty Guandi Temple mural "Zhang Fei Nu Whip Inspector"
Shuimen Pagoda Fulong Temple, Qingshuihe County, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
But why did Luo Guanzhong write that it was Zhang Fei. This is related to the fact that the entire "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" tends to the orthodox blood of the Shu Han Dynasty, so it creates the image of Liu Beirenjun. And the pot naturally made Zhang Fei back, which also highlighted Zhang Fei's reckless and irritable personality.
▲ Qing Kangxi Colorful Three Ying Battle Lü Bu character story pattern stick mallet bottle
Collection of the Guanfu Museum
However, the fame of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is too great, coupled with the spread of opera and literary works in later generations, "Zhang Yide's angry whip to supervise the post" is well known to women and children.