In many ancient royal families, the Sima clan has always been criticized by the world, and the evaluation of this family by posterity is also far more demeaning than praise. This was not only because of the Rebellion of the Eight Kings and the Rebellion of the Five Hus in the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, but also because of sima Zhao's suspicion of killing the king in previous years.
From time to time, the Wei emperor Cao Xian wanted to emulate Shao Kang, the lord of the Xia Dynasty Zhongxing, and counterattacked the arbitrary Sima clan. Therefore, in May of the fifth year of Ganlu (260), Cao Xi personally led the palace guards and "hundreds of servants and clamored out"; seeing that "the crowd wanted to retreat", Sima Zhao's confidant Jia Chong instructed the brothers Cheng Ji and Cheng Qi to kill Cao Xi. Seeing that "the blade came out of the back", Emperor Wei was killed on the spot, at the age of twenty.
As Gao Cheng said to Yuan Shanjian: "What does Your Majesty mean to oppose evil? "The details of the murder of an emperor in the feudal era are also realistic and vividly displayed in front of the eyes of the world. This can't help but make people wonder: How did such a taboo thing as killing Emperor Wei be recorded in the history books?
Above_ 1994 TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms": Ji Chenmu played Cao Xian
First, Chen Shou's most difficult place to write
Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang and killed Cao Xian, just like Dong Zhuo's atrocities; not only that, they also forced the empress dowager to order Cao Fang and Cao Fu to be "negative figures", so as to prove that their counterattack was really "helpless". Because, under the guidance of Mencius's theory that "the king regards the subject as a grass mustard, and the subject regards the king as a vendetta", it is "reasonable" for Sima Shi to be persecuted and fight back.
For Sima Shi's grandiose excuse, the world is not ashamed of it. But dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, really want them to stand up and expose Sima Shi, I am afraid that there are few people. Even Chen Shou, who is known as the "material of good history", does not dare to directly touch this taboo topic. To put it bluntly, such a taboo thing, touch is death. It is precisely because of these two that Chen Shou is the most difficult to write.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Twenty-Four Histories, was written by the Western Jin Dynasty historian Chen Shou
In this case, if you directly observe the account of Cao Xian's death in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is not difficult to see that Chen Shou is suspected of composing pens. Found in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of the Three Young Emperors: "May is ugly, a noble township official, twenty years old." It is clear that it is a biography of the three young emperors, but Chen Shou directly refers to Cao Xian as a noble township official; and the murder of Cao Huan in the street is clearly a "breaking news" of shi breaking the sky, but Chen Shou still "turns a blind eye" and skips the matter with only a few words.
In this way, it is inevitable that some people will think that Chen Shou has a lot of protection for Sima Shi. As the Qing Dynasty historian Zhao Yi said in the "Twenty-Second Chronicle": "The Three Kingdoms Chronicle of Wei ji was created as the law of protection. All the dynasties have followed this style. He also said, "Shou Yu Sima Shi is the most protective." ”
Did Chen Shou really give up his "professional ethics"?
Above_ The Twenty-Second Historical Record is a famous work by the Qing Dynasty historian Zhao Yi
Second, Chen Shou's painstaking loneliness
After taking Cao Xi's death in a pen, Chen Shou did not have any comments, but directly quoted the so-called "Empress Dowager Edict", which said: "Former aid to the Prince of the East China Sea... The temperament is violent, and the sun and the moon are even worse. ...... Here, he will be left and right Izumo Dragon Gate, thunder war drums, bow their own blades, and join the left and right miscellaneous guards into the army Chen, killed by the forward. Here he is both rebellious and self-inflicted... It is also advisable to bury it with civil rites. ”
What you see here is all demeaning and reprimanding words against Cao Xi. This nominal "Edict of the Empress Dowager" was obviously a statement carefully prepared by Sima Shi to block the mouths of all the peoples of the world. Chen Shou's "mouth" was obviously blocked, but because of the "professional ethics" of a historian, he could only find another way:
Since sima shi's shamelessness cannot be directly denounced, it can only be euphemistically expressed through the praise of Cao Xi that his death is unusual. Therefore, Chen Shou's own "original content" is basically straight, and he wrote out Cao Xian's youthful heroism of "only with Chen Si and Wu Taizu".
Chen Shou (233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo, was a historian of the Western Jin Dynasty
Therefore, in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", we can see such a Cao Xian: he is "less studious, dreaming", even if he is established as a new emperor and ascends to the heavens one step at a time, he does not get carried away; on the contrary, after arriving in Luoyang, Cao Xian insists on worshipping the courtiers with the courtesy of the king of the domain, which immediately attracts the favor and praise of many celebrities. After officially ascending the throne, Cao Xian was still humble and courteous, eager to learn, and tireless; even in handling government affairs, he could also sympathize with the people, picket unjust prisons, and open up a moment of integrity...
Such a Cao Xian is the exact opposite of the "violent nature" and "disobedience" in the empress dowager's edict. It is precisely because of this strong contrast that it is easier to arouse the reader's inquiry and curiosity. Therefore, Chen Shou's move almost did not directly write out "Cao Xian's death has another hidden feeling".
Above: Cao Fang in the 1994 TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Similar brushwork can also be seen in the case of Cao Fang's abolition. When Cao Fang was deposed, there was also an edict issued by the Empress Dowager. However, Yuqiu Jian and Wen Qin made it very clear that this was "to depose the monarch and add to the sin." In addition, Xiahou Xuan, who was beaten as a rebellious minister, was rated by Chen Shou as "Geliang Hongji" and "called his name by the world" by Chen Shou, and his people "approached the East City, the color was unchanged, and the action was free", and there was a state of great righteousness and awe. Is such a person a traitor in Sima Shi's mouth who "harbors evil intentions and composes fierce rebellion"?
Even more interesting is the "Empress Dowager's Edict". Chen Shou's account reads: "The great general Sima Jingwang will plot to depose the emperor in order to hear about the empress dowager. What is "smelling"? It turned out that the empress dowager had only been informed, and she not only had no idea, but also did not have the right to negotiate.
Sima Shi (208 – March 23, 255), ziyuan
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, The Biography of Empress Mingyuanguo: "The three lords were weak and weak, zaifu ruled, and seized important events, all of which were first consulted by the empress dowager and then implemented." It can be seen that Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, who "Zaifu", were the rulers; as for Empress Guo, like Emperor Xian of Han at that time, she was just a "microphone".
Therefore, the word "to smell" alone indicates the helplessness of the empress dowager's "sending people to the fence", but also hints at Sima Shi's arbitrariness, and paves the way for Sima Shi's beautification of "killing Cao Xian" in advance.
It is undeniable that "Shou Yu Sima Shi has the most protection" is not a false statement; but from Chen Shou's arrangement, it is not difficult to see his conscience and bottom line as a historian. Hindered by the obscenity of those in power, Chen Shou could not write the truth about Cao Xian's death directly, but he left a clue like a grass snake gray line for posterity to be slighted.
Sima Zhao (211 – 6 September 265)
Third, the emotional backlash of later generations
Sima Zhao rebelled against the king as a vassal?
Even if he was in power at the time, some people expressed strong dissatisfaction. Chen Tai, who had a "family friendship" with Sima Shi, cried bitterly and demanded that the murderer be punished in spite of Sima Zhao's face; even Sima Zhao's uncle Sima Fu was "a corpse in the stock", and until his death, he also called himself a "pure minister of Great Wei"; and Sima Shi's future good generation and acceptance of Zen were also more or less affected by this matter. It can be seen that this incident, which violated the bottom line of Confucian morality and ethics, brought quite negative political influence to Sima Shi.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the strength of the Gate Valve Clan once reached its peak, "the king and the horse, the world together", the Sima clan was no longer on top, and there was no power in the past.
Sima Yi (179 – 7 September 251)
According to the Book of Jin and the Chronicle of Emperor Xuan: "During the reign of Emperor Ming, Wang Dao sat down. The emperor asked why he had won the world in his previous life, and the guide was the beginning of the founding of Emperor Chen (Sima Yi) and the official affairs of Emperor Wen (Sima Zhao) at the end of The Noble Township. Emperor Ming covered the bed with his face and said, "If it is as the word is said, Jin Zuo will be safe for a long time!" ’”
From Wang Dao's ridicule and satire of Sima Shi, it is not difficult to understand why the causes and consequences of Cao Huan's death can be smoothly passed on to future generations. In this atmosphere, the truth that was buried by the power of the Sima clan in the past gradually surfaced under the efforts of many historians and novelists.
Therefore, when Pei Songzhi of Liu Song wrote annotated the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he successively quoted materials such as the "Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty", the "Jin Dynasty" of Gan Bao, and the "Biography of the End of Wei" to present the complete history of Cao Xian's death and point his spearhead directly at Sima Zhao. And Pei's "Han Jin Chunqiu" statement that "Sima Zhao's heart, passers-by know it", has also become a widely circulated proverb, which has been extended by posterity as a generic term for careerists.
Author: Yingzhou Haike Correction/Editor: Lilith
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin, Notes on the Twenty-Second History
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author