The poem Saint Du Fu's poem "Yong Huai Ancient Monuments" has exhausted the ups and downs and sorrows of Zhaojun's life in just a few crosses.
The Han Yuan Emperor judged Zhaojun to be ugly based on the painter's portrait alone, so he married her to the Xiongnu to consolidate diplomatic relations; but the beautiful and beautiful pipa rhythm of Zhaojun could only play Huqu, which clearly contained grievances, and only left a green tomb on the deserted suburbs after death.
The allusion to Zhaojun's departure is well known, so how did the Xiongnu treat this woman who sacrificed for the country? Is she really full of grief as the poem says?
We can find the truth in all this from a mural in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
Deep Palace "Resentment"
In 54 BC, Wang Yan was born in a commoner family in Nan County, although the family was average, but her parents were also old and had children, so she was very fond of this young daughter.
"Emei is unattainable in the world, and it can make the flowers shy in the forest." As she grew older, Zhaojun became more and more beautiful, and she became famous for her talent, and the local gentry heard of her beauty and tried to send her to the palace.
Yan Shigu's "Notes on the Book of Han" quotes Shao Yue: "The daughter of the county has not been seen, and must be ordered in the court, so it is to be edicted." In 38 BC, the 16-year-old Zhaojun entered the court and became the concubine of emperor Yuan of Han.
According to rumors, there were many concubines in the harem of the Han Yuan Emperor, and they could not see in person, so when selecting concubines, they only let the painter present a portrait, and decided whether to spoil it according to the portrait, so the palace people bribed the painter to make the painter look better.
And Zhaojun was arrogant and refused to take bribes, so the portrait of her presented to Emperor Yuan of Han was not only less than one-tenth of Zhaojun's beauty, but even ugly.
The Book of later Han records: "(Wang Zhaojun) entered the palace for several years, but he was not allowed to see the imperial court, and he accumulated sorrow and resentment, but asked the court to order him to do so." "Long-lived in the deep palace can not be summoned, coupled with the appearance of Zhaojun is outstanding, naturally became the object of many concubines. Just when Zhaojun thought that she was going to spend her life in such gloom, she ushered in the biggest turning point in her life.
Zhaojun is out of the jam
At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han, it was the time when the Western Han Dynasty was strong, at this time the western Han dynasty became stronger and the Xiongnu power gradually weakened.
In the first year of The Ning Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu leader Hu Hanxian came to Chang'an for the third time to see the Son of Heaven, in order to fulfill the courtesy of the vassals and consolidate the diplomatic relations between the two countries. It was also at this banquet that Hu Han invited himself to be his son-in-law and asked for the Princess of the Western Han Dynasty.
Where the Han Yuan Emperor was willing to give his daughter to go to a desolate place like Hudi, he gave the "ugly" Wang Zhaojun to Hu Han evil.
And when Zhaojun was faced with holiness, the Han Yuan Emperor was amazed to see his beauty; and when he saw his elegant demeanor, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. On the other hand, Hu Hanxian was naturally very satisfied with such a beautiful fiancée, and at the same time made a promise to forever protect the peace of the border.
On the way to the Xiongnu, Zhaojun traveled to Saiwai, looked at the endless desert, felt the biting cold wind, she went far away from home, the return date was undecided, she couldn't help but feel sad from it, couldn't help but stroke the pipa, its rhythm was beautiful and beautiful, the sound of the piano was sad and desolate, even the geese flying in the sky forgot to swing their wings, and one fell on the flat sand outside the Saiwai.
And pro "Ming Concubine"
After Zhaojun arrived in the Xiongnu, she was known as the Ninghu Fu clan, and she did not live a miserable life like other princesses, but was loved and admired by the Hu people.
Zhaojun and his first husband, Hu Hanxi, lived together for three years, and the two had a son. Three years later, in the second year of the founding of the country, Hu Han died, and Zhaojun wrote to the Han Emperor requesting to return to his hometown. However, the emperor of the Han Dynasty ordered Zhaojun to "change from Hu customs" and continue to stay in Hudi.
Seeing that there was no hope of returning to China, Zhaojun was helpless, and zhaojun married Hu Hanxian's eldest son Fu Zhuan in accordance with Hu customs.
As a traditional Han Chinese, after the death of her husband from her son, this is indeed a lot of mental torture for Zhaojun, suffering from homesickness, not to mention, but also facing the torture of ethical guidelines, Zhaojun as a woman, for the sake of the righteousness of the family and the country to do so, people admire and sad.
After Zhaojun married Fu Zhu, the two were similar in age, and there were more topics to talk about, which in a way, it was also a comfort to this woman who was far away from home.
After marriage, the two had two daughters, and their lives were harmonious, but eleven years later, they died alone, and the companionship of the two ended here. Zhaojun was depressed all day, and in less than two years, she went with her husband.
The truth revealed by the murals
Although Zhaojun has only been in the Xiongnu for more than ten years, her contributions to the two ethnic groups cannot be ignored.
Zhaojun and his relatives ended the century-long war between Han and Hungary, won peace for the people of the two ethnic groups for half a century, and also brought advanced Han Dynasty technology to the Xiongnu, promoted cultural exchanges between the two sides, and achieved cultural prosperity, so that the Xiongnu also developed towards a more civilized society.
For such a meritorious and pro-princess, the people were naturally very grateful to her. In the "Wang Zhaojun Variations", there is such a record: "Shan He came to weep in person on the day, and Mo She had to watch the funeral." ...... The official sat on the sword and slashed the face, and the nine surnames walked in mourning and cut off the ears. ”
On the day of Zhaojun's funeral, the scene was very large, Shan Yu personally came to the scene to mourn and cry, the officials present took a knife to cut their own faces, and many people were so deeply sad that they cut off their ears with knives.
It may be difficult to understand that the people's officials love Zhaojun, but why should they sacrifice her in an almost "self-harming" way? Is it that "Wang Zhaojun Variations" as a literary creation, there is an exaggerated component?
In fact, we can find the answer to all this from a mural in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
The mural in Cave 158 in Dunhuang is called "Princes of Various Countries Holding Up a Picture of Mourning", which depicts the various tribes mourning Buddha Shakyamuni at that time, and you can see several Hu people in the picture either cutting their faces with knives, cutting their ears with knives, or inserting knives into their chests.
In fact, this is a custom of Hu people's funeral, and it is of the highest level, and their use of this way to pay homage to Zhaojun is enough to prove the status of Zhaojun in the hearts of the Hu people.
Therefore, through this painting, coupled with the description of zhaojun's funeral ceremony in the "Wang Zhaojun Variations", we can clearly see the attitude of the Hu people towards Zhaojun, and it is difficult for people to be impressed by their highest etiquette.
In order to protect the peace between the two countries, a woman leaves her family and marries a foreign country, and in such a situation, she suffers not only homesickness, but also the torment of cultural and custom differences between the two places.
It can be said that the beauty of Zhaojun did not bring her good luck, but such a woman with the ambition of the homeland has single-handedly achieved the peace between the two countries for many years, and the etiquette of the Hu people to Zhaojun is touching, and the national integrity of this princess and princess is even more difficult to calm people's hearts for a long time.