If you want to use an idiom to describe the beauty of the world, then "sinking fish and falling geese, closing the moon and shy flowers" must be the only choice. These two idioms come from the Yuan Dynasty's "Serial Counting", and are also used to refer to the four ancient beauties of the mainland - Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Sable Cicada, and Yang Yuhuan.
Legend has it that these four people are all beautiful and moving, and naturally they have left many legendary stories. Among them, the story of Zhaojun's departure is also familiar: Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, who made peace with the Xiongnu, gave the palace king Zhaojun the courtesy of a princess to Huhan Yedanyu until his death.
During the decades of living in the Xiongnu territory, Zhaojun acted as a messenger of cultural exchanges between the two ethnic groups, not only promoting peace, but also promoting the cultural development of the Xiongnu. Although in a historical sense, Zhaojun's life was accomplished and great.
But for a Han Chinese woman, it is not easy to leave her hometown for decades without returning home, and to adapt to the differences in national culture. The most difficult thing to accept is that Wang Zhaojun has successively become the wife of three grandchildren.
So, as one of the four beauties, why did Zhaojun marry the Xiongnu, and why did he commit himself to the three grandchildren? Today, let's talk about one of the lesser-known stories.
Born as a civilian, drafted into the palace
In 54 BC, in a peasant family in Nan County (南郡; present-day Xingshan County, Hubei Province), the old Han king Xiang went to the nearby Qu Yuan Temple to make a wish, hoping that the child he was going to be born would be loyal to the country and achieve something like Qu Yuan.
The results were really magical, on the night of August 15, his wife dreamed of a bright moon thrown into her arms, and soon after, she gave birth to a baby girl, and her name was called "Haoyue". Wang Xiang and his wife have always had daughters, and naturally love their daughters and cultivate them carefully.
In the past ten years, girls have become more and more outgoing, coupled with the fact that they are smart and clever from childhood, so they are all proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. "Emei is untraceable in the world, can make the flowers shy in the forest", slowly, the whole South County knows that there is a beautiful and moving girl in the Wang family, she is Wang Zhaojun.
At this time, the Han Yuan Emperor selected women all over the country, and Wang Zhaojun, as the first choice of Nan County, was summoned to the palace. According to common sense, Wang Zhaojun should immediately be favored by the emperor and then live a life of glory and wealth. But things were far more complicated than she had imagined.
According to the custom of the time, the show girls were first painted by the court painters, and when the portraits were completed, the officials would select beautiful women from them, and these girls would often be favored by the emperor and thus have a foothold in the harem.
If the portrait does not impress the officials and the emperor, then even the best showgirl may be buried in the palace compound and do some chores all day. In order to be able to get herself selected, many showgirls choose to pay bribes to the painter to make him paint himself more beautifully.
But Wang Zhaojun was reluctant to do such a thing, and the court painter Mao Yanshou deliberately painted Zhaojun ugly. Therefore, for several years, the emperor did not favor Wang Zhaojun. Although the life of the harem is also a golden food, Wang Zhaojun does not want to be locked up within the palace walls like a bird.
Later, a visit from the Xiongnu completely changed the trajectory of Wang Zhaojun's life. During the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu often invaded the borders of the Han Dynasty, and the people suffered terribly. With the subsequent conquests of Emperor Wu of Han, the balance between the two sides was basically maintained.
If you want to stay, Zhaojun is out of the jam
When Emperor Xuan of Han arrived, the leader of the Southern Xiongnu, Hu Hanxi, lost the war within the Xiongnu and fled to the border of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Xuan of Han warmly entertained him and placed him near Chang'an City. Hu Han was very touched and submitted to the Han Dynasty.
In 33 BC, Hu Han made three more pilgrimages to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Yuan of Han (by this time Emperor Xuan of Han had died), expressing the Xiongnu's willingness to submit to the Han Dynasty and asking Emperor Yuan of Han to marry his daughter to himself.
Hu Han evil did not show no backbone in doing so. In ancient times, the affiliations between rulers were usually maintained by marriage or hostages. What's more, after years of war, the Xiongnu could not easily invade the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Yuan of Han agreed to this request in order to maintain the stability of the border in order to have spare energy to develop the domestic economy. The matter is tentative, but who will marry Hu Han evil? According to common sense, the other party was the leader of the Xiongnu side, and it was reasonable to give the princess Xu to Hu Han evil.
However, the Xiongnu territory was far away from Chang'an, and once married, he might not be able to return to the province in this lifetime, and the xiongnu land at that time had a harsh environment and a harsh climate, and the Han Yuan Emperor naturally did not want his daughter to suffer such grievances.
Therefore, emperor Yuan of Han intended to send a palace maid to marry Hu Hanxian in the palace, and it is not known whether Wang Zhaojun went voluntarily (recorded in the rendition or opera) or was chosen by an official (more in line with historical facts).
The key point is that Wang Zhaojun thus became the wife of Hu Han evil, and it is said that before leaving, Emperor Yuan of Han received Wang Zhaojun and Hu Han evil. Emperor Yuan of Han was impressed by the beautiful and dignified Wang Zhaojun and wanted to leave her behind, but Tianzi's words and horses were difficult to chase, so he had to give up.
After Zhaojun left, Emperor Yuan of Han looked through the portraits when he entered the palace and found that Mao Yanshou had concealed Wang Zhaojun's beauty, and he was furious and punished him. On the other side, Zhaojun bid farewell to the homeland of the Han Dynasty and headed north to the Xiongnu territory.
Along the way, what she saw and heard made her nostalgic for her hometown, and her sadness made her depressed. She sat in the car, plucked the strings, and played a parting song, full of deep homesickness.
The geese flying south heard the pleasant sound of the piano, saw this beautiful woman sitting on the carriage, forgot to swing her wings, and fell from the sky, and the name of the falling goose also came from this.
Marry three grandchildren and help the two clans to make friends
After Wang Zhaojun came to the Xiongnu territory thousands of miles away, he held a wedding with Hu Han evil. Hu Hanxian took great care of his beautiful wife and named Wang Zhaojun "Ning Hu Fu Clan", which means queen.
With the support of the Han Dynasty, Hu Han gradually controlled the entire territory of the Xiongnu, and Zhaojun gradually adapted to life outside the Country, learned to ride horses and shoot arrows, and learned the culture and language of the Xiongnu. Not only that, Wang Zhaojun and his entourage also taught the people of the Xiongnu the more advanced culture and agricultural technology of the Han Dynasty.
They helped the Huns develop production and learn culture. Therefore, the Xiongnu people loved Wang Zhaojun very much, and when Wang Zhaojun was alive, the friendly exchanges between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty were uninterrupted. However, Hu Hanxue died a few years later, and Wang Zhaojun had nothing to worry about, so he wrote to Emperor Yuan of Han, hoping that the Han Dynasty would take her back to her hometown.
Above, the Han Yuan Emperor did not agree, but respected the tradition of the Xiongnu: the father died and the son succeeded. Therefore, now it seems that something "contrary to ethics" has emerged, and Wang Zhaojun married Hu Hanxi's eldest son (born of the Great Que Clan) - a compound strain.
Judging from the situation at that time, Wang Zhaojun's relationship with Fu Zhu Ruomo was also quite good, and the two lived for a total of ten years, and also gave birth to two daughters, the eldest daughter named Su Bu Juci, and the second daughter name should be Yu Ju ci.
However, fate seemed unwilling to let go of this beautiful woman, and ten years later, Wang Zhaojun's second husband died. According to custom, Hu Han's grandson Sohu Huan Ruofu wanted to "inherit" this wife.
However, Wang Zhaojun's third marriage did not last long, and about a few years later, Wang Mang usurped the throne and established a new dynasty. The Xiongnu considered Wang Mang to be a vassal and did not want to submit to him, and the two tribes began to fight again.
Witnessing the destruction of the peace he had maintained, Zhaojun was disheartened and died in this desert at the age of thirty-three. The story of Zhaojun's departure has been passed down to this day, and people seem to think more that she is a messenger who has voluntarily brought peace to the two tribes, but she does not know how much suffering she suffered as a woman in a foreign land.
Imagine how an ordinary Han woman lived in a foreign land for more than ten years more than two thousand years ago, and how she was forced to accept the trickery of fate, marry three grandchildren, and not return to her hometown until death.
Perhaps, among the four beauties, Wang Zhaojun is the most tragic person, what do you think about this?
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