Author: Lao Tan, Source: Tang Poetry song poetry ancient poems (ID: tsgsc8)
The ugly cow triumphantly returned, and the Yinhu arrived in spring. With the arrival of the New Year, the little tiger in the zodiac sign came to us with excitement.
How many idioms can you think of about tigers? Tiger eye, fox false tiger power, hidden dragon crouching tiger, and so on, most of the idioms, are full of conspiracy and hostility, and are incompatible with our New Year's atmosphere.
In a group of idioms, "the heart has a fierce tiger, and the smell of roses" appears to be both masculine and delicate, and full of beauty.
Honestly, these two sentences are not really idioms, they come from modern poetry written by a certain English poet.
These two philosophical poems, translated by Mr. Yu Guangzhong of China, suddenly became popular in the Chinese-speaking world.
In other words, "tiger sniffing roses" is actually an imported product. In the vast and profound Chinese culture, is there no connection between flowers and tigers?
Of course there is, and probably more poetic than what the English poet wrote. If you don't believe me, please talk to you.
1, tigers
Needless to say, tigers are real-life animals, and in fact, China is the homeland of the Tiger Clan. According to relevant scholars, the earliest tiger originated from the Henan Rope Pond 2 million years ago.
Since it grew up in China, the clever Chinese will obviously give it more humanistic concepts and meanings, which is the so-called "tiger culture".
How much literature related to tigers can you think of? In ancient novels, Xue Dingshan fought a tiger, and Li Cunxiao also killed a tiger, and some people may not have heard of these two heroes. Wu Song in "Water Margin", presumably everyone knows it.
Who is the prototype of Wu Song? Different scholars have different evidence, and the author says that one of them is possible.
It is said that in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos and the masses were in strife. There was a salt merchant named Zhang Shicheng, who could not stand the oppression of the powerful, so he conformed to the general trend of the world and held high the banner of righteousness of resistance.
He first controlled the soldiers stationed in the salt field, and then captured the thief and killed the supreme commander, the Salt Division. Taking this as a stronghold, Zhang Shicheng recruited troops and bought horses and developed his forces, which was the "Eighteen Flat Burdens" uprising in history at the end of the Yuan and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
If he wanted to achieve his career, Zhang Shicheng not only relied heavily on Zhao Zhao Wufu, he also needed a military division. Zhang Shicheng's think tank is also famous in history – even more famous than himself. The name of the military master is Shi Nai'an, and compared with zhimao, Shi's literary style is obviously superior.
Shi Nai'an and a man named Bian Yuanheng befriend each other. With the approval of Shi Dacaizi, Bian's ability is naturally not insignificant. He was handsome, with a large forehead and high cheeks, and a clear bone; he was very good at martial arts, "trying swords, having great strength, and being able to lift a thousand pounds"; and he also had literary style, "reading history books at an early age, when he became an adult, good literature, good at poetry". Bian Yuanheng is the legendary all-rounder of literature and martial arts.
He is from Bencang Town, Yancheng County, Jiangsu Province. Bencang is located in the north of the Yangtze River, east of the ancient canal, with a radius of less than ten kilometers and a population of not more than 10,000. It is a small town of peace and tranquility.
Just around this small town, there is a tiger infested, and the people around are very afraid, and no one dares to go out alone. After Bian Yuanheng heard about it, he was quite dissatisfied, and he wanted to travel alone, specifically to find the tiger.
I don't know if you still have an impression of Wu Song's story, the reason why he went to Jingyang Gang, to some extent, is because his self-esteem is at work, Wu Song is actually very afraid of tigers, and finally fighting tigers is a last resort. In this regard alone, Bian Yuanheng's courage is stronger than Wu Songduo's.
The process of his fighting the tiger is extremely briefly recorded in ancient books. In the "Genealogy of the Bian Clan", it is summarized with the five words of "tasting the tiger with bare hands", and in another ancient book, the description is relatively detailed, "Bian goes alone with his bare hands, and kicks the jaw of the tiger with his feet, so that the tiger can die immediately."
Translated into the vernacular, Bian Yuanheng kicked the tiger to death.
It is said that Shi Nai'an later wrote about Wu Song fighting the tiger, which is a reference to this experience of a friend.
Zhang Shicheng also admired it, and he made Bian Yuanheng the general of Dianzuo, and soon after, Bian's fame shocked people at home and abroad. There is reason to believe that Bian Yuanheng at that time must also be full of spirit.
The year before the whale on the East Sea, the white waves were as strong as mountains;
Last year, the tiger was shot in the autumn of Nanshan, and the night returned to the snow full of mink.
Lu You's "Fighting the Tiger Poem" is like a spiritual portrayal of Bian Yuanheng. When writing this poem, Lu You was actually lost, whether it was a "whale" or a "shooting tiger", his heroic deeds all happened in the past. "This year's decadence is the most ridiculous, Hua Fa is ashamed of himself," Lu You wrote in a postscript, bleakly.
2, peony
The rebel army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty eventually developed into three forces, namely Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youyu, and Zhu Yuanzhang. As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed to the end and eventually established the Ming Dynasty.
In the process of competing for the world, Bian Yuanheng also repeatedly gave advice to the boss, however, "Zhang Shicheng was stubborn and repeatedly did not listen." In desperation, Bian Yuanheng chose to resign from the government and retire.
What did he do when he returned to his hometown? According to historical records, Bian Yuanheng was also a romantic man, he "lived in the convenience barn of Yancheng, planted peonies in the garden, and flowers were blooming." It turned out that this fierce warrior who fought the tiger actually went home to plant peonies.
The peonies planted by Bian Yuanheng are not ordinary ordinary products, and this peony has a total of "three gems":
When the flowers are in bloom, the peonies are delicate and delicate. But if you look closely, the branches under the flowers are as dry as wood, haggard, and can be broken with a light fold, ignited, and burned out quickly. This is a "must".
Counting the petals of peony flowers, in normal years, each flower has 12 petals; in the leap month of the lunar calendar, each flower must have 13 petals, almost error-free. This is the "second best".
Ordinary peony flowers are often open in spring, and there is a folk proverb that "Gu Yu Three Dynasties Look at Peonies, Li Xia Three Take Care of Peonies", which is the reason; the peonies in the convenience warehouse are only competing to open in late autumn or even mid-winter. This is the "three musts".
This kind of flower, there is also a romantic title, that is, "dead branch peony", the Qing Dynasty literati created a long novel "Mirror Flower Edge", also specially recorded this flower: "Nowadays, the world's dead branch peony, Huainan Bian Cang is the most." ”
In folk word of mouth, the birth of "dead branch peony" is closely related to Bian Yuanheng.
It is said that Bian Yuanheng lost his horse whip on the way home from his resignation, and in the process of looking for the horse whip, he came across a flower deer, which was holding a dead branch in its mouth and knelt down in front of the horse.
Bian Yuanheng took its dead branches, returned on horseback, and when he returned home, planted dead branches on the ground, and soon after, the "dead branches and peonies" blossomed.
Just when Bian Yuanheng was planting happy peonies at home, Zhang Shicheng's situation was worse than a day, and soon after, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated him. Bian Yuanheng's great name, Zhu Yuanzhang had heard of it long ago, and he had been recruited many times.
Although he returned to his hometown, Bian Yuanheng had the heart of loyalty to the king, and he was unwilling to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. Bian's actions annoyed Zhu Yuanzhang, and in anger, he sent him away from Liaodong.
Ten years later, Zhu Yuanzhang had already died, and Bian Yuanheng was pardoned and returned home. When he returned home, the peonies, which had not flowered for nine years, suddenly competed to bloom and re-bloom. Bian Yuanheng felt a lot of emotions, so he gave two poems:
The peony was originally planted by hand, and the spring breeze of ten degrees could not be opened.
How much prosperity has fallen, a branch is still waiting for the master to come.
The grass hall pine chrysanthemum withers late, and there are old peonies in the West Garden.
Since it is a dead branch, it is still in love with the deceased.
Today, we often say a sentence: "Flowers interpret the master's language, and flowers follow the master's heart." "It seems that this is not a lie, Bian Yuanheng's pain and sorrow, only Hua knows."
3. Follow-up
When Zhu Yuanzhang recruited Bian Yuanheng, Bian Yuanheng composed a poem Mingzhi, and refused the Emperor Daming with a sentence of "I am afraid that Tian Hengke will laugh at people, and when I return the flowers in the south".
Who is Tian Heng? At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the leader of the rebel army, he established himself as the King of Qi. After Liu Bang unified the world, he also ordered him to be recruited, and Tian Heng did not want to be a vassal, and led five hundred disciples to flee to the island, they were the famous "Tian Heng Five Hundred Soldiers" in later generations. In the end, under the squeeze of Liu Bang, Tian Heng was forced to commit suicide, and five hundred of his men, Wen Tian Heng, were already dead, and all committed suicide.
Bian Yuanheng presented himself as a "Tian Hengke", and his intentions were self-evident, and he angered the emperor, and as a result, he was exiled to Liaodong.
Is the story of Liaodong over? Far from it.
Bian Yuanheng changed his name to "Gao Jia Donkey", and he also introduced himself to others that he was from Huang County, Dengzhou, Shandong. In the cold Liaodong, he opened a new life with a new identity.
Although he gave a humble name, the "Gao Family Donkey" is a brave person after all, the Bian family has been practicing martial arts for generations, and the son he gave birth to can be called "blue out of blue".
When the "Gao family donkey" was in the Border of Liaodong Province, his fourth son went to the province to kiss. At that time, there was a hero in Liaodong who claimed that his boxing skills were unparalleled in the world, and the fourth son "could lift a thousand pounds", so he showed disobedience, and the two of them passed a few moves, and the son was defeated, and also won a sword.
Bian Zhihai is the great-grandson of the Gao family donkey, he rarely has great ambitions, once said to others: "The eldest husband must make meritorious contributions to the frontier and guard the corner of the sea, what is it?" ”
Bian Zhihai means that a good boy should be determined to stay in the four directions and stay at the water's edge at home, how much can he achieve?
Once upon a time, Li He of the Tang Dynasty also expressed a similar meaning through poetry:
Why don't the boys take Wu hooks and charge Guan Shan Fifty Prefectures.
Please go to ling yan pavilion for the time being, if a scholar is a ten thousand households?
Therefore, Bian Zhihai changed his name to Bian Hai, following in the footsteps of Zu Bian Yuanheng and going to Liaodong to join the army. It is gratifying that Bian Hai finally realized the great wish of "inviting the king to temporarily go to lingyan Pavilion", according to the historical records, Bian Zhihai, "the descendants flourished, the crown covered each other, and still have endless hairpins", and they became a famous local military meritorious family.
It must be admitted that all glory belongs first to Bian Yuanheng, whether it is flowers, or children and grandchildren, he can carefully cultivate and prune carefully.
English poets use "tigers sniffing roses" to express ambition and tenderness; Chinese is more extreme, beating tigers and developing new flower varieties.
Just ask if you are satisfied.
Resources:
1, Zheng Lei: "The Prototype of the Life of The Tiger Hero Wu Song"
2, Jia Xingnian: "A Must in the Bento, Dead Branches peony"
3, Yan Hai: "Correction"
4, Yang Xiaohua: "Tracing the Origin of The Dead Branch Peony in the Portable Warehouse"
-Author-
Always talk, always talk, always talk about people, nothing else.