For a long time, Wang Xiang has been regarded as a typical example of an ancient filial piety, and his story of "lying on the ice and asking for carp" has always been a very representative story in the "Twenty-Four Filial Pieties". Although to this day

For a long time, Wang Xiang has been regarded as a typical example of an ancient filial piety, and his story of "lying on the ice and asking for carp" has always been a very representative story in the "Twenty-Four Filial Pieties". Although to this day, many people have some opinions on Wang Xiangxiao's behavior and ways, believing that he has gone too far to extremes, but no matter what, "a hundred good filial pieties come first", this filial piety Wang Xiang is still worth our understanding.

The first thing that should be explained is that many people believe that in The Classical Literature of the East and the West, the "Stepmother" is always an extremely hateful and hateful character, always doing everything to persecute the good and loyal protagonist. Wang Xiang's story just happens to be such a pattern.

Wang Xiang was a native of Linyi, Langya during the Jin Dynasty, and when he was very young, his mother died, and his father Wang Rong married Zhu Shi as a wife, and Zhu Shi became Wang Xiang's stepmother.

Zhu Shi did not like Wang Xiang at all times. Frankly speaking, in addition to the fact that Wang Xiang is not Zhu's own birth, there may also be practical factors at work - in the case of limited resources and difficult life, Zhu Shi often only wants to protect his own son, based on conflicts of interest, naturally always feel that Wang Xiang is a superfluous child, always thinking about how good it would be if there was no Wang Xiang.

Therefore, Zhu Shi tried his best to find trouble for Wang Xiang and wanted to impose some crimes on Wang Xiang's body. For example, in the cold winter, she suddenly had to eat carp, forcing Wang Xiang to run to the ice with bare chest, but she did not die, and very magically relied on that little weak body temperature to dissolve the thick ice, and then the two large carp also automatically jumped out of the ice cave, so that Wang Xiang could go back to the errand. This story of "lying on the ice and seeking carp" is probably the most famous story on Wang Xiang's body.

The "New Sayings of the World and virtues" also records two stories about how Wang Xiang was cautious in serving his stepmother Zhu Shi.

Wang Xiang's family has a plum tree, the plums are very delicious, Zhu clan like to eat, so often ask Wang Xiang to guard the tree, do not let the birds or nearby children steal to eat. One day, when Wang Xiang was guarding the tree, suddenly the wind and rain came, and Wang Xiang was horrified, deeply afraid that after this storm, the plums on the tree did not know how much would fall, so what to do?

Thinking about it, Wang Xiang couldn't help but hold the plum tree and constantly cry sadly.

(I don't know if Wang Xiang also thought that if the plums on the plum tree were blown down too much by the wild storm, he would be blamed by his stepmother?) ）

Wang Xiang's heart was probably often filled with anxiety (and perhaps fear), because no matter how dedicated he was to his stepmother Zhu Shi, it seemed that he always did not get the favor of his stepmother, and his stepmother always seemed to be eager to get rid of him.

Wang Xiang would feel this way, it was definitely not his nervousness. One day, the stepmother really made up her mind to take action! Late that night, Zhu Shi actually took a knife and went to the place where Wang Xiang slept in the dark to cut him!

Fortunately, Wang Xiang had a big life, just got up and went out to the toilet, and when he returned, he found that his quilt had been cut by a knife, and he didn't have to think about it, it must have been done by his stepmother. He knew that his stepmother had always hated himself.

If you were Wang Xiang, what would you do? To cry to your father? Filing a complaint with the government? Or simply flee?

Wang Xiang didn't have one. Wang Xiang's actions were probably something that ordinary people would never have thought of, but they also changed his fate.

He probably realized that no matter what he did, he was afraid that he would not be able to win the favor of his stepmother, and since his stepmother wanted him to die, it seemed that only when he died could he make his stepmother happy. After thinking about it like this, Wang Xiang calmly came to his stepmother and asked him to die. He may also feel that fang just let the stepmother cut an empty knife, it is really not good for himself, he should not go out to the toilet in the middle of the night, he should obediently lie in the bed and let the stepmother cut it. Or maybe Wang Xiang felt that since his stepmother could take a knife to cut him tonight, he knew that after cutting empty, he must be angry, and he didn't know when he would definitely cut the second and third times... Anyway, things had deteriorated to such an extent that it seemed that he would not be able to survive.

However, Wang Xiang's move of "please die" triggered a dramatic change - the stepmother Zhu Shi finally realized something, and since then she has loved Wang Xiang as much as she loved her son.