Cai Wenji (蔡文姬), courtesy name Wenji (chinese: 蔡文姬), courtesy name Wenji, was the daughter of cai Yong (蔡邕) and a female writer of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Cai Wenji is erudite and talented, good at literature, music, and calligraphy. The works "Cai Wenji's Collection" have been lost, and the only surviving works are "Poems of Sorrow and Indignation" and "Eighteen Beats of Hu Di". Cai Wenji, Zhuo Wenjun, Li Qingzhao, and Shangguan Wan'er are known as the four talented women of ancient China.
First, multi-talented Broadcom
(1) True transmission of calligraphy
Cai Wenji's father, Cai Yong, was not only a scholar, but also a great calligrapher, creating the octet. Cai Wenji is intelligent and enlightened, coupled with the experience of hearing and being influenced by her father's teachings from childhood, Cai Wenji is also very good at calligraphy. Han Yu once said: "Zhonglang (Cai Yong) has a female ability to pass on the profession. Cai Wenji had silently written ancient books at the request of Cao Cao, whether in real or cursive.
(2) Wen Ji discerns the piano
When Cai Wenji was nine years old, her father Cai Yong played the piano at night and suddenly broke a string, and Cai Wenji said: "It is the second string that is broken." Cai Yong said, "You are just saying this by accident." So she deliberately broke a string and asked her which one it was, and Cai Wenji said it was the fourth one. My father was impressed. The story of Wen Ji's discernment is also written into the Three Character Classic.
(3) Literary brilliance
Cai Wenji composed two "Poems of Sorrow and Indignation", one in the five-word style and one in the riot style. Among them, Wuyan's "Poem of Sorrow and Indignation" focuses on "sentimentality and chaos", and is the first autobiographical long narrative poem created by a literati in the history of Chinese poetry. The Qing Dynasty poet Zhang Yugu praised Cai Wenji's "Poem of Sorrow and Indignation": "Wen Ji wanted to suppress Wen Jun, and "Sorrow and Anger" was a long and large text. Old Du Gu Zong Cao seven steps, do incense can also and skirt. The gist is that Cai Wenji's talent overwhelmed the talented woman Zhuo Wenjun, and cao zhi and Du Fu's five-word narrative poems were influenced by Cai Wenji.
"Hu Di Eighteen Beats" is a piano song lyrics composed by Cai Wenji, with a length of 1,297 words, and is a vocal suite composed of eighteen songs. Lu Shiyong, a Ming Dynasty man, said in the "General Treatise on poetry mirrors": "The Tokyo style is decadent, and Cai Wenji is talented and heroic. Reading "Hu Di Yin" can make the shocked tent sit up and vibrate, and the sand and gravel fly on their own, which is really a fierce embrace. ”
Second, the fate is uncertain
(1) The early death of the husband
Cai Wenji initially married a man named Wei Zhongdao, her husband died soon after, the two had no children, and Cai Wenji returned to live in her mother's house.
"Chen Liu Dong's wife, the daughter of The same county Cha Yong, name Yan, the character Wen Ji." Erudite and eloquent, and good at musical rhythm. Suitable river East Wei Zhongdao. The husband died childless and returned home. (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
(2) Captured North
After Dong Zhuo was killed in Chang'an, Cai Wenji's father Cai Yong (蔡邕), who had been forced by Dong Zhuo to accept the official position of General of Zhonglang, was convicted and imprisoned by Situ Wang Yun, and was later executed in prison. At that time, when the Central Plains was in chaos, the soldiers were in chaos, and the troops were exchanged everywhere, the Southern Xiongnu tore up the agreement on good relations, and took advantage of the chaos to break into the Central Plains to kill and loot, and Cai Wenji was unfortunately taken captive by the Southern Xiongnu. Perhaps it was her outstanding appearance and extraordinary temperament, or perhaps it was the protection of her father Cai Yong's reputation, Cai Wenji's encounter in Hudi was quite lucky, not like others were treated as slaves, but was favored by the Southern Xiongnu Zuoxian King, na as a concubine, lived in Hudi for twelve years, and gave birth to two sons for Zuoxian King. A weak woman, taken captive in the chaos of soldiers and horses, in a cold and wild foreign country in the north, without relatives and no reason, without any support, staying for twelve years, the pain and pain of which only she herself knows.
(Song Chen's "Wen Ji Gui Han Tu")
"In Xingping, the world was in turmoil, and Wen Ji was captured by Hu Qi, and was not the King of Zuoxian of the Southern Xiongnu, and in the twelfth year of Hu Zhong, he gave birth to a second son." (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
(3) Wen Ji returned to Han
In Jian'an, with the continuous strengthening of Cao Cao's military strength, Lü Bu, Yuan Shao and other separatist forces were gradually flattened, Cao Cao unified the north, the war was temporarily quelled, and the people were able to recuperate. Cao Cao was a man of great talent, su and Cai Yong befriended, learned that the daughter of the deceased was trapped in the north, and immediately sent emissaries to Hudi to negotiate with the Xiongnu leader, and used Jin Bi to redeem Cai Wenji from the Xiongnu back to the Central Plains. This is the story of the famous "Wen Ji Gui Han" in history.
"Cao Caosu and Yongshan, who were bitter that they had no heirs, sent emissaries to redeem them with gold and remarry them." (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
However, Cai Wenji already has a family in the north, and has two children, and now she has to say goodbye to her two sons forever, and she has no one to rely on to return to The Great Han, as a mother, how her heart is like a knife and a pain! As a weak woman, how helpless, how anxious, how helpless she was, she had no right to choose. She was exchanged as a political object. "Wen Ji's return to Han" has always been rumored to be a historical beauty talk, but did Cao Cao rescue her out of humanity, nostalgia and old feelings? Or is it to show your strength? Or is it some kind of political show, a political exchange? All this is unknown, in the ancient society where male power was supreme, women could not control their own destiny, and the pain in between was only understood by themselves and endured in silence.
(Part of Jin Zhangyu's "Wen Ji Gui Han Tu")
(4) Wen Ji interceded
After Cai Wenji returned to Han, Cao Cao gave Cai Wenji xu to Dong Qi, the capital of Tuntian, on the grounds that Cai Yong was childless. Just a few months after getting married, Dong Qi committed a capital crime, and seeing that her husband, who had just been married for a long time, was about to face death, Cai Wenji went to the court alone to intercede. It was winter, and she was barefoot, disheveled, and gaunt. At that time, Cao Cao heard the report and said to many guests, "Today I let you meet the daughter of cai Yong, a university scholar!" As soon as Cai Wenji saw Cao Cao, she immediately prostrated her head and apologized, begging Cao Cao to spare Dong Qi's death penalty, her words were clear and clear, her emotions were sour and sad, and all the guests in the hall were moved. Cao Cao asked rhetorically, "The document I gave my order is already on the way, how can I withdraw it?" Maybe he wanted to hear how the talented woman would answer. Wen Ji replied, "Your old man has tens of thousands of horses, and there are as many soldiers as the woods, so why don't you quickly send a fast horse to recover the documents and save the dying life?" Cao Cao was touched by it and pardoned Dong Qi.
He was a lieutenant of Tuntian, who broke the law and deserved to die, and Wen Ji asked Cao Cao to ask for it. Shi Gongqing and the distant envoys sat in the hall and said to the guests: "Cai Boxue's daughter is outside, and now she is seen by all the kings." "And Wen Jijin, Pengshou, prostrating his head to plead guilt, speaking in a clear voice, and the purpose is very sad, and all the people are transfigured. Cao Yue: "Honesty and prudence, but the text has gone, why not?" Wen Ji said, "Ming Gong stables ten thousand horses, tiger soldiers into the forest, why not hurry up and ride a horse, but not the fate of dying!" "To feel his words is to pursue the original sin." (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
(Yue opera "Cai Wenji")
What capital crime did Dong Qi commit? Why did Cao Cao kill Dong Qi? There is no way to check the historical data. Some people say that Cao Cao originally did not intend to kill Dong Qi, but wanted Wen Ji's intercession, so that Dong Qi and Cai Wenji would be grateful to him for a lifetime, which may be Cao Cao's purpose.
(5) Silent writing of ancient books
When Cai Wenji interceded for her husband Dong Qi, the weather was very cold, and Cao Cao saw that Cai Wenji was not wearing shoes and had her hair scattered, so he gave Cai Wenji turban shoes and socks. Cai Wenji's father, Cai Yong, once had a lot of ancient books in his home, and Cao Cao asked Cai Wenji, "I heard that your family originally had a lot of ancient books, can you still remember them now?" Cai Wenji said: "At the beginning, my father left me more than 4,000 volumes of books, but because of the war and displacement, very few have been preserved, and now I can only write down more than 400." Cao Cao said, "I sent ten people to accompany my wife to write it down." Cai Wenji said: "Men and women can't stand it, give me paper and pencil, I write alone." Whether it is real cursive, obey the orders of adults. So Cai Wenji wrote down the contents of the ancient books she had memorized and sent them to Cao Cao, without any omissions or errors.
When it is cold, give a turban and walk your socks. Cao Yin asked, "Lady Wen's family has many graves first, can you still remember it?" Wen Ji said: "The deceased father gave four thousand scrolls of books, and they were displaced and destroyed, and there were no survivors." Now the recitation is recited, and more than 400 ears are cut. "Now let the ten officials write it to his wife." Wen Ji said: "Concubines hear the difference between men and women, and they do not teach etiquette in person." Begging for paper and pencil, real grass is only for life. So I sent it with a letter, and the text was exhaustive. (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
(Statue of Cai Wenji)
From Wen Ji's intercession and silent writing of ancient books, it can be seen that Cai Wenji is not only full of poetry and books, talented, but also strong and strong, and unyielding.
Third, "Wen Ji Gui Han" is the care of the big country or the sadness of women
The story of "Wen Ji's Return to Han" sounds inspiring and seems to highlight the strength and humanistic care of a big country, but from Cai Wenji herself, she is a victim, and she has no choice. Whether she stayed in Hudi or returned to her homeland, it was a torment for her, and both places became entangled places that she could not give up and place. If Cai Wenji was not Cai Yong's daughter, and Cai Wenji was not a famous talented woman, would Cao Cao save her? In fact, reality has long given us the answer. Who cares about the lives of those nameless Central Plains women who were abducted by the ethnic minorities in the north in history? Who remembers them?
(Choi Man-hee Memorial Hall)
Cai Wenji left the Xiongnu and returned to the Han Dynasty, according to outsiders, she should rejoice, she must be very happy, in fact, Cai Wenji's heart is very painful, after all, she has lived in the north for more than ten years, and has two children, facing the eternal farewell of mother and son, her heart is like a knife. From her "Poem of Sorrow and Indignation", you can see how sad she is to leave her child, and how much she misses her child now.
Cai Wenji's Poems of Sorrow and Indignation (excerpt):
……
Survival is eternally separated, and it is not easy to reconcile with it.
He hugged me by the neck and asked my mother what she wanted.
When the mother is gone, will there be a time for return.
Amu is always merciful, and now he is even more unkind.
I'm not an adult yet, so I don't care.
Seeing this collapse within five, trance is crazy.
The trumpet sobbed and caressed, when the question was repeated.
There are both contemporaries, sending each other goodbye.
I am alone, and the cries are broken.
The horse is standing, the car is not turning.
The spectators are all groaning, and the walk is also whimpering.
Go and cut love, march day by day.
Three thousand miles, when to resume the meeting.
For the sake of rejuvenation, although the birth is not good.
Entrust yourself to the new people, and do your best to encourage yourself.
Exile becomes contemptuous, and often fears that it will be re-donated.
When life is geometric, I have sorrow all the years.
After leaving the child, under the torment of Prozac, I felt that I was almost at the end of my life, and although I barely lived, I also lost the joy of life. After remarrying Dong Qi, although she tried her best to encourage herself to live, after some displacement, she has become a woman who is despised by others, reflecting the huge spiritual shackles imposed on her, as well as her inner contradictions, worries, sufferings and pains.
In the ancient society where the male power had an absolute position, whether women were talented or born into famous families, they could not escape the scourge of war and the trickery of fate, and how bumpy fate was. As the daughter of a celebrity, she was used as a tool for political exchange. She had nowhere to tell, she wanted to cry without tears.
The complex emotional entanglement between Cao Cao and Cai Wenji is also difficult to explain. Cao Cao had pity, affection, admiration, respect, and lust for Cai Wenji. And Cai Wenji had respect, gratitude, and defense for Cao Cao, and wanted to rely on it, but was not completely at ease. It can be said that the emotional relationship between the two is very complicated, like a lover, like a confidant, like a father and daughter, and like a monarch.
(Wen Ji Gui Han relief)
The story of Wen Ji's return to Han was compiled into novels and dramas by later generations and was widely circulated. For example, Yuan Jin Zhinan's "Cai Yan Huan Han" miscellaneous drama, Ming Chen and Jiao's "Wen Ji into the Plug" miscellaneous drama, Qing Youdong's "Hanging Pipa" miscellaneous drama, the relevant chapters of the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cheng Yanqiu's "Wen Ji Gui Han" Peking Opera, and Guo Moruo's "Cai Wen Ji" five-act historical drama, etc., are all based on this.