The reason why the story of Su Wu shepherding sheep has been passed down through the ages is that Su Wu can stick to his faith in extremely difficult and difficult situations. He was exiled to the North Sea (today's Lake Baikal) for nineteen years, and he was obsessed with the Han. If he had eaten a bite of lamb, he would not have been Su Wu, and this story would not have survived to this day. We want to understand the essence of the story of Su Wu Muyang, first of all, let's review the whole thing before and after.
Su Wu, born in 140 BC, died in 60 BC. He sent an envoy to the Xiongnu in the first year of the Tianhan Dynasty and was detained for 19 years until he was released back to the Han Dynasty in 81 BC.
During his captivity with the Xiongnu, Su Wu lived in the North Sea region, lacking food and water, and his only job was to herd rams. The Xiongnu let it go, the ram gave birth to the lamb, and Su Wu could go home. But this is impossible, so Su Wu must always stay in the North Sea area, and for nineteen years, only those rams have accompanied Su Wu.
At that time, the conditions in the Beihai region were so harsh that you could not imagine, and the Xiongnu did not send people to guard them, even if they were unattended, Su Wu could not run away, and the Xiongnu did not give Su Wu anything to eat, forcing Su Wu to eat grass and drink snow. The Xiongnu's favorite thing to do was to hope that Su Wu would eat the sheep they had released in despair. Han descended to persuade Li Linglai to surrender, and was also scolded by Su Wu.
If Su Wu ate the sheep, then the Huns would think that Su Wu's will had collapsed. Su Wu also knew what the Huns meant, so it was not a question of eating sheep or not eating sheep, but a matter of principle. If you eat mutton, you are succumbing to the Xiongnu, which is not in line with Su Wu's personality. Rather than eat mutton, rather eat only grass roots, catch wild rats, drink snow water, Su Wu used this way to show the Xiongnu his determination and will to die rather than surrender.
If you double the "Biography of Su Wu", you really can't find the description of Su Wu eating lamb or not. But I think the reason why his glorious image has been passed down through the ages is that he has a firm will. The reason why a person is great is that he can overcome his inner desires and stick to his inner beliefs.
Su Wu was in the North Sea, no one was watching, killing a sheep, eating a bite of lamb, no one would say anything. But Su Wu did not do this, he was the messenger of the Great Han, and although the body of the Han envoy was trapped, the dignity was still there. It was easy to eat a bite of lamb, but it was difficult to spit it out again, and it was impossible to speak in front of the Huns. Therefore, whether this sheep can be eaten, Su Wu, as the messenger of the Great Han, naturally knows very well in his heart.
Hunger is the most severe torture, and throughout the ages, how many heroes and good men have been trapped in hunger and succumbed to obscenity. Even Confucius, who called himself a humble gentleman at that time, when he was trapped in Chen Guo and Cai Guo, he did not have the grace to face the food stolen by his disciples, and he took it and ate it.
Confucius is still like this, let alone ordinary people, so in this sense, we admire Su Wu even more. From the first day he was trapped in the North Sea, he had no intention of returning alive, starvation was small, the loss of 'knots' was a big thing, and Confucian thought was deeply immersed in his heart. Eating or not eating is not a simple dietary issue, but a matter of integrity related to the dignity of the country. I think he must have had the idea of eating sheep when he was extremely hungry, but his strong inner faith made him finally overcome himself.