In any era,
Those who would rather die than lose their discipline,
Often seen as a spiritual model,
And those who oppose them will be pointed out by all,
Become a goal to vent anger and show self-superiority.
For thousands of years, Shantao should be the most scolded person.
In 1738, whenever his name was mentioned, he was still labeled with countless negative labels - "villain", "traitor", "Bo Yi" and so on.
The Qing Dynasty writer Yu Jiaxi even called him a dog with a wagging tail and begging for mercy.
Many people do not know that a person who has endured such insults is a proper and exemplary representative before he dies.
In terms of being a man, he is notoriously simple and noble, and even the prodigy who has always been arrogant and delicate admires him very much, and does not hide his appreciation for him, saying that he is Pu Yu Hun Jin;
When it comes to being an official, few people will be as honest and diligent as he is, even if the official is the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Land and Resources of the State today, the old mansion at the time of death has only ten rooms, and even his children and grandchildren cannot live;
As a husband, few people can be as pampered as he is, love only one person in his life, never take a concubine for life, and allow his wife to spy on him and handsome guys all night drinking and chatting...
Why is such a model treated like this by future generations?
In fact, the reason is not complicated, only because he has become the target of the anger of countless literati.
Figure | Derived from The Part of Sun Wei's "Gao Yi Tu" (山涛), ShanTao is the oldest of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" and is friends with Ji Kang and Ruan Yuan. ）
Shan Tao had no intention of causing public anger, but his existence itself could easily become the object of anger.
Igniting this anger is a slash:
In the summer of 263 AD, the city of Luoyang was crowded with people, and the people flocked to the Mashi Execution Ground in the east of the city to send off a death row prisoner.
The person who was tortured was none other than the daimyō Ji Kang.
Ji Kang is one of the top two beings in the literati circle, and few people can compare with him on appearance, demeanor, and talent, which can be said to be the top of the male and female killing at that time.
Figure | Fan Zeng, "Ji Kang Xing Yin"
Because he refused to cooperate with those in power, he was put on a high hat and changed from a celebrity to a death row prisoner.
Only to see standing on the execution ground, Ji Kang looked calm and self-assured as before, a pair of hands skillfully plucked on the strings, and the song that once reverberated in Luoyang City at night became a farewell poem with the world.
When the end of the song arrived, Ji Kang just said lightly, "Guangling San is going to be extinct from now on", and then strides towards the beheading platform...
In any era, those who would rather die than lose their discipline are often regarded as spiritual role models, while those who are opposite to them will be directly targeted by everyone and become the goal of venting anger and showing their superiority.
Ji Kang is the former, and Shantao is the latter.
The two of them are good friends and had a good time with like-mindedness, but because of the pursuit of different, they gradually live into two different faces.
Ji Kang was born, refused to cooperate with those in power, and only took care of himself in the face of political celebrities;
When Shantao entered the WTO, he made his debut as an official in search of opportunities, and won the love and trust of those in power.
Because of this, when Ji Kang ran to death in an epic way, Shantao became a target for countless literati to find to vent their anger.
If you don't dare to aim at the anger of those in power, you will scold Shantao, who cooperates with the regime, for being bloody.
Therefore, whenever later generations mention Shantao, the public's impression only stays on flattery, betrayal, treachery, and villain, but they are completely unaware that he was actually a model representative.
Figure | "Ji Kang Tu" Chen Dong solstice
Among the good brothers who had played with Ji Kang, Shan Tao was not the only one born to become an official, but he was the only one who was put on the line of anger by public opinion, and it was he who triggered a crusade of public opinion.
Figure | During the reign of Wei Zheng (240-249), ji kang, ruan, shantao, xiangxiu, Liu Ling, Wang Rong, and ruan xian were known as the seven sages of the bamboo forest.
It was a year before Ji Kang's death, and Shantao had once again been promoted and paid a salary.
Thinking of the vacant position after his promotion, Shan Tao wanted Ji Kang to be the official, but before he could say anything, he received a letter.
Ji Kang did not hesitate to write and ink, and wrote more than 1700 words in the letter:
First of all, he laughed at himself for not being an official material, too lazy and casual, his hair and face did not wash once for ten days and half a month, if it was not particularly itchy, he would never take a bath; soaking urine had to wait until the bladder was swollen to solve it, just like a wild untamed beast.
Then he said that he could not stand the flattery and strict etiquette of the officialdom, and let him handle official affairs, afraid that he would have to jump every day, and he would not be able to think of an accident.
In the end, the words simply turned around and made Shantao a sarcastic sarcastic meal: you can't think that the rotten meat is delicious, just feed the phoenix to death!
Ji Kang, who was brilliant in literature, wrote such a cynical letter, and soon the content spread throughout the major literary circles.
Once upon a time, the relationship between these two people was once rumored to be a good story.
Although the difference between the two is 20 years, it does not prevent the two from mixing together all day.
Figure | "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" Yu Zhiding Partial
During the day, they drink and play the piano in the bamboo forest, and when they drink freely, no one cares about any etiquette, and all of them are distributed with their heads and breasts;
At night, they often talk with candles, and every sentence that pops out of their mouths is a collision of deep thoughts, and when they talk about it, they will cry with a headache;
People are born lonely, and this is especially true of people with wise hearts.
Two lonely souls met at this point, and they had a deep resonance in their hearts between each other, and ShanTao once said bluntly: "The only people in the world who can be my friends are Ji Kang and Ruan Yuan." ”
The contrast between the past and the present is too great.
This made countless melon-eating masses begin to feel as if they had suffered betrayal, and some people named the letter "Letter of Renunciation with Shan Juyuan", which directly characterized it.
Perhaps, for followers, the role of idols is to satisfy expectations and fantasies.
Even if there was a great reversal later, there were still people who firmly believed that Ji Kang was going to break off friends.
The reason why it is called an earth-shattering reversal is because this thing is too legendary.
Before his execution, Ji Kang specifically found Shantao.
It was Ji Kang himself who personally entrusted a pair of children who were not yet underage to Shantao, and said to the child: "As long as Uncle Shantao is there, you will not become orphans."
At that time, ShanTao was not the only person who could be entrusted to Ji Kang.
Logically, the elder brother Ji Xidu should be the first choice.
Ji Xi, who had a smooth career, was fully capable of taking on the heavy responsibility of raising two relatives and nephews; the relationship between the two brothers was very good, and it was difficult for others to match the brotherhood.
But Ji Kang chose Shantao instead, how could this be something that a person who had broken off his friendship would do?
Figure | Ji kang
Someone once took out another "Letter of Renunciation with Lü Changti", the full text is only more than 300 words short, the language is calm and incomparable, even when it comes to the matter of breaking off friendship, there is no mood swing: "The matter has come to this point, I don't have the heart to be friends with you anymore, from now on, I hate the book." ”
In contrast to the letter to Shantao, this is a person who is completely disheartened and determined to leave.
This makes people wonder that Ji Kang's intention in this letter is not to scold his big brother, but more like a kind of protection.
Ji Kang is such a wise man, in the era when celebrities loved wisdom, he could become an idol of everyone, which shows the depth of his skills.
As intelligent as Ji Kang, how could he not know Shantao's personality?
Even if he was an official under the Sima clique, he was still a righteous gentleman.
During his birth, the mountains and waves did not float and sink with the world, and went with the flow.
Figure | Originated from the Kikusai HIGH-definition Calligraphy and Painting Library
In the case that the door valves of the warrior clan are competing for luxury, and it is often the case that the nobles spend tens of thousands of dollars on their daily diet, Shantao is still honest and self-respecting, and even the emperor is distressed and specially gives him a bed tent mattress;
In the selection of officials, it was also a remarkable achievement in politics -- he never aided and abetted abuse, never manipulated right and wrong in order to promote officials, and always selected excellent people to shine in different positions.
For the literati who opposed the Sima clique, Shantao's behavior was simply licking his home; but for the people of Li, how could this not be a good thing?
Especially those civilians who live in the depths of the water, they need a stable homeland, they can no longer sell their children and daughters, they do not have the fate and the celebrities who do not worry about food and clothing, talking to the moon and drinking.
Shantao is also changing the world in his own way, fighting against the stench of the regime in his own way.
How could Ji Kang not understand all this?
Therefore, before Shantao could mention the matter of being an official, he wrote a letter himself first, and performed a play to save Shantao.
As for the entrustment before his death, it is more like a silent declaration, telling future generations that he trusts Shantao.
Figure | Yu Zhiding painting, "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" part
And Shan Tao, how could he not be a deep affection?
They are in a chaotic world, the regime is in the stage of a major blood change, on the surface it is the Cao Wei royal family in power, but secretly the Sima clique is ambitious.
In order to expand its power, the Sima clique went around to win over celebrities, often unable to win over, so they killed chickens and monkeys, and there was still a saying at that time that "celebrities were halved in one day".
Under such hegemony, the literati were in a state of panic, and many literati defected to the Sima clique in order to save their lives.
Ji Kang, however, had always been outside the world, playing the piano, drinking, talking, and playing iron, but he did not want to become an official.
Even so, it does not change the fact that Ji Kang is the object that the Sima Group wants to try to win over.
When he was young, he became popular in the celebrity circle, married Cao Cao's granddaughter, and had the identity of Cao Wei's clan, and these labels attracted the Sima clique more than any other celebrity.
Under such circumstances, Ji Kang couldn't escape at all, but the more he fled, the more dangerous he was!
Later facts have also shown that the Sima Group has long wanted to pull out this thorn in the eye.
When he saw the three thousand students running to intercede for Ji Kang, he made the Sima Group make up his mind to get rid of the dissidents.
The people they have tried so hard to win over for many years are now all running out to intercede for their opponents, and sooner or later such influence will cause great disaster.
No matter how ji kang wanted to escape from the world, this world always needed him, and if he did not cooperate, there would inevitably be only one way to die.
Figure | Empty Valley Hunt ©
How could Shantao, who was familiar with the rules of the regime, not understand?
Ji Kang's situation was already precarious, and his thoughts on the recommendation were just to protect his friends.
When all the events are crossed into a line, you will find another face of Shantao and Ji Kang, and people have to feel that such a confidant is too difficult to find.
Only before they met, they were already on the opposite side of the regime—Ji Kang was the in-law of the Cao Wei family, and Shantao was the in-law of the Sima family.
The misunderstood script of the world can no longer be changed, and two people who feel sorry for each other can only achieve each other in their own way.
Thinking of it this way, how can such feelings not be worthy of the word "affectionate"?
Figure | Originated from "China in Painting and Calligraphy"
Feng Youlan once summed up the unique features of Wei and Jin celebrities, and one of the most important features was that "there must be affection".
Between Ji Kang and Shan Tao, he explained the affection between Wei and Jin celebrities in his own way.
After Ji Kang's death, Shan Tao kept his promise and treated his two children as if they were his own.
He married Ji Kang's daughter Feng Fengguang, and also raised Ji Shao into a just person.
At the age of 39, he was taken to the execution ground, and before his death, Ji Kang was also a father whose children were not yet minors.
However, it was the lonely orphan at the end of his life that Shan Tao carried the worldly shackles for Ji Kang, allowing him to maintain that graceful demeanor until his death.
Even then, the whole universe was scolding him for being a carrion-eater...
For thousands of years, there have been many confidants who have been praised in history, and each story is very touching.
But confidants like Ji Kang and Shan Tao, who have been talked about for thousands of years, even if they don't have the deep memory of Guan Zhong's friendship with Bao Shuya.
But the affection between these two people is still enviable today thousands of years later.
Resources:
1. "By Ji Kangto's Lonely Look at the Feelings of the World", Sun Yajun
2. "The Relationship between Ji Kang and Shan Tao from the Book of Renunciation with Shan Juyuan", Wang Xin
3. "A New Exploration of Ji Kang and Shantao's "Renunciation" - Reinterpretation of the Book of Renunciation with Shan Juyuan, Zhang Bo, Wei Tao, Miao Hong
4. "Criticism in Misunderstanding: A Brief Discussion on Shantao" Chen Tingting
5. "On Ji Kang's Confucianism and Practical Concern", Wu Jing
The text is original to the National Pavilion, please contact the background and the author for reprinting