In times of chaos, even the end of life has become a luxury.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the methods of death of the princes of the nations can be described as strange: some fell into the dung pit and were choked to death by feces and urine, some were put under house arrest by their sons and starved to death in the palace, and some died of muscle strains while lifting the peak. Fortunately, the historians at that time were meticulous, no matter what strange method of death they would record truthfully, and would not hide it like some emperors in later generations, and did not dare to show the truth.
However, during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, not every monarch's cause of death was clear. For example, the death of Chen Huangong is more confusing, and the historical records are vague.
The "Spring and Autumn Left Biography" records: "In the first month of the spring of the fifth year, Jia Shu, Ji Ugly, Chen Hou Bao pawn. ”
There is a cloud in the "Chronicle of History": "The first moon is ugly, and Huan Gong Bao is a pawn." ”
On the surface, comrade Chen Huangong's death record is decent, but it is more contradictory to read.
Usually, the death information recorded in the historical data will be dated. For example, when Qi Huan died, the historian recorded truthfully: "Winter October Yihai, Qi Huan Gong pawn." "Yi Hai is talking about the seventh day of the first month.
However, both the Zuo Zhuan and the Records of History give two dates when describing the death of Duke Huan of Chen. Is it difficult for a person to die twice? It is obviously impossible for Jia Shu to die once on this day and once on this day.
In this regard, the "Biography of Gu Liang" has a vague explanation: "Zhengyue Jia shu, self ugly, Chen Hou Bao pawn." Bao, what is the second day of death? Chen Hou took the sunrise of Jia Shu and the day of his ugliness. I don't know the day of death, so I raise two days to wrap up. ”
What is this talking about?
Chen Huangong was lost on the day of Jia Shu, and everyone only found him on the day of his own ugliness, but at this time, he had become a corpse. Because the forensic technique at that time was not very sophisticated, there was no way to judge the day on which Chen Huangong had swallowed his breath, nor was it clear what the cause of his death was. The only thing that can be determined is that Chen Huangong died in the time period from Jia Shu to himself, so the strict historian had to include these two days in the literature at the same time.
This explanation is even more confusing. How can a good and decent big living person get lost?
It is the 21st of December, and the 6th day of the first lunar month. According to this calculation, Chen Huangong was lost for seventeen days, what happened to this?
If ordinary people were lost, this matter would not cause an uproar at that time, and in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which paid attention to the birth of the door valve, I believed that it was not a big deal to kill a person. It was the princes of Chen Guo and the secretary of the Heavenly Son who were lost, and this was a big case. "The Biography of the Ram" reveals to us a secret, that is, Chen Huangong's "卒之㤜也".
What does "㤜" mean? That's what crazy means.
Combined with the records in the "Biography of the Ram", we can roughly imagine such a picture: on December 21, 708 BC, Chen Huangong danced in the eyes of the palace people, and ran out of the palace upside down, and everyone did not dare to ask, and could only watch him walk out of the palace. As soon as Chen Huangong left, he did not come back, the country could not be without a monarch for a day, chen Huangong did not say a word and "laughed at the sky and went out".
How should the state apparatus function without him?
No way, look for it.
On January 6, 707 BC, someone finally found Chen Huangong, who had long been frozen, in the firewood stack on the side of the road, and the old man still maintained the posture of opening his teeth and dancing his claws before his death.
A generation of princes Chen Huangong, due to mental illness, went missing and froze to death on the side of the road. Of course, this is only the cause of death inferred by the world, and the level of work is limited, and the truth cannot be found. In a rigorous manner, the historian left an ominous passage on the bamboo, thus ending Chen Huangong's life.
Chen Huangong sneaked out for a few days, and Chen Guozong's room was not idle at all, not busy looking for the monarch, but busy seizing power. The "Zuo Biography" records: "Therefore, Chen Chao, Prince Wen killed the eldest son to avoid replacing him, the public disease and chaos, and the people of the country scattered." When the whole country was carrying out the reality show "Where Did Chen Huangong Go", Lao Chen's younger brother Gongzi Tuo killed Chen Huangong's eldest son and sat on the throne of the country, and since then Chen Guo has fallen into a long period of chaos.
Unfortunately, Lao Chen, like "Sharp Brother", is unaware of what happens at home and is still immersed in poetic wandering.
So, is it possible?
Chen Huangong may have sensed some signs, so he left the palace to avoid disaster by pretending to be crazy and stupid; or someone with a heart gave Chen Huangong some kind of hallucinogenic drug, so that the good-mannered monarch instantly became a mental patient. For all reason, Gongzi Tuo should not have launched a coup d'état suddenly during the time when the monarch was lost, and his plan must have been planned for a long time. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that Gongzi Tuo plotted to kill Chen Huan and cause him to go insane or even die.
All in all, living in that chaotic society is really not an easy task, and it may not be easy to "lose it while walking" like Chen Huangong.
Resources:
【Spring and Autumn Left Biography", "Ram Biography", "History"】