Ji Kang was born in the Wei and Jin dynasties and was a famous figure at that time. He was not only talented, knew the rhythm, played the piano well, and was very good-looking. In today's terms, it is to put on clothes to look thin, take off the clothes and have meat of the small fresh meat, can be described as the pride of heaven.
But what is the reason why such a talented man was killed?
Next, let's explore the reasons for this.
There is an idiom called "Sima Zhao's heart, known to passers-by", which says that Sima Zhao's intention to usurp the throne after he gained power was revealed. According to relevant historical sources, Ji Kang died around three years after Wei Jingyuan, about three years after Sima Shi usurped the throne. It can be seen from this that Ji Kang's death was inseparable from Sima Shi's usurpation of the throne. According to historical records, the reason why Ji Kang was imprisoned was because of Lü Kunzhong.
Lü Zhuo raped his sister-in-law, and his brother Lu An wanted to go to the official palace to report it. Lü Zhuo invited Ji Kang, because he was a good friend of the two brothers, and was ready to ask him to help him say peace in the middle, so as to calm things down and suppress things. But who knows, this matter was just about to be suppressed, and Lü Zhuo actually took a bite back and falsely accused his brother of abusing his mother. In this way, not only was Lu An framed and imprisoned, but even Ji Kang, who was mediated in the middle, was also implicated in this matter and imprisoned.
In fact, this was not a difficult case to investigate, as long as Lu Mu went to the court to tell the truth, the case could be resolved quickly. In other words, even if Lu An is not filial to his mother, it is his own business, and punishing Lu An alone has nothing to do with Ji Kang. In this way, this case is indeed a bit strange, so it is very likely that this is a trap specially designed for Ji Kang.
If this were not the case, how could Lü Zhuo risk falsely accusing his brother when he was at fault first?
Presumably, they were instructed by someone behind their backs, and before the case was cleared up, Ji Kang and Lu An were hastily executed, which inevitably made people suspicious. But no matter what the truth is, one thing is for sure, that is, Ji Kang is in prison, and Zhong will be very happy. Because Zhong Hui had always been jealous of Ji Kang's talent and had been snubbed by the latter, he naturally would not miss such a good time to avenge Snow Hate.
In order to kill Ji Kang, Zhong Hui placed two counts on him, namely: intending to help Wu Qiu Jian and non-insulting celebrities. According to the relevant records of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Biography of Wang Yue", the doubts of this matter are displayed.
First of all, Ji Kang was a civilian, with no power in his hands and no force to rely on deliberately, so how could he "raise an army and respond to it"?
Also, if Ji Kang really intends to help, why not take a shot in time, and wait until Qiu Qiujian is about to fail before he does?
However, Ji Kang was not wrong to sympathize with Wei Chen, who was crusading against Sima Shi, and he once wrote "On Guan Cai", citing the history of Zhou Gong's killing of Guan Shuxian and Cai Shudu to defend Wu Qiujian and others. Such a move was enough to show that Ji Kang opposed Sima Shi's dictatorship and believed that Wu Qiu Jian and others were loyal vassals of the Wei dynasty.
As for the other charge, it is not entirely unreasonable.
Ji Kang pursued freedom, held a contemptuous attitude toward secular etiquette and dogma, and openly provoked the Confucian moral system that the rulers had always supported. At that time, such a move could be said to be a great rebellion and intolerable. Therefore, according to this, Ji Kang was executed for these two crimes, but it is not unjust.
However, the problem was that Wu Qiu Jian rebelled in the second year of Zheng Yuan, and Ji Kang was killed in the third year of Jing Yuan, during which there was such a long interval, so why didn't Sima Zhao start earlier? At the turn of Wei and Jin, contempt for etiquette and debauchery had become a social trend, and it was not Ji Kang alone who had created it, so why did he only attack him? Since Ji Kang deserved to be convicted and arrested people directly, why should he use Lu An's case to beat the cattle across the mountain?
To put it simply, why did Sima Zhao suddenly want to kill Ji Kang?
In fact, Ji Kang's wife was none other than Cao Wei's descendant. Therefore, many people speculate that Ji Kang may be more inclined to Cao in his political stance, which makes Sima Zhao resentful of him. Of course, this statement can make sense in theory, but in fact, Ji Kang does not think so. Because Ji Kang was not interested in official affairs, he only wanted to idle the clouds and wild cranes, and did not want to be bound by the imperial court.
Before, a friend recommended him to become an official in the DPRK, but instead of going, he also wrote a poem that broke off his friendship to show his position to his friends.
Because, Ji Kang's ideal is to be leisurely, nurture the heavens, return to the mountains and streams, and live freely. Therefore, for a person who does not want to be an official and does not care about the government of the dynasty, it does not matter to him who is in power in the imperial court.
In addition, whether Jiangshan's surname is Cao or Sima is not in line with his nature. Moreover, the Ji family did not have any festivals with the Sima clan, and Ji Kang's brother was still a high-ranking official under Sima Zhao, and his son was also on an errand in the imperial court. Moreover, although Ji Kang was the son-in-law of the Cao clan, he had no power and no power, and even if he had the heart to support him, the power would not allow it.
Then, why did Sima Zhao kill him?
The answer may be simple, he just wants to borrow Ji Kang's head to shock people's hearts.
Just as Zhong Hui told Sima Zhao, some literati at that time not only ignored the imperial court, the son of heaven, and the prince, but also loved to rely on their own little literary style, "nonsense." Therefore, if Sima Zhao wants to seize the world, he must borrow the celebrities who dominate public opinion.
So what to do?
You can only kill the chicken to show the monkey, pick the fattest Ji Kang, and slaughter it to show the world.
After that, Xiang Xiu, who was also one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest and had played iron under the tree with Ji Kang, accepted the recommendation to come to Luoyang.
Sima Zhao asked him, "I heard that you have always only wanted to return to the hidden mountains and forests, so why are you now running to me to seek a job?" ”
Xiang Ziqi bowed his head and replied, "Those hermits in the past were all arrogant and arrogant, self-styled and high-ranking people, and there was nothing to envy." ”
Just as the so-called lessons of the past, Ji Kang's death not only exchanged for the submission of Ruan Yuan, the second-largest figure in the Seven Sages, and made Sima Zhao the Duke of Jin, but also wrote a "Persuasion into Proverbs". It can be seen from this that Ji Kang's death was valuable to Sima Zhao, and his death led to the successful dissolution of the hermit group.
In fact, Sima Zhao did not really tolerate hermits and celebrities, because such people, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, were killed only a very small part. The reason why Ji Kang was hated by those in power was mainly because he was not a hermit in the pure sense, and in his body, he also had a certain spirit of critical realism, which was a cynical little angry youth.
In addition, his friend Sun Deng had long foreseen Ji Kang's tragic fate, believing that his temperament was too strong and easy to cause trouble. Later, in ji kang's "Poetry of Indignation" in prison, he also mentioned the foresight of his friends, and he couldn't help but sigh:
"Oh yu thin. Less is not made. Mourning. The more you are in the stretch. Mother and brother Juyu. There is no mercy. . No training, no teacher. Whip and crown band. Pamper yourself. Anti-heart Higu. Leave it at your disposal. Hold up the old village. Cheap things are expensive. Aim to be simple. Nourishing is true. Yu is insensitive. Good people. The defeat of Ziyu. Repeatedly increased dust. Adult Hanhiro. Shame on you. The people are numerous. Politics can't help itself. But this is the heart..."
At the same time, this is also a deep self-blame, because I did not listen to the advice of my friends.
Therefore, because Ji Kang was too sharp and leaky, it led to the disaster of killing.
On the day ji kang was about to be executed, three thousand students who wanted to worship Ji Kang as a teacher gathered in the court. Moreover, on the execution ground, Ji Kang was not afraid, but acted very calmly, he looked at the sun, calculated the time, knew that it was not yet the hour, so he asked for a piano and played a song "Guangling San" on the spot. After the tune was finished, Ji Kang sighed: "Guangling San is extinct today. ”
When Ji Kang died, he was only forty years old.
Before his death, Ji Kang wrote many words denouncing Confucius. The relationship between rulers and intellectuals has always been one of division and integration. Rulers need the support of intellectuals, but intellectuals often look down on the ruler's style and criticize them. The ruler could not bear it, so he took the butcher's knife and killed him, so as to achieve the purpose of shutting him up.
However, free criticism is the power and responsibility of intellectuals, and if there is no such criticism, it is difficult for society to progress, and the rule of one-word hall will not go far.
Resources:
["Book of Jin, Volume 49, Liechuan No. 19, Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 78, Wei Ji 10, Jin Shu, Emperor Ji 2, Jing Emperor Wendi Ji]]