In traditional Confucian stories, "Xu You's ears washing" is a typical story of praising Gaoshi in the mountains, and Xu You is a typical Gaoshi. The hermits of all dynasties, Xu You, is the originator of the hermits. What is a hermit? Hermits are first and foremost intellectuals, members of the "scholarly" class. Not all those who live in the countryside and mountains and do not enter the career can be called hermits, those who aspire to enter the world but have no opportunity and no ability to enter the world are not hermits, those farmers who have no culture are not hermits; only those who can maintain an independent personality, pursue freedom of thought, do not seek perfection, do not cling to power, have extraordinary talents and knowledge, and are really out of their hearts do not want to join the hermit, can be called hermits. From this point of view, Xu Yu is a super hermit.
(Portrait of Xu You)
Xu You (c. 2323 BC – 2244 BC) was a commoner of the Emperor Yao period, Xu You's hometown was in the village of Zhuang, thirty-five miles north of Qiu County, with stone jie in the west of the village, in the Lecun Temple. Xu You's seven brothers, all of whom are Qinggao hermits. Xu Yu has been working on farmland since childhood, not making profits, preaching morality, abiding by rules, not eating evil food, and not sitting on evil seats (listen, this is character). In the summer, trees nest and sleep, and in winter, they dig up kilns to live. Eat mountain fruits, drink river water, and have no utensils, hold and drink.
When Emperor Yao was 86 years old (2287 BC), he was deeply old, and his son Danzhu Buxiao, during his period, the hereditary system had not yet been formed, and Emperor Yao did not want to be mistaken by his son. Hearing that Xu Youqing was tall and ambitious, he sent people to ask for merit, hoping to give up the throne to Xu You, and xu You, after knowing this, said: "Pifu is as solid as a pan stone, picking mountains and drinking rivers, in order to cultivate sentiments, not to seek the position of Lu; to indulge in idleness, to seek safety and fearlessness, not to covet the world." Yao learned that Xu Yu did not change his mind lightly, so he came to visit. Xu Yu still resigned: "I am old and have little need, so let's be a subject!" So he fled overnight to the side of the Miyama Yingshui and farmed and ate. In fact, this is already avoidance. But Yao didn't let go...
After Yao learned of Xu You's whereabouts, he sent someone to ask him to be the governor of Kyushu. Xu Yu was even more annoyed after listening, and hurried to Yingshui (near Xuchang, Henan) to wash his ears with water, Xu Yu thought that Di Yao's words had stained his ears and needed to wash his ears. This is the origin of "Xu You's ear washing", and later Xu Yu lived in seclusion in the mountains, did not want fame and fortune for life, and was buried at the top of Ji Mountain after death.
(Xu Yu washed ears)
After the Han Dynasty, with the Five Peaks with the worship of Xu You, generations of worship, Taishi company Ma Qian once came to the hanging. The Book of the Former Han Dynasty lists Xu As a benevolent person. The Book of Jin praises Yun: "In the past, the son of heaven was precious, and the villains of the city road competed for half a dollar."
Interestingly, the era of the largest number of hermits in Chinese history was the Jin Dynasty, and among the hermits of the Jin Dynasty was a man named Huang Fumi, who did not approve of Xu You, and he wrote down one thing in his "Biography of Gao Shi":
(Nest father does not drink cattle)
It is said that when Xu Yu learned that Yao wanted to make him the governor of Kyushu, "I don't want to smell it, wash my ears on the waterfront of Ying", and at this moment of ear washing, a man named Father Chao led a calf over and asked Xu Yu why he washed his ears, Xu Yu said, "Yao wants to summon me to be the governor of Kyushu, and hears evilly", Father Chao's words are: "If the son is in a high shore and deep valley, and humanity is not clear, who can see the son?" The son floats, wants to hear his reputation, and sweats my calves! After saying this, he led his cattle upstream to drink water, and Xu Yu washed his ears with water, and he felt dirty.
It can be seen that there is still a difference between history and fiction, everyone's life is living in the legend of man, which is true of legend and reality?
(Image from the Internet)