When he was a child, Xiang Xiu wrote a good article, and he was also a well-known scholar in their local area. At that time, a well-known bachelor Shantao learned about it and went to visit. The two became very good friends at first sight.
Although Xiang Xiu is more than twenty years younger than Shantao, Xiang Xiu's talent is outstanding, which makes Shantao like it very much. Later, Shan Tao introduced Ji Kang and Ruan Zhi and others to meet Xiang Xiu, and became one of the Seven Sages.
Among these seven people, Xiang Xiu's reputation is not very high, and the records of him in the history books are relatively poor. But this did not bury this brilliant and thoughtful figure in the slightest.
Xiang Xiu liked to read and learn, had a special love for Zhuangzi's knowledge, and wrote a note for Zhuangzi's book, but unfortunately he drove to the west before he finished writing.
Later, a man named Guo Xiang accidentally got Xiang Xiu's unfinished Zhuangzi Book Notes and completed them. Because no original manuscript of Xiang Xiu was circulated to the world, posterity often believed that this annotated book was written by Guo Xiang.
Others believe that Guo Xiang stole the fruits of Xiang Xiu's labor, so much so that in the following centuries there was much controversy about the author of this Zhuangzi book.
When Xiang Xiu wrote Zhuangzi's book, Ji Kang also suggested to him that Zhuangzi was originally a classic, and it was inevitable that the annotation of it would inevitably cause more or less distortions, and it would be better not to note it.
Ke Xiangxiu believes that since it is a classic, more people should be allowed to study more deeply through annotations in order to play the greatest role of Zhuangzi's thought.
Although there were already many people who wrote annotated books for Zhuangzi at that time, there were also many in circulation. However, Xiang Xiu was not very satisfied in his opinion, but he had slight changes in rhetoric and failed to express his meaning deeply. So he still silently studied and wrote.
When Xiang Xiu showed ji kang the first draft of the annotation, its content was not only exquisite and concise, but also took the essence of Zhuangzi into place. This made Ji Kang even more impressed with Xiang Xiu.
Both Xiang Xiu and Ji Kang have a common hobby, that is, they love to build iron tools. Therefore, the relationship between these two people among the seven sages is also the best.
Although he was erudite and talented, he had no interest in embarking on a career path, and never wanted to be an official.
After his friend Ji Kang was killed for offending the heavy minister Zhong Hui, Xiang Xiu wanted to return to the mountain forest. However, the imperial court forced him to enter the capital as an official, and he had no choice but to obey for fear of killing himself.
In order to express his feelings of remembrance for his friend Ji Kang, he Wendi wrote a generation of famous works "Thinking of the Old Fu", and later Xiang Xiuwendi's allusion became an emotional sustenance for people to miss the death of their friends.
In the early Western Jin Dynasty, the law was strict, especially the management of writing was more stringent. Although Xiang Xiu feels deeply unfair to Ji Kang's death, he can only hint at expressing resentment in the endowment.
Ji Kang's departure had a great impact on him, and it can be said that it had a profound impact on his subsequent thinking. After the sadness, he actually had a new understanding of the essence of Zhuangzi's thought, and he was more relieved about life.
After Xiang Xiu became an official, although he was in his position, he did not seek anything. Officials in the DPRK and China thought he was treated negatively and never reused.
In fact, this coincided with his ideological concept of ruling by doing nothing, and the Ji Kang incident made him gradually lose confidence in the imperial court, plus it was not his will to enter the dprk as an official, and inaction became reasonable.
Xiang Xiu, who pursues free individuality, integrates Confucianism and Taoism and repeatedly penetrates the mysteries of the institute. It had a profound influence on the thinking of later Generations of Confucians and Taoists.