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Story 43: Wang Zhaojun has been playing the Pipa for Thousands of Years

Wang Zhaojun has been playing the Pipa for Thousands of Years

Author: Anonymous

Since ancient times, many people have made “marriages”. The deeds of the only king Zhaojun have been passed down from generation to generation and are known to women and children. What is the reason for this?

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Lou Jing proposed a marriage, but Empress Lu only had one daughter and could not bear to marry her off to a foreign country, so the marriage plan was not put into practical action.

There was also a small joke in the middle. Since the Xiongnu Chanyu was very interested in marriage at that time, after the death of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, Maodun Chanyu actually proposed to Empress Lu, saying, “A solitary king will never give birth to a child.” In the swamps, I have grown up in the city of plain wild cattle and horses, and I have been as far as the border, wishing to travel to China.

Living alone, with no way to entertain myself, I wish to give what I have and exchange what I have.” Although this is blasphemous and inappropriate, it can be attributed to the Han regime. The power of the Xiongnu could not match that of the Xiongnu, so Empress Lu had no choice but to disguise herself as a princess as a clan daughter and marry Moton, officially embarking on the road to marriage.

Later, when the Western Han Dynasty arranged marriages between the Xiongnu and many Han people from various countries in the Western Regions, they used the royal princess to pretend to be a princess to marry the king of Fan. However, Wang Zhaojun took on the task of marrying as a commoner’s daughter. This matter became very prominent and aroused the general public’s concern. Sympathy and concern became a household name, and literati began to describe, chant, and praise her, making Wang Zhaojun’s deeds widely spread.

In addition to the “Hanshu”, “Qin Cao”, “Xijing Miscellaneous Notes”, “Yuefu Ancient Questions” and other classics, which have detailed records of Wang Zhaojun’s deeds, there are also poems written by poets and poets of the past dynasties for Wang Zhaojun. There are as many as 503 poems, as well as countless novels, plays, etc.

Wang Zhaojun was born in the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, in a place called Zigui. The river here is fast, roaring day and night, with cliffs on both sides and jagged rocks. During the Warring States Period, there was a famous figure here, that is Qu Yuan.

Wang Zhaojun was born during the glorious and prosperous age of the Han Dynasty, and the people had plenty of food and clothing, but Zigui was relatively remote. Wang Zhaojun’s father, with his two sons and one daughter, and his wife, cultivated a few pitifully small pieces of hillside land and grew some miscellaneous grains.

To make ends meet, they still live a hard life of barely enough food and clothing. Sometimes he also pulls fiber for the ships going up the river to supplement the family income.

Although life is hard, the whole family is happy and content with the world. More importantly, they can always maintain the traditions of their ancestors and never forget that they were once a respected Shili family. Wang Zhaojun has an older brother named Wang Xin and a younger brother named Wang Sa.

It is not her turn to contribute to the work. In addition to following her mother to learn nvhong, she also reads and practices calligraphy under the supervision of her father. Although she grew up in a remote country, But she has a ladylike demeanor.

In the first year of Emperor Jianzhao of the Han Dynasty, he issued an edict to recruit beauties from all over the world to replenish his harem. Wang Zhaojun was twenty-eight years old. Like an orchid in an empty valley, he was naturally selected into the palace.

Thousands of beauties were selected from all over the country for the palace. The emperor could not meet them all. First, the painter Mao Yanshou painted a portrait of each and presented it to the emperor. Those who came from a wealthy family, or had relatives and friends in the capital to support them, would use various channels to bribe the painters. However, Wang Zhaojun was from a humble family and relied on his beauty to be the most beautiful.

He could neither bribe nor deceive the emperor, which made Mao Yanshou feel very unhappy. Not only did she look very mediocre, but she also had a huge black dot on her cheek. When Emperor Han Yuan saw Wang Zhaojun’s portrait, he was disgusted and thought she was an unreal woman.

Therefore, for five years, In the past, she was still a palace maid waiting for an imperial edict.

Five years is not a short time, and it is a little longer than the time it takes to study for an undergraduate degree now. In addition to taking on some light jobs in the palace, Wang Zhaojun had too much free time to read and write, sing and dance, study music and painting, and constantly enrich and hone himself.

However, when I dream back in the middle of the night, I can’t help but feel desolate and lonely. The beautiful years are disappearing inch by inch. I don’t know when I will be able to succeed, and how can I repay my parents for their upbringing?

It’s the late autumn season again when the fallen leaves are confusing the paths and autumn insects are chirping. The cold rain is knocking on the windows, and the solitary lamp and cold quilt are most likely to arouse people’s reverie.

Thinking of the river in Xiling Gorge, and even the five-day happy reunion of the family, I feel so sad. He picked up the pipa casually and hummed while playing. What he couldn’t sing was nostalgia:

The first watch of the day is the saddest. My parents love me like a treasure, which is hard to find at home and in a happy world. Nowadays, I have everything, including pearls and pearls, endless lambs and fine wine, and I burst into tears when I recall my homeland.

In the second watch, if you think about it carefully, you can bear to leave your family and miss you three thousand miles away. Who can your parents rely on when they are old? There was no news from the palace, and I thought about Zhaojun day and night. I thought about him day and night, but I just wanted to go to Beijing to see the court.

In the middle of the night, midnight. At dusk and moonlit night, I am suffering from sorrow, and I am lonely and unable to sleep under the tent; I miss you endlessly, my life is cut short, and my spring, summer, autumn and winter are wasted, and it is pitiable to be infatuated.

In the fourth watch, there is suffering, misery and misery, tears welling up in my eyes, my body and life are heartbreaking; I hate my hair for extending my life, my painting brush deceives the king, I am not called to be a phoenix, I am left in the palace and suffer the desolation.

During the fifth watch, dreams are hard to come by, the inner palace is deserted, a good night is wasted, parents daydream about their daughter, and the daughter also longs for her family. There is nothing to be done in such a fate, and I sigh that everything in life is determined.

This is the famous “Fifth Watch Lament”. Full of resentment, infinite sentimentality, mixed with strong nostalgia and a trace of longing.

Wang Zhaojun passed the long nights and day after day in silence, feeling depressed and “said to myself that life is all determined.” However, in fact, fate always contains “undetermined” in “determined” In the first year of Emperor Jingning of the Han Yuan Dynasty, Hu Hanxie, the Chanyu of the Southern Huns, came to perform pilgrimage. Wang Zhaojun’s fate inadvertently underwent a breakthrough change.

The relationship between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty was good and bad. This year, the Xiongnu was in civil strife and divided into two branches. Na Chanyu led the northern Xiongnu, and Hu Hanxie Chanyu led the southern Xiongnu.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gan Yanshou, the governor of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, defeated the Northern Xiongnu and killed the Chanyu. The Southern Xiongnu Hu Hanxie Chanyu was both happy and afraid, and quickly wrote a letter requesting to come to Chang’an for a pilgrimage to fulfill the courtesy of the vassal.

Hu Hanxie came to Chang’an with a large number of furs and horses as tributes, and he was very respectful to Emperor Han Yuan. Emperor Han Yuan was very happy and held a banquet to entertain this “distinguished guest” from afar. During the dinner, Hu Hanxie proposed ”

“I would like to be the son-in-law of the Celestial Empire”. Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty was even more happy to be able to restrain Hu Hanxie in this way. He was so happy that he decided to let him see the beauties of the court before marrying off the princess. Beautiful women come to drink wine.

The smart girl immediately realized the importance of this matter. This was a good opportunity to attract the emperor’s attention. Now or never. One by one, they dressed up heavily and lightly, hoping to win the emperor’s favor.

Here, the palace maids filed in one after another. As expected, they were all blooming and graceful. Their colorful sleeves were coming and going on the table, and the fragrance was wafting in the dining room. King Fan of the Xiongnu had never seen such a colorful scene, and he couldn’t help but be enchanted and forget himself. Suddenly he saw the red apricot on the wall, like a little red among the green bushes, it stood out so much that he was shocked by her beauty.

The clever Hu Hanxie immediately proposed to Emperor Han Yuan: “If you want to be the son-in-law of the Celestial Dynasty, you don’t have to be a princess. You can just choose one of these beauties.”

Emperor Han Yuan thought: Originally he wanted to find a princess from the clan, but now he wants to Wouldn’t it save a lot of trouble to choose among the palace ladies awaiting imperial edict? So he replied casually: “The one you like, that one will be yours.” Hu Hanxie was so happy that he shouted: “That’s her!” Emperor Han Yuan looked along his hand, but Seeing a gorgeous beauty Yingying as a gift.

In front of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, the palace maid waiting for an imperial edict had a radiant hair with misty hair on her temples. Her dark eyebrows were slightly frowned, revealing a hint of resentment. It’s so beautiful, but the emperor has a golden mouth and jade teeth and cannot go back on his words.

The banquet was over, and Huhan Xie returned to the posthouse in high spirits. Preparing to choose auspicious opportunities to marry the beauty of the Han Palace, Emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty returned to the harem with great joy, found an album of palace ladies to be ordered, and turned to Wang Zhaojun’s portrait. , never had any moles. In an instant, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty turned his regret for losing Wang Zhaojun into anger towards the painter Mao Yanshou.

He immediately ordered a department to investigate thoroughly, only to find out that it was Mao Yanshou who had deliberately painted Wang Zhaojun’s beautiful face and moonscape into a clay sculpture and wood carving, but he failed to do so by asking for bribes. A mediocre woman, she beheaded Mao Yanshou for deceiving the emperor. Later generations will have their own comments on this matter.

I once heard that the emperor of Han Dynasty beheaded the painter, why did the painter decide Yanyi?

There are so many beautiful girls in the palace, but you don’t know if they are not married.

This means that although Mao Yanshou acted recklessly, Emperor Han Yuan was also too confused. Just as Wang Anshi said: “If the ears and eyes can hear it like this, Wanli An can control the Yi Di.”

In any case, Emperor Han Yuan’s feelings of guilt, regret, pity and unwillingness to let go of Wang Zhaojun came to his heart. He wanted to try to make up for it, so he falsely said: “The dowry is not ready yet, but it will be there in the next three days.” Since he was unable to do anything, To retain Wang Zhaojun, he must make good use of these precious three days to enjoy Wang Zhaojun.

This is the obvious difference between the thoughts of the Han Yuan Emperor, who was mediocre in intelligence, and the talented and ambitious emperors in history.

Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty summoned Wang Zhaojun in the palace of his fiancé. He saw that a stunning beauty that was unparalleled in ancient and modern times was about to fall into the arms of others, and he felt helpless in his heart. He hypocritically said a lot of words of comfort and encouragement first.

When Wang Zhaojun’s big eyes full of tears stared lovingly at Emperor Han Yuan, Emperor Han Yuan finally couldn’t rely on himself and left the throne crazily, like a hungry tiger attacking a sheep. He hugged Wang Zhaojun, staggered towards the Nuan Pavilion in the corner of the palace, and tortured Wang Zhaojun like a sadist for three days and three nights.

On the day of departure, Wang Zhaojun was dressed in military uniform, with a more heroic spirit in his charm. Facing the Weiyang Palace, he bid farewell to the emperor. With a strange emotion, he glanced at Chang’an for the last time, mounted his horse and left with the pipa in his arms.

The team composed of Huns and horses and guards sent by the imperial court passed through Chang’an Avenue in a mighty way. Along the way, the streets were empty, vying to see Zhaojun’s grace. Seeing such a charming beauty, she left the prosperous imperial capital and went to the desolate Hudi to accompany a dying person. The old Xiongnu Chanyu lamented over this.

Wang Zhaojun left the north gate of Chang’an and walked all the way at dawn and stayed overnight. He was gradually farther and farther away, feeling sad. The musicians accompanying him played pipa along the way to comfort Wang Zhaojun’s sorrow of separation. The sound was heartbreaking, and he returned. Seeing that there was no trace of Chang’an, Wang Zhaojun played the pipa and sang a “poem of resentment”.

The autumn trees are luxuriant and their leaves are yellow. There are birds on the mountain, gathering in Basang. Raise feathers, describe the birth of light, have gained the clouds, go upstream to the Qufang.

Leaving the palace is extremely vast, the body is destroyed, the aspirations are submerged, and there is no way to stand up. Although I have been entrusted with the task, my heart is full of anxiety. How can I be alone? My comings and goings will become normal.

The fluttering swallows gather far away from Xiqiang, where the mountains are high and the rivers are turbulent. Father is here and Mother is here, the progress is long and difficult, how sad! Worry and compassion.

It is March in the Central Plains when spring flowers are blooming, but outside the Great Wall, it is still a cold and windy season. It is really like “the peach blossoms behind the horse and the snow in front of the horse, teach people how not to look back.”

Wang Zhaojun finally fell ill on the long road and had to She temporarily stopped moving forward and while she was recuperating, she thought of her parents and brothers, as well as the Emperor of the Han Dynasty who had been with her for three days and three nights. So she lit up the lamp and put on her clothes, wrote Confucianism with tears and ink, and wrote to Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty:

My concubine is fortunate enough to have a concubine, saying that she will be dependent on the sun and moon, and will have a lingering fragrance after death, but she will be frustrated and live in a foreign land. If you sincerely sacrifice your life to repay the Lord, how dare you pity yourself?

It’s a pity that the country has deposed the emperor and moved it to the lowly workers. Looking south at the Han Dynasty, it only adds to the sorrow. He has parents and brothers, but His Majesty has little mercy on him!

After leaving Yanmen Pass, a large group of Xiongnu knights felt carts, and orchids came to greet Ning. When they arrived at the royal court, they saw wild geese falling on the sand, yellow dust billowing, cattle and sheep everywhere, and endless green grass. The tents were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the whole day was full of joy. Hu Hanxie Shanyu named her Ninghulan (that is, the queen of Anninghudi), and made every possible accommodation to win her favor.

However, the screams of Hujia, the galloping horses, the fishy food and the smell of mutton, and the wind and moon in foreign countries made Wang Zhaojun always full of longing for his motherland. So-called:

When the Han envoys returned to the court, they frequently sent messages: When will the gold redeem Emei?
If a king asks about his concubine’s color, it’s better to do it in the palace.

After Wang Zhaojun left the country, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty took her parents and brothers to Chang’an in accordance with her wishes, and gave them a house and land for proper resettlement.

After Hu Hanxie obtained the stunning beauty from the Han court, he was very happy. He drank and had fun all day long, and sent envoys to send a large number of jades, jewelry and horses to repay the emperor of the Han Dynasty for his special kindness. He even wrote a letter wishing to protect the country and the people, please Stop the soldiers on the border to rest the people of the emperor.

Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty declined his good offer after reading the “Ten Don’ts” written by the doctor Hou Ying.

Just three months after Wang Zhaojun arrived at the Xiongnu court, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, full of longing and annoyance, lay on his sickbed until early summer, and died in the dazzling light of pomegranate flowers.

In the second year, that is, the first year of the founding of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Wang Zhaojun gave birth to a son for Huhanxie Shanyu, named Yidu Zhiyaoshi, and was named King Youri Zhu. Another year later, the old Huhanxie When Wang Zhaojun died, he was twenty-four years old.

A beautiful young woman, after living in a different place for three years, she gradually got used to drinking goat’s milk, living in felt tents, riding horses and shooting pigs, and also learned some nonsense.

The eldest son of the Dayan family, Diao Tao Mogao, inherited the position of Chanyu. According to the etiquette and customs of the Xiongnu, Wang Zhaojun became Diao Tao Mogao’s wife. The young Chanyu was even more affectionate towards Wang Zhaojun, and their married life was very loving and sweet. They gave birth to two daughters in succession, the eldest daughter was named Yun, and the second daughter was named Dang. Later, they were married to Hun nobles.

The sculptor Mo Gao and Wang Zhaojun passed away after eleven years of married life. This was the first year of Hongjia, the first year of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. Wang Zhaojun was already thirty-five years old, in his prime years, and there was no need for marriage. , spared no time to participate in the political activities of the Xiongnu, and really played a lot of communication and reconciliation role in the friendly relations between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty!

Wang Zhaojun’s brother was granted the title of Marquis by the court and was sent to the Huns many times to meet his sister. Wang Zhaojun’s two daughters also went to Chang’an and served in the palace to serve the Empress Dowager.

This Empress Dowager was the empress of Emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty. , she had a famous nephew, Wang Mang, who first gained a false reputation by serving as a corporal, and then played a so-called “concession system” in the eras of Yao, Shun, and Yu to seize the power of the Western Han Dynasty and establish the “New”.

It is a pity that the Xiongnu Chanyu thought, “If you are not a descendant of the Liu family, how can you be the emperor of China?” As a result, the frontiers were rising one after another, and the chaos was endless.

Seeing that the peaceful years he created were ruined, Wang Zhaojun died in resentment, desolation and despair, and was buried on the south bank of the Dahei River. The cemetery still exists today, on the bank of the Yellow River fifty miles southwest of Baotou, Inner Mongolia. It is said that after autumn, the grass outside the Great Wall withers and turns yellow, but only The grass on Wang Zhaojun’s tomb is green and lush, so it is called “Qingjia”.

There is also another explanation for “Qingjia”: “Junkuo Oubi”: “There is no vegetation in Wang Zhaojun’s tomb. Looking at it from a distance, it is dark and green, so it is the Qingjia.” “Saibei Jiyou” also said: ” There is a lot of white sand outside the Great Wall, and the air reflects it. All the mountains, forests, villages, and mountains are all dark in the sky, as if splashed with thick ink. The smoke from Zhaojun’s tomb is hazy, and you can see dozens of miles away, so it is called Qingjia.”

There have always been many poems mentioning the “Qing Family”. For example, Bai Juyi’s “You can’t see Qingjia, pedestrians are pouring wine.” Du Mu’s “Long water flows in front of Qingjia, and dusk clouds and autumn are at the bottom of Yanzhi Mountain.”

Wang Zhaojun was also called “Ming Fei” in history. During the Western Jin Dynasty, in order to avoid Sima Zhao’s taboo, she changed her name to “Ming Jun”, and then gradually became known as “Ming Fei”.

There have always been many comments on Zhaojun’s departure from the fortress, and the comments vary, such as:

Du Fu:

The mountains and valleys go to Jingmen, and there is a village of Mingfei. As soon as I went to Zitai and Lian Shuo Desert, I left the Qing family alone to face the dusk.

Draw pictures to reflect on the spring breeze, and wear a ring in the sky to return to the soul of the moonlit night. For thousands of years, the pipa has been playing nonsense, and there is clear resentment in the music.

Li Bai:

The moon in the Qin Dynasty of the Han Dynasty illuminates the concubine with its flowing shadow;
Once you reach the Yuguan Road, you will never return to the end of the world.

Both of them expressed infinite pity and admiration for Zhaojun’s departure from the fortress. Moreover:

The moon of the Han Dynasty still rises from the East China Sea, and the concubine Ming will not marry in the west;
The Yan branch is always covered with snow, and the flowers are like moth eyebrows.