During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the style of Zhuang and Lao prevailed, and all the literati took the fairy image as the beauty that symbolized Zhuangzi's ideal personality. Therefore, celebrities attach great importance to appearance and clothing decoration. Before going out, you should not only powder yourself, smoke clothes and shave, but also pull your tail (feather fan), wear jade rings, sachets and other utensils.
Unfortunately, these celebrities often "go too far" and only reach the standard of "handsome man", but they can't keep up with Zhuangzi's "God Man". In fact, in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which pursued Zhuangzi's carefree and elegant image, there was only one person who really caught up with Zhuangzi in image, and that person was Ji Kang.
Ji Kang is seven feet eight inches long (about 190 cm, and Jin Yi is 24.5 cm). His clothes are rough and unadorned, and he often doesn't take a bath or wash for a month and a half. But in people's minds at that time, Ji Kang was still as bright as spring breeze, as beautiful as pine trees and as bright as jade. It can be seen that he is really a godsend and cannot be concealed, and his beauty is speechless. Once, Ji Kang went up the mountain to collect medicine. An old woodcutter saw him from a distance and couldn't help mumbling, "Fairy, what a fairy!" " "
"Dragon Zhang Fengzi, natural" is a positive evaluation of Ji Kang's image at that time. It can be said that Ji Kang's "Dragon Zhang Fengzi, Nature in Nature" has caught up with Zhuangzi's "Skin is like ice and snow, graceful and restrained as a virgin", which makes all the soldiers who admire Zhuangzi's image in later generations far behind.
Of course, unlike those celebrities who are too delicate to get on the horse or draw the bow and only talk about metaphysics, Ji Kang, a member of the royal family (married to Princess Changle, the daughter of Pei Wangmu Cao Lin), also attaches great importance to manual labor. He often works under the big tree outside his home with his good friend Xiang Xiu, and through such practical work as iron striking, he can earn his own living and support himself. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Ji Kang was working while the iron was hot, and Tao Yuanming was farming, both of which were manifestations of scholar-officials actively entering the society and feeling the real life of ordinary people, which was especially rare among China scholar-officials. In addition, Ji Kang makes money while tapping the iron, serving the people and keeping fit. He is muscular and burly, and even by ancient Greek aesthetic standards, he is a first-class handsome man. I think Michelangelo's David is just similar to Ji Kang, far less than Ji Kang's charm.
Ji Kang is not only carefree and elegant in image, but also a great master in learning. According to legend, Ji Kang never studied under anyone, but he enjoyed himself from books. In fact, among the seven sages of bamboo forest, Ji Kang is the most versatile and has the greatest artistic achievements. On poetry, although in Zhong Rong's poems, Ruan Ji is listed as the top grade and Ji Kang as the middle grade. However, when people talk about the demeanor of Wei and Jin Dynasties, the first thing that comes to mind is not Ruan Ji's "Sleepless at night, sitting up at the piano" (Ruan Ji's Poems on Huai Shang), but Tao Yuanming's "Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan" (Tao Qian's "Eight Drinks") and Ji Kang's "Watching the flood and waving five strings". Pitching is self-satisfied, and the heart is too mysterious "(Ji Kang's" Giving a Brother a Scholar to Join the Army "). Compared with Tao Yuanming's natural plainness, Ji Kang's "returning from watching the flood and waving five strings" is the dream picture of many China intellectuals in ancient and modern times!
As far as the article is concerned, Ji Kang is far superior to the other six. His representative works, The Theory of Keeping Healthy, The Theory of Answering Difficulties in Keeping Healthy, Fu Qin, The Sound Without Mourning the Moon, The Interpretation of Private Affairs, etc. are all profound. For example, "On the Interpretation of Private Affairs": "Those who call a gentleman do not know right and wrong, but do not violate the Tao. Why is there still a long way to go? If the husband is calm, his spirit is empty and his heart has no pity; Brightheart's body touches people, but feelings are not tied to what you want. Compassion does not exist in the heart, so it can be taught more naturally; Love doesn't depend on what you want, so you can judge nobility and understand things. " The full text is fluent and natural, concise and clear, flowing freely, and its argument of "beyond the Christian name, let nature take its course" is like water hibiscus. In fact, in the whole history of China literature, such concise and fluent papers with coherent meanings are rare.
On temperament, Drunkenness, Ruan Ji's best piano music, is far from being comparable to Guangling San written by Ji Kang. In addition to Guangling San, Ji Kang also composed four piano pieces: Changqing, Short Celebration, Long Side and Short Side, which are collectively called Ji Kang's four piano pieces. Ji Kang and Cai Yong's The First Piano Music of Cai Wu is a famous piano music group in ancient China. In the Sui Dynasty, Yang Di even listed "nine farmers" as one of the conditions for the court to select judges, showing its great influence. As for Guangling San, also known as "Nie Zheng Stabbed King Koryo", it was processed by Ji Kang according to ancient songs, and it is also called "rare sound" with Yu Boya's "Mountain Flowing Water", which is the highest achievement in China's 5,000-year music history.
As for calligraphy, Ji Kang's cursive script is unparalleled in the world. Ji Kang's cursive script, with its free and easy personality, natural metaphysics and all-round poetic artistic skills, is both hearty and beautiful. No wonder Zhang Huaiguan in the Tang Dynasty praised Ji Kang's calligraphy style in his masterpiece Book End.
Of course, the most daunting thing about Ji Kang is neither his talent nor his talent, but his independent and sound personality. Ji Kang lived at the turn of Wei and Jin Dynasties. At that time, in order to stabilize the rule, the Sima family slaughtered dissidents in the name of Ming Jiao, and eliminated eight famous families, including Cao Shuang, Yanhe and Xia Houxuan. The Book of Jin also mentioned many times that "there are many reasons in the world and few celebrities", which shows the sinister political environment. One of Ji Kang's best friends, Dan Tao (also one of the Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest), is Si Mazhao's confidant and holds such a high position, such as assistant minister of official department. Once he left his job and was promoted, he asked his good friend Ji Kang to take his place. Presumably, Dan Tao did this out of kindness. He hoped Ji Kang could take this opportunity to change his uncooperative attitude with Sima Jia and avoid bloody butcher knives. But he doesn't know much about his friends, or he underestimates the noble qualities of human beings. Ji Kang, who had just suffered from gastrointestinal diseases, wrote a book and broke up with Dan Tao, who recommended him, in order to show that he would never cooperate with Sima.
In this sensational Breaking Up with Mountain Juyuan, Ji Kang first described a snobbish bureaucrat like Dan Tao as a monster without a definite view. Then he expounded his determination to pursue freedom, just like the elk, although wearing gold ornaments, still aims at rich grass; Then, Ji Kang wrote "Seven Commanders Will Be Unbearable" and "Two Commanders Can't Be Officials", pointing the finger at Si Mazhao, the powerful minister, and publicly declaring that he was "not Tang Wu, but thin Kong Zhou". You know, at that time, celebrities such as Wang Su and Huangfu Mi fabricated many famous sayings of Tang Wu and Kong Zhou, which made the basis for Sima's usurpation. Ji Kang said here that he was "not Tang Wu, but thin Kong Zhou", which was tantamount to openly opposing Sima Shi's usurpation of Wei, which undoubtedly hit a nerve. It is said that after reading this article, Si Mazhao became deeply jealous of Ji Kang and killed his heart.
Ji Kang broke up with his best friend Dan Tao, who recommended him, showing his independent personality that he was not forced by power or confused by splendor. However, in ancient China, almost every ruler was cruel at home. They will never tolerate anyone with independent personality to expose their hypocrisy and challenge their autocracy, what's more, Ji Kang is facing Sima Group, which is famous for its excessive reward. Therefore, Ji Kang's life entered the countdown as soon as the book "Breaking Up with Shan Juyuan" came out.
Mencius once said: "Wealth cannot be lewd, poverty cannot be moved, and power cannot be bent. This is called a gentleman. " This sentence is also regarded as a Confucian integrity by later generations. However, in those days, Sima Group kept saying "ruling the world with filial piety", but it is well known that Sima Group was the most disloyal and unfilial. In 260 AD, Si Mazhao even instructed his men to assassinate the emperor Cao. However, in the face of regicide, the ruling and opposition parties were silent. Are all those Confucians who talk big on weekdays blind? No, they abandoned "wealth can't be immoral" in the face of glory; Are all Confucian scholars who usually say "bite by bite", "hole by hole" and "Mencius" dumb? No, they forgot the "invincible power" under the bayonet. At that time, only Ji Kang and Ji Kang dared to expose Sima's hypocrisy and ugliness and criticize Sima's wanton distortion of "Tang Wu and Kong Zhou". It can be seen that Ji Kang, who was criticized as "deviant" by many hypocrites in later generations, is the staunchest defender and executor of Confucianism. He defends the most authentic spiritual core of Confucianism and will never allow any politician's false slander to desecrate it.
What is pleasing to the eye is that Ji Kang not only caught up with Zhuangzi's "skin is like ice and snow, body is like a virgin, graceful", but also caught up with his "Who can train dragons?" (Yan Yanzhi's Ode to Five Gentlemen? Scattered halfway up the mountain) is also similar to Mencius's "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent." Ji Kang truly embodies the unity of Taoist "God Man" and Confucian "Saint".
Ji Kang's "Breaking Up with Mountain Juyuan" has not been written yet. Just a few years later, Shi Biao, a courtier of the former Shu Dynasty, also faced the recruitment of Sima Group. He was "smart" and wrote an article "Chen Qingbiao", which became a necessary article in today's middle school textbooks.
Although Chen Qingbiao by Shimi is also a sign of being unwilling to be an official, it is quite different from Breaking Up with Shan Juyuan by Ji Kang. It is a middle school masterpiece with euphemistic words and tortuous meanings. Shi Biao clung to the outline of "ruling the world with filial piety" of Sima Group, and nervously refused the call-up of Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, on the pretext that his grandmother was old and weak and needed filial piety.
If Sima Group's "ruling the world with filial piety" is hypocritical and shameless, in order to cover up their cruelty with the cloak of "filial piety", then, as a dead minister, attached to Shi Biao, who bears a grudge against Sima Group who died in Shu, isn't it equally hypocritical and shameless to use his old grandmother as a shield to refuse to recruit? Isn't it the same to use the cloak of "filial piety" to cover up the loss of a gentleman's personality that "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent"?
From this point of view, Shi Biao is not even as good as Wu in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Although Wu is also a gentleman with a broken personality, at least he didn't talk about "a 96-year-old grandmother", but he wrote clearly in his last words: "An old friend is generous and colorful. For the past, I have been constantly pondering that stealing from the grass ... it is not easy to get rid of my wife, but it is worthless. Why should I say that people are on earth? " (Wu, He Xinlang? I have a feeling about my illness. ) I am obviously afraid of death and drag out an ignoble existence. It is difficult to face the sacrifice of an old friend and know that it is difficult to avoid the ridicule of future generations. Wu Shuo's words are embarrassing, but every word is bloody and sincere, which makes people feel a little pity. It's not like Shi Biao's Chen Qingbiao. What "I'm so humble that I'm broke" and what "I'm so afraid of dogs and horses, I'm going to worship my watch and smell it" are so fake (although he can't help it from his standpoint).
Of course, the author is not here to deny the value of Shimi's Chen Qingbiao. After all, existence is value. Chen Qingbiao has been a compulsory item in middle school textbooks for so many years, which naturally has its value. After all, for you and me in real life, it is of great practical value to ask for leave from superiors to write reports at ordinary times. Shi Mi's Chen Qing Fa is obscure in meaning and euphemistic in language. After all, in real life, it is impossible to ask everyone to be as free and sharp as Ji Kang's "breaking up with Shan Juyuan". If so, it will not be conducive to the harmony of a harmonious society.
The third day of the season was sentenced to death in Dongshi, and the air was the same. Suo Qin played it, played Guangling San. At the end of the song, he said, "Yuan Xiaoni (2) tried to learn this sketch, but I don't agree that Jingu and Guangling sketches are absolutely out of date!" 3000 students wrote it. Please ask the teacher not to allow it. King Wen also finds regret. -"Shi Shuo Xin Yu"? elegant
As mentioned above, the Sima Group, which apparently ruled the world with filial piety, is actually indiscriminate. It was deeply jealous of Ji Kang's attitude of never cooperating with them and openly opposing their usurpation of the throne, and soon killed them.
Sure enough, just one year after the publication of "Breaking Up with Mountain Juyuan", Sima Group falsely accused Ji Kang of being "dissolute, harmful to others when teaching indiscriminately" and sentenced him to death on this ground.
What happened was that Ji Kang's friend Lu An was raped by his brother Lu Xun. After Lu An learned about this, he was ready to report Lu Xun. I didn't want to, but the wicked complained first and falsely accused Lu An of being unfilial. Lu Xun, who had already taken refuge in Sima Group, sued Lu An, who was in the same camp as Ji Kang, and vowed not to cooperate with Sima. Sima Group, of course, is the struggle of various factions, committing crimes against Lu Anding and being sent to the frontier. In the face of his friend's innocence and injustice, Ji Kang, who had long known the whole story, was naturally indignant, and flatly wrote "Dear John", standing up for Lu An and denouncing Lu Xun's animal behavior.
From ancient times to the present, the common method used by the rulers of China to eradicate dissidents is to separate words from other people's articles or letters, take them out of context, and insinuate the charges on this ground. Ji Kang's impassioned letter naturally hit the muzzle of Sima Group. Soon, this letter was reported by Lu Xun, and Sima Group just arrested Ji Kang for this letter.
The person in charge of hearing the case was Si Mazhao's confidant, Zhong Hui, a captain of Li Si at that time. Zhong Hui, the son of Zhong You, a gentleman, was a crazy fan of Ji Kang in his early years, although he was only two years younger than Ji Kang. Once, Zhong Hui wrote an article about the Four Books, hoping to get the guidance of Ji Kang and increase his academic prestige through the comments of famous experts. But as soon as he arrives at the idol's door, Zhong will worry that if Ji Kang asks questions about his "four books", it will be difficult for him to deal with them and it will be embarrassing. Therefore, Zhong Hui, who followed in his footsteps, did not dare to knock at the door at last, but secretly put four books under Ji Kang's window, and then ran away in three steps and two steps.
Later, Zhong Hui was gradually favored by Si Mazhao and became a red man in the imperial court. Zhong Hui, who has a successful career, decided to visit Ji Kang again. This time, in order to show respect for Ji Kang, Zhong Hui specially put on exquisite and gorgeous clothes, brought a large number of guests, and walked outside Luoyang to pay his respects to Ji Kang.
When Zhong Hui and his party arrived, Ji Kang was working under the willow tree with Xiang embroidery while the iron was hot. Ji Kang doesn't seem to like this large group of aristocratic children disturbing his quiet life, so he didn't say hello to them, but went on working hard while the iron was hot. Zhong will look at him several times eager to talk, but Ji Kang doesn't look at him. In this way, Zhong Hui and a large group of his guests silently watched Ji Kang strike while the iron was hot under the willow tree for a long time. Finally, seeing that Ji Kang never intended to receive him, Zhong Hui had to greet the guests to go home together. When he left, Ji Kang suddenly put down the hammer and asked, "What did you hear? What did you see? " After listening to it, Zhong Hui also replied: "I heard about it, saw it and left."
Questions and answers seem casual, but they reflect their erudition and intelligence. Because, obviously, the answers and questions come from the fifth volume of the Buddhist classic Vimalakīrti Sutra, which tells the story of Manjusri Bodhisattva's visit to Vimalakīrti. Vimalakīrti's words are: "Be kind to Manjusri! Don't meet, don't meet. " Manjushri's answer is: "laity, if you come, you won't come, and if you go, you won't go." So what? Nothing comes, nothing goes, and what is visible is even more invisible. " In other words, Ji Kang asked, "What did you hear?" "Leaving at sight" is a welcome to Jude Zhong, but it also reminds him that it is very important for friends to get to know each other and there is no need to be so deliberate. Although Zhong Hui also quoted Manjushri's reply and won back some face for himself, it is obvious that his mind is far less open-minded than Manjushri's. Since then, Zhong Hui has hated Ji Kang from love and has been looking for opportunities for revenge.
This time, Zhong will preside over Ji Kang's case as the captain, so it is natural to make good use of it and retaliate against Ji Kang. He first advised his master Si Mazhao: "Ji Kang is a contemporary Wolong. Never let him have a chance to display his talents. Attending the world today, carefree. Just beware of a celebrity like Ji Kang who refuses to cooperate. " Comparing Ji Kang to Zhuge Liang, Sima Shi's sworn enemy, undoubtedly stimulated Si Mazhao's most fragile and sensitive nerves, which was extremely mean.
Ji Kang, the first of the seven sages in the bamboo forest, was imprisoned innocently, which caused an uproar in Wei. For a time, thousands of local heroes with great prestige wrote to ask Ji Kang to be imprisoned together, hoping to put pressure on the authorities to save Ji Kang. Facing the avalanche of letters and visits, Si Mazhao obviously felt Ji Kang's powerful political appeal, and was in a state of tension and excitement before killing his political enemies.
At this time, the waiting clock will take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. He said to Si Mazhao, "Now the whole world is at peace, and the whole world is at home, but Ji Kang has always refused to submit to his master, and he has neglected etiquette and the Chaogang. In the past, Jiang Ziya killed Qi people and Confucius killed Lu people because these so-called celebrities were arrogant, deluded the masses and despised etiquette; So saints hold the sword of ethics and kill it. Now Ji Kang, Lu An and others are extravagant, inciting people and slandering ethical codes, which ancient sages can't tolerate. Therefore, master, you should put Ji Kang to death to correct customs and purify the king. " These words, learned and ingenious Zhong Hui, deliberately used the allusions of Jiang Ziya and Confucius to kill celebrities who didn't want to cooperate with them and encouraged Si Mazhao to kill Ji Kang. Si Mazhao, who had the heart to slay Ji Kang, was even more excited and confident when he heard that saints killed dissidents. At present, naw kham's death sentence has been signed. (Confucius killed Shao Zhengmao, a famous Lu scholar, which was first seen in Xunzi? Zuo Zuo, but its authenticity has been controversial. The clock here will quote this Canon, which is probably a rumor. )
Ji Kang, a great celebrity of a generation, was sentenced to death by the ruler for "dissolute speech, harmful times and disorderly teaching" because of a personal letter "Breaking up with Lu Changyi". Such punishment seems unreasonable, but it is by no means unique to Sima Group, nor is it unique to Sima Group. As a matter of fact, the rulers of China in the past dynasties, when dealing with celebrities with independent personalities who refused to cooperate, all disdained clever case selection and conviction, but all liked to pick a case at random, deduct a charge at random, and then close the case hastily and put them to death. This seems absurd, but it has profound implications. Because only this kind of unreasonable, arbitrary and barbaric killing can fully show the absoluteness of autocracy, cause great deterrence to people's hearts and create unprecedented social terror. Therefore, such simple and absurd unjust cases can be found everywhere in the history of China. And this horrible political means has no technical content. To sum up, it can be summed up in twelve words: arbitrary arrest, hasty closure and quick execution.
In order to minimize the political risk, Ji Kang was taken to court shortly after being sentenced to death. Wei got wind of it early in the morning and quickly came from all walks of life. At dawn, 3,000 Thai students collectively wrote to Si Mazhao, asking Ji Kang to be a teacher to avoid his death. At the same time, thousands of Wei local heroes poured into Beijing from all directions to support Ji Kang. Ji Kang's close friends in North Korea, Ruan Ji and Dan Tao, also met Si Mazhao in succession, hoping to save Ji Kang's life.
The collective petition of students, the collective response of local heroes and the joint rescue of celebrities at that time undoubtedly formed a powerful political demonstration in society. However, China's autocratic rulers never gave in to public opinion. Objectively speaking, Ji Kang's powerful political appeal accelerated his death.
Si Mazhao first quietly sent Ruan Ji, Liu Ling and others away, and then ordered a large number of troops to martial law around the execution ground, ready to respond to possible "emergencies" at any time. After all the arrangements were made, he sent someone to the court to announce the decree to uphold Ji Kang's original death sentence.
As soon as this decree was read, it exploded in court. 3,000 hot-blooded students were furious, and they began to push the prison guards around the martial law execution ground. Small-scale physical conflicts broke out around the execution ground from time to time, which can be seen everywhere. The voice of "release Ji Kang, release Ji Kang" is getting louder and louder, echoing in the east gate where the execution ground is located. At this time, facing the soldiers under martial law, angry students, noisy execution ground, relatives and friends around him, Ji Kang's eyes are still empty and lonely. He looked back at the shadow of the sun. Knowing that it was still early, he said to his younger brother Ji Xi, "Brother, did you bring my Pian Yu guqin?"
"I have, here it is." Ji Xi choked and handed the piano to Ji Kang.
Ji Kang thoughtfully touched his beloved Pian Yu guqin, and then plucked the silver strings with his spotless hands.
Listen, Ji Kang's piano, and the noisy execution ground immediately quieted down. At first, the sound of the piano was so ethereal and elegant that people seemed to be at the top of the beautiful Emei, looking at the layers of white clouds and feeling the greatness and magic of nature. Then, the sound of the piano became impassioned, making people feel as if they were in the battlefield of blood shed, watching the succession of people with lofty ideals and feeling the tenacity and unyielding life. After a while, the sound of the piano became delicate and graceful again, making people feel as if they were on a beautiful bridge, looking at the endless spring water and feeling the eternity and perfection of nature. Ji Kang's relatives and friends, more than 3,000 students, quietly listened to Ji Kang's last piano music. Everyone present, including some martial law soldiers and officials who supervised the beheading, could not help but burst into tears. However, Ji Kang's eyes at this time are still so empty and lonely.
"Looking at the reunion, waving five strings. When Ji Kang played the piano, his mood was still so detached and peaceful.
Ji Kang's last stroke on Pian Yu Guqin completed a scene in China culture that will always be memorable for future generations.
"Yuan Huaiceng asked me to teach him straight away, but I didn't promise. Now this Guangling Powder has become a masterpiece. " Ji Kang said with a little regret after finishing The Eternal Moment in China Culture.
"hey." About three minutes later, with the supervisor's order, a head and body that combines Taoism's "skin is like ice and snow, graceful as a virgin" and Confucianism's "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and powerful people can't bend" are separated. Ji Kang is only thirty-nine years old.
God is dead. Ji Kang's murder is tantamount to "God is dead" to people who follow the fashion and have a conscience. From then on, in the face of the arrogance of Sima Group, they all chose to submit, and no one dared to stand up like Ji Kang and publicly expose the false ugliness, terror and ferocity of Sima Group. Even the remaining six people of the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest" all surrendered to Sima's account, and dared not have the ambition of Ji Shan (Ji Kang's best friend Xiang Xiu, after Ji Kang's death, obediently went to Sima's office, and declared that he had no "ambition of Ji Shan" in front of Si Mazhao).
Of course, just as the masterpiece Guangling San in China's music history has been passed down to this day through Magic Secret Spectrum, Ji Kang's tall and independent personality may be strangled for a period of time, but it will be lengthened one day. As Yan Yanzhi, a famous poet in the Southern Dynasties, wrote in Ode to the Five Kings? Ji Zhongsan said:
Not even in the middle, self-sufficient. Silence is measured before the solution is formed, and the concentration is known by the theory of spitting. Set up a desire to discuss the flow, seek the mountain and discuss the hidden theory. Sometimes dragons can be tamed!
At the end of the poem, "Who can tame dragons?" Generosity and tragic, resounding through ancient and modern times, has always been respected by Ji Kang's admirers. Among them, the word "dragon is difficult to tame" later evolved into a compliment to those who are noble in personality, dare to persist in themselves and make unremitting efforts for it (in this regard, the compliment of "dragon is difficult to tame" is different from the derogatory "unruly").
For us who live in a harmonious society today, we may not need to be as serious and brave as Ji Kang and pursue the absolute nobility and purity of life. But we can also pursue a high degree of life value consciousness like Ji Kang. In other words, we can highly respect our outlook on life and aesthetics, stick to our ideals and pursue our life value, and respect and create our own uniqueness.
In short, although we can't achieve nirvana rather than linger on, we can still achieve a high degree of recognition of "self-life".