The cause of Qu Yuan's death has been controversial in academic circles. At present, there are at least five viewpoints: first, the theory of "being a martyr to the country" represented by Wang Fuzhi of the Qing Dynasty; The second is the theory of "clean body" represented by Jiang Liangfu; The third is the "martyrdom theory" represented by Qumu; Fourth, Wang Zhijiang's "theory of remonstrating corpses"; The fifth is the "regression theory" represented by Hu Xuechang. Most of the above statements are based on the theory of "dying for the country", which mainly stems from the inference of Qu Yuan's works. This paper discusses a new view-"messianism".
In Lepingli, Zigui County, Hubei Province, the birthplace of Qu Yuan, there is a folk legend that Qu Yuan was slandered by traitors and exiled to the wild land of Yuanxiang by Chu Huaiwang. After the death of Qin, Huai Wang succeeded to the throne. At that time, the Chu Palace was very decadent. Qin Jun often invaded the State of Chu and occupied many parts of the State of Chu. After breaking the capital, he pursued Xiang Wang. King Xiang regretted kissing Qin at the beginning, and he was even more unwilling that the foundation of Chu for nearly 800 years was destroyed by himself. So he thought of Qu Yuan, who was exiled in the Miluo River area, and went to ask him the way to save the country. Qin Jun followed closely after hearing the news. At this critical juncture, Qu Yuan and the King of Chu exchanged clothes and jumped into the Miluo River under Qin Jun's nose. Seeing that "King Xiang" sank into the river, he stopped pursuing, and King Xiang escaped this bad luck.
In June 2002, when Yichang rescued outstanding folk cultural heritage, it conducted a large-scale dragnet survey and collected this legend in Lepingli, the birthplace of Qu Yuan. It broke the negative conclusion of "Qu Yuan is sad and desperate" for thousands of years, expanded the new space of Qu Yuan's research, made the image of Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet, more perfect, made the theme of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism more vivid, and made Qu Yuan, a deplorable dying image in the world literary world, no longer sad. ...
First, the reliability of the legend of "Yi Feng Savior"
The definition of the word "legend" is "one is a popular saying; Second, the narrative of some deeds handed down from folk history, some are based on specific historical events, and some are fictional. " The legend of "Qu Yuan is easy to serve the savior" from Qu Yuan's hometown is probably based on the narrative of specific events. This legend comes from Zhimaping, a remote mountain village 7 kilometers away from Lepingli. Xiang Wencai, a 74-year-old farmer, didn't go to school for a day. We invited him to sing folk songs. When chatting, we asked him if he knew Qu Yuan. Asked how Qu Yuan died, he told the story of his death to save the king of Chu in a few words. At first, I thought it was strange. How can such a legend come out in the mountains and forests? Later, it was confirmed by many villagers in the mountains, only to know that for thousands of years, people here have always believed that Qu Yuan died to save the king of Chu.
Everyone was very excited when they first heard this new theory about Qu Yuan's death. For the sake of prudence, the author later made a special trip to Lepingli to visit several old farmers, and also visited Xu Zhengduan, a retired teacher who volunteered to protect Quyuan Temple and vice president of Sao Tan Poetry Society. Xu teacher is over 70 years old. He said: "There is such a legend that it is really true. When I was eight or nine years old, I heard it from my teacher. He is also in his seventies. "
According to the narrator of qu yuan memorial hall in zigui county, Zigui County, in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Zhuan, Song Shenzong, called Qu Yuan the "Qing Lie Gong" and built the Qing Lie Gong Temple in Guizhou. The statue of Qu Yuan in the temple was dressed in a "crown robe", which was shaped by people who returned to Guizhou that year according to the legendary dress of Qu Yuan as a "savior". These may have certain reference value for studying Qu Yuan and uncovering the mystery of Qu Yuan's death. With the excavation of cultural relics and the discovery of similar legends in other places, it is unknown to add new content to Qu Yuan's history.
Folk literature is a precious spiritual wealth left by history to future generations, which began at the end of childhood. The origin of any folk literature has its roots, including historical truth. Because folk literature is always good at covering up the ideological core with side details and side details, it also makes it more difficult for future generations to understand the truth. For example, when some details of history have been preserved in the form of art after years of evolution, we can only rely on future generations to distinguish authenticity, peel off layers of packaging and explore the truth. Therefore, legends should not be credulous or easily denied. The author published this legend in order to attract attention and add a new color to the study of Qu Yuan today.
Second, the theory of "savior" is consistent with Qu Yuan's patriotic thought of loyalty to the monarch.
Qu Yuan is not only a great poet, but also a politician who cares about the country and the people. If he is in a high position, he will worry about his people. If you are far away in the rivers and lakes, you will worry about your husband. His political proposition of "invigorating talents and empowering the people, uniting with Qi to resist Qin" has always been closely combined with his thoughts and actions of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, enriching the country and strengthening the people. In Qu Yuan's view, loyalty to the monarch, patriotism and love for the people are a unity, with love for the people as the core, patriotism as the key and loyalty to the monarch as the premise. The king is the head of a country and the hope of Chu. His ideal of American politics can only be realized through the king. Therefore, no matter to Chu Huaiwang, who used to reuse him, or to Xiang Wang, who had been alienated from him, he was "loyal to the monarch and willing to enter" and "died nine times without regret". During his decades in exile, he kept pouring out his heart to the king. Although he was in a desperate situation for a long time, he still fulfilled his duties as a leftist and a doctor in San Lv, firmly believing that his loyalty would impress the king and gain trust and reuse. Therefore, when his remonstrance was blocked many times in exile, he was so desperate that he wanted to fly away or die with a clear will, and wrote the desperate word "I want to live in Peng Xianjia" several times, he could not let go of his beloved motherland, for fear that the king would be deceived for a long time and the villain would continue to bring disaster to the country and the people, and he fought resolutely. "I want to get up from a distance and run around, especially from the town." Make a statement with a little affection and correct it with a beautiful husband. Especially in twenty-one years, General Wen Qin broke his heart. Although he wrote a desperate word, he really didn't want to be ruined by Qin Jun for hundreds of years. "I'm afraid that the imperial court will be defeated", "I regret your stupidity" and "I regret your stupidity". Finally, I firmly grasped the original work of Luhmanman. I believe that the fatuous king can repent when the country is in danger and reuse him to serve the country. Finally, one day, the long-awaited king really came to him for advice on how to save the country. How excited and gratified he is! At this time, the king of Chu was being chased by the enemy. In order to serve his beloved Chu State and people, he resolutely decided to surrender to the savior. This merciless death can be described as a great, noble, heroic and loyal death. This move made Qu Yuan's "sad ending of life" instantly rewritten into a magnificent poem. In this way, with hope for the future of Chu, Qu Yuan bravely threw himself into the river instead of dying in despair. The value of this feat lies in arousing the fighting spirit of King Xiang of Qin, and the history of Chu was finally continued because of the awakening of King Xiang of Qin. "Chu Family" said that in the twenty-third year of Chu Qing, he was the king of Xiang. "The king of Xiang retired from the east and took me fifteen towns along the river from the west to Qin, leaving Qin. "It can be seen that at the critical moment when the king of Chu was facing life and death, it was precisely because he adopted Qu Yuan's good plan to save the country and govern the country, relied on the people's anti-Qin forces, concentrated his troops to drop soldiers, recovered lost ground, and governed the country that the history of Chu lasted for more than half a century-this is the monarch who is worthy of Qu Yuan's perseverance and has no regrets until death! Imagine that such a groggy and incompetent "Mi Wang" in history can still make a comeback and compete with the increasingly powerful Qin State for 55 years under the predicament that the capital was captured by the Qin State, the Chu army was defeated, the monarch and his ministers fled for their lives, and their national strength was declining. Isn't this the result that Dr. San Lv's great patriotism and extraordinary personality charm strongly inspired King Xiang of Chu and his people? In this way, Qu Yuan is not only a banner of literary creation in China's history and a model of quality training, but also a persistent spirit of seeking in the political field. The three complement each other.
Third, the materials collected by Sima Qian are inevitably incomplete.
Historical Records is the earliest historical book that records Qu Yuan's history. Writers Sima Qian and Qu Yuan lived more than 200 years apart. As far as the level of information development in that year is concerned, the information obtained by Sima Qian cannot be detailed and true, and it is inevitable to miss it.
Li Zhonghua and Zhu Bingxiang analyzed in The Study History of Chu Ci: "The materials of Sima Qian's Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng may come from the following aspects. First, the ancient books collected in the palace may have the deeds of Qu Yuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals of various countries. The second is the materials obtained from field investigation and visit. "Preface to Taishi Gong" said that he was twenty years old and went south to Jianghuai, where he "went to meetings, explored caves and floated in Yuanxiang". This trip is of great significance to his writing about Qu Yuan. In Biography of Qu Yuan and Biography of Jia Sheng, he also admitted that "it is not a shame to see what Qu Yuan did in Changsha and want to see him as a human being". The third is the materials in Qu Yuan's works. At the end of the Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, I said,' After reading Li Sao, Tian Wen, Evocation and Mourning, I feel sorry for my ambition. Sima Qian extensively collected the relevant materials that existed at that time, and made a serious analysis and study, so that Qu Yuan's time and life experience were generally clearly presented, which had eternal historical value and literary value ... However, it has been more than 200 years since Sima Qian wrote Historical Records, and the specific time and related situation of some historical events are not easy to understand. Folk rumors and different opinions also make Sima Qian's account of the same incident sometimes inconsistent and even contradictory. ..... Therefore, modern scholars have doubts and criticisms about Historical Records, Biographies of Qu Yuan and Biographies of Jia Sheng. "Mr. Tang also raised a series of questions about Bing Zheng. To answer his question, it is necessary not only to further discuss the existing literature seriously, but also to pay attention to the excavation of underground cultural relics (the author adds by the way: the folklore and related materials about Qu Yuan must also be collected comprehensively). I believe that as long as we seek truth from facts, this question will eventually get a satisfactory answer. "
This argument shows that the first-hand material "Biography of Qu Yuan Jia Sheng" collected by Sima Qian in Han Dynasty is incomplete. Because when he was young, he had only been to "faraway villages", and "the folk rumors were different", "the specific time and related circumstances of some historical events are not easy to investigate clearly." Moreover, due to time, region, traffic, physical condition and other reasons, it is difficult and impossible for Sima Qian to go to all places related to Qu Yuan to collect information extensively. Naturally, I don't know that 200 years after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river (even in 2000), there is still a saying in Qu Yuan's hometown that Qu Yuan was "easy to serve as a savior" and drowned himself. However, Sima Qian was in adversity at that time, and it was not easy to present "Qu Yuan's time and life experience are generally clear", which made great contributions to mankind and history.
Fourthly, the autocratic rule of Qin Dynasty had an impact on Qu Yuan's historical remains.
As the first emperor to unify China, Qin Shihuang played an important role in politics and culture. However, its tyranny and violence have also caused a huge legacy. After the reunification of the country, he swept away all kinds of alien, alien, alien and alien voices that prevented him from realizing his political views, burned books and buried Confucianism, and set a bad example of autocratic monarchy. Qu Yuan, a tough anti-Qin faction, his thoughts, his poems, historical records related to him and his family were certainly swept away.
According to the records of Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province: "After the Qin Dynasty destroyed Chu, Qu Yuan's three sons all entered Qin, one lived in Pucheng, changed his surname to Sun, one lived in Yaozhou, changed his surname to Fang, and one lived in Hancheng, still keeping his surname." This shows that after Qin destroyed Chu, Chu people, especially Qu people, were forcibly moved to the State of Qin and changed their surnames. Historians loyal to the Qin Dynasty can directly write the history of other countries when cataloging this official history? What's more, it is the historical record of Qu Yuan, the backbone of the anti-Qin faction? As for some of Qu Yuan's literary works, the reason why they have been passed down to this day is probably because they were treasured at that time. Otherwise, how could anyone survive the torch? Presumably, this is one of the reasons why there is no Qu Yuan's historical pen in pre-Qin classics.
Based on the above points, the author believes that it is not impossible for Qu Yuan to surrender to the Savior easily, and this legend was circulated in Qu Yuan's hometown at least before the Qing Dynasty. Because Qu Yuan's historical materials are precious and lacking, we should take this new discovery seriously, whether it is true or not, and don't miss any opportunity to dig up the historical truth.