Gaixiage
Xiang Yu
The strength of the mountain is overwhelming, but the times are unfavorable and the glory will not fade away.
What can be done if the glory is not gone, but what can be done if there is a danger?
1
The power to lift mountains and swallow up thousands of miles, the heroic spirit is unparalleled in the world. The weather is unfavorable and the fortune is unfavorable. Wu Zui no longer travels thousands of miles a day.
What can I do if the thousand-mile horse doesn’t run? Yu Ji, Yu Ji, I have too much time to take care of myself, how can I protect you?
2
Xiang Yu (232 BC - 202 BC), named Yu, was a prime minister during the Warring States Period (now southwest of Suqian City, Jiangsu Province). Grandson of Chu general Xiang Yan.
When he was young, he determined to learn to be "the enemy of ten thousand people". He was more than eight feet tall, could carry a cauldron, and was extremely talented. When he saw Qin Shihuang patrolling the chariot tent in the East, he said domineeringly: "He can be replaced!" At the same time, Liu Bang, a commoner, once said enviously: "A man should be like this!"
Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, The Chu people were dissatisfied: "Although Chu has three households, if Qin is destroyed, Chu will definitely die." Sure enough, in the year after Qin Shihuang's death, Chu people Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up, followed by Chu people Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.
According to "Historical Records·The Chronicles of Xiang Yu", Xiang Yu started from Jiangdong and led eight thousand soldiers. He was invincible. He destroyed Tianrong along the way, saved Pengcheng, saved Xingyang, captured Chenggao, and after entering Xianyang, the capital of Qin, he became independent. He is the overlord of Western Chu. In the battle of Julu, he destroyed the main force of the Qin army and became famous among the princes. "I have been eight years old since I raised the army. I have fought more than seventy battles. I have defeated those I fought and subdued those I attacked. I have never been defeated, and I have dominated the world."
The Hongmen Banquet was the beginning of Xiang Yu's tragedy. Xiang Yu did not listen to Fan Zeng's advice and let Liu Bang go. After that, the four-year Chu-Han War began. Later, Xiang Yu was besieged in Gaixia (now southeast of Lingbi, Anhui), and his troops were exhausted. He also heard that he was besieged on all sides, which triggered his homesickness, so he sang this poem repeatedly. "Songs of songs, beautiful women and him. King Xiang wept for several lines, everyone wept on the left and right, no one could look up."
Yu Ji drew her sword and killed herself, showing her understanding of Xiang Yu and expressing her unswerving devotion to life and death. love. After Yu Ji died, Xiang Yu had no worries and led his troops to break through the encirclement and came to the edge of Wujiang River. At this time, there were only twenty-eight horses left to accompany them.
The head of the Wujiang Pavilion told Xiang Yu: "Although Jiangdong is small, the area is thousands of miles away, and there are hundreds of thousands of people, which is enough for a king. May the king rush to cross. Now I only have a boat, and the Han army is coming, and I can't cross it. ”
Xiang Yu said with a smile: “If Heaven destroys me, how can I cross the river?” , How can I see it with my face? Even if he doesn't say anything, I am not ashamed of myself." So he gave the black horse to the fisherman (one said that he would be led across by soldiers).
When the Han army caught up, Xiang Yu saw his former subordinate, Lu Matong, the cavalry commander of the Han army, and said, "Aren't you an old friend of mine? I heard that the king of Han offered a reward of thousands of catties of gold and ten thousand households in the land." My head, let me give you this favor. After saying this, he killed himself.
Three
Xiang Yu failed, but he did not lose his heroic spirit until his death. He sang the highest note at the last moment of his life, leaving behind his "human" dignity. This poem and this story have touched the hearts of future generations again and again for thousands of years.
Shen Deqian said: "From ancient times, true heroes must not be ruthless." ("Source of Ancient Poetry") The difficult things for heroes are, one is beauty, and the other is country. However, when you put your beauty and country aside, you are no longer a hero. "Yu Xi, Yu Xi Nai Ruo He" contains the deep and unforgettable love that the Overlord of Western Chu had for Yu Ji, who followed him to death!
It can be seen from Xiang Yu's attitude towards Wuzui Ma before his death that if he was afraid of falling into the hands of his enemy, he could have killed the good horse, but he did not. Things are like this, let alone Yu Ji. Xiang Yu is really affectionate towards Yu Ji, but he is really ruthless towards his enemies: "The people of Chu are torched, but the scorched earth is pitiful."
Xiang Yu has double pupils, and Emperor Shun and Empress Li of the Southern Tang Dynasty also have double pupils. Yingbu and Peng Yue were originally Xiang Yu's generals, but later they betrayed and defected to Liu Bang. After Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, he was suspicious of his old ministers, so Yingbu and Peng Yue rebelled again. As a result, they were made into glutinous rice and sent to nine sides. Lin Daiyu wrote "Five Beauties", one of which praises Yu Ji: "The wind is howling at night when the heart is broken, and Yu Xi hates her double eyes. The tattooed Peng is willing to accept his age, and the sword is as good as in Chu's tent."
Xiang Yu's hero is at the end of his road, and he feels desolate. His sigh of "I am worried" shows his temperament. Later, in "Water Margin", Lin Chong, the leader of the 800,000-strong Forbidden Army, ran at night and was cornered. He was forced to climb Liangshan, which was also the end of the hero.
The weirdness of history lies here, as Lao Tzu said, "Heaven and earth are unkind, and treat all things as stupid dogs." Nature is affectionate, endows heroes with talents, and sets up a stage for making history; nature is too ruthless, often giving heroes a fate of failure.
The sky is mysterious and people are insignificant. Even an unparalleled hero like the Overlord of Western Chu cannot withstand a slight blow from the sky. It’s hard to ask about God’s will. Whether a hero meets his end or not, it’s always God’s fault. When Xiang Yu was about to die, he attributed his failure to God's will: "It is not the crime of war that kills me here." This is the general rule that "every time comes, heaven and earth work together, and heroes are not free when they come."
Sima Qian did not judge heroes based on success or failure. He listed the farmer Chen Sheng as a prince, and listed the failed Xiang Yu in the emperor's annals. It was the first text in the Han Dynasty: "I deeply regret that Yu failed. "Don't judge a hero based on his success or failure. This is his lifelong policy.
Du Mu, a poet and military strategist in the Tang Dynasty, lamented that Xiang Yu refused to cross the river: "It is unknown whether he will come back again." ("Ti Wu Jiang Pavilion")
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao personally experienced the southern crossing and witnessed the imperial court's Incompetence: "I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the Yangtze River" ("Summer Quatrains"). I am sure that Xiang Yu is a failed hero. This is not regret, but sympathy and recognition.
Li Qingzhao and Du Mu appreciated Xiang Yu's unwillingness to escape from both positive and negative aspects, and they were both close friends from different generations. Xiang Yu's heroic death was worth it!
Four
At the end of the Warring States Period, Prince Dan of Yan hired the knight Jing Ke to assassinate Qin. This is a major event to save the Yan Kingdom and restore the six kingdoms. From the standpoint of the Yan Kingdom, it is a patriotic act.
Jing Ke wanted to wait for his friends to arrive and join Qin together, but did not set off immediately. Prince Dan suspected that Jing Ke was too timid to change his mind and urged him repeatedly. Jing Ke then set out, but knew that without the help of his friends, the success of assassinating Qin was unlikely. Scholars die for those who know themselves, but Prince Dan did not truly know himself. This is the biggest regret in life.
Prince Dan, Gao Jianli and others wore white mourning clothes and sent Jing Ke off to Yishui. Gao Jianli was building the building, and Jing Ke sang in response: "The wind is rustling and the water is cold. A strong man will never return once he is gone."
Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin naturally ended in failure. Sima Qian asked Dong Zhongshu for advice on the story. Dong Zhongshu once listened to Xia Wujie, who was present at the time and used a medicine bag to shoot Jing Ke, narrate the entire incident in detail.
Jing Ke has no hesitation in his righteousness. After reading it through the ages, it is like seeing his person and his liver and gallbladder. Xiang Yu and Jing Ke are both failed heroes. Xiang Yu is frank, naive, and not scheming; Liu Bang, facing the threat of his father being killed, wants a share of the pie, and pushes his daughter out of the car several times to lighten the burden when fleeing.
It was Jing Ke’s sorrow to do something he knew was impossible. Knowing that it is impossible but doing it is also Zhuge Liang's tragedy. During the Three Kingdoms period, some people advised him not to attack Wei, but Zhuge Liang refused to listen. Jing Ke was patriotic, and Zhuge Liang was also patriotic.
Confucius once said: "A man with lofty ideals and benevolence does not seek life to harm his benevolence, but kills himself to achieve benevolence." Mencius also said: "Life is what I want, and righteousness is also what I want; both You can't have both, you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness."
Confucius chanted "What grass is not yellow", "It's so bad, I'm so old, I will no longer dream of seeing the Duke of Zhou", it is precisely regardless of physical fatigue, The effort to pursue the ideal state, knowing that it is impossible, is the first of the tragic endings for heroes throughout the ages. Every great mind has a little bit of Confucius: he knows what is impossible and does it.
The level of human spiritual realm is highlighted by the conflict between body and spirit. If you follow the requirements of physical principles and biological instincts, fleeing is reasonable. In Yuan Haowen's "Two Flying Guests from All Over the World", the wild goose died when it hit the ground. It was instinct, not suicide.
Hegel said: "Animals cannot maim themselves or commit suicide. Only humans can do this." Humans have animality and human nature, that is, natural law and moral law. Only humans can make choices and decisions that transcend the constraints of life instincts and life limits.
Since animals are only dominated and controlled by natural laws, there is no question of good or evil for animals, and they cannot act as the subject of moral responsibility. There is a dichotomy in human free will, and there is room for possibility of making a choice between natural law and moral law.
It is this kind of violation that reflects the value of followers. Because only talents face the dilemma, that is, it is impossible to escape the choice of salvation or destruction in their lives. This is a unique human condition.
Socrates was imprisoned. His student Plato and others tried to help him escape, but he refused and chose to die generously. Xiang Yu refused to cross the river. Although there was a boat, he refused to cross. This bank is the other bank. Kill yourself to become a benevolent person. Socrates did it, and so did Xiang Yu and Jing Ke.
Liang Qichao said: "At the turn of the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were two eternal music songs. One was Jing Ke's "Song of Yishui", and the second was Xiang Yu's "Gaixia Song"." (" "History of Chinese American Literature")
Chu song style was popular during the Qin and Han Dynasties. The "Song of Yishui" and "Song of Gaixia" blurted out by Jing Ke and Xiang Yu are both in the style of Chu songs. They are everlasting and never withering flowers of heroic death. The deep feelings in them have moved future generations for thousands of years.