"The Confession of the Belly in the East Chamber" comes from "Shishuo Xinyu·Ya Liang", and the author is Liu Yiqing.
Translation of "The East Chamber Condenses the Belly"
When Taifu Xi was in Jingkou, he sent a retainer to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Wang, asking for a son-in-law. Prime Minister Wang told Taifu Xi's messenger: "You can go to the east wing and choose whatever you want." The retainer came back after the inspection and told Taifu Xi: "Every young man in the Wang family can be praised. When these young people heard that they were looking for a son-in-law, they all It was a bit unnatural. There was only one young man lying on the bed with his belly open, as if he didn't know that someone was looking for his son-in-law. "It turned out that this young man was Wang Xizhi." So he married his daughter to him.
Appreciation
Every generation has its own style and writing. This sketch vividly expresses the "Wei and Jin style" that Mr. Lu Xun admired and admired. The demeanor of the Wei and Jin Dynasties is a big article, but "The Confession of the Eastern Chamber" does not write big words in capital letters, but uses small words to support big words. It uses what we usually call "recruiting a son-in-law" to highlight the demeanor of the literati and officials in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Taifu Xi Jian's "asking for a son-in-law" was the starting point. The wonderful thing about this is that Xi Jian did not personally implement the marriage of his children, but sent a disciple to send a letter to Prime Minister Wang. Prime Minister Wang was also very casual and asked the messenger to go to the east wing to choose "arbitrarily". How to choose? The article deliberately leaves a blank, and writes about the disciples coming back to report the situation. It uses Zhulang's reserve as the background to highlight the wonder of "Ichiro". He clearly "heard to find a son-in-law" but "as if he didn't hear", lying on the bed naked. , as if nothing happened. The strange thing is that every son-in-law must have a son-in-law, but Taifu Xi made a decision without thinking: "This is just right." Mr. Lu Xun's "Tongtuo" of Wei and Jin people, "meaning to be casual", was vividly described by Weng and his son-in-law. The casual and free life of Xi Jian and Wang Xizhi is missing among modern people who care about material life. As soon as modern people are free and unrestrained, they turn into hippie punk.
This sketch also exudes the simple, solemn and peaceful style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties in terms of writing style. There are only a few hundred words, not much ink, they are all picked at random, and each word conveys the spirit of Adou. Therefore, the characters of a generation and the customs of a century are clearly visible. He is really a master of articles that can see people as they happen. This sketch actually vividly describes Taifu Xi Jian, Prime Minister Wang Dao, the princes of the Wang family, and Wang Xizhi. The key is to spread out and then converge completely through the perspective of the disciple, so the text is particularly simple and solemn. One layer writes a letter to secretly select the person, the other layer writes a report openly explaining the selection process, and finally writes the ending of the Taifu's visit, "So I married my daughter to this person." The character's actions are described as "lying on the bed with an open belly", and the conversation between Xi Gong is described as "just right." These three words vividly highlight Wang Xizhi's unexpected joy when he matched his ideal model for choosing a son-in-law.
Original text
The Eastern Chamber Confessed the Belly
Taifu Xi was in Jingkou and sent his disciples to write to Prime Minister Wang to ask for his son-in-law. The prime minister said to Xi Xin: "You go to the east chamber and choose whomever you want." After his disciples returned, Bai Xi said: "All the men in the Wang family are also worthy of praise. I heard that I came to find a son-in-law, so I was very reserved. Only Yilang was lying on the bed with his belly open, like this. "I don't hear it." Xi Gong said, "That's good." I visited him because he was married to his daughter.
Notes
① Taifu Xi: Xi Jian.
② Disciples: In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the so-called disciples were disciples.
⑧ Letter: Messenger. That is, the messenger sent by Taifu Xi.
④Reserved: Pretending to be solemn, restrained, and unnatural.
⑥Yishao: Wang Xizhi, a descendant of Wang Dao.
Source of the work: "Shishuo Xinyu Yaliang"
About the author
Liu Yiqing (403-444), courtesy name Ji Bo, Pengcheng (today's Born in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province [11], he was a member of the Song Dynasty clan and a writer. Liu Daolian, the nephew of Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty and the second son of King Jing of Changsha, Liu Daolian, and his uncle, King Liu Daogui of Linchuan, had no children, so he took Liu Yiqing as his heir and granted the title of Nanjun Duke.
In the first year of Yongchu (420), he was granted the title of King of Linchuan and was appointed as a minister. During the Yuanjia period of Emperor Wen, he served as secretary supervisor, Danyang Yin, Shangshu Zuopushe, Zhongshu Ling, Jingzhou governor, etc. He is the author of "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", "Biographies of Xuzhou Sages", "Biographies of Famous Scholars in Jiangzuo" and "Shishuoxinyu".