1. A Word for a Thousand Gold Story 1
One day, Lu Buwei summoned his disciples to discuss how to improve his prestige. Some disciples suggested that Lu Buwei lead an army to go out to destroy several countries and achieve great military exploits to establish his prestige.
Some people immediately objected: "This method is harmful but useless. Even if you win the battle, you will not be promoted when you come back, because there is no higher position than the prime minister. The important thing is that the risk of war is great , No one is sure of winning.
If the war fails, the result will be counterproductive." He then asked others: "Is there any other good way?" After a while, one of the disciples said: "We all know that Confucius was a great scholar. He wrote "Spring and Autumn".
Sun Tzu was good at fighting. He wrote "Sun Tzu's Art of War". I think if we follow the example of our predecessors, we will write "The Art of War". A book can not only improve one's own status, but also make contributions to future generations."
Lü Buwei was very happy after hearing this, and immediately organized his disciples to start this work. He further divided it into categories and compiled it into three parts: "Eight Readings", "Six Treatises" and "Twelve Chronicles", totaling more than 200,000 words.
Lü Buwei thought that this book covered everything in the world from ancient to modern times, so he proudly named it "Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals". Later, Lu Buwei published "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" beside the city gate of Xianyang, and hung a thousand pieces of gold on top of the book.
We invite tourists and guests from all the vassal states to come and review it. Lu Buwei promised: If anyone can add or subtract a word from the book, he will be rewarded with one thousand gold coins. This is where "a word of gold comes from".
2. The story of a thousand pieces of gold 2
Wang Bo, a poet of the early Tang Dynasty, came to Nanchang from Kyoto in 667 AD. At that time, the poet's life was relatively poor and he was forced to have no choice but to make a living. On the Double Ninth Festival of this year, Yan Boyu, the governor of Nanchang, held a grand banquet in Tengwang Pavilion.
Invite literati from far and near to write poems and prefaces to Tengwang Pavilion, and Wang Bo is naturally one of the guests. During the banquet, Wang Bo wrote the famous "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion", and then wrote the preface poem:
The high pavilion of Prince Teng is near Jiangzhu, and the jade-wearing mingluan is singing and dancing. The painted building is flying toward Nanpu clouds, and the bead curtain rolls into the west mountain rain at dusk. The shadows in Xianyuntan Lake are long, and things change and the stars move several autumns. Where is the emperor's son in the pavilion now? Outside the threshold, the Yangtze River flows freely.
In the poem, Wang Bo deliberately left a word blank, then presented the preface to the governor, Yan Boyu, and stood up to leave. Master Yan read Wang Bo's preface and was about to express his praise when he found that there was a missing word in the last line of the poem, which made him feel strange.
The literati and bachelors on the sidelines expressed their opinions on this. One said it must be the word "water"; the other said it should be the word "independence". Master Yan felt that it was unsatisfactory after hearing this. He blamed them for making wild guesses and not the author's original intention.
So he ordered people to chase Wang Bo quickly and asked him to make up the missing words. After the visitor caught up with Wang Bo, his entourage said: "My young master has something to say, one word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I hope Lord Yan will respect you."
The visitor returned and told Yan Boyu what he said. I thought to myself: "This is clearly blackmailing me, how annoying!" Another thought came to mind: "No matter how hard I say it, I can't leave a word empty. It's better to just follow his wishes, so that I can gain a good reputation as a courteous and virtuous corporal."
So he ordered people to prepare a thousand taels of silver and personally led all the scholars to Wang Bo's residence. Wang Bo took the money and pretended to be surprised: "Master He Lao asked, how dare you leave a blank word in late life?" After hearing this, everyone felt that they didn't know what it meant. Someone asked: "What should be the meaning of the blank space?"
< p>Wang Bo said with a smile: "What is empty is empty. Where is the emperor's son in the pavilion now? Outside the threshold, the Yangtze River flows freely." After hearing this, everyone unanimously praised it, and Master Yan also said meaningfully: "A word worth a thousand dollars, he is worthy of being a genius today. ”3. The third story of a thousand pieces of gold
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a man named Zhong Rong in the Liang Dynasty. He wrote a review of poetry called Poetry. In the book, he wrote: "The text is gentle and beautiful, the meaning is sad but distant, and thrilling. It can be said that every word is worth a fortune." This means that a good article cannot have more or less words. The effect of each word is worth one thousand taels of gold.
4. Story 4 of A Word for a Thousand Gold
Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty, actually wrote an article about the Tang Dynasty 200 years later! Many experts have checked every word on the stele, and it is indeed Wang Xizhi's handwriting; the content of the inscription recited is indeed the "Preface to the Holy Religion" written by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty for monk Xuanzang.
There are reasons for strange things. This "Preface to the Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty" is a Buddhist scripture that monk Xuanzang brought back from India. After he carefully translated it, he asked Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to write a preface and add Prince Li Zhi wrote a narrative and expressed thanks to Xuanzang, which is commonly known as the Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Tripitaka.
This stele was erected in the third year of Xianheng (AD 672) of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the imperial court wanted to engrave the stele in the font of Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty. When the eminent monk Huairen of Hongfu Temple in Chang'an learned about this incident, he felt that it was an honor for the Buddhist community.
Therefore, I am determined to take on this responsibility. After Monk Huairen searched everywhere, he finally collected Wang Xizhi's characters one by one according to the preface, and became this "Holy Religion Preface Stele" in Wang Xizhi's script.
5. A Word for a Thousand Gold Story 5
It is said that in the process of collecting calligraphy, Huairen could not find several characters, so he had no choice but to ask the court to post a notice asking who dedicated the inscription. A word that is urgently needed will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins. This is the origin of "a word of gold", and it is also a good saying in the literary world. Later generations called the rubbings of this stele "Qian Jin Tie".