The following content is excerpted from "Falling in Love with the Calligrapher——Princess Xin'an" from "Princess of China" by Shang Ailan. Princess Xin'an is named Sima Daofu. She is the daughter of Emperor Jianwen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and married to Huan Wen's son. Huan Ji. Later, Huan Ji failed in his attempt to usurp military power and was demoted. Princess Xin'an divorced Huan Ji and begged the emperor to remarry her to Wang Xianzhi.
However, Wang Xianzhi was already married to Xi Daomao at that time, and the couple had a very good relationship.
Wang Xianzhi is the seventh son of Wang Xizhi, the first calligrapher in ancient times. This son is both decent and dashing. He has been praised since childhood.
Wang Xianzhi started practicing calligraphy with his father when he was six or seven years old. His father took advantage of his unpreparedness and suddenly grabbed his pen from behind and lifted it up. Wang Xianzhi grabbed the pen very firmly - this means that he was writing when he was a child. It's so powerful. Wang Xizhi predicted: "This little boy of mine will become a famous calligrapher in the future." Wang Xianzhi later became as famous a calligrapher as his father. However, he is a tall man and his family is wealthy, so he does not make money by selling his writing. It's hard to ask him for a word, it all depends on making him happy. Once, he went to the temple and saw the newly painted white walls. He felt the desire to create, so he took a big broom and dipped it in mud and wrote a big character. The abbot of the temple was so happy that he quickly asked someone to engrave it. Many people came to see the word, and even Wang Xizhi had to admire it.
Another time, Wang Xianzhi went to a friend's house to play. The friend was wearing a new white robe and was taking a nap. Wang Xianzhi saw that his white clothes were fresh and cute, so he dipped in ink and wrote on the clothes. Poetry. After the friend woke up, he treasured the clothes as if he had found a treasure.
The prime ministers and emperors of the Eastern Jin Dynasty liked him very much. Once, Wang Xianzhi and his brothers went to visit the Prime Minister Xie An. After the Wang brothers left, others asked Xie An: They all say that the Wang brothers are outstanding, which one do you think is the best? Xie An said: "The youngest one is the best." When asked why, he said: "The younger one talks less. - Wang Xianzhi is a quiet man and doesn't say much, so he is seen as the most interesting.
Princess Xin'an's brother, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, also regarded Wang Xianzhi as a criterion for selecting a son-in-law. He told the people who were looking for a son-in-law for the royal family: "Who are Wang Dun and Huan Wen? Once he gains power, he will interfere in royal affairs. When you choose a son-in-law for me, it would be best to use Liu Zhenchang (Liu Xun) and Wang Zijing (Wang Xianzhi) as the criteria.
However, this ideal husband Wang Xianzhi had already married his cousin Xi Daomao in his early years. The Xi family was also a famous family. Xi Daomao was originally the niece of Wang Xianzhi's mother, one year older than Wang Xianzhi. She is beautiful and quiet, and has known Wang Xianzhi since childhood. When he reached the age of marriage, Wang Xianzhi quickly begged his father to propose marriage. Wang Xizhi wrote a letter asking for marriage and said politely: "Does your girl have a partner? (If not), it would be best to marry my young man. I hope you will consider it (the middle man's daughter) Are you quite ambitious? Now that you are married, you will never be able to get it back. If you want to be a servant, don’t you think that you should be the king?") Wang Xianzhi was not very enthusiastic about his official career, and his father bought a lot of mountains and forests. He lived a prosperous life in the land manor, so he devoted himself to the study of calligraphy, fell in love with his cousin, and lived a peaceful life.
He didn’t know that Princess Xin’an had been secretly in love with him for a long time. Princess Xin'an had to marry Huan Ji, a son of a military strategist, in her early years, but she had long heard about Wang Xianzhi: he was elegant, famous, and talented. I wanted to get married but had no chance. Now she is free from her marriage and is still very young. As for the daughter of the Xi family, although she has been married to a matchmaker, she currently has no sons (she only gave birth to a daughter named Yurun, but she died in infancy). If a woman has no children, it can be used as a reason to depose her wife - this is the opportunity to make a move on Princess Xin'an. So she repeatedly begged the empress dowager and then asked the emperor for an edict.
The emperor issued an edict, ordering Wang Xianzhi to divorce his wife and remarry.
For the girls of the Xi family, this was a bolt from the blue. Less than a year after she married Wang Xianzhi, her father Xi Tan passed away. Now that she is being driven out of the Wang family, where should she go?
Wang Xianzhi also refused to marry another Princess Xin'an, not wanting to join the royal circle of right and wrong. He couldn't think of any way to resist the order, except for self-mutilation, burning his feet with mugwort, and claiming that he had difficulty moving and could not marry the princess. This method obviously didn't work. The princess claimed that she didn't care and would marry him even if he was lame. The poor Xi girl could only pack her small parcel and leave the Wang family. She expressed that she would remain chaste throughout her life and vowed never to marry again. At this time, her natal family had dispersed, and she could only seek refuge with her uncle.
When Wang Xianzhi saw his ex-wife leave, he thought that she had no father, no daughter, and now no husband. She was alone and dependent on others... Wang Xianzhi was tracked by sadness and guilt all his life, and he never forgave himself until his death.
There is no historical record of Princess Xin'an's life after marriage. But judging from the fact that the royal family is always satisfied with Wang Xianzhi, Wang Xianzhi is still good to the princess - after all, he is a kind-hearted person.
He still worries about his ex-wife. Because they are cousins, there are still formal relatives. But they can no longer meet in person, and can only occasionally convey greetings through letters. Wang Xianzhi once wrote a love letter to his cousin after the divorce, saying that he was driven crazy by missing him. This letter has no beginning or end, and no signature. It is collected in "Wang Xianzhi" In the miscellaneous posts of "Collected Works".
Xin said: "Although we have been together for many years, we can be happy for the rest of the day. The pain will never end and it will touch my forehead. I want to match my sister in the past, and grow old together with her. Isn't it called good farewell?" At this point! The sadness is really deep. How can I see my sister day and night again? I feel so sad that I can’t help but give up my breath!"
The main idea is: How long will my cousin and I live together? Will never get tired of it. Even if we see each other year after year, it can still be regarded as a one-day pleasure. The joy of forehead touching forehead, it's just a pity that I can't have more fun and more fun. I was just thinking about getting together with my cousin and growing old together, but I never knew that fate would be so unfavorable that we would be separated to this extent! I am really sad and melancholy. When can I see my cousin day and night? I could only lower my head and sigh and sob. There was really no other way. If I wanted to meet my cousin, I had to wait until I died (or should I say, I was so angry that I almost died?)!
This kind of confession from a helpless man is actually quite selfish. It seems to express the affection and comfort of a good man, but its main purpose is to make this "good man" less guilty of self-conscience. Usually, women who received such letters in ancient times would only become more desperate and would often die faster. "Shishuoxinyu·Jian Ao" records that Wang Xianzhi and the Xi family were at odds: Xi Jingbin (Xi Chao), an important figure in the Xi family, died. Wang Xianzhi and his brothers went to mourn. They were dressed loosely and casually, wearing high-soled slippers, and looked careless. . The Xi family invited them to sit down, but they said, "We are busy and don't have time to sit down." After they left, the Xi family members were so angry that they cursed, saying that if guest Xi was still alive, they would have to teach them a lesson.
Wang Xianzhi should have been about thirty-three years old when Xi Jinjia died. It is inferred that this feud should have occurred after the divorce. Since Wang Xianzhi married the princess, his official position has been rising. Since the powerful figures in the Xi family were no longer around, it was inevitable that they would resent Wang Xianzhi for clinging to the princess and treating his former in-laws with contempt.
Actually, the Xi family is a bit over-thought. If the Wang brothers were such people, they would not go to mourn together. There may be another reason why the Wang brothers are like that. They are all followers of immortality and Taoism. They often take medicine and take cold food powder in order to dispel the heat and dryness in their skin. I have to wear loose old clothes and slippers all year round, and I often look sloppy. Especially Wang Xianzhi must be very scared when he goes to the Xi family, because it is easy to meet his cousin on this kind of family sacrifice occasion - how will he face his cousin? So he didn't dare to sit for a long time and quickly suggested leaving Xi's house.
In short, Wang Xianzhi’s contacts with the Xi family will become more rare and difficult in the future.
Due to his long-term drug use, and the sequelae of his burnt feet (perhaps due to repeated infections) when he was avoiding a foreign marriage, he suffered from illness before he was forty years old. Before his death, In the correspondence of one or two years, he always mentioned "my feet, my feet" - the foot that caused him pain for the rest of his life:
"From the thirteenth to the fourth day of the day and night, After a lot of removal, the wind is not bad, the feet are more swollen..."
"Flattery asked, it is snowing and cold recently, the affected face is painful and swollen, and the feet are more acutely painful..."
" The servant (self-proclaimed 'I') is mostly in good condition, but the root of the disease is in his right thigh. His foot is severely painful and he cannot move. His left foot is also swollen, and his condition is extremely bad..."
He had already expected it. This disease is very bad.
When he was critically ill, his family invited a Taoist priest for him. According to Taoist rules, one should report one's gains and losses during one's lifetime to the gods, similar to the deathbed confession in Christianity.
Ask: "What do you have to regret when you come to heaven?" There is nothing to regret. There is only one thing that has always made me uneasy, which is the divorce with the daughter of the Xi family (unconsciously, Wei Yi divorced the Xi family).
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When Wang Xianzhi was forty-one years old, he and Princess Xin'an had a daughter, named Wang Shen'ai. After that, Princess Xin'an's life was not recorded in history, and it is estimated that she died shortly after Wang Xianzhi's death. . His daughter Wang Shen'ai later became the queen. Soon after Wang Xianzhi got his daughter, he married Taoye, a young and lovely prostitute, who did not have any children. Wang Xianzhi was forty-three when he died. p>