The word "immortal" combines the common people's reward for good and evil, and the emperor's desire for power and longevity. As a famous Chinese fairy tale, "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" is a household name. These talents frequently appear in literature, film and television works, and are deeply loved by the people.
Before the Ming Dynasty, the Eight Immortals had different names, including the Eight Immortals of the Han Dynasty, the Eight Immortals of the Tang Dynasty, and the Eight Immortals of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The gods listed are different. The years of the Ming Dynasty's Journey to the East were designated as Han Zhongli, Zhang, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu. Later, according to the research of lay scholar Huaxuan, there was a saying that the Eight Immortals responded to Tieguai Li's invitation in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, famous sayings such as "Eight Immortals crossed the sea, each showing his magical powers" appeared.
The Uncle Cao Guo we are going to talk about today is one of the Eight Immortals. He is the last of the Eight Immortals. There are few records of such gods in various works. It can be said that there were many high-ranking officials at that time who were more in line with the name of the Eight Immortals than him. So, why was Cao Guojiu chosen as the Eight Immortals? And is his choice suspected of making up numbers?
Here, let’s start with three folk theories about Cao Guojiu:
First, Cao Guojiu is the eldest brother of Empress Ci Shengguang of the Song Dynasty, named Cao. Therefore, he is called Guojiu. He is innocent in nature, indifferent to wealth and wealth, and likes a peaceful life. Cao had a younger brother who used his power to bully others, accepted bribes, and finally escaped the law of the country by virtue of his power. Cao Guojiu looked down upon his brother's behavior and hid in the deep mountains and forests, concentrating on practicing. One day he met Han Zhongli and Chunyang. Afterwards, the two men felt fond of Cao when they saw him and planned to teach him a lesson.
So he asked Cao why he wanted to practice here.
Cao Jingxiu said: "Yang Dao." The two asked where Cao was, and Cao's answer was more clever: "Where is the sky?" and pointed to his heart. This last answer is exactly in line with the Taoist idea that the heart is heaven. Afterwards, Han Zhongli and Han Zhongli gave each other money, and the Taoist secret decree and secret method were spread to Cao Cao, who was also introduced to the immortal world.
Moreover, after Cao Jingxiu obtained the Immortal Fruit, there was also a collection of immortal works handed down, saying:
The appearance is simple and pure, and the spirit of the natural weather is very wonderful.
No desire in the eyes, no dust in the heart.
The emperor gave the golden charm a smile, and the teacher passed the jade secret to Changchun.
The Yuan Dynasty gave blessings to conquer Tang De, and accumulated one queen and two immortals.
In the folk image of Cao, Cao does not usually dress up as a Taoist priest, but still wears official uniform, with a jade belt around his waist and a jade plate in his hand. Always hold a sandalwood cloud and sun board to celebrate the happy and happy events in the world. He knocked, beaming, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sun rose.
However, this statement is a bit unreliable. Although it is consistent with the story of Journey to the East, there is no Cao Jingxiu in history. Cao You of Journey to the East is a fictional character and has no authenticity.
The second theory is that during the reign of Bao Gong's verdict, a scholar named Yuan from Guangdong took his wife Zhang to Beijing to take the exam. Seeing Zhang's beauty, Cao Guojiu's brother invited the couple to his home. Later, he strangled Yuan and forced Zhang to surrender. Zhang was very virtuous and refused to give in. His betrayal failed, so he had to lock Zhang in the house.
After Yuan died, his soul left his body and complained to Bao Zheng. When I heard that Cao Guojiu's brother had been tried, I quickly reported it to my brother and asked him to execute Zhang. It was true that there was no proof. Just when the second uncle was about to kill Zhang, the white gold star in the sky transformed into an old man and escaped with Zhang. Zhang met Cao Guojiu on the road, mistakenly thought it was Bao Zheng, and was prosecuted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. At this time, after Cao Guojiu got the confession, he was shocked and ordered his men to whip him with iron whips in the name of clashing with the emperor's relatives. Zhang couldn't bear to faint.
Afterwards, Cao Guojiu felt that the man was dead, so he carried him to the side
When Zhang woke up, he found the real Bao Zheng and explained to him why. Bao Zheng pretended to be ill and tricked Uncle Cao into coming to Bao Gong's mansion. Then under Zhang's correction, Cao Guojiu was captured and imprisoned. In addition, he also wrote a letter and used the same method to trick his second uncle into arresting him. Empress Cao begged the emperor for mercy, but Bao Zheng was unselfish and still took my second uncle to the execution ground to be beheaded. Later, the emperor issued a pardon and Cao Guojiu was released from prison.
In the end, Cao Guojiu was lucky enough to save his life. After walking on the edge of life and death, he suddenly woke up. From then on, he lived in seclusion in the mountains and devoted himself to practice. He met a master who taught him the art of immortality.
The emperor's uncle in this legendary story is in line with the common people's feelings of royal relatives. Cao Guojiu's younger brother is comparable to a beast, and Cao Guojiu is not a good person either.
Even such a person can realize that he can soar on the ground, so it also means "putting down the butcher knife".
But Cao Guojiu in the third theory is a real person in history. His name is Cao Shu, and his sister is Queen Zhao Zhen of the Song Dynasty. This Queen Cao is a model of motherhood in the world. She was diligent in her daily life and also engaged in farming and raising silkworms in the palace. She also likes calligraphy. Once, there was a mutiny in the palace. Queen Cao was calm and arranged for the imperial guards to resist the mutiny. She was very disciplined and quickly put down the civil unrest.
Later, after Zhao Zhen died, as the empress dowager, she strongly opposed Wang Anshi's reform.
And his younger brother is also a very low-key person, with a gentle personality, both civil and military, and versatile. Because her sister is a queen, she also uses herself to become a high official. Later, she ascended to the highest office in the county. In an era of fragmented imperial power and political turmoil, Cao Shu was at the forefront of power, but he just wandered around and never talked about national affairs outside the court.
As the saying goes, misfortune comes from the mouth. Cao Shu's practice allowed him to live leisurely for more than seventy years, which was considered an extremely long life in ancient times.
The Cao Guojiu who was passed down by word of mouth among the people at first was not this person. Later, because the legend of the Eight Immortals became popular, people searched through the classics and found such an honest and honest "Cao Guojiu" who fit his identity.
It can be said that in the image of the Eight Immortals, Cao Guojiu looks like a clown, which is probably the "villain" version from Cao Guojiu. Therefore, the "make-up theory" mentioned above is likely to be true, because this image greatly enriches the appearance of the Eight Immortals. The Eight Immortals originally represented eight categories of people and symbolized all things in the world. Therefore, we do not need to examine the origin of Cao Guojiu in detail.