Anyone who has studied calligraphy should know Ouyang Xun. He was a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. This shows Ouyang Xun's position in the history of calligraphy. Why is it that such an outstanding calligrapher is said to be born of a white ape? This incident has quite a history. Why was Ouyang Xun smeared as the son of a white ape?
Ouyang Xun originally served as an official in the Sui Dynasty and had a good relationship with Li Yuan. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Ouyang Xun, who was over sixty years old, was successively awarded some positions such as Shizhong and Prince Li Gengling. Ouyang Xun's calligraphy was highly respected at the time. Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty also highly praised Ouyang Xun's calligraphy and asked him to teach calligraphy together with Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and others.
Although Ouyang Xun is famous for his calligraphy, his physique and appearance are not outstanding at all. It is reported that Ouyang Xun was very thin and looked like a macaque. Li Shimin's uncle Changsun Wuji even wrote a poem mocking Ouyang Xun for looking like a macaque. Ouyang Xun also mocked Changsun Wuji with a poem at that time. In short, Changsun Wuji and Ouyang Xun were at each other's throats. Changsun Wuji mocked Ouyang Xun because Ouyang Xun looked like a macaque. This can show that Ouyang Xun really looks like a monkey. This is why Ouyang Xun is said to be an ape. One reason for birth, but not the only reason.
Speaking of another reason why Ouyang Xun is said to be the son of a white ape, we have to mention a novel at that time called "The Biography of the White Ape in Bujiang". The author of this novel cannot be verified, because the intention of the person who wrote this novel was to attack and smear Ouyang Xun, so there is no signature. However, it can be speculated that this person and Ouyang Xun should have some issues. So what exactly does this novel write about Ouyang Xun?
The content of the novel will not be elaborated in detail. Let’s focus on the key points. Let's start with the title of the book. The "Mr. Jiang" in the title is a personal name. This person named Mr. Jiang is actually a good friend of Ouyang Xun's father, Ouyang He. Mr. Jiang once adopted Ouyang Xun after Ouyang He's death. So Jiang is finally Ouyang Xun's adoptive father. Let's take a look at how Ouyang Xun's birth is described in the novel "The Legend of Bujiang Zongbai Yuan".
According to the description in the novel, Ouyang He, who was a military general of Chen Liang in the Southern Dynasty at that time, led his troops on the southern expedition. Once when the army was deep into the mountains, a strong wind suddenly blew, and then Ouyang He's beautiful wife was killed. A white ape snatched it away. Ouyang He searched everywhere for his wife's whereabouts. More than a month later, Ouyang He found his wife's left shoes, and then came to a very psychedelic bamboo forest where several women were talking and laughing. So Ouyang He stepped forward and asked the women about his wife's whereabouts. The women told Ouyang He their experience of being snatched here by the white ape, and then said to Ouyang He that your wife is also here. She is pregnant at the moment. And so on.
At first glance, people who don’t know the content in the novel may think it is the plot of "Journey to the West" or "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". In short, this is a very nonsensical novel. The author of the novel intends to attack and discredit Ouyang Xun. However, it is these fictional plots, coupled with Changsun Wuwu’s ridicule of Ouyang Xun’s appearance, that gave birth to the idea that Ouyang Xun was born of a white ape. legend.