Wang Xiang and Zhuge Liang were contemporaries, and they were three years younger than Zhuge Liang. The most praiseworthy thing about Wang Xiang is his filial piety. His mother Xue died early, and Wang Xiang's filial piety was his stepmother Zhu. As the old saying goes, kindness goes up and filial piety comes down, but this Zhu family is recognized as an unkind person.
Not only did she not take the initiative to care about Wang Xiang, she would even often spread rumors and cause trouble in front of Wang Xiang's biological father, causing Wang Xiang's father to hate Wang Xiang day by day. This is not what the old saying goes, if there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather.
Without the support and care of his biological father, Wang Xiang was forced by his stepmother to do the hardest and most tiring work every day, such as cleaning the cowshed and picking up cow dung. Speaking of this, people think of Wang Erxiao who herds cattle.
However, Wang Xiang is at the age of studying. Why is he asked to do these chores every day? Is the Wang family really so poor that they want Wang Xiang to do these things? Does their family really not even have servants?
Let’s talk about the Langya Wang family first. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Wang family was the most remarkable high-ranking family in Shandong. There is a poem in the Tang Dynasty that says, "In the old days, the king's swallows flew into the homes of ordinary people."
The Xie family produced a prime minister like Xie An who turned the tide, and a talented man like Xie Lingyun. Xie Lingyun once claimed that there are only ten Dou in the world, and Cao Zijian only has eight Dou. He has one Dou, and others can only divide the remaining one Dou. In addition to these two, the Xie family in Yangxia also produced talented men and women such as Xie Shi, Xie Xuan, and Xie Daoyun. They were all born in the courtyard.
However, when it comes to fame, the Wang family still ranks ahead of the Xie family. Wang Xiang has a half-brother Wang Lan, who is the child of Wang Xiang's stepmother Zhu. Wang Lan's descendants have many dignitaries and celebrities, the most famous of which are Prime Minister Wang Dao and the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi. Wang Xiang's branch also produced many celebrities.
The Wang family lasted for more than three hundred years, and was more prosperous and far-reaching than the frequently changing imperial court at that time. The glory of his family lasted from the Han Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Some people think of the two Rongning mansions and write a poem: "A Dream of Red Mansions in Eternity, a Hundred Years of Loneliness in the Wang Xie Family."
Brothers Wang Xiang and Wang Lan are considered the first generation of the Langya Wang family. Filial piety started from the family and entered the stage of history. Wang Xiang was listed among the "Twenty-Four Filial Piety" and Wang Lan was listed among the "Twenty-Four Tweets", which can be called outstanding representatives of the Confucian filial piety culture.
Although the Wang family started their fortune from the two brothers Wang Xiang and Wang Lan, his ancestors are not too bad. It is said that the ancestor of his family is Wang Ji, an admonishment official in the Han Dynasty. Wang Xiang's grandfather, Wang Ren, also served as the governor of Qingzhou, which is roughly equivalent to the governor of today. "One year to clear the prefecture, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver." What about a provincial governor?
Otherwise, Wang Rong, the father of brothers Wang Xiang and Wang Lan, would not dare to think that he was so noble that he would not hold an official position and live in seclusion in the countryside. It is recorded in the history books: "The government can't find a job", which means that the government recruited Wang Rong to be an official, but Wang Rong flatly refused. Obviously, although Wang Rong is a commoner, he still has considerable social influence. Although his family wealth may not be large, it is certainly not too small.
Therefore, it is outrageous that Zhu ordered Wang Xiang to clean the cowshed. The terrible thing is that Wang Xiang's biological father actually let it go. However, Wang Xiang did not complain at all, but was more respectful and cautious.
Whenever his father or stepmother is sick, Wang Xiang has to wait for the soup and medicine in full clothes. Wang Xiang was afraid that the medicine would be too bitter or too hot, so he would taste it before giving it to his parents.
This filial piety was truly touching, but it was a pity that it could not move the stepmother who had a heart as solid as stone. In order to protect the interests of her biological child Wang Lan and to move away from Wang Xiang who might divide the family property, the stepmother not only did not restrain herself a little, but began to intensify her efforts.
Stepmother Zhu hates Wang Xiang, and she does not believe that Wang Xiang is truly filial to her. In order to torture Wang Xiang, Zhu deliberately sent Wang Xiang to catch live fish when the ice was three feet deep.
Mencius once said: "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Fish at that time were still very rare. Unlike today, delicious food from all over is easily available. During the cold winter months, most people stayed at home warming themselves by the fire, and no one came out to fish at all. Once the river freezes, fishing becomes difficult.
Secondly, without today’s mechanized tools, breaking ice would be impossible.
There is basically no fish for sale on the market. Even if there is fish for sale, it is at a sky-high price, and ordinary people cannot afford it. Ordinary people who want to eat fish can at best eat some salted fish to satisfy their cravings. Wang Xiang, a child who was disliked by his parents, firstly did not have any new year's money to spend on buying fish, and secondly, he did not have the courage to argue with his stepmother's request.
When Wang Xiang came to the river, his hands and feet were almost frozen. Looking at the several feet of ice in the river, Wang Xiang took off his bulky coat and prepared to use his shovel to cut through the ice. At this moment, the ice surface suddenly cracked on its own. A pair of lively carps jumped out from the gap and lay directly at Wang Xiang's feet, waiting for him to take them home.
This is amazing enough. Unexpectedly, it spread from ten to ten, and people said that Wang Xiang took off his clothes and wanted to use his body to melt the ice. This is the story of lying on the ice to seek carp in the story of Twenty-Four Filial Piety. In order to commemorate this filial son, the local people renamed the river "Xiaogan River".
Speaking of "Xiaogan", we have to mention Xiaogan City in Hubei. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Yong sold himself to bury his father. He met a homeless woman on the road and the two got married. The woman married him and woven three hundred pieces of brocade to pay off his debts and redeem his life. She claimed that she was the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, also known as the Seven Fairies, who was ordered to help him pay off his debts. After saying this, she drifted away.
This story obviously has the meaning of myth and legend, and has the characteristics of folk innocence and simplicity. Because of this legend, the local name was "Xiaogan", and Dong Yong became a famous filial son in "Twenty-Four Pictures of Filial Piety". Perhaps because Dong Yong's story is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, two more filial sons were born in the local area one after another, and they were also included in the "Twenty-Four Pictures of Filial Piety" one after another.
One is Huang Xiang. According to the "Three Character Classic", "the fragrance lasts for nine years and can warm the mat." When he was nine years old, his mother passed away, and he put all his filial piety on his father. In the cold winter, he warmed the bed for his father in advance, and in the hot summer, he worked tirelessly to cool the pillow and mat. The most rare thing is that he was also a child prodigy with outstanding literary talent. At that time, it was widely said that "there is no one like him in the world, Jiangxia Huangtong." Jiangxia was later classified as Xiaogan City.
Another one is Meng Zong. His father died when he was young, and his mother finally raised Meng Zong. As he got older, Meng Zong's mother, who had worked hard all his life, became seriously ill. The doctor said that fresh bamboo shoots should be used to make a decoction to save Meng Zong's mother.
It was winter and there were no fresh bamboo shoots to dig. Desperate Meng Zong ran to the bamboo forest, hugged the bamboo and cried loudly. A few young bamboo shoots grew out of thin air on the ground. Meng Zong wiped away his tears, ran home with the fresh bamboo shoots in his arms, and his mother really recovered after drinking the bamboo shoot soup. The filial Meng Zong was later re-employed by the imperial court and served as Sikong, roughly equivalent to today's Minister of Engineering.
Leaving aside the story of Wang Xiang lying on the ice, the writers at that time really worked hard to create these typical characters who "moved China". The story of Dong Yong and the Seven Fairies is full of fantasy and is obviously suspected of exaggerating the facts. As for Huang Xiang's story, it is relatively close to the truth. At least it is based on reality and is also the most convincing.
And Meng Zong, when he cried while holding a bamboo in his arms in winter, he was able to cry out fresh bamboo shoots. Either the bamboo became a spirit, or the father-in-law of the land showed his spirit. It really wants to destroy the Three Views. It is completely inconsistent with scientific laws, so let’s ignore it for the time being.
With the Dong Yong story and Meng Zong story as the basis, we can understand the reason why the story of Wang Xiang lying on the ice spread. Wang Xiang cutting ice is "reasonably imagined" as Wang Xiang lying on the ice, which further highlights the character traits of a typical character. This makes people think untimely that some units carefully fabricate typical materials in order to advance, and they are really the same as the past and the present.
What’s most amazing is that in order to enhance the credibility of Wang Xiang’s deeds, another story was made up. It is said that this stepmother has failed in one plan and made another one. She deliberately declared that she wanted to eat yellow bird soup. This time, before Wang Xiang even went out, dozens of yellow birds threw themselves into the trap and flew in to seek death.
I am quite skeptical about the authenticity of such events. The biggest doubt is that as a witness of the miracle, stepmother Zhu dared to go against heaven and carry out the conspiracy to harm Wang Xiang to the end.
This is simply incompatible with human nature. If she had experienced the Yellow Bird incident, she would have been so frightened that she would have wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy, and pray for God's forgiveness. In fact, she took the role of the evil stepmother to the extreme.
There are two stories about Wang Xiang in "Shi Shuo Xin Yu". If you read them carefully, you will understand that although Wang Xiang was lying on the ice to beg for carps, the Zhu family's persecution of Wang Xiang gradually escalated. . In order to prevent Wang Xiang from sleeping well, he pretended that plums were too good to attract birds and thieves, and asked him to guard the plum tree day and night. This is simply more hateful than Huang Shiren. Every time there was a storm, Wang Xiang would hug the tree and cry loudly because he was worried about being punished by his stepmother.
Although "Shishuoxinyu" is not an official history, it does not record folk legends. According to the folk version, this plum tree can escape the violent extreme weather every time. To this day, someone still has a monument erected by the Xiaogan River. There are five big characters on it: "Guard Li Chu in all weathers". Taking into account the people's kind intention to hope that good people will be rewarded well, we will not compare this truth.
The key point is that this stepmother obviously does not think that there is any god helping Wang Xiang, otherwise she would not be able to understand her subsequent behavior. "Shi Shuo Xin Yu" records that this stepmother actually committed murder with a knife. Fortunately, Wang Xiang got up at night and survived. Seeing the chopped quilt, the stepmother finally realized her conscience and treated her as her own from then on. This seems like a happy ending, but people's hearts can't be changed so easily.
In fact, even the stepmother has no right to kill people at will. Although Wang Xiang voluntarily asked for death, he probably thought that he had succeeded at that time and was still frightened when he suddenly saw this big living person. What's more, she must be worried that Wang Xiang will resist or even kill her. In order to stabilize her opponent and prevent him from spreading or even reporting this bad behavior, she temporarily pretends to wake up. This is definitely not something I take for granted. In fact, Zhu’s intention to kill Wang Xiang has never been cut off.
As we all know, Wang Xiang was listed as one of the "Twenty-four Filial Piety". However, few people know that his half-brother Wang Lan was listed as one of the "twenty-four brothers".
"The Analects" records: "Filial piety and brotherhood are the foundation of benevolence?" Filial piety and brotherhood are the moral paradigm most advocated by Confucianism. Filial piety refers to the correct attitude of children towards their parents, while brotherhood refers to the treatment of younger brothers towards their parents. The right attitude of a brother. The reason why Wang Lan became a representative figure of Ti culture is really thanks to his weird mother.
Most people like to say that "the emperor is ignorant and ignorant", and the stepmother Zhu was also rated as "immoral". When Wang Lan was only a few years old, Mr. Zhu would whip Wang Xiang with a whip whenever he had nothing to do. Although Wang Lan was young, he hated his mother's behavior very much. He would cry and rush to protect his brother every time. Naturally, it was difficult for Zhu to kill Wang Xiang as he wished.
When Wang Lan was older, Wang Lan also tried to enlighten his mother. Zhu was afraid of damaging her glorious image in her son's heart, so she did not dare to whip Wang Xiang blatantly. However, Zhu refused to give up and always tried every means to torture Wang Xiang. Wang Xiang was ordered to do all kinds of dirty and tiring work, and he couldn't rest.
Wang Lan would help Wang Xiang every time. As long as his brother didn't finish his work, he would not rest. Even Wang Xiang's wife was not immune and was also enslaved and abused by the Zhu family. Not a family, don't enter the same door. Wang Lan's wife was very virtuous and always worked hard with her sister-in-law. Mrs. Zhu felt sorry for her son and daughter-in-law, so she had no choice but to stop bullying Wang Xiang and his wife.
After Wang Xiang’s father passed away, Wang Xiang gained a good reputation in the local area. While blaming Zhu for being mean and unkind, many people praised Wang Xiang for his benevolence, justice and filial piety. This Zhu family hated Wang Xiang so much that she wanted to kill Wang Xiang immediately. In order to get rid of Wang Xiang, Zhu secretly bought poison and put it in the wine. Unexpectedly, Wang Lan noticed something was wrong and deliberately grabbed it to drink. Zhu was so frightened that he quickly took it away.
From then on, Wang Lan would take a few bites of all Wang Xiang's food and drinks. Zhu was afraid that Wang Lan would be poisoned, so he had no choice but to cancel the poisoning. Although Zhu was vicious, he was well served by these two brothers and lived a long time.
It is said that Wang Xiang was called to serve as an official only after Zhu's death. By this time, Wang Xiang was already quite old. However, Wang Xiang's official career was smooth, and he was eventually awarded the title of Marquis of Wanhu Pavilion and ranked among the nine ministers.
Although Wang Lan is not as prominent as his brother, he is still an important member of the court, and his descendants are full of talented people who have brought glory to the family.
Speaking of filial piety, Confucianism must be renamed. In the past, Mr. Lu Xun liked to say that "ethics cannibalizes people." Although this is a fact, later Confucians misinterpreted the original intention of the sages Confucius and Mencius. The so-called filial piety they promote, "If the father wants the son to die, the son has to die," is completely false Confucianism and pseudo-Confucianism.
Zeng Shen, one of the seventy-two sages, was the son of Zeng who cared about himself three times a day. Once, he was severely beaten by his father because he was delayed in planting melons. Zengzi was beaten unconscious. When he woke up, not only did he not complain about pain, but he also had a smile on his face, as if he was not being beaten but was enjoying a Thai massage.
When Confucius heard about it, he was very angry and wanted to sever the relationship between master and disciple. Confucius said that he remembered Emperor Shun's punishment of his father as "a small punishment but a big punishment".
This means that if Gusou took out a small wooden board to hit someone, it would only cause superficial injuries at most, and Shun would be beaten obediently. If Gusou takes out a big stick and wants to beat him to death, then run away quickly. For another example, when he went up to a house to take out a ladder or went down a well to throw rocks, Shun never died without hesitation, but tried to escape. This is true filial piety and avoids exposing the father to injustice.
There is a very famous saying in "Mencius", which is called "There are three kinds of unfilial piety, and the greatest is not having offspring." "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics" explains: "It is said that Ayi is obedient, and it is unjust to fall into a relationship. The first is unfilial piety; the family is poor and the relatives are elderly, and the second is unfilial; the third is unfilial: not marrying and having no children, and refusing to worship ancestors."
Judging from the first sentence, Mencius believed that parents When you make a mistake, you cannot just obey, but you should try your best to give advice, otherwise it will be an injustice.
According to the views of Confucius and Mencius, this Wang Xiang is not a filial son, he is simply an unfilial son. It was Wang Xiang's cautious words and deeds and his flattery that fueled his stepmother's arrogance and revealed her viciousness. Everyone at that time was overwhelmingly blaming Wang Xiang's stepmother for laughing at him. This made Zhu even more angry and stabbed Wang Xiang first and then poisoned him.
Thanks to his good brother Wang Lan, the family tragedy was prevented from happening. I think Wang Lan is truly filial. He gave advice as well as action, and put an end to his mother's evil actions. Wang Lan was also truly respectful to his elder brother, and tried his best to protect Wang Xiang and his wife, ensuring that the Wang family in Langya could protect each other and continue to exist.