Cai Wenji was a famous qin player in my country in the late Han Dynasty. History books say that she was "erudite, talented in argumentation, and good at music." His father, Cai Yong, was a close friend of Cao Cao.
Wenji's father was Cai Yong, a famous scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and her mother, Zhao Wuniang, was well-educated and sensible, and she was in harmony with Cai Yong. Unfortunately, the two have been married for more than 20 years and have no children. Wuniang persuaded her husband to take a concubine, but Cai Yong firmly disagreed. Zhao Wuniang gave birth to Wenji when Cai Yong was 45 years old. As an "only child", it can be imagined how much Cai Wenji was doted on by her parents.
Cai Wenji is knowledgeable and talented, and her musical talent has been outstanding since she was a child. When she was 6 years old, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Cai family was worshiping the moon. She heard her father playing the piano in the hall, and she could hear the sound of her father breaking the first string through the wall. Her father was surprised and deliberately broke the fourth string, but she pointed it out again.
Cai Yong was shocked by his daughter's talent and began to teach his daughter to learn the piano. Two years later, when Wenji mastered the piano, Cai Yong gave his daughter his Jiaowei Qin. Wenji showed an astonishing photographic memory at an early age. Cai Yong did his best to teach her poetry and essays. At the age of 12, Wenji had fully inherited her father's many talents and became a child prodigy.
Cai Wenji married Wei Zhongdao when she was 16 years old. The Wei family belonged to a noble family in Hedong at that time, and Wei Zhongdao was an outstanding university student. The couple loved each other very much. Unfortunately, within a year, Wei Zhongdao died of hemoptysis. die. Cai Wenji never gave birth to a son and a half, and the Wei family members thought she had killed her husband, so the arrogant Cai Wenji decided to return to her parents' home despite her father's objections.
Later, her father died in prison, and Wen Ji was plundered by the Xiongnu. She was only 23 years old and was adopted as the princess by King Zuoxian. She lived in the south of the Xiongnu for 12 years and had two sons. During this time, she also Learned to play "Hujia" and some foreign languages. She missed her homeland day and night in the Hu region. After returning to the Han Dynasty, she referred to the tones of the Hu people and combined it with her own tragic experience to compose the melancholy and heart-breaking music piece "Eighteen Beats of Hu Jia".
In the 13th year of Jian'an (208 years), Cao Cao was grateful for his friendship with his friend Cai Yong and learned that Wenji was living in the southern Huns. He immediately sent Zhou Jin as an envoy with a thousand taels of gold and a pair of white jade to redeem her. Come back. This year she was 35 years old. Under the arrangement of Cao Cao, she married Tian Xiaowei Dong Si. In this year, the famous "Battle of Chibi" broke out.
When Cai Wenji married Dong Si, their married life was not very harmonious at first. Cai Wenji suffered from turmoil and sorrow, and was often in a trance. However, Dong Si was in his prime and was a talented person. He was familiar with history and music, and he thought highly of himself. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Cai Wenji, but he had to accept her due to the instructions of the prime minister.
In the second year after their marriage, Dong Si committed a crime and deserved death. Cai Wenji ignored the suspicion and came to Cao Cao's prime minister's house to plead for mercy. Cao Cao thought of his old friendship with Cai Yong and Cai Wenji's tragic life experience, so he forgave Dong Si.
Cai Yan, also known as Wen Ji, is the only woman in Chinese history who is a writer, calligrapher, and musician. Her "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" was called by Guo Moruo "the most admirable long lyric poem since Qu Yuan's "Li Sao"." The musical piece of the same name created based on "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" is an outstanding classical piece in the history of Chinese music. It tells the tragic experience of Cai Yan's life with a very touching melody, and expresses the protagonist's deep thoughts about the motherland and homeland, as well as the painful feelings of separation from flesh and blood. "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" reflects the intersection of northern and southern music culture. "Beat" is a section of music, and eighteen beats equals eighteen sections.