Xu Wei, also known as Wen Chang, also known as Tianchi Shanren, also known as Qingteng Old Man, Qingteng Taoist, Qingteng Layman, etc., is a very famous figure in the history of Chinese art. Zheng Banqiao once specially engraved a piece of "Xu Qingteng's lackey Zheng Xie" and used it to seal his paintings; Qi Baishi once wrote a poem: "Qingteng Xue is a faraway mortal body, but the old fou is old and has a unique talent. I want Jiuyuan to be a lackey." , the three families are turning around." Qi Baishi, like Zheng Banqiao, willingly regarded himself as a "lackey" before Xu Wei's artistic creation, which shows his admiration for Xu Wei.
Xu Wei was an outstanding poet, calligrapher, painter, writer, dramatist, scholar and thinker in the late Ming Dynasty. He was known as a "child prodigy" at the age of 10. However, what is unexpected is that his subsequent fate will be so bad. Xu Wei's father fell ill and died of illness a hundred days after his birth. Although his father's wife treated him as if she were her own child, his biological mother was sold as a slave because of the family's financial difficulties. Xu Wei was already 10 years old at this time, which dealt a heavy blow to his soul. After the death of his aunt, Xu Wei's eldest brother Xu Huai began to take charge of the housework. However, the eldest brother was very unreliable. He was obsessed with studying Taoism and seeking immortality, taking elixirs, and was not good at managing money, and soon his family fortune was gone.
Xu Wei studied hard since he was a child. He was talented and quite arrogant, and he wanted to gain fame. However, the failure of the scientific examination gave him a fatal blow. Xu Wei took the imperial examination for the first time when he was 16 years old, but the scholar who took the examination unexpectedly failed. The second time I took the children's test, I still failed. Unsatisfied, he wrote a letter to the examiner, requesting a re-examination. The official in charge of the examination was deeply moved after reading his talented letter and allowed him to retake the examination. After all these twists and turns, Xu Wei finally passed the scholar examination.
After being selected as a scholar, you can participate in the provincial examination. From then on, Xu Wei went to Hangzhou to participate in the provincial examination every three years. In the autumn of 1561, the 41-year-old Xu Wei participated in the provincial examination for the eighth time, but still missed the scientific examination and returned disappointed. This was also the last time he took part in the scientific examination. Xu Wei, who could write "Shiwen" since he was a child, ambitiously wanted to gain fame through scientific examinations. However, due to the corruption of social politics at that time, the darkness of officialdom, and the decline of his family, the Xu family was unable to bribe the examiners. This talented man was on this road. I went through a lot of hardships and failed many times.
It wasn’t until he finally realized the darkness of the examination room that he shouted in the play “The Female Number One Scholar” that “I don’t want my articles to win the world, I only want my articles to win the examination.” “Since ancient times, articles have no evidence. I hope Zhu Yi will nod his head in anger." In addition to the scientific examination, Xu Wei's family life was also quite unfortunate, and his marriage had twists and turns. He was married four times in his life, three of which were married to his wife’s family.
Because according to local customs, when a man and a woman are engaged, the man must give the woman’s family a betrothal gift of about six to seven hundred taels of silver. His parents died young, and he couldn't afford so much money because he relied on his brother, so he had no choice but to marry into the girl's family. This kind of life dependent on others undoubtedly means humiliation. At the age of 21, he was appreciated by Pan Kejing, a Shanyin native who served as the internal historian of Yangjiang, Guangdong, and betrothed his eldest daughter to him. Xu Wei entered Pan's family and married Pan in Yangjiang. Fortunately, the couple loved each other. However, the good times did not last long. Shortly after Pan gave birth to her son Xu Mei, she died of lung disease.
As the two half-brothers passed away one after another, the Xu family's old house was occupied after a lawsuit. Xu Wei, who had nothing, left the Pan family two years after his wife's death, rented a house near Dongcheng County School and opened a school, making a living by teaching apprentices. When Xu Wei was 29 years old, he finally found out the whereabouts of his biological mother who had been deported, and was able to take her mother to her side to support her.
At the age of 38, Xu Wei, who was eager to show off his talent and knowledge, was officially called into the shogunate of Hu Zongxian and became a staff member of the Governor-General Hu's Mansion. At that time, Xu Wei was recommended to Hu Zongxian because he was good at ancient prose. Xu Wei felt that Hu Zongxian was close to Yan Song, so he refused and even stayed in bed pretending to be ill. After being persuaded by his mentors and friends, he reluctantly entered the stage, but soon returned to Shanyin.
He described his ambivalent attitude when he entered the shogunate: Once he went to the shogunate for the Shaobao Hu Gong, he wrote articles, tied them and made several words, and then wrote and went out. If you break the slips and move them, you will not be able to lie down. People will be fooled and you will be in danger, but you will feel safe. Afterwards, the public healed and broke the knot, waiting for commoners, and those who stayed were built for two periods, and gave hundreds of dollars in gifts. They ate fish and lived in the house. People competed for glory and safety, but I felt deeply in danger.
Because of his outstanding talent and literary talent, Xu Wei, who was aloof and informal, received special appreciation and preferential treatment in the Hu Zongxian shogunate. Hu Zongxian held a high position, and ordinary generals were afraid of his majesty and often did not dare to raise their heads in front of him. But he treated Xu Wei favorably. Xu Wei lived in the Hu Zongxian shogunate for five years and was treated like a "national scholar", but it also laid hidden dangers for his future experiences. During these five years, Xu Wei's main job was to ghostwrite compositions for Hu Zongxian.
Once, Hu Zongxian got a white deer in Zhoushan. In order to cater to Emperor Jiajing's wishes and show auspiciousness, he ordered Xu Wei to write an article "Into the White Deer Biao" on his behalf. After the petition was submitted, Jiajing was overjoyed and rewarded Hu Zongxian. The next year, the army got another white deer, and Xu Wei wrote "Enter the White Deer Biao Again" on Hu Zongxian's behalf. The two essays before and after made Hu Zongxian receive a heavy reward from the court, and his official position was promoted from the second rank to the first rank.
Hu Zongxian valued Xu Wei more, and Xu Wei reached the peak of his shogunate career. Hu Zongxian was very concerned about Xu Wei's living conditions. With his help, Xu Wei, who had been widowed for many years, married into the Wang family in Hangzhou, but they divorced six months later. One year after finally buying his own home, Xu Wei remarried Zhang.
Hu Zongxian succeeded in quelling the Japanese rebellion, but he was jealous of others. At this time, the powerful traitor Yan Song fell, and Hu Zongxian was suddenly listed as a member of Yan Song's party and was impeached. Hu Zongxian was escorted to the capital and the shogunate was dissolved. Because of his meritorious service in pacifying the Japanese, Shizong did not convict Hu Zongxian, but only dismissed him. However, after some officials who were persecuted by Yan Song were appointed one after another, they still regarded Hu Zongxian as a member of Yan Song's party and as a political enemy. Xu Wei, who had been appreciated and reused by Hu Zongxian, was extremely nervous at this time and worried about being implicated.
At this time, Xu Wei, who was idle at home and had great ambitions, attracted the attention of Li Chunfang, who was the Minister of Rites at the time. Li Chunfang asked someone to send him 60 taels of silver and hired him as a staff member. So, wanting to express his ambition, he decided to go to Beijing. However, Li Chunfang had always regarded Hu Zongxian as a political enemy. Although he was very polite to Xu Wei, Xu Wei still often thought of the courtesy he received in Hu Zongxian's shogunate.
In less than a year, Xu Wei decided to bid farewell to Li Chunfang and return to Shaoxing. He sold part of his family property to collect 60 taels of silver and returned all the betrothal silver, but Li Chunfang was unwilling to take it back. Xu Wei was afraid that his relationship with Hu Zongxian would be linked and he would be retaliated against. He was anxious all day long, but he was helpless. Later, after some dealings with friends, Li Chunfang reluctantly agreed to terminate the contract.
After Xu Wei returned to Shaoxing, he drank and composed poems with his friends all day long to relieve his depression and anxiety. At this time, Yan Song's son Yan Shifan was on his way to garrison Leizhou and fled back to his hometown in Jiangxi. He was reported and was arrested and executed after returning to Beijing. Yan Shifan's case was once again implicated by political opponents in Hu Zongxian's case. Hu Zongxian, who was dismissed and was living idle, was imprisoned again and died in prison.
At this time, Xu Wei was in an extremely conflicted mood. When Yan Song and his son gained power, they dominated the government and oppressed all officials. Some of Xu Wei's friends also died due to their persecution. Therefore, Yan Song is the great evil that Xu Wei hates. Xu Wei wrote the script "The Four-Voice Ape", which contains a plot in which Cao Cao alludes to Yan Song. On the one hand, Xu Wei was grateful to Hu Zongxian for his kindness to him, and believed that he should imitate the ancient chivalrous people and repay him with death.
On the other hand, he was full of contradictions in his heart. The article Hu Zongxian congratulated Yan Song on his birthday was written by Xu Wei, and it was full of flattery. Xu Wei felt that as an innocent scholar, he was greatly compromised by this incident, and that he would be criticized by the world for those ghostwritten articles. He was full of troubles, but he couldn't explain them. In addition to grief and resentment, he held the belief that a scholar would die for his confidant, and wanted to die to clarify his ambition.
After Hu Zongxian's death, Xu Wei became even more suspicious and worried that various disasters might happen. He wrote an epitaph for himself in advance and summarized his family background, life and knowledge. He also entrusted his friends to sell his collection of calligraphy and paintings, inkstones, swords and other items as burial supplies. After that, he tried his best to commit suicide.
When the disease struck, he used a long nail to pierce his ear hole. The blood flowed profusely, but he did not feel the pain. He also hit his kidney sac with heavy objects and attempted suicide many times. Xu Wei's "Nine Poems on Feelings" records his nine suicides. In the winter of 1566, Xu Wei accidentally killed his step-sibling Zhang in a fit of rage and was imprisoned. After the full rescue efforts of his friends, he was spared the death penalty and was instead sentenced to long-term imprisonment.
In prison, he annotated Taoist classics and compiled poetry. Four years later, Xu Wei was able to serve his sentence without shackles in prison. After his hands were unrestricted, he mainly relied on studying calligraphy and painting to make a living. In the sixth year of Longqing, Emperor Longqing died of illness, Shenzong succeeded to the throne, and the next year was changed to the first year of Wanli. When the new emperor ascended the throne, he granted a general amnesty as usual. Xu Wei, who had been in prison for six years, was released on bail by his friends and was able to see the light of day again. Two years later, he was officially released.
After being imprisoned, he really gave up his official career. He traveled around and lived a life of leisure. Sometimes I drank wine and wrote poems with my friends, sometimes I went boating in rivers and lakes to visit poets and painters, and I even went to the border of Xuan Town in the north. During this period, he created a large number of poems, calligraphy and painting works, and also opened a museum in Beijing to teach apprentices. Later, he returned to his hometown of Shanyin City due to a recurrence of his old illness and mental abnormalities.
Xu Wei’s friend Mei Guozhen said when commenting on him: "My old friend, I am a man of literary prowess. Diseases are more strange than people, people are more strange than poems, poetry is more strange than words, words are more strange than words, and literature is more strange than paintings. ". Mei Guozhen believed that Xu Wei was not only unique in his poems, essays, calligraphy and paintings, but also his temperament and even his illness. The "disease" mentioned by Mei Guozhen refers to Xu Wei's self-proclaimed "heart disease", which was formed in the stimulation of reality and various sudden changes in life, and ultimately entangled Xu Wei's mental illness for most of his life.
"Picture of Pomegranates" is one of Xu Wei's most important masterpieces. There are only a few strokes in this painting, but there is painting meaning everywhere, and the spirit can be seen in every stroke. In the poem on the painting, Xu Wei compares himself to a pomegranate that has lived in the mountains for a long time, and vividly expresses his desolate mood of not being reused and having no place for heroes. This picture can be said to be a painting within a poem, and a poem within a painting, conveying the unique artistic spirit of China.
Later, Xu Wei simply lived in seclusion, only drinking with close friends every day and talking about worldly affairs. Although he was poor, he was well-known and many arty officials often visited him. And he saw through the darkness of officialdom and was very disgusted with the so-called rich and noble people. Once, before anyone could walk in, he pushed the door open and said, "I'm not here." His weird and unusual behavior offended many people. People couldn't tell whether he was really sick or fake. Some people also said he was faking it.
In his later years, Xu Wei made a living by opening a museum, teaching apprentices, selling paintings and writing articles, but he was different from other painters - he only sold paintings when he was very embarrassed. As long as the economy is a little better, he will not sell the painting. All high-ranking officials and dignitaries who came to ask for paintings were turned away.
As for his humble friends and disciples, as long as they brought some gifts and greetings, he would happily give them away. When he could no longer make ends meet, he took out his collection of famous paintings and sundries and sold them. Later, even the stone chime and collection of books given by friends had to be sold. In his later years, Xu Wei suffered from poverty, poverty, and illness, and often "wandered around alone under the moonlight among others."
"A few rickety houses, a man with a southern accent and a northern accent", this is the poem Xu Wei wrote when he painted "Ivy Bookstore". It reveals his inner sadness and bitterness, and condenses his decades of misfortune. The situation is a reflection of his painful life. When Xu Wei was 73 years old, he died suddenly of poverty and illness. He was lying on straw with only a dog beside him. Before his death, Xu Wei wrote a book to record his life, called "Abnormal Spectrum".
One day in the 26th or 27th year of Wanli, the public security literary leader Yuan Hongdao went to visit his friend Tao Wangling. In Tao Wangling's study, he randomly took out a dirty collection of poems and read a few poems. He jumped up in surprise and asked repeatedly whether the author of this book was a modern person or an ancient person. Tao Wangling said that it was written by Xu Wei, a senior from the same hometown. Yuan Hongdao exclaimed in surprise, as if he had found a treasure. The two of them were watching under the lamp and cheering so loudly that they woke up the book boy and the servants.
At this time, Xu Wei had been dead for five or six years. Later, Yuan Hongdao wrote the famous prose classic "The Long Biography of Xu Wen" in the history of Chinese literature with elegant and elegant writing style.