Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu, whose name was Wu and whose courtesy name was Changqing, was from Le'an, Qi State (now Huimin County, Shandong Province) in the late Spring and Autumn Period. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but he is roughly the same generation as Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC), the founder of Confucianism, but slightly later. Sun Tzu is a descendant of Qi nobles and famous generals. His ancestor was originally Chen Wan, the son of Chen State. In 672 BC, civil strife broke out in Chen State, so Chen Wan fled to Qi State for refuge and changed his name to Tian Wan. Tian Wan's fifth grandson, Tian Shu (grandson's grandfather), was once a senior official of Qi State. He fought in the war against Ju State. Qi Jinggong granted Le'an to Tian Shu and also gave "Sun" as his surname. , to express the commendation to Tian Shu. In 532 BC, civil strife broke out in Qi State, and Sun Tzu left Qi State and went to Wu State in the south. He lived in seclusion in Gusu (now Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province), the capital of Wu State, and concentrated on studying the art of war. In the state of Wu, Sun Tzu met Wu Zixu. According to "The Spring and Autumn Period of Wu and Yue. Helu Internal Biography", in the struggle for hegemony among the princes, Helu, the newly emerging king of Wu in the south, wanted to attack Chu in order to gain hegemony. However, it was difficult to choose a suitable general for the time being. Wu Zixu often discussed military affairs with the King of Wu. He once recommended to the King of Wu: Sun Tzu "is proficient in strategy, has unpredictable opportunities for ghosts and gods, and has secrets hidden in the heaven and earth. He has written thirteen chapters on the Art of War, and no one in the world knows what he is capable of. I sincerely accept this appointment." Although the generals are invincible in the world, what about Chu?" After Wu Zixu recommended it to the King of Wu seven times, the King of Wu asked Wu Zixu to pay homage to his grandson.
After Sun Tzu Jin met with the King of Wu, he presented thirteen chapters of his military book. King Wu was full of praise after seeing it. According to relevant records, in order to test Sun Tzu's ability to command troops, King Wu selected more than 100 palace maids to be trained by Sun Tzu. This is the story of Sun Tzu's legendary "Wu Gong taught the battle to kill Mei Ji". After the training in Wu Palace, King Wu appointed Sun Tzu as general and military advisor. From then on, Sun Tzu and Wu Zixu assisted the King of Wu to stabilize the country and develop its military strength. In the winter of 506 BC, the state of Wu sent troops to attack Chu with Sun Tzu and Wu Zixu as generals. Sun Tzu adopted the strategy of "attacking in roundabout ways and winning by surprise". He followed the Huaihe River to the west, crossed the Dabie Mountains from the Huaihe Plain, and drove thousands of miles deep into the Chu territory. He went straight to the Han River and severely damaged the Chu army at Baiju (now north of Hanchuan in Hubei Province). After five battles and five victories, he captured Ying, the capital of Chu State, in one fell swoop. After the "Battle of Bai Ju", the Chu State's vitality was severely damaged and gradually declined, while the Wu State's prestige greatly increased and it became one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. Wu State not only became a powerful country in the south, but also the great powers in the north such as Qi and Jin were also afraid of Wu State. Regarding Sun Tzu's historical achievements, Sima Qian wrote in "Historical Records. Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi": "He defeated the powerful Chu in the west, entered Ying, and Wei Qi and Jin in the north. He became famous among the princes, and Sun Tzu was powerful."
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi (about 369 BC - 286 BC), whose name was Zhou and whose courtesy name was Zixiu, was from the eastern suburbs of Mengcheng County (now Dongcheng Road, Chengguan Town). He was a Qiyuan official and a famous thinker and writer during the Warring States Period.
Zhuang Zhou wrote a book of more than 100,000 words, titled "Zhuangzi". The emergence of this document marks that during the Warring States Period, our country's philosophical thought and literary language had developed to a very far-reaching and profound level. It is a treasure among ancient Chinese classics. Therefore, Zhuangzi is not only a famous thinker in the history of Chinese philosophy, but also an outstanding writer in the history of Chinese literature. Whether in terms of philosophical thought or literary language, he has had a profound and huge influence on thinkers and writers of all ages in our country, and plays an extremely important role in the history of Chinese thinkers and literature.
Regarding powerful people as rotten rats
"Zhuangzi Qiu Shui" records: Hui Shi became prime minister in Liang State, and Zhuangzi wanted to see this good friend. Someone hurriedly reported to Huizi, saying: "Zhuangzi came to replace your position." Huizi was panicked and wanted to stop Zhuangzi, so he sent people to search the country for three days and three nights. Unexpectedly, Zhuangzi calmly came to see him and said: "There is a bird in the south. Its name is Phoenix. Have you heard of it? This Phoenix spreads its wings and flies from the South China Sea to the North Sea. It will not rest unless it is a parasol tree, and it will not eat unless it is a phoenix tree. At this time, an owl was eating a rotten mouse with relish, and the phoenix happened to fly over the head. The owl hurriedly protected the rotten mouse and looked up: "Scare!" Do you want to scare me with your Liang Guo?”
I’d rather be a free turtle
One day, Zhuangzi was fishing in a vortex. Two officials appointed by the King of Chu came to hire him and said: "My king has heard of your reputation for a long time, and wants to help you with state affairs. I deeply hope that your master will come out of the mountain happily, thinking that the king will share his worries, and that he will benefit the people below." Zhuangzi held the pole and said calmly. "I heard that there was a magical turtle in the Chu State. It was three thousand years old when it was killed. The King of Chu kept it in a bamboo box, covered it with brocade, and enshrined it in the temple. I would like to ask the second doctor, this turtle would rather die. Is it valuable to have bones left behind, or would you rather be alive and wagging your tail in the mud?" The second doctor said, "Of course I would rather be alive and wagging my tail in the mud." Zhuangzi said, "Two doctors, please go back! I am willing to drag my tail in the muddy water."
It is poverty, not poverty
"Zhuangzi·Mountain Wood" records: Once, Zhuangzi was wearing coarse patchwork clothes and had grass on his feet. He wore broken shoes tied with a rope and went to visit the King of Wei. The King of Wei saw him and said, "Sir, why are you so poor?" Zhuangzi corrected him: "It's poverty, not poverty. A scholar who has morality but cannot embody it is poverty; his clothes are tattered and his shoes are tattered, which is poverty, not poverty. This is the so-called It's not the right time to be born! Have you never seen the leaping apes on the tall nanmu and camphor trees? , there is nothing you can do.
But if they are in the thorn bush, they can only look sideways and fearfully. This is not because their muscles and bones have become stiff and inflexible, but because they are in an inconvenient situation and cannot perform their abilities well. "Now I How is it possible to live in a state of confusion and chaos but still have desires but not enough? "
Jia Yi
Jia Yi (200 BC - 168 BC) was a famous scholar in the Western Han Dynasty, known as Jia Sheng, Jia Zi and Jia Changsha. In the seventh year of Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty (200 BC), Jia Yi was born. This era was when the Western Han Dynasty was just established. It not only brought opportunities to Jia Yi to display his talents, but also brought ups and downs and pain to his life.
Jia Yi basically lived in a peaceful and stable environment during his childhood and adolescence, and his life was basically based on reading and writing essays. At the age of 18, he was famous for his ability to recite poetry and write articles. In the county, the famous scholar Wu Tingwei of Henan Province appreciated his talents and made him his disciple.
In 180 BC, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty came to the throne. He heard that the governor of Henan Province was very knowledgeable. With outstanding political achievements, he recruited Wu Gong as a Tingwei. In the first year of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty (179 BC), Jia Yi was recruited into the court on the recommendation of his teacher Wu Tingwei. Within a year, he was promoted to doctorate. Taizhong doctor. From then on, the 22-year-old Jia Yi embarked on an official career and became a member of the political group of the Western Han Dynasty.
Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty valued Jia Yi very much and promoted him to Taizhong doctor. After discussing with the ministers, he wanted to promote him to the rank of public minister, but he was opposed by the ministers. After that, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty began to deliberately alienate Jia Yi and sent him to be the Taifu of the King of Changsha. Politically frustrated, Jia Yi bid farewell to the capital and came to the remote Changsha. He heard that Changsha was low-lying and humid. He thought that he would not live long if he went to Changsha, and because he was demoted, he was in a very bad mood. He often compared himself with Qu Yuan. In this case, he wrote the "Ode to Qu Yuan" which has been passed down through the ages.
In the seventh year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (173 BC), Emperor Wen missed him far away in Changsha. After listening to Jia Yi's grand remarks, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty said with emotion: "I haven't seen Jia Yi for a long time, and I think I have done something wrong." Not long after, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty paid Jia Yi his honor. During his tenure as the Taifu of King Huai of Liang, Jia Yi was still very concerned about political affairs and dared to express his own opinions, writing famous articles such as "Public Security Policy" and "On Accumulation and Storage".
In the eleventh year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (169 BC), King Huai of Liang Liu Yi came to the court and unfortunately fell from his horse and died. Jia Yi felt that he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities as the tutor of King Huai of Liang, so he was very sad. A year later, due to excessive sadness, Jia Yi died in the 12th year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (168 BC) at the age of 33.
Although Jia Yi's life was short, it was in this short life. , but he left a precious cultural heritage for the treasure house of Chinese culture. He is a representative writer of Sao style fu, and his representative works are "Diao Qu Yuan Fu" and "Song Bird Fu". In the field of political prose of the Western Han Dynasty, Jia Yi's. The prose can also be said to be of outstanding literary talent. Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long. Zhao Qi" said that the essays are "clear in theory and smooth in diction, which can be said to have a general understanding." "His most acclaimed political works are "On the Passage of the Qin Dynasty", "Political Policy" and "On Accumulation and Storage"
Fan Ye
Fan Ye (398-445) Weizong, a native of Shunyang (now east of Xichuan County, Henan), was the son of Fan Tai, the official of Zuo Guanglu in the Song Dynasty. Later, he was killed due to an incident. The biography of "Song Book" said that he was "well versed in classics and history, good at writing articles, able to write calligraphy, and knew music and rhythm. "When he was appointed as the prefect of Xuancheng, he extensively studied the historical facts of the Eastern Han Dynasty from various works since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, deleted and supplemented the redundant ones, and compiled ninety volumes of "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" (ten chapters were not completed in time), which is a masterpiece of Chinese history. During the Northern Song Dynasty, , people combined the eight chapters and thirty volumes of "Xu Hanshu" by Ma Biao of Jin Dynasty to form today's "Book of the Later Han". The biography written by Fan Ye has an unbridled style, beautiful and concise words, and is quite parallel to the syntax. Some of them. The characters are also vividly and touchingly depicted. His famous works include "The Biography of Ban Chao", "The Biography of Zhang Heng", "The Biography of Fan Pang", etc. "Eunuchs' Biographies" are all famous works. It also contains a large number of political commentaries and poems in the biographies, making the book a collection of articles from a generation. There is also an article "Books from Nephews and Nephews in Prison", which describes the joys and hardships of writing and proposes articles. The idea of ??"focusing on meaning and conveying meaning through text" opposed the formalism of "things are determined by form, emotion is impatient, meaning affects purpose, and rhyme changes meaning". He was the first to pay attention to rhythm and writing style in the Southern Dynasty. Question, one of the writers with progressive literary ideas
A summary of classics
"The Book of the Later Han Dynasty"
The "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" is a biographical history of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The history of a generation. The current version is 120 volumes. This chronicle and biographies were written by Fan Ye. Before the chronicle was completed, Fan was killed. Liang Liu Zhao of the Southern Dynasty took the "Eight Chronicles" from Sima Biao's "Xu Hanshu". In conjunction with this, the two books were combined into one book in the Northern Song Dynasty. In terms of content, this book "values ??morality and righteousness and restrains power; promotes scholars and deposes traitors; discusses Confucianism and praises Kangcheng (Zheng Xuan); praises the party and promotes Li (Zheng Xuan)". Ying), Du (Mi); there are many prime ministers who have no description, but they are especially devoted to the people; the ministers are not popular, but they can only act alone." (Volume 61 of Wang Mingsheng's "Seventeen Histories"). In terms of style, he newly created "Dangzhao", "Wenyuan", "Lonely", "Lienv" and other similar biographies.
This book is famous for its literary talent, and its preface and praise are particularly outstanding. The author once called himself a "wonderful work", comparing it to "On the Passage of Qin". The style of the article tends to be parallel, writing human narratives, concise and thoughtful, vivid and touching. It also contains a large number of prose, poems and poems from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Scholars praise it as having the qualities of a collection of articles of a generation.