Cai Wenji (date of birth and death unknown), named Yan, courtesy name Wenji (some say Zhaoji, in Jin Dynasty to avoid Sima Zhao's taboo, she was called Wenji). A native of Yuxian County, Chenliu County (now Qixian County, Henan Province), she was a female writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the daughter of the writer Cai Yong. Erudite and talented, he is good at literature, music and calligraphy.
1. Character experience
Cai Yan, a female poet in the Han and Wei Dynasties. The courtesy name Wenji, also known as Zhaoji, was born in Chenliuyu (now Qixian County, Henan Province). The year of birth and death is unknown. The daughter of the famous writer Cai Yong. He was erudite and talented since childhood, good at diction, and good at music. She first married Wei Zhongdao in Hedong Province. Her husband died without any children and she returned to her mother's family. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and Dong Zhuo invaded Luoyang. She was first forced by Dong Zhuo's army to move west to Chang'an, and then she was captured by the Southern Xiongnu army in the second year of Xingping (195). She spent 12 years among the Xiongnu and gave birth to two sons. In the twelfth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent an envoy with a golden jade to the southern Huns to redeem Cai Yan. After Cai Yan returned to the Central Plains, he remarried Dong Si, the commander of the army. He once recalled and rewritten more than 400 pieces of his late father's works. Cai Yan's surviving works include a five-character "Poetry of Sorrow and Indignation" and a piece in Sao style, as well as "Eighteen Beats of Hujia". The plot described in the Sao style "Poetry of Sorrow and Anger" is quite inconsistent with Cai Yan's life, and many scholars think it is a pretentious work. "Eighteen Pai of Hujia" first appeared in Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on Songs of Chu·Afterwords" in the Song Dynasty. It is not included in "Book of the Later Han". It is stylistically far from the works of that time, so some scholars believe that it was also forged by later generations.
Cai Wenji's name was Yan, and her courtesy name was Mingji. To avoid Sima Zhao's taboo, she changed her name to Wenji. Cai Wenji's father is the famous Cai Yong. Cai Yong was a great writer and calligrapher. Cai Wenji was born in such a family, and it was very natural that she was both knowledgeable and literary, good at poetry, and good at eloquence and music. It can be said that Cai Wenji had a happy childhood, but it was a pity that the changes in the current situation interrupted it. Such happiness.
Cai Wenji and many other captive women were taken to the southern Xiongnu. She was twenty-three years old now and had been away for twelve years after suffering humiliation and whipping from the Japanese soldiers. During these twelve years, she married the strong-backed King Zuoxian of the Xiongnu, and suffered the pain of living in a foreign country and a foreign custom. Of course, she also gave birth to two sons for King Zuo Xian. She also learned to play "Hujia" and some foreign languages. Twelve years later, Cao Cao remembered that his boyhood teacher Cai Yong had only one daughter. When he learned that the girl from that year had been taken to the Southern Huns, he immediately sent Zhou Jin as an envoy, carrying a thousand taels of gold and a pair of white walls to redeem her.
Cai Wenji married three times in her life. Before she was plundered to the Southern Huns, she once married into the Wei family in Hedong. The Wei family was from a noble family in Hedong. Her husband Wei Zhongdao was an outstanding scholar in the university. The couple loved each other. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Within a year, Wei Zhongdao died of hemoptysis. Cai Wenji never gave birth to a son and a half, and the Wei family members suspected that she had killed her husband. At that time, the arrogant Cai Wenji left the Wei family and returned to her hometown regardless of her father's objections. She eventually married Dong Si and had a son and a daughter. The daughter married Sima Yi's son Sima Shi.
Cai Wenji's handed down work is "Eighteen Beats of Hujia". "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" is a 1,297-word narrative poem in Sao style. It was originally published in Volume 59 of Guo Maoqian's "Yuefu Poems" of the Song Dynasty and Volume 3 of Zhu Xi's "Afterwords of Chu Ci". The writing is outstanding.
2. Anecdotes and Allusions
1. Wenji Returns to Han:
Wenji Returns to Han is an art adaptation based on the story background of Cao Cao’s redemption of Cai Yan. Stories, Peking opera and other operas all have pieces about Wen Ji returning to the Han Dynasty, and there are also comic works such as pictures of Wen Ji returning to the Han Dynasty painted by painters in the past dynasties.
2. Distinguish the piano:
When Cai Yan was nine years old, his father Cai Yong was playing the piano at night, and one string suddenly broke. Cai Yan said: "It's the second string that broke." ." Cai Yong said, "You just got it right by chance." So he deliberately broke one and asked her, and Cai Yan said it was the fourth one. The story of Cai Wenji distinguishing the piano also appears in the Three Character Classic.
3. Main achievements
1. Literature:
After Cai Yan returned to the Han Dynasty, he wrote two "Poems of Sorrow and Indignation", one of which is in five characters. , one song is in Sao style. Among them, the five-character poem focuses on "sentiment, confusion, and separation." It is a narrative poem based on love and events. It is the first autobiographical long narrative poem created by a literati in the history of Chinese poetry. Zhang Yugu, a poetry critic in the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem praising Cai Yan's five-character poems: "Wen Ji Cai wanted to overpower Wen Jun, and wrote a long and elegant essay "Sorrow and Indignation". Lao Du Gu Zongzong Cao Qibu, he made incense and hairpin skirts." The general idea is that Cai Yan's talent overwhelmed Zhuo Wenjun, a talented woman in the Han Dynasty, and the five-character narrative poems of Cao Zhi and Du Fu were influenced by Cai Yan.
Because the poem "Poetry of Sorrow and Indignation" in Sao style is intended to be lyrical, the first and last stanzas are relatively brief about the experience of being captured in the Hu and returning to the Han Dynasty. The large natural scenery in the middle is used to exaggerate Cai Yan's grief of leaving his hometown. Mood, in these descriptions of scenery and human feelings, Cai Yan emphasized the differences between them and her hometown in China, in order to describe her deep, sad and angry mood in this environment that was very different from China.
2. Music:
"Eighteen Beats of Hujia" is a Chinese ancient Yuefu qin song with a length of 1,297 words. It is a song composed of 18 songs. Vocal suite of songs. It was originally published in Volume 59 of Guo Maoqian's "Yuefu Poems" of the Song Dynasty and Volume 3 of Zhu Xi's "Afterwords of Chu Ci". There are minor differences in the text between the two volumes.
Lu Shiyong, a native of the Ming Dynasty, said in "A General Theory of Poetry Mirror": "Tokyo's style has declined, but Cai Wenji is talented and heroic. Reading "Hu Jia Yin" will make people sit up and shake, and the gravel will fly by themselves. It's really The embrace of fierce people.
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3. Calligraphy:
Cai Yan’s father, Cai Yong, was a great calligrapher who created the eight-point font. Cai Yan himself was also very good at calligraphy. Han Yu once said : "The middle man (Cai Yong) has a woman who can pass on his karma. "Cai Yan once wrote ancient books silently at Cao Cao's request, saying that he could write in real script or cursive script.
4. Character evaluation
Fan Ye: Duan Cao is traced. Relaxed and graceful. The district is bright and windy, Zhaowo Guantong.
Chen Tao: The temperament is Huan Yidi, the talent is Cai Yanqin.
Xu Jun: This life has been divided into Laosha. Chen, who can redeem his body with gold? Don't be angry when you are eighteen, but you must know that you are a beautiful woman.
Hao Jing: ① Wen Ji's talent was unfortunate and she lost her virginity. If you have enough merit to avoid the death of your husband, the gentleman will blame you for your lack of integrity. ② The graceful delivery of a lady is juxtaposed with the gentleness and strength.
Luo Jianlin: Liao Luo Zhonglang. After that, I was surprised to see the geese passing by in the south, and I was ashamed to drive the car in the north. I still passed on the book of Wei Zhu. I will never redeem my name.
Lu Shiyong: Cai Wenji is talented and talented. Reading "Hu Jia Yin" can make people sit up and shake, and it is really a fierce embrace.
Qu Dajun: Ti Ying can take the place of his father, but Cai Yan is not suitable for the queen. , her voice resonates across the sea.
Wang Jinyu: Cai Yan, the earliest female calligrapher recorded in Chinese history, is closely related to her father Cai Yong and her ups and downs in her life.
5. Character controversy
1. Husband controversy:
There have always been different opinions on whether Cai Yan married King Zuoxian in the north: According to "Book of the Later Han" According to records, Cai Yan "died" to King Zuo Xian instead of "married" to King Zuo Xian, and generally the wives of Huns kings were called "Lans", but Cai Yan did not have this title during his twenty years in the north. , so it is believed that Cai Yan and King Zuo Xian are not husband and wife; but another theory is that Cao Cao spent a very large price to redeem Cai Yan, far exceeding the price of an ordinary slave. It can be seen that Cai Yan was in the Xiongnu Bian's status is not low either. Some literary and artistic works, such as Peking Opera, describe Cai Wenji as the princess of King Zuoxian. There is still controversy about which one is right.
2. The work is controversial.
While reversing the case for Cao Cao, Guo Moruo published a paper questioning whether Cai Yan's works were written by Cai Yan. Guo Moruo and others believed that the "Poems of Sorrow and Indignation" recorded in "Book of the Later Han" were not written by Cai Yan. There are three main reasons. Points:
1. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: The Biography of Dong Si's Wife", Wen Ji was "acquired by Hu Qi and lost to King Zuoxian of the Southern Huns". It should not be said in the poem that she was for Dong Zhuo.
2. Wenji’s father Cai Yong was valued by Dong Zhuo and had a high rank in the central government controlled by Dong Zhuo. He was killed by Wang Yun after Dong Zhuo’s death. The exile must have occurred after Cai Yong's death, and the poem says that he was driven into Hu by Dong Zhuo.
3. In the chapter of Sao Ti, there is a sentence "The Qiang barbarians are in danger", which is related to Wen Ji. The facts of what the Xiongnu plundered are inconsistent with the two sentences: "The desert is choked with dust, and the vegetation is not prosperous in spring." It is inconsistent with the geographical environment of Pingyang, Hedong, where the southern Xiongnu was at that time.
But Tan Qixiang. It is believed that none of these three items is tenable because: 1. Most of Dong Zhuo's tribesmen were Qiang and Hu people. It is said in "Sorrow and Indignation" that "Zhuo people came eastward" and "all the soldiers who came were Hu Qiang". Aren't these Hu soldiers the "Hu cavalry"? 2. The Southern Xiongnu has been divided into two parts since the fifth year of Zhongping (188). One part moved inland to Hedong, and the other part is still in the Hetao area of ??Inner Mongolia today. If the "Southern Xiongnu" refers to the part that stayed there, the geographical environment and the location there are different. The description is consistent. 3. The discipline of Dong Zhuo's troops was very poor. At that time, Cai Wenji was kidnapped in her hometown in Guandong, and Cai Yong was far away in Chang'an. Cai Yong was killed three months after she was kidnapped, and there was no way to get any information, let alone rescue. The Qiang and Hu in Dong Zhuo's army were all from Guanzhong. It is not surprising that Cai Wenji was driven westward into the Guan after being captured. After entering the Guan, it was not surprising that she had visited Qiang barbarian lands. Therefore, we can be sure that the second chapter of "Grief and Indignation" is indeed Cai Wenji's work.
3. Controversy over birth year
Cai Yan’s birth year is said to be 174 and 177, but these are all speculations and have no historical basis. < /p>
The Han Dynasty lost power and Dong Zhuo was in chaos. If you are determined to usurp and kill, you will first harm all the virtuous people. Forced to move to the old country, support the master to strengthen themselves.
There are righteous teachers in the country who want to fight for bad luck. Zhuo Zhong came to the east, and his golden armor shone in the sun. Ping Shangren is weak, and all the incoming troops are barbarians and Qiang.
Hunting in the wilderness and besieging the city, everything was destroyed. Cut off without any remains, but the corpses support each other. A man's head hangs beside the horse, and a woman is carried behind the horse.
Driving westward to enter the Pass, the road is dangerous and blocked. If you still care about Miao Mingming, your liver and gallbladder will become rotten. All the people with tens of thousands of plans are not allowed to gather in villages.
Perhaps the person is physically and mentally impaired and unable to speak. After several frustrated expeditions, he often said bad things and surrendered to the captives. If you want to use the pavilion blade, I will not kill you.
How dare you spare your life? You can't bear the abuse. Or add a stick and poisonous pain ginseng together. In the morning, he walks and weeps, and at night, he sits in mourning.
If you want to die, you can’t get it, if you want to live, you can’t get anything. How could anyone in the world deserve this misfortune? The wilderness and the Chinese are different, and the people have few moral principles.
There is a lot of frost and snow in the place, and the wind blows in spring and summer. The gentle breeze blows on my clothes, and the solemnity enters my ears. I miss my parents deeply and lament endlessly.
When guests come from outside, they are always happy to hear about them. When I asked him about the news, he always returned to his hometown. When I meet you, I hope that my flesh and blood will come to welcome you.
If you can free yourself, you should abandon your son again. Heaven embellishes people's hearts, and there is no time to think of others. Life and death are forever separated, and I can't bear to say goodbye.
My son hugged my neck and asked my mother what she wanted. People say that my mother will leave, but she will never come back. My mother has always been compassionate, why should I be even more unkind now?
I am not an adult yet, so I don’t care. Seeing this, Wu Nai fell into a trance and became crazy. When weeping and caressing with hands, we will reply to questions.
Both contemporaries, we say farewell to each other. I am alone in admiration, and my screams are torn apart. The horse is hesitant to stand, and the chariot is unable to turn.
The spectators all booed and sobbed while walking. Go and cut off love, and travel to conquer the sun. Three thousand miles away, when will we meet again?
Thinking of me out of the belly, thinking about me in the chest is destruction. Now that his family is gone, he no longer has anything inside or outside. The city is surrounded by mountains and forests, and the courtyards are covered with thorns and mugwort.
I don’t know who the bones are, so I don’t cover them vertically and horizontally. There is no sound when I go out, but the jackals howl and bark. The pair of thorns face the solitary scenery, and they are stunned by the liver and lungs.
When you climb high and look far away, your soul suddenly flies away. If you are dying and your life span is over, others will be merciful. In order to regain the strength of sight and breath, there is no need to live in vain.
Entrust your life to the newcomers and work hard to encourage yourself. Being homeless becomes a lowly life, and one is often afraid of having to donate money again. How long does it take to live, worry all the year round.
Poetry of Sorrow and Indignation Part Two
I am sorry that I am suffering from the troubles of the world. The clan is in ruins. I enter Xiguan with a little care. The adventures and obstacles come from the barbarians.
The road is long in the valley. The family members looked eastward but lamented. I can't sleep peacefully. When you are hungry, you cannot eat.
Often runny eyes and dry eyes. Bo Zhijiexi thinks about the difficulty of death. Although he is still alive, he has no appearance. But over there lies the essence of Yuanyang.
The yin energy condenses and the snow and summer zero. The desert is choked with dust. There are trees and grass but spring is not prosperous. Humans are like animals and their food smells fishy.
The words are gone and the posture is graceful. At the end of the year, we are marching forward. The night is long and the door is closed. Can't sleep and set up camp.
Climb the Hu Palace and come to Guangting. The mysterious clouds merge with the moon and stars. The north wind is strong and cold. The horses are buzzing while the bamboo sticks are moving.
The lone wild goose returns with a chirping sound. Musicians are happy to play the harp and zither. The sound is harmonious, sad and clear. My heart is full of thoughts and my chest is filled with anger.
If you want to relax, you are afraid of being frightened. With tears in his eyes, he clung to his neck. When the home is welcoming, it is time to return to peace. It's a long journey and I'm going to donate my child.
The son calls his mother and loses his voice. I couldn't bear to hear it. Chasing me and walking alone. Suddenly the appearance is ruined.
It's unfavorable to care about him. My heart is broken and I am resurrected from the dead.
2. The Eighteen Patterns of Hujia
Dynasty: Han Dynasty|Author: Cai Wenji
When I was born, I did nothing, but after I was born, the Han Dynasty declined. The heaven is unkind and brings chaos and separation, the earth is unkind and brings me to this moment. The roads are dangerous when fighting, and the people are in exile, and the country is sad. The smoke and dust cover the fields, barbarians are abundant, and the will and integrity are at a loss. It is not appropriate for me to deal with the secular world. Who should I sue if I suffer humiliation? The zither plays for a while and the harp plays, and no one knows the resentment in my heart.
Rong Jie forced me to become a family member and led me to the end of the world. Thousands of clouds and mountains are on my way home, and the wind is blowing thousands of miles away, and the dust and sand are flying. When there are many people, they are violent and fierce like adder; when they control strings and are covered with armor, they are arrogant and extravagant. The two beats are stretched, the strings are broken, the ambition is broken, the heart is broken, and I feel sad.
Going beyond the Han Dynasty and entering Hucheng, it is better to lose one's family and lose one's virginity than to live without one. The felt fur is used as clothing and my flesh and bones are shocked, and the smell of leather is used to restrain my feelings. The sound of drums and drums has been loud since the night, and the wind has been blowing loudly in the dark camp. The sad feeling of Jin Xi was made three times, and when will the sadness and hatred of Xi Xi be calmed down.
There is no day or night when I don’t think about my hometown. I am the most miserable when my temperament and energy are combined. The country is in chaos due to natural disasters and the people have no masters, but I am miserable and have no soldiers or captives. The world is different, the mind is different, the body is in trouble, the desires are different, who can talk to him! There are many difficulties and obstacles in thinking and going through it, and it becomes more and more miserable when the four shots are completed.
The geese are marching to the south to send a message, and the geese are returning to the north to win the Qing Dynasty. The wild geese fly high and are hard to find, and I feel empty and heartbroken, thinking about it. I raise my eyebrows towards the moon and caress the elegant harp, and the five beats are lulling and the meaning is profound.
My body is bitterly cold due to the biting frost, and I am hungry and unable to eat meat and cheese. At night the sound of the Long River is whimpering, and the road towards the Great Wall is long and winding. Reminiscing about the past, it is difficult to carry luggage, and the six beats are sad and I want to stop playing.
At dusk, the wind makes sad sounds everywhere, I don’t know who the sad heart is talking to! The wilderness is desolate and the beacons are garrisoned for thousands of miles. The old and weak are vulgar and the young and strong are beautiful. Wherever there are water and grass, homes and fortresses are built, and the fields are full of cattle and sheep, gathering like bees and ants. The grass has dried up and the water has dried up, the sheep and horses have all moved away, and Qipai Liu hates living here.
Since God has eyes, why not see me drifting alone? If God has a spirit, why should I be so far away from home? I don't live up to the sky. How can the sky be worthy of me? If I don't live up to God's will, why will God punish me by crossing the deserted state? I made eight beats here to relieve my worries, but I didn't know that when the song was completed, my heart turned to worry.
The sky is boundless and the earth is boundless, and I feel sad again. Life is fleeting, like the passing of a white horse, but I will not be happy until I am in my prime. I am resentful and want to ask the sky, but the sky is blue and there is no chance. Raising your head and looking up at the clouds and smoke in the sky, who can pass on this sentiment?
The beacon fire at the top of the city has never been extinguished. When will the battle on the battlefield stop? Murderous aura rushes towards the door, and Hu Feng blows the moon every night. There is no sound in my hometown, and there is no sound when I cry. I will lose my breath. A life of hard work brings separation, and deep sorrow brings tears of blood.
I don’t want to eat life but hate death. I can’t sacrifice my body because my heart is full. If you are still alive, you still hope to return to your hometown. If you die, your bones will be buried for a long time. The sun lives in the moon, Zhu Xi lives in the military base, and the barbarians dote on me. I have two sons. If you raise a child, you will not be ashamed; if you suppress it, you will grow up with contempt. There are ten beats, and the sound of mourning is lingering and piercing the heart.
The east wind is blowing and there is a lot of heat. I know it is the emperor of the Han Dynasty who is coming to Buyanghe. The Qiang and the barbarians are dancing and singing, the two countries are having fun and are not fighting. Suddenly I met an envoy from the Han Dynasty and called me Jinzhao. He left me a thousand gold coins to redeem my concubine.
I am happy to be alive and meet the sage, but I regret to say goodbye to the childish child for no reason. Ten times out of ten, there are both sorrow and joy, but it is difficult to describe the two emotions.
It doesn’t matter that my life is left, but I have to return home. I caress my beard and put my clothes on it. The envoys of the Han Dynasty came to welcome me, and who knew the number of Hu'er? At this time of my life and death, I am worried about being a son and the sun will not shine. How can I have wings to bring you back? One step at a time, it's hard to move, the soul disappears and the shadow is gone, the love is left behind. Three times out of ten, the strings beat quickly and the strings are sharp and sad, and the liver and intestines are stirred and stabbed. I don't know.
When I return to my country, I won’t let my children follow me, and my heart will be hung up as if I’m hungry. All things in the four seasons have their ups and downs, but my sorrow will not change for a while. The mountains are high and vast, so I can't wait to see you. Even late at night, I dream of you. When I hold my hand in the dream, I am happy and sad, and when I feel it, my heart aches and there is no rest. Four times out of ten, tears will fall down and the river will flow eastward, and my heart will be full of thoughts.
Fifteen beats, the rhythm is fast, and the breath fills the chest. Who knows the music? The place is in the dome of the hut and there are special customs. I am willing to come back, God obeys my desires, and return to the Han Kingdom happily and contentedly. My heart is pregnant, but my sorrow has deepened. The sun and moon are selfless, but they have never shown up. It’s no wonder that the mother and son are separated. They are in the same sky and separated by the distance like ginseng. If we don’t know each other about life and death, where can we find them?
Sixteen-year-old Xi is thinking a lot, and my son and I are on separate sides. The sun in the east and the moon in the west look at each other, but we cannot follow each other. We are empty and heartbroken. I will never forget my worries about the camp grass, but my love will be hurt when I play the piano! Farewell now, I return to my hometown. Old grievances are settled, but new grievances are growing! Weeping blood, I raise my head and complain to the sky, Hu Weisheng is the only one who has suffered from this disaster!
Seventeen beats make my heart and nose feel sore, and the mountains are blocking the way to repair, making it difficult to travel. When I left, I felt homely and careless, and when I came back, I was full of thoughts about seeing you again. Stuffed with dried branches and leaves of mugwort, the bones of the battlefield are covered with scars from swords and arrows. The wind and frost are biting and the spring and summer are cold. The people and horses are hungry and their muscles are weak. Little did he know that when he entered Chang'an again, he sighed and burst into tears.
The original version of Hujia comes from Huzhong, and the melody is the same when translated by Yuanqin. Although the song ends in eighteen beats, the sound is lingering and the thoughts are endless. This is how we know that silk and bamboo are delicate and all the work of nature. Sorrows and joys are all according to people's hearts. If they change, they will be normal. Hu and Han are in different lands and have different winds. The sky and the earth are separated by the west and the east.
My bitterness and resentment are as vast as the sky. Although the heaven and earth are vast, I cannot tolerate them!