Cao Zhi made a mistake while drunk and committed a crime. Cao Pi wanted to kill Cao Zhi. Their biological mother, Queen Mother Bian, came out to plead for mercy and shed tears. Cao Pi was jealous of his younger brother's talent, so he asked Cao Zhi to compose a poem in seven steps. , can avoid the death penalty. As expected, Cao Zhi composed a poem in seven steps, which contained a mockery of Cao Pi's ruthlessness.
Cao Zhi's "Seven-step Poetry"
Cao Zhi's "Seven-step Poetry"
The Cao family, father and son, were famous writers during the Three Kingdoms period, collectively known as Three Cao has left many immortal chapters in the history of Chinese literature. Cao Zhi's "Seven-step Poetry" is even more a good story. Its significance is no longer the value of the poem itself, it contains profound political connotations and has become a long-lasting legend. In the long history, it is a portrayal of brothers fighting against each other for status, power, and property.
The beans are boiling and the beans are weeping in the cauldron. They are born from the same root, so there is no need to rush into mutual conflict.
Needless to say, this is Cao Zhi's complaint to his brother Cao Pi.
Yes, Cao Zhi is indeed Cao Pi's fierce rival. He was particularly loved by his father Cao Cao. Cao Cao once wanted to depose Cao Pi and make him the crown prince. It is reasonable for Cao Pi to hate him. . When Cao Zhi was a teenager, Cao Cao was a little suspicious when he saw Cao Zhi's article, thinking that Cao Zhi asked someone to write it for him, and Cao Zhi asked his father to test it in person. After several interviews, Cao Zhi indeed "spoke in written form and wrote in written form." If it weren't for the strong opposition of some ministers, Cao Zhi would have been established as the prince, and the struggle between Cao Pi and his younger brother Cao Zhi began from this era.
Once, Cao Cao sent troops to fight, and both Cao Zhi and Cao Pi came. Seeing off and saying goodbye, Cao Zhi read aloud a pat article praising Cao Cao, which was highly appreciated by everyone. Cao Pi bid farewell to his father with tears in his eyes, which moved Cao Cao very much and made him shed tears. This small gesture brought them closer together. The distance between Cao Pi and his father deepened the relationship between father and son. It seems that the relationship between father and son requires affection, not flattery.
On another occasion, Cao Cao wanted to send Cao Zhi to lead an army on an expedition. It is a symbol of military power and a sign of Cao Cao's emphasis on training. Cao Pi was of course very angry when he got the news. What should he do? Cao Pi came up with a vicious plan. He brought good wine and food to drink with Cao Zhi in advance, which made Cao Zhi drunk. After being drunk, Cao Cao sent someone to tell Cao Zhi. After urging him several times, Cao Zhi still fell asleep. Cao Cao angrily canceled Cao Zhi's decision to lead the army.
It seems that Cao Zhi is only qualified to be an informal writer. It is difficult to act as a resourceful politician.
In the struggle between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi, Cao Pi was the winner and finally succeeded to the throne of Wei. It stands to reason that Cao Pi's status and power have been basically consolidated, but his hatred of Cao Zhi has not changed. , how cruel and unethical this is.
Actually, Cao Zhi did not commit any serious crimes, but someone reported that he often drank and cursed. He actually detained the envoys sent by Cao Pi and did not recruit troops. This was not a crime, so Cao Pi came up with a method of "composing a poem in seven steps" to punish his brother. Fortunately, Cao Zhi was good at writing poems. "Seven Steps Poem" became a life-saving poem, and Cao Pi had to withdraw his life and lower Cao Zhi's official rank.
Throughout thousands of years of history, emperors, princes and grandsons lived in harmony, tolerated and gave in to each other, and did not fight for power and gain. There are really few examples of such examples of brothers fighting each other, including Prince Jiu and Prince Xiaobai (Dong Huan of Qi) in the Spring and Autumn Period, Fusu and Hu Hai (Second Emperor of Qin) in the Qin Dynasty, and the Xuanwu Gate Incident in the Tang Dynasty. Countless.
This phenomenon of fighting for power and killing each other among brothers in the feudal era is the inevitable result of the social system. In that social system where power is everything, it seems normal to fight for power by any means. The establishment of a democratic and democratic system has reduced the tragedy of fratricide. However, if privileges are not eliminated, it is still inevitable for someone to write the "Seven-step Poetry".
Cao Zhi and Poetry
< p> Poetry is the main field of Cao Zhi's literary activities. There is a big difference in content between the early period and the later period. The early poetry can be divided into two categories: one type expresses his leisurely life as a noble prince, and the other reflects his "life in chaos". ", as long as the army". His later poems mainly express his sometimes indignant and sometimes sad mood under suppression, expressing his unwillingness to be abandoned and his desire to make meritorious deeds in life. There are more than 80 relatively complete poems by Cao Zhi in existence today. Cao Zhi made many innovations and developments in the art of poetry. In particular, he made great contributions to the creation of five-character poems. First of all, most of the ancient Yuefu poems of the Han Dynasty are mainly narrative. It is in Nineteen Ancient Poems that the lyrical component plays an important role in the works. Cao Zhi developed this trend and organically combined lyricism and narrative, so that five-character poetry could not only describe complex changes in events, but also express tortuous psychological feelings, which greatly enriched its artistic functions. Cao Zhi was also the master of Jian'an literature and had a great influence on later generations. During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, he was respected as a model of writing. Xie Lingyun, a great poet of the Southern Dynasties, even praised Youjia: "There is only one stone (dàn) in the world, and Zijian only has eight dou. If I have one dou, all the people in the world have one dou."Wife and Daughter of Cao Zhi
Cao Zhi married two wives in his life. His ex-wife was Cui. She came from a famous family. His brother Cui Yan was once the minister of Cao Wei and was trusted by Cao Cao for a time. Cui was ordered to go home and sentenced to death by Cao Cao because she "violated the regulations on clothing and embroidery." Not long after, Cui's brother Cui Yan was executed for "disrespectful speech". Some people say that Cui Yan's death is related to the death of his sister.
Cao Zhi's later wife, Xie, was once named a princess, also known as "Concubine Chen" in history books. She was Cao Zhi's partner in his later life. It is said that she lived until the Jin Dynasty, when she was more than 80 years old. Cao Zhi had two sons. The eldest son, Cao Miao, was once named Gaoyang Township Duke and died young. The second son, Cao Zhi, was named Mu Xianggong. He was young but eager to learn, and his talents were outstanding. Cao Zhi praised him as the "protector of the family" of the Cao family. After Cao Zhi's death, Cao Zhi succeeded to the throne and was granted the title of King of Jibei. After the Sima family usurped the throne, Cao Zhi was demoted to the title of Duke of Juancheng County, and later he was appointed as the prefect of Leping. He then moved to Sanqi Changshi and served as a doctor of Guozi, and later became a doctor to offer wine. He died in the ninth year of Taikang (288), and his posthumous title was Ding Gong. Cao Zhi also had two daughters, who were occasionally mentioned in his works, but the details are unknown.
Cao Zhi's Wen Tao and Wu Lue
The talented Cao Zhi "is more than ten years old, has hundreds of thousands of poems and poems, and is good at literature." In the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210), the Bronze Bird Tower built by Cao Cao in Yecheng was completed. He summoned a group of scribes to "come on the stage to write poems", and Cao Zhi was naturally among them. Among all the people, Cao Zhi was the only one who thought about it a little, finished it in one stroke, and was the first to hand in the paper. His article was called "Ode to the Stage". After seeing it, Cao Cao was filled with admiration. Cao Zhi was only 19 years old at the time. Since then, Cao Cao, who always valued talents, had the idea of ??breaking the old rule of "establishing the elder rather than the young" and handing the throne to his son Cao Zhi, who was versatile in both civil and military affairs. Therefore, Cao Cao was particularly fond of Cao Zhi and repeatedly expressed to those around him, "I want to establish him as his heir." Who would have expected that Cao Cao's idea would not bring any blessings to Cao Zhi. On the contrary, it would cause him endless pain and make him invisibly involved in the whirlpool of fighting for the crown prince.
Cao Zhi is Cao Pi's fierce rival
He was favored by his father Cao Cao, and Cao Cao once wanted to depose Cao Pi and make him the crown prince. It is reasonable for Cao Pi to be jealous of him. . If it weren't for the strong opposition of some ministers, Cao Zhi would have been established as the crown prince, and the struggle between Cao Pi and his younger brother Cao Zhi would have begun from this era. The most unworthy thing is that Cao Zhi had no intention of competing with Cao Pi for the throne. Once, Cao Cao went out to fight, and both Cao Zhi and Cao Pi came to see him off. When leaving, Cao Zhi read aloud a flattering article praising Cao Cao, which was highly appreciated by everyone. Cao Pi bid farewell to his father with tears streaming down his face. Cao Cao was moved and disappointed. Crying, this small gesture brought Cao Pi closer to his father and deepened the relationship between father and son. (It seems that the relationship between father and son requires affection rather than flattery) Another time, Cao Cao wanted to send Cao Zhi to lead an army. Leading troops on an expedition is a symbol of military power and a sign of Cao Cao's emphasis on training. As a result, Cao Zhi was drunk before going to the expedition. Cao Cao sent someone to warn Cao Zhi. After urging him several times, Cao Zhi still fell asleep. Cao Cao angrily canceled Cao Zhi's decision to lead the army. It seems that Cao Zhi is only qualified to be an informal writer and cannot be a resourceful politician. Naturally, Cao Pi became the winner and eventually inherited the throne. Although Cao Pi's status and power have been basically consolidated, his hatred of Cao Zhi has not changed. In fact, Cao Zhi did not commit any serious crimes, but someone reported that he often drank and cursed. He also detained Cao Pi's envoys, but there were no signs or symptoms of recruiting troops or plotting rebellion. This was not considered a crime, but Cao Pi was afraid that the public would not accept the crime, so he came up with a method of "composing a poem in seven steps" to punish his brother. Fortunately, Cao Zhi is good at exporting poems. The poem says: "Boil the beans to make soup, and drain the bean sprouts to make juice. The pods are burning under the cauldron, and the beans are weeping in the cauldron. They all grow from the same root, so why rush to fry each other?" This "seven-step poem" is really breathtaking for its wonderful use of metaphors and clever use of words, blurted out in an instant. The phrase "We are born from the same roots, why rush to fight each other" has become a common expression for people to advise people to avoid brothers fighting against each other and killing each other for thousands of years, which shows that this poem is widely circulated among the people. Premier Zhou Enlai once quoted the poem about Ye Ting's death to criticize the Kuomintang army. In the end, the "Seven-step Poem" became Cao Zhi's life-saving poem, and Cao Pi had to withdraw his life and only lowered Cao Zhi's official rank.
Fan Bai Master
Cao Zhi is also the founder of Chinese Buddhist Fan Bai music. In the third year of Wei Taihe (229), Cao Zhi was granted the title of King of Dong'a, which lasted for four years. When Cao Zhi first climbed Yushan Mountain, he sighed and had the final intention, so he set up camp as a tomb. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wushan Academy was built in Yushan. "Wishan Academy Records" writes: "Climb along the mountain road to the 'Xiuye ??Hall'. In front of the hall, you can wash the inkstone in the pool, with golden scales swimming like spitting ink... Looking north, there is a graceful and graceful atmosphere, which is the 'Yangmaotai' . The temple and tomb of Zizhi are built to the west, from the platform to the east, up the stairs to the top, where there is Liushu City, where Cao Zhi studied. "Now, there is a pavilion on the right side of Cao Zhi's tomb, called "Sui Stele Pavilion". There is a stone tablet standing in the pavilion, which records Cao Zhi's life, sacrifices and related situations in a mixture of seal script, bronze inscriptions and regular script. Climbing up the stairs on the north side of the tomb, not far away you will see an abrupt and strange stone, which looks like a lying sheep and is surrounded by dense vegetation, so it is named "Yangmaotai". According to legend, this was the place where Cao Zhi studied; Yangmaotai There is a dry stone pond above, and the word "Inkstone Washing Pond" is written on the stone wall above. It is said to be the place where Cao Zhi washed inkstones. After climbing to the top of the mountain, on a relatively flat stone surface on the north side of the mountain, there is a cliff stone carving, engraved with "Yushan", "Zuochuan", "Shou" and other regular script characters are said to have been written by Cao Zhi on the mountain. On the west side of Yushan Mountain, there is a stone wall with two large vermilion characters "Wen Fan" written on it. According to records, Cao Zhi "tried to visit Yushan and suddenly heard the sound of Brahma in the air. He was elegant and sad." "I admired its sound and wrote it as Fanbai. ".
"Wearing the Brahma" is the place where it is said that Cao Zhi heard the Brahma music, and Cao Zhi became the founder of Chinese Buddhist music. Below the "Wearing the Brahma" place, there is a cave called the "Brahma Sound Cave". It is said that the Brahma music that Cao Zhi heard came from this cave. The Buddhist music that Cao Zhi heard was later spread eastward to the Korean Peninsula and Japan. For this reason, Cao Zhi is also known as the originator of Japanese Buddhist music. Every year, a large number of people from the Japanese religious circles go to Yushan to pay homage to Cao Zhi's tomb and play Cao Zhi in front of the tomb. The Buddhist music created at that time. Not long ago, the Buddhist Association of China and the Shandong Buddhist Association held a grand foundation laying ceremony for the restoration of Yushan Fanbei Temple at the foothills of Yushan Mountain. The total investment for the restoration of Yushan Fanbei Temple is estimated to be more than 100 million yuan. The temple uses Yushan as the central axis. The main projects include Pudu Bridge, Shanmen Hall, Bell and Drum Tower, Tianwang Hall, Main Hall, Sutra Tower, and the East and West Abbot's Room. On the left and right sides of the central axis are the Ksitigarbha Hall, Guanyin Hall, Zen Hall, Zhai Hall, Monk's Room and Guest Rooms. At the eastern foot of Yushan Mountain, there will also be built the Ten Thousand Buddhas Palace, the Relic Pagoda and the Hall of Buddhist Chanting and Music. During this restoration project, a bronze Guanyin statue more than 20 meters high will also be built. Yushan Fanbei Temple overlooks the rolling Yellow River, faces the green mountains, and leans against Yushan. It presents visitors with a scenic view of "white clouds, green mountains, and the Yellow River". When people climb here, they will naturally think of "Eight Dou High Talents" Cao Zijian's extraordinary demeanor.