Xixian County originated from the ancient Xiguo.
Mrs. Xi, the wife of the king of Xiguo during the Spring and Autumn Period, was born in the Gui family of Chenguo (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province), also known as Xigui. She was also called "Mrs. Peach Blossom" because of her peerless appearance. There is a poem from the ancients: "Mrs. Peach Blossom is so beautiful/flying out of the clouds in the middle of the month to get it/New gratitude is still grateful/Once the city is captivated, then the country is captivated/" When Mrs. Xi first arrived in Xi Country, the national power of Xi Country was already weak. Seeing that the prince was indulged in wine and sex all day long and neglected political affairs, she never forgot her concern for the country and the people, so she changed her ways to persuade the prince to be diligent in government affairs, to be close to the wise men, to be distant from the small group, to reward farming and war, and to promote agriculture. business. Xihou listened to his wife's advice, and Xiguo slowly embarked on the road of self-improvement.
In 684 BC, Mrs. Xi returned to the State of Chen to visit relatives. She passed by the State of Cai and went to visit her sister, Mrs. Marquis Cai. Unexpectedly, Hou Cai actually molested Mrs. Xi at the banquet held by Jie Feng. Furious, Mrs. Xi returned to the country of Xi and told Hou Xi about the matter. Xihou and King Wen of Chu conspired to plot against Cai, and Chu sent troops to capture Caihou. Cai Hou planned to take revenge on Xihou. He tried his best to praise the beauty of Mrs. Xi to the king of Chu. The lustful king of Chu snatched Mrs. Xi away by force and made her his wife. Xihou died of depression, and Xiguo perished from then on. Mrs. Xi missed her homeland all day long and cared about Xihou. Although she gave birth to two sons for King Chu, she remained silent for three years and finally committed suicide. To commemorate her, later generations built a Peach Blossom Lady Temple on Peach Blossom Cave outside Hanyang City. Even Cao Xueqin quoted a poem in "A Dream of Red Mansions" and lamented: "Through the ages, the only death is the only one who has suffered hardships. How can I be sad only for my wife?" The poet Song Zhiwen once lamented: "Poor Chu Poxi/Mrs. Chu Poxi/is the bone under the spring." / Don’t be the concubine of the King of Chu / The King of Chu favors Mo Sheng / The relationship between the king and the king is more intimate / Love between relatives and resentment breeds separation / Kill them all in one day /".
Someone else wrote a biography of her in the "County Chronicle" of Xixian County and set up a biographical inscription. In June 1984, the "Mrs. A new statue of Mrs. Youxi was built at the gate of Xixian County to commemorate her. To this day, the stories of "hanging up lanterns to persuade the marquis of Xi" and "not saying a word for three years" are still circulating in Xixian.
Other poems related to Mrs. Xi:
Du Mu's "Inscription on the Temple of Lady Peach Blossom"
The slender waist reveals the peach blossoms in the palace, and the pulse is speechless for several times spring.
What happened to the fate of death? Pity the man who fell from the building in Jingu.
"Passing the Peach Blossom Lady's Temple" by Liu Changqing
Loneliness is a thousand years old, and a peach blossom is like a branch.
Passers-by look at the ancient trees, and the river moon looks towards the empty temple.
Wherever the clouds and rain fly, the mountains and rivers are the same as before.
The color of spring grass alone feels like reminiscing about a good time.
Wang Wei "Mrs. Xi"
Don't let the favor of the present make you forget the kindness of the past.
Looking at the flowers brings tears to my eyes, I can’t resist the words of the King of Chu.
Appreciation
In Chinese classical poetry, including Tang poetry, narrative poetry is very underdeveloped. Especially modern poetry is more difficult to narrate due to the difficulty of length and meter. However, in the development process of Tang poetry, there is a phenomenon worth noting, that is, some of the small poems, although extremely limited in length, still attempt to reflect some tortuous and complex events; if we trace the roots of these events and start associations, it seems that It takes a narrative poem of considerable length to describe it. Xiang Wang Wei's "Five Jue" is like this.
Mrs. Xi was originally the wife of the monarch of the Xi Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period. In 680 BC, the King of Chu destroyed the country of Xi and took it as his own. Although she gave birth to two children in the Chu Palace, she remained silent and never said a word to the King of Chu. "Don't think that your favor today can make me forget my past kindness." This seems to be the inner monologue of Mrs. Xi, and it also seems that the poet intends to use the voice of such a weak person to discourage those violent and greedy rulers. "Mo Yi" and "Can Forget" constitute a negative conditional sentence. New favors are not enough to win over Mrs. Xi's heart, which reflects the precious and unforgettable nature of old favors and shows that power and wealth cannot completely conquer the souls of the weak. "Looking at the flowers brings tears to the eyes, I can't help but love the words of the King of Chu." The old favor is unforgettable, but the new favorite is actually an insult. Mrs. Xi was in the gorgeous Chu Palace, looking at the flowers that were supposed to make people happy, but she was filled with tears, and she never said a word to the King of Chu who was following her. "Looking at the flowers brings tears to my eyes" is similar to Du Fu's later writing "Looking at the flowers brings tears to my eyes". Since this sentence only points out the extreme mental pain, and he tries his best to restrain himself in silence, but does not explain the reason for the tears, it builds momentum for the next sentence. "Unfortunately, King Chu's words" are written after she was "full of tears". This "speechless" image seems particularly profound. This silence contains the stain of personality, mental pain, and perhaps the resentment and hatred accumulated in the heart. The poet created an image of a woman who suffered humiliation but resisted in silence. There is something profound and moving about it in art.
Wang Wei wrote this poem not simply to praise history. Mengji of the Tang Dynasty recorded in his "Poetry of Benshi": "Ning Wang Xian (brother of Xuanzong) was very prosperous and favored dozens of prostitutes, all of whom were exquisitely skilled. There was a cake seller's wife on the left side of the house. She was white and clear. When the king saw that he belonged to his family, he left her generously. The husband took it and cherished it more than ever, so he asked him: "Do you remember the baker again?" ‘It’s not right to be silent. The king summoned the baker to see him. His wife looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks, as if she was overcome with emotion. At that time, there were more than ten guests at the throne, all of whom were scribes at that time, and they were all very sad. The king ordered him to compose a poem, and Wang Youchengwei wrote the poem first, and so on (that is, "Mrs. Xi").
...The king returned to be a baker, so that he could fulfill his ambition. "By comparison, it can be seen that Wang Wei actually summarized some social tragedies like this in just four lines of poetry. It is not a narrative poem, but it has a very unusual story, even better than some ordinary narrative poems. It should be more twisty and exciting. This kind of "novel" poem is somewhat similar to an excerpt. It can be seen as an effort to tell a story in modern poetry. It cannot tell the story from beginning to end, but it captures or fictionalizes the characters and stories. The most conflicting and encompassing moment in the story inspires readers to imagine the whole dragon from scratch. This phenomenon of stories contained in lyric poems with a "novel spirit" was described by Ji Yun of the Qing Dynasty when he was commenting on Li Shangyin's work. It was pointed out in the poem, but its origin may be very early. However, Wang Wei's poems are not as numerous as those of Li Shangyin, and they are more comprehensive. The strong lyrical atmosphere conceals the novelty, so predecessors paid less attention to this aspect.
"Tixi Lady Temple"
Deng Hanyi of the Qing Dynasty
Chu. Gong Miao frowned and said nothing to the late spring.
Death is the only way to survive the hardships of the ages.
Mrs. Xi, the wife of the king of Xi in the Spring and Autumn Period. Born in the Gui family of the State of Chen (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province), she was also known as Xi Gui. In the 13th year of King Zhouzhuang (684 BC), Xi Gui passed by the State of Cai when she got married. Cai Hou Xianwu said that she and his wife were sisters. , and went to the palace to entertain him. During the reception, Cai Hou behaved frivolously, and Xihou was furious when he heard about it. He sent envoys to the Chu State and encouraged King Chu Wen to send troops to pretend to attack Xi State. Xi then asked Cai State for help and induced him to send troops. , Chu soldiers defeated Cai Guo in Xindi (now Runan County) and captured Cai Hou. Cai Hou also planned to retaliate against Xi Hou and praised Xi Gui for her beauty. King Chu came to Xi Guo and held a banquet to thank Xi Hou. Hou took the opportunity to snatch Xi Gui away as his wife. Three years after Xi Gui entered the Chu Palace, she gave birth to two sons, Du Ao and Cheng Wang. However, the King of Chu asked her why. Said: "I am a woman, serving two husbands, even if I cannot die, what can I say? King Chu said: "This is all Marquis Cai's fault. I shall avenge my wife." So he raised troops to attack the State of Cai. After King Wen died, Yin Ziyuan had evil intentions. In the 28th year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (666 BC), he built a new palace next to Mrs. Xi's palace, singing, dancing and playing music every day. Mrs. Xi cried and said: "My ancestors made people sing and dance to practice war preparations and conquer the princes. Isn't it strange that your order Yin is not used for enemies, but for the widows ("widows" are what ancient widows called themselves)?" The waiter told Ziyuan what his wife had said. Ziyuan said: "My wife never forgets the enemy. On the contrary, I forget." In the autumn of that year, he led 600 chariots to attack the state of Zheng, but returned without victory. Instead, he falsely reported his victory and moved into the palace to seduce Madam Xi. In the 30th year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (664 BC), Dou Lian, the Dou She master, tried to dissuade him, but Zi Yuan refused to listen and instead arrested Dou Lian. Mrs. Xi sent her servant to report secretly to King Cheng of Chu. In the autumn, Shen Gong Douban killed Zi Yuan, and Dou Boss Yu Tu succeeded Zi Yuan as Ling Yin, thus easing the crisis of Chu State. To commemorate her, later generations built a Peach Blossom Lady Temple on Peach Blossom Cave outside Hanyang City. Mrs. Xi's deeds are recorded in "Zuo Zhuan", "Historical Records" and other books.
Many stories about her are still circulated among the people