Goujian, the King of Yue, has never been a politician

Speaking of the King of Yue Goujian, people will immediately think of two idioms: "Let's take the courage" and "Take a rabbit to die." The overlord who led a small wild country to rise during the Spring and Autumn Period, on the one hand, he used his patience, indignation, and inspirational story to be heard by people. "It makes people sigh, greatly affecting his historical image. Goujian also became the first king in history who was cast aside by people because of the killing of heroes.

However, looking through the pre-Qin history books that were contemporaneous with Goujian, we have not found any records about Goujian "Desperate Salary" and "Rabbit Dead Dog Cooking" . These two stories were first seen in Sima Qian’s "Historical Records". In historical books such as Zuo Zhuan, Guo Yu, Yue Jue Shu and Wu Yue Chun Qiu, Gou Jian is a monarch who appoints meritocracy and strives to be strong. A king full of positive energy. At the time of the survival of the Yue State, he carried out social reforms from top to bottom with his outstanding strategy and ability in ruling the country, and finally realized a counterattack and annihilated the old opponent of Yue State Wu. He neither tried to "taste the courage" nor thought of killing Fan Li, which is very different from the image in Sima Qian's "Historical Records".

Why did Sima Qian add a story like "Taste the Courage" to "Historical Records" and highlight Goujian's cruelty, which led to the subversion of Goujian's image in people's hearts for thousands of years? Let us review the history of Wu Yue hegemony during the Spring and Autumn Period and the background of Sima Qian's "Historical Records", and analyze the reasons why Goujian's image has undergone such a big change.

1. Wu Yue contended for hegemony

In the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the royal power declined, and some princes continued to strengthen through mergers and expansion. Zhou Tianzi has lost the actual control of the country, "Ritual and music conquest from the emperor" became a dead letter, Jin, Chu, Qi and other princes began to fight for their own restoration, fighting for supremacy.

Wu and Yue contend for hegemony

At this time, the country of Yue was originally a small vassal country in the southeast. It did not have much hatred with the country of Wu in the north. Both sides were engulfed in the war by the two great powers of Jin and Chu. Coming.

In the sixth century BC, in order to restrain Chu, the Jin State adopted the policy of "Unifying Wu against Chu" and . Chu was not to be outdone, and used the strategy of to "support the Yue and control Wu" and to resist it. In 510 BC, Wu Wanghelu attacked Chu and carried out military operations against Vietnam under the pretext of "the more he did not follow the Chu" . Although the two countries did not take advantage of this war, the seeds of hatred between the two countries are just like this.

In 496 BC, the King of Yue Yunchang passed away, and Goujian succeeded as King of Yue. Wu Wanghelu took advantage of the national funeral of the Yue country and made a large-scale raid in an attempt to destroy the country in one fell swoop. However, in the battle between the two countries, Goujian used the tactics of the dead man to commit suicide in front of the battle and defeated Wu Jun in one fell swoop. Wu Wanghelu was also injured by an arrow in this battle and died soon after.

Wu Wang Fuchai

After the death of Fuchai, his son Fucha became the king of Wu. Fu Cha always remembers the hatred of Yue Guo shooting his father to death, so that people remind themselves every day: "Fuchi! And forget the killing of the Yue King and father?" , regard revenge as a top priority, and work hard day and night. Shoot, look for opportunities for revenge. But at this time, Gou Jian was a little erratic, thinking that Wu was nothing but this, and even ignoring Fan Li's persuasion, took the lead and sent troops to attack Wu.

This time in the battle between the two countries in Fujiao, the Vietnamese army was defeated by the Wu army, and Gou Jian was forced to lead the five thousand remnants to retreat to Kuaiji. Gou Jian had to send people to ask for peace to the State of Wu. After several setbacks, he only took the condition of bringing Gou Jian with his wife into Wu as a quality condition, in exchange for the retreat of the State of Wu. Wu Zixu warned Fucha to : "God-sent opportunities are immortal, and they will certainly regret it in the future." However, Fucha did not listen to Wu Zixu's advice, and laid the groundwork for his own country's death.

During the three years of entering Wu as the hostage, Gou Jian endured the humiliation and fleeed to Beidi with Zhou Wenwang being taken to Yili and Jin Wengong, and finally dominated the world and encouraged himself to feed the horse for the husband. He used this extremely low posture in exchange for Fucha's trust, believing that Gou Jian had sincerely returned to the State of Wu, and was finally released by Fucha to Yue.

was a captive Goujian

Goujian after returning to China, he adopted various languages ​​and Fan Li's suggestions, concentrated on developing production, rewarding birth, and strengthening national power. And at this momentThe king of Wu, Fuchai, was trying his best to expand, and he fought a series of battles against Lu and Qi, which made the state of Wu exhausted and its national strength declining after years of battle. When the state of Wu at the end of the powerful crossbow held a meeting of princes in Huangchi to "want to dominate China in order to control the whole house", Goujian launched a battle against Wu. The Vietnamese army won three battles and three victories in Lize, and finally perished the powerful State of Wu in 473 BC. Fucha committed suicide, and the struggle for hegemony between Wu and Yue ended with the victory of Yue.

2. The real Goujian

The struggle for hegemony in Wuyue was a major event in the Spring and Autumn Period, so "Zuo Zhuan", "Guo Yu", "Mencius", "Han Feizi", "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and other pre-Qin works have detailed records of Gou Jian. It also leaves much detailed information about the monarch of Yue Kingdom.

"Guoyu" is China's earliest national history book. It records about 500 years of history from the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty to the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. It has a strong historical value. "Guoyu" is also the history book with the most and most detailed records of Goujian in the history books of the Pre-Qin Dynasty.

Goujian

In "Guoyu", Goujian is a monarch who has a good advice and meritocracy. He has a harmonious relationship with his ministers. The ministers of Vietnam also know everything about Goujian, and they can say everything, and most of them can be humbled by Goujian. Acceptance can be described as a model of Mingjun and wise ministers.

Goujian's use of talents is not biased because of their origins and status, but rather makes full use of their talents. The two most important ministers under him and Fan Li were from Chu State, but Gou Jian respected and trusted them very much, and almost obeyed their strategies. Every time Wengen discusses military affairs with Goujian, Goujian always "holds his hand and seeks with him" ; and for some of Fan Li's suggestions, Goujian usually ends up with "Wang Yuenuo" . "Nuo" at the time was usually a kind of obedience taken by the subordinates to the orders of the superiors. From the records of Guoyu, Gou Jian's strategy against Fan Li was "promise" at least ten times, which shows that he attaches great importance to Fan Li. After

extinguished Wu, Fan Li was unwilling to be an official, and wanted to take a boat trip to the Five Lakes. Gou Jian did not allow Fan Li to leave, saying: "The son listens to my words and divides the country with his son; if you don't listen, you die and your wife kills." The verbal threat of is actually a sincere retention. Therefore, when Fan Li had decided to go away, Gou Jian made a full-body golden statue for Fan Li and asked the courtiers to worship it every day. Through this move, Gou Jian wanted the people of Vietnam to know Fan Li's great contribution to the country, and also an advocacy for other ministers to be loyal to the country. He expressed his attitude towards the heroes and was a very clever emperor's technique. .

"Zuo Zhuan" has a very detailed record of the battle of Wu Yue, such as the battle of Lizawa. The record of "Zuo Zhuan" is as follows: "Yue Zi is the right and left sentence pawn, making the night or left or right, and go in with a loud voice. , With the three armies infiltrating, when Wu Zhongjun attacked it. Wu's army was in great chaos and was defeated."

Fan Li

as the highest commander on the battlefield, Goujian commanded the Vietnamese army from left to right in this battle, advancing loudly, making Wu Jun unable to figure out the main attack direction of the Vietnamese army. At the moment when Wu Jun was confused, Goujian's sneak attack troops pierced into Wu Jun's heart and finally won the war. It can be seen from Goujian's command art that this man is proficient in the art of war and is not chaotic in the face of danger, showing his military command ability.

The reason why the Yue country can quickly rise from the ashes of the war has a great relationship with Goujian's loyalty to the people. In the several years of intensive treatment, Goujian has achieved "I ask for the sick, I bury the dead, old and old, be kind to the young, grow up to the orphans, and ask for the sick. Let the people take care of the children, and loyalty to the good". He is well aware of the importance of the people, so after returning from the country of Wu, he took the lead in farming and formulating policies for the people to reward marriage and childbirth, thereby increasing the country’s population; exempting the families of soldiers who sacrificed from taxes; Treat talents. "Xunzi" says that Goujian has achieved "the strategy of the township, the review of the lost, be careful to accumulate, cultivate war preparedness, believe in the whole world, but the world can't dare to take it."

Looking at the history books of Goujian's contemporaries, Goujian is a monarch who can be strict with himself, love the people and talents, follow advice and have strong military capabilities. He is a strategic, responsible and ambitious Yue King. That's why he was able to rebuild Yue State from the ruins in the shortest time when the country was hit hard, and then destroyed Wu State and dominated the Central Plains.

3. Goujian

in "Historical Records" "Historical Records" is a master of ancient history books, and is listed as the first of "Twenty-Four History", which records from the time of Huangdi to the nextIt has a history of more than 3000 years from the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. His first method of compiling history in Ji Chuan style was passed down by the official history of the subsequent dynasties. At the same time, "Historical Records" is still an excellent literary work and has an important position in the history of Chinese literature. It is hailed by Lu Xun as "the swan song of the historian, the rhymeless "Li Sao"" and has high literary value.

is precisely because of the literary nature of "Historical Records" that when recording historical characters, for the needs of character depiction and plot narration, some literary imagination and description can highlight the image of historical characters and make it more full and vivid. This is exactly the reason for the evolution of Goujian's historical image.

Sima Qian

Sima Qian is a historian and a writer. His Goujian was born out of pre-Qin classics, but in order to make Goujian lively, he deliberately or unconsciously adopted some plot changes to highlight Goujian's character. This way of writing can make historical figures live without being completely stuck to the past. This is the characteristic of "Historical Records".

When Goujian was defeated in the battle of Hujiao and was forced to retreat to Kuaiji, the "Historical Records" used Goujian and his subordinates to discriminate between the emperors and ministers of the State of Wu, achieving the strategic goal of preserving the country of Yue, highlighting that Goujian is not chaotic and makes good use of. The superiority of tactics. However, this record has certain discrepancies with "Zuo Zhuan" and "Guo Yu".

takes Wu Zixu's death as an example. "Zuo Zhuan" and "Guo Yu" record the time of Wu Zixu's death. Both Wu Zixu advised the admonition not to attack the same. The suggestion that he should die first and then attack the same was rejected by the husband. After that, Wu Guofaqi returned and the husband blamed him. Wu Zixu missed the country and forced Wu Zixu to death. In other words, Wu Zixu's death was caused by differences in Wu's strategic direction, and it was not a matter for Goujian. However, in order to highlight the resourcefulness and image of Goujian, Fan Li and others, Sima Qian delayed Wu Zixu’s death time and added Wu Zixu’s plot to prevent her husband from lending grain to the country of Vietnam, and asked Wu Zixu to say “The king does not listen to advice. "Its ruins almost". It was Goujian who took advantage of Wu Zixu's grievances to make Bohao go forward in front of her husband's chase, so that the husband's chariot was in the middle of the game and Wu Zixu died.

The death of Wu Zixu

Through the above changes, Sima Qian highlighted Fucha’s stupidity and Goujian’s wisdom, as well as Wu Zixu’s "loyalty" and Bo Yi's "treacherous", making the above-mentioned characters more real and vivid, and also secretly pointed out Gou Jian. The unscrupulous side of the character to achieve the goal paved the way for the later description of Goujian killing heroes. When

wrote "The Family of the King of Yue Goujian", Sima Qian followed the previous historical materials while pinning his personal feelings on it, creating the story of Goujian's "fighting for courage" and creating the full image of one of the most tolerant characters in history.

In any history book before the "Historical Records", only the husband reminds oneself "Fuchai! And forget the death of the king and the father?" The record, but there is no Goujian "sitting and lying on the back, eating also "Taste the gall" record. Gou Jian's description of "You forget the shame of Kuaiji?" is undoubtedly inspired by Fu Chai's practice. It is an artistic process to highlight Gou Jian's personality traits of never forgetting revenge.

is actually in the "Historical Records", and only Gou Jian "taste the courage" but not his "supreme" record. The story of Gou Jian's "Wu Xing" only appeared in the Song Dynasty. The target of "Wu Xing" was originally Sun Quan in the Three Kingdoms period, not Gou Jian.

Goujian

Why did Sima Qian add the detail of "guts" to Goujian? According to the analysis of historians, it may be related to Sima Qian's personal experience and the environment at that time. After Sima Qian was tortured by the palace, the reason why he survived and endured the humiliation was to complete the masterpiece "Historical Records". However, his dissatisfaction with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was affirmed in his heart. The "Historical Records" was written by Sima Qian "in anger". As a result of this, he will inevitably interweave some of his emotions in the book and pin it on the characters in the book. This is human nature and a common practice in artistic creation.

Gou Jian made hardships and tolerance for revenge, and Sima Qian also suffered unimaginable hardships for writing "Historical Records". They are connected on this point. In order to highlight the hardships of Gou Jian’s restoration of the country and his perseverance, while also pinning his soul and heart on Gou Jian, hoping that he can succeed like Gou Jian, Sima Qian added a “taste the courage” to Zhengguang Jian. Created a shocking image of honor.

4. Why does Sima Qian write Goujian like this?

may have a similar experience. Among the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period, Sima Qian's sense of identification with Gou Jian was the strongest.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the overlord of the vassal is like a crucian carp that crosses the river, you sing it and I will appear on the stage. But among these princes, only Goujian had the word "王" on his biography. Sima Qian's own explanation is: "Goujian traps him, but he uses seeds and calabashes. Jiagoujian barbarians can cultivate their virtues and destroy the powerful Wu Yizun Zhou family, making it the eleventh of the "Yue Wang Goujian Family". This fully shows that Sima Qian's recognition of Goujian greatly exceeds that of other princes fighting for hegemony.

, the convicted Sima Qian

Mencius once said that “the heavens will come to power and the people in Sri Lanka must first suffer from their minds and muscles.” . Goujian’s experience is 100% in line with Mencius’s theory, and it’s to . The best interpretation of . When Sima Qian wrote "Records of the Historian", he was in this state. Facing the unfinished "Historical Records", Sima Qian at that time didn't know whether he could complete it in his lifetime, so he needed a spirit of rising up in sorrow to motivate himself. It can be said that from a certain perspective, Gou Jian is Sima Qian's role model. Adding the plot of "tasting courage" to Gou Jian is Sima Qian's self-motivation in adversity and a portrayal of his own "tasting courage".

From the perspective of Goujian's own words and deeds and governance, he also meets Sima Qian's aesthetic standards. Compared with the extravagant desirability of the husband and the impoverished military force, Gou Jian paid tribute to the Zhou Dynasty after he eliminated Wu and maintained the order among the princes. He also cared very much for the people in China. He was a model of "Ming Jun" in Sima Qian's heart. Moreover, Sima Qian has the heart of a ranger. His "Historical Records" often praises the avengers, and praises those knights who are happy and enmity, and it is not difficult for Goujian to perform some artistic processing on the image of Goujian to make it more full. Understood.

But there is another problem. Since Gou Jian conforms to Sima Qian's aesthetics, why should Sima Qian write the dark side of Gou Jian's character in such detail through the death of literary style? We must know that Sima Qian is a great historian who is accustomed to the "Spring and Autumn Period". Why did he portray Goujian as a bridge-breaker who "can share adversity but not wealth"? The

language type

language type was given to death by Goujian, it is an unchangeable fact. As a responsible historian, Sima Qian could not hide this period of history. However, in other historical materials of the Pre-Qin Dynasty, the description of the death of the literary species is relatively simple, and there are no details such as Fan Li and the literary species : "The King of Yue is a man with a long-necked beak, which can share adversity and cannot share happiness" . There is only one explanation, that is, Sima Qian borrowed Goujian to kill the genre and satirized the past to express his dissatisfaction with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

We know that Sima Qian was convicted because he defended Li Ling in the court, and angered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian always thought that Li Ling had less than five thousand soldiers, but he went deep into the enemy's hinterland. Although he was defeated, he killed many enemies. Li Ling's surrender to the Xiongnu was a desperate move. It was caused by Li Guangli, the brother-in-law of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, not sending out the rescue. Sima Qian never changed this view, even after he was put in prison, he never gave in in the hands of the cruel official Du Zhou. As the grandsons of Li Guang, Li Ling and the Li family made outstanding contributions to the Han Dynasty's fight against the Xiongnu for several generations. "Although he is a famous general in ancient times. Although he is defeated, his defeat is violent to the world." Emperor Wu of Han killed Li Ling. Sima Qian was extremely disdainful of the behavior of the whole family.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty

However, in feudal society, where the monarchy is greater than the sky, Sima Qian’s dissatisfaction with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty can only be hidden in his heart and cannot be written into his "Historical Records." Sima Qian, who had been tortured by the palace, had a deeper understanding of the ruthlessness of the monarchs who crossed the river and demolished the bridge. In the "Historical Records", he enlarged the plot of Goujian killing the language and described it with detailed pen and ink to borrow the ancient irony. Today, he achieved his goal of criticizing and criticizing the ruler in his heart.

has undergone some minor changes in details by Sima Qian, which neither deliberately exaggerated or slandered historical figures, but also made Goujian's image more complicated and vivid, and made his image more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, becoming a particularly brilliant figure in "Historical Records" one.

V. Summary of changes in Goujian's image

Goujian in history is the Mingjun who leads the weak Yue country to dominate the Central Plains. He knows people's responsibilities, follows advice, endures humiliation, and is a great monarch.

Gou Jian in "Historical Records" entrusts author Sima Qian's thoughts, emotions and life insights. It is a hero Sima Qian deliberately shaped with a strong spirit of tolerance and is his own example. However, Sima Qian also used the technique of "borrowing the past to satirize the present" to implicitly express his ruthless attack on the heroes against the rulers on Goujian, making Goujian's image more perfect and his character more prominent.

After the Han Dynasty, the image of Goujian continued to appear in some literary works. These works praise Goujian's strategy and forbearance, but also deny him. Goujian's story became more and more bizarre, and characters such as Xi Shi and Zheng Dan also appeared. With the dissemination of these literary works, people remembered the story of Gou Jian's "fearlessness and courage", and also remembered his ruthlessness of "the bird is full of bows." But this is not a real Goujian, but just an artistic image called "Goujian".