Wangzhaojun
According to folklore, Wang Zhaojun, one of the four most beautiful women, and her husband Hu Hanye Chanyu are a pair of perfect couples.
In fact, history is far from so beautiful.
In 33 BC, Wang Zhaojun was ordered by emperor yuan of the Han Dynasty to go out of the frontier to make peace and marry Hu Hanxie Chanyu, a southern Hun. At that time, Zhaojun was only 19 years old, and his style was unparalleled. However, Hu Hanxie Chanyu had already entered his twilight years and was old. Two years later, in 31 B.C., Hu Hanxie left his wife and young son to die.
According to the ancestral system of the Huns, Wang Zhaojun married the eldest son of Hu Hanxie, Fu Zhu Lei Shan Yu, who was newly enthroned. Their feelings were good. They had two daughters, but Zhaojun’s tragedy did not end there.
Eleven years later, her second husband also left her, and she was ordered to marry Xin Danyu, the eldest son of Fu Zhulei, the grandson of Hu Hanxie. Zhaojun finally broke down and chose to take poison to commit suicide.
In the past, when Xu Xiake was mentioned, a beautiful image of a scholar trudging through green mountains and green waters would emerge. However, after carefully reading his travel notes, the truth of history is eye popping.
In the third diary of a trip to western Guangdong, XuXiake recorded his experiences in late November of the 10th year of Chongzhen (1637). With the horse token presented by the local official (a letter of proof sent by post), he drove the male servant all day and arrived at the next village in the evening. The men began to flee. XuXiake quickly grabbed a bundle and led him into the village. When the man in the village had fled into the mountain, XuXiake led his servant to search door to door. He found two women and ordered them to find someone to carry their luggage and cook. After a while, the old man in charge of the post service came. The old man was afraid that Xu Xiake would whip his descendants, so he had to come. The old man’s son is a lame man. He can’t escape XuXiake’s merciless whip.
From this point of view, Xu Xiake’s failure to become an official due to setbacks in his official career is indeed a great blessing for him, for the people, for future generations and for history.