Zhuge Caolu
Speaking of Zhugeliang, we all think of him as the embodiment of wisdom for thousands of years. Especially under the rendering of literary works, a mysterious and almost perfect image of the wise man appeared in everyone’s eyes. Mr. Lu Xun once commented that “the wisdom of Zhugeliang is close to the demon.” So, is Zhugeliang really as close to God as people think? Zhuziyan, Professor of the History Department of Shanghai University, was invited by the “cultural China” column of the Documentary Channel of Shanghai TV station to interpret a more “close” Zhugeliang.
The mystery of Zhugeliang’s family background
Zhugeliang’s troubled childhood
Most of the world’s understanding of Zhugeliang’s great talent and strategy came from what happened after Liu Bei asked him to leave the mountain. So what was Zhugeliang’s growth experience before he was 27 years old? That would start with his ancestors. Zhugeliang, with the word Kongming, was born in Yangdu County, Langya County, Xuzhou in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Yangdu is today Yinan County, Shandong Province. His ancestor was also a great man, that is, Ge Ying, a general who followed Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in the uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty. So, why did the ancestor of Zhugeliang change his surname to “ZHUGE”? It turned out that GE Ying, the ancestor of the Zhuge family, was a general of Chen Sheng, the leader of the peasant uprising army in the late Qin Dynasty. He made many military achievements, but later he was killed by Chen Sheng and died unjustly. At the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, he was granted the credit for his anti Qin, and his grandson was granted to the counties of Langya county. After several generations, the family moved from various counties to Yangdu county. When they arrived in Yangdu, they found that there was already a family with the surname Ge, and it was also a big family. Because Zhugeliang’s ancestors moved from various counties, local people in Yangdu called them “ZHUGE”. Over time, “ZHUGE” became a surname, which is also one of the sayings about the origin of “ZHUGE”. When the Zhuge family arrived at the Yuan emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, an honest and upright official, zhugefeng, was a great man. His official became a senior officer of Sili. Zhugeliang’s father, Zhugeliang, became the county mayor of Taishan County as an official, equivalent to the current deputy mayor. Zhuge Xuan, Zhugeliang’s uncle, was also very skilled. He did a good job in public relations. He had a close relationship with Yuan Shu, a big family at that time, and Liu Biao, a famous scholar who occupied Jingzhou. He could be said to be a buddy. Zhuge Yu had two daughters and three sons. Zhugeliang is the fourth child in the family. However, according to the ancient Chinese concept that men are superior to women, only men are ranked in the family. Therefore, there is a saying that Zhugeliang ranks the second. Zhugeliang had a brother named zhugejin and a younger brother named zhugejun. Originally, Zhugeliang’s family had enough food and clothing, and their life was relatively happy. However, unexpected circumstances happened. His mother died when he was very young. At the age of eight, his father Zhugeliang died again. Zhugeliang became an orphan, and their siblings’ lives depended on Uncle Zhuge Xuan for cooking.
Zhugeliang’s childhood coincided with the outbreak of the Yellow turban uprising in the Central Plains. Later, Cao Cao “coerced the emperor to order the princes”. At that time, a warlord separatist regime had been formed. Zhuge Xuan, Zhugeliang’s uncle, felt that his hometown could not stay any longer. At this time, Yuan Shu appointed him as the prefect of Yuzhang County in Yangzhou, so he took Zhugeliang, his sister and brother to Yuzhang to take office.
Zhugeliang was fifteen years old. Zhugeliang’s brother zhugejin stayed in his hometown for a while, but he could not stay any longer. So he took refuge in Jiangdong, took refuge in Sun Quan, and finally became an important official of the eastern Wu. Zhugeliang’s brother and sister came to Yuzhang with their uncle Zhuge Xuan. Unfortunately, it never rains but pours. Zhuge Xuan’s Yuzhang prefect was appointed by Yuan Shu, which was not recognized by the Eastern Han Dynasty court. Zhu Hao was appointed as the prefect of Yuzhang county. This Zhu Hao was not a fuel-efficient lamp. Instead of taking office only with his family members like zhugexuan, he borrowed troops from Liu Yao, the then governor of Yangzhou, to forcibly take office and seize power by force. There was no way. Zhugeliang, who had just left his hometown, had to go elsewhere with his uncle. In the end, Zhuge Xuan had to take Zhugeliang’s brother and sister to Xiangyang to take refuge in his good friend Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao.
Xiangyang is located in today’s Xiangfan City, Hubei Province, on the Bank of the Han River, with extremely convenient land and water transportation. After taking office, Liu Biao took Xiangyang as the seat of the governor’s office of Jingzhou, which is also called the provincial capital today. At that time, Jingzhou was a very stable area with good economic conditions. Many famous people from the North came here to avoid chaos, so Jingzhou’s culture was also very developed. After Zhugeliang and his brother followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan to Jingzhou, life finally settled down, and in oneortwo years, his two sisters were also married.
Uncle Zhuge Xuan, relying on his relationship with Liu Biao and the fame and status of the Zhuge family, found two nieces of his own who were sons of local families. Zhugeliang’s eldest sister married Kuai Qi of the Kuai family. At that time, the Kuai family played an important role in Jingzhou. Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue brothers were Liu Biao’s confidants. They gave advice and made great contributions to Liu Biao’s pacification of Jingzhou. Kuai Qi himself was also appointed by Liu Biao as the prefect of Fangling County, and his status was extraordinary.
Zhugeliang’s second sister married well. Her husband was pangshanmin, the son of pangdegong, a famous Xiangyang scholar. Pound has a wide range of public knowledge, and is well-known and respected in Jingzhou area. Pangshanmin was also a famous scholar in Jingzhou. He was very talented and learned. Later, he became an official in the state of Wei and became the official of the yellow gate. The Pang family was also a famous family in Jingzhou.
In ancient times, marriage emphasized that men and women should match each other. Obviously, if the reputation and status of the Zhuge family alone, it should be said that it is difficult to match Kuai and Pang. The personal relationship between zhugexuan and Liu Biao undoubtedly played a vital role in the success of these two marriages.
Two years after the Zhugeliang family came to Xiangyang, that is, when Zhugeliang was 17, his uncle Zhuge Xuan died of illness. At this time, Zhugeliang’s two sisters had already married, leaving only his younger brother Zhugeliang to depend on him. After his uncle died, Zhugeliang and his brother could not always live on Liu Biao, so Zhugeliang took his brother to live in a thatched cottage in Longzhong. This is what Zhugeliang said in his “a teacher’s example” that “he worked hard in Nanyang, risked his life in troubled times, and did not seek knowledge and reach out to the princes”.
Zhugeliang’s dispute over cultivated land
This sentence “ploughing in Nanyang” has triggered a debate for one or two thousand years. There is still no final conclusion about whether Zhugeliang’s land of cultivation before he left the mountain was Nanyang in Henan province or Xiangyang in Hubei Province. At that time, Zhugeliang lived in seclusion in Longzhong, not far from Xiangyang City. This Longzhong is also the seclusion place where Henan and Hubei compete for Zhugeliang. Is Zhugeliang from Nanyang or Xiangyang? In fact, the place where Zhugeliang lived belonged to Nanyang at that time, so it could be called Nanyang Zhugeliang. However, the geographical location is very close to Xiangyang, only 20 miles away, so it makes sense for Xiangyang people to say that Longzhong belongs to Xiangyang.
In fact, as early as after the death of Zhugeliang in the Three Kingdoms period, memorial buildings for private and official sacrifice to Zhugeliang were soon built in the place where he lived and fought. Nanyang, as the place where Zhugeliang said he was “working hard”, naturally built a temple for him to keep virtue and read merit. This is the famous Nanyang zhugeliu, also known as the temple of marquis Wu. Similarly, Xiangyang Longzhong built some memorial buildings for him earlier. Since then, Nanyang and Xiangyang have started a protracted dispute over Zhugeliang’s cultivation.
People in Nanyang say that Zhugeliang himself said that “the ministers should be clothed and devoted to Nanyang”. This is also false. In addition, the prime minister’s article of sacrificing Zhu Geliang written by Li Xing in the Western Jin Dynasty also recognized that Zhu Geliang worked hard in Nanyang, north of the Han River. In the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhugeliang was recognized to have worked hard in Nanyang, north of the Han River.
Xiangyang people also said that the Nanyang that Zhugeliang said was not today’s Nanyang. Xiangyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of Nanyang Prefecture. In addition, the spring and Autumn Annals of the Han, Jin Dynasties, written by Xi qiaochi, is also the evidence: “Zhugeliang was born in Deng County, Nanyang, twenty miles away from Xiangyang, and his name is Longzhong.”
Where on earth did Zhugeliang work? Whether it is Xiangyang or Nanyang, isn’t it the surging Han River that nurtured and accomplished him? In fact, there is nothing to argue about.
After the death of his uncle, Zhugeliang devoted more attention to his studies. In addition to reading extensively, he often went out to study and make friends to broaden his horizons and broaden his horizons. Many of his achievements after leaving the mountain are inseparable from the accumulation in this period.
During this period, there were two people who had the greatest influence on Zhugeliang and could be said to be his good teachers and friends. The first one was Pang Degong, the father-in-law of Zhugeliang’s second sister. As mentioned earlier, pangdegong is a famous scholar in Jingzhou with high moral integrity and high prestige. The Pang family is also a famous family in Xiangyang. Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao repeatedly asked him to go out of the mountain and give him an official job, but he refused. At last, Liu Biao had no choice but to invite and persuade him in person. As a result, he still went there in vain.
Mr. pound valued talent and learning but despised fame and wealth. Zhugeliang was originally related to Lord pound. He often walked around the house of Lord pound and asked him for advice. Every time he went there, he “worshipped under the bed alone” and was very respectful. Pangdegong did not stop him at first. After a long time, in the process of teaching Zhugeliang, he gradually had a more comprehensive understanding of the young man’s talent, learning and ambition. He felt that he must be a useful talent in the future, so he gave him a title, which is known as “crouching Dragon”. Pang De Gong has a nephew, pangtong, who is also outstanding in talent and learning. Pound calls him a “chicken chick”. This is also the origin of the “dragon subduing and Phoenix hatchling, two people get one, and the world can be settled” in the romance of the Three Kingdoms. And “Wolong” was handed down.