What was the real purpose of celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties teasing Sima Xiangru?

After reading "Shishuoxinyu", I found that the author often used the words of contemporary people to ridicule Sima Xiangru. For example, there is this narrative in "Ren Dan": Wang Xiaobo (Wang Gong) asked Wang Da: "How is Ruan Ji like Sima Xiangru?" Wang Da said: "Ruan Ji has a lump in his chest, so he needs to pour wine over it." Liu Xiao noted It says: "The words and Ruan are all the same, but the drinking is different." A similar narrative appears about three times. After careful analysis, it is clear that there is a reason: although the sages from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, like Sima Xiangru, are quite capable of making trouble, they may really look down on Sima Xiangru deep down.

After all the literati of the Han and Han Dynasties were pulled out of their coffins, Sima Xiangru was the only one who could compete with the young and Dangerous boys of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Therefore, Sima Xiangru may have unfortunately become the "punching bag" of celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Sima Xiangru once engaged in the famous elopement, which in the eyes of Confucian disciples was an indiscreet act of "unwillingness" and "suspicious debauchery". In the eyes of celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, this move was purely childish. What Ruan Ji did was to seduce the beautiful and married woman next door during the period of mourning. This was simply shocking. He was obviously better than his predecessor, and he suddenly became a fashionista ("Book of Jin" commented: Reached without inspection). There are many such examples, which are well known to everyone and need not be cited in detail.

Sima Xiangru was not only a heavy drinker, he also brewed his own wine and worked as a waiter in a tavern. What is this called? It's called "drinking and desolate". However, celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties still sneered at this. They believed that Sima Xiangru's alcoholism was just an ordinary "good thing in the cup". To put it bluntly, he was greedy for drinking. He had no "stronghold" in his heart that needed to be poured out by wine. piece". This emotion often appears in many annotations by later generations, such as Mr. Lu Xun once revealed. Behind the alcoholism of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove is a desperate mentality under high political pressure. Drunkness is their last resort. Sima Xiangru once had the "misdeed" of taking off his pants and peeing in the palace, and was caught doing so by the Tingwei and charged with lese majesty. This was considered a time when he was naked. However, Wang Cheng, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest, just didn't buy it. He counterattacked with practical actions: in front of a bunch of civil and military officials, *** climbed a tree to catch magpies (Jie Fan took off his clothes and climbed a tree to touch the magpies naked). , and even teased an old woman selling hats in the market, and even called her father by name.

It is impossible for Wang Cheng, who is well-read in poetry, not to know about Sima Xiangru's "misdeeds". Comparing it can be found that the former is sneaky, the latter is aboveboard, the former is "Xiao Xiao's trip", the latter is openly befriending Xiao Xiao, the former is exposing his body, and the latter is not only exposed, but also disrespectful to his father. He went so far that it was almost shameless. No wonder "all the scholars and common people at that time admired him." No matter how much trouble Sima Xiangru made, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty never dealt with him severely. Given the cruelty of Liu Che's decades of execution (only respecting Confucianism was a matter of face), what does it mean that Sima Xiangru was able to escape with his own life? Later generations classified him as a jester, and Zhao Yan thought that this was probably not groundless. Jester's trick is to play with, to put it bluntly, you Sima Xiangru is just Liu Che's pistachio, and he doesn't treat you as a dish. So, does Sima Xiangru himself know this? Completely clear. According to historical records, he often told jokes to make Liu Che happy, and his appearance as a slave was clearly revealed. There is a hat called Qi Jie You Ling, worn by Sima Xiangru, and the size is just right.

Looking at the celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, whether in court or in opposition, they were all opponents and opposites of the court. Resistance and non-cooperation were their common characteristics. As far as integrity is concerned, this is enough reason for them to look down on Sima Xiangru. In addition, the origin of the surname may also constitute the rejection of Sima Xiangru by celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Although Sima Xiangru was from Chengdu and Sima Yi was from Wenxian County, Henan Province, they were incompatible with each other. However, if the bones are broken and the tendons are connected, they have the same ancestor, that is, Cheng Boxiu's father, who was worshiped as Sima (official position in charge of military affairs and battles) during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty ("Tongzhi·Clan Strategy"). Therefore, it is possible that the court under the control of the Sima family highly praised Sima Xiangru as a person and his writings, and the group of celebrities represented by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove tried their best to ridicule Sima Xiangru and ridicule the government and its minions. Throughout the ages, the struggle between talented slaves and talented people has been like this.