A county magistrate in the Qing Dynasty was afraid of his wife and talked about a common couplet after drinking. How did a scholar do it right?

Article | Flying Fish Tells History

Chinese culture has a long history. Looking at all the countries in the world, only we can proudly say that we are still very young, only about five thousand years ago.

Although there are four major ancient civilizations in the world, except for the continuity of our civilization, the continuity of the other three major civilizations has been interrupted.

There are many reasons for this result, which can be summarized into two points: the first is the absorption capacity of the powerful civilization we uniquely created, and the second is the relatively fixed geographical scope.

The first point is the most critical factor, and in this process, the square characters that have continued from ancient times to the present have played a vital role, just like we have been able to read almost without barriers for thousands of years. The writing of ancient times is something that several other ancient civilizations can't compare to.

Words are the carrier of inheriting culture and civilization.

For thousands of years, we have also had a lot of traditional culture, and the couplets based on the unique art form of Chinese characters with one word and one sound is also one of them. The culture contained in the couplets is very rich, and it can be said to be a treasure of traditional culture. .

In the eyes of many people, couplets are very elegant and cannot be "controlled" by ordinary people. At least those who do not have ink in their stomachs cannot bear it.

However, this view is not absolute. Many popular couplets appeared in the Qing Dynasty, modern times and modern times. The famous Peking University professor Mr. Hu Shi is a person who likes to write couplets in popular sayings.

He once wrote such a common couplet: If you sow melons, you will get melons, if you sow beans, you will get beans; when you meet rice, you will get rice, and when you meet tea, you will get tea.

Not to mention, this couplet is indeed vulgar, but it is undeniable that it contains the philosophy of life of being content with the situation. How many people in ancient and modern times can do this?

Let’s put aside the philosophy of life for a moment and talk about a popular couplet said by a county magistrate during the Qing Dynasty. The first couplet is:

The sky is not afraid, the earth is not afraid. Not afraid, not even my wife.

The scholar who was drinking with the county magistrate was silent for a long time after hearing this, and finally said a second line, which was praised as a classic. What exactly is the second line? Let’s take a look. County Magistrate: Who is afraid of his wife? As long as he drinks a little wine, I will have no one to be afraid of

Now when it comes to hepatic control, married men are no strangers to this word. Hiding private money is the most vivid interpretation of this word. However, as a big man, he is still very taboo about someone exposing his shortcomings outside. Even if someone mentions it, he will cover it up with love.

In feudal society, there is no doubt that men are superior to women. This leads to the impression of many people that ancient men had three wives and four concubines, and there is no such thing as being afraid of hens. After all, who doesn’t? Be obedient and it will be over with a divorce letter.

In fact, it was not always like this in ancient times. Those who could have three wives and four concubines were wealthy families. It would be good for poor people to marry wives, let alone think about divorcing their wives unscrupulously.

Of course, it is not impossible for powerful men to be afraid of their wives. As a famous anti-Japanese general and national hero in the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang was a "henpecked" person. Let's talk about Qi Jiguang and his wife Wang. Let’s take a look at the little things between wives:

Qi Jiguang is a stickler in the army. His subordinates were deeply saddened by the fact that he was afraid of his wife, so they helped Qi Jiguang think of a way. , asked him to scare his wife with a sword. Qi Jiguang couldn't bear it, so he followed this suggestion. As a result, when he went home with the sword, he happened to meet his wife who had just woken up.

When the wife saw this, she immediately yelled, "What are you doing with the sword?" Qi Jiguang trembled with fright, dropped the sword to the ground, and hurriedly replied, "I want to kill a chicken for my wife."

It can be seen that in feudal society, there are many people who are afraid of their wives. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a county magistrate who was also such a person. However, due to face, he never admitted that he was afraid of his wives, and He will float after drinking a little wine. Scholar: This first couplet hurts my heart, let’s see if my second couplet is a classic or not

Once, the county magistrate drank with a scholar (student), and the two of them drank. When I got up, I was already a little high without realizing it. The county magistrate drank too much, and he couldn't help but feel a little gloomy when he thought about his wife at home. Thinking about it, he was a dignified county magistrate, why was he afraid of his wife? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel sad A few more drinks.

People tend to talk too much when they drink too much. The county magistrate opened his mouth and said the common couplet in the question, saying that after he drank too much, he would not be afraid of the sky or the earth. Not afraid, and certainly not afraid of his wife, he was really impressive after drinking.

The scholar who was drinking with the county magistrate was silent for a long time after hearing this common couplet. He was not feeling sad for the county magistrate, nor did he have a wife at home who frightened him, but he was thinking of him. future, so he wrote a second line like this:

It doesn’t matter to kill, it doesn’t matter to cut into pieces, it doesn’t matter even to take the annual exam?

Not to mention, the second couplet is quite neat, and it also expresses that the thing I fear most is the annual exam. Here we will talk about what the next year exam refers to. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the government Examinations are held every year for students in their respective prefectures, prefectures, counties, and rural students to distinguish between merit and demerit and to determine rewards and punishments.

If you fail the exam, not only will your salary be reduced, but you may also lose your status, and there will be no hope of becoming an official. Therefore, there were countless students who were afraid of taking the annual exam.

So the combination of this means that after drinking, the county magistrate is emphasizing that he is not afraid of his wife, and the student member is also emphasizing that he is not afraid of the annual exam, but will they be so heroic after they sober up? ? Scholar: This county magistrate is actually afraid of his wife, so he watched me tease him.

However, there is another second couplet and another story version of the county magistrate’s common couplet, which says that the county magistrate is The local area was famous for its strict hendom, and a scholar found it funny after hearing the county magistrate's drunken couplets, so he thought of teasing the magistrate.

So after thinking about it for a while, he came up with a more down-to-earth second line:

It’s okay to scold, it’s okay to hit, and it’s okay to kneel at the bedside?

Three "why not" are also used to counter the three "not afraid" in the first couplet. Of course, this second couplet is more like the county magistrate after he sobered up, faced with the content of his wife's review, and was criticized by his wife. Beating, scolding, kneeling at the bedside, what does it matter?

I have to say that this second line is really interesting. The vivid image of a county magistrate who is afraid of his wife is sketched out in this way, which is still fresh in my memory.

The couplet culture is extensive and profound. Although these popular couplets that have been handed down are offensive in content and writing, sometimes it is easier for people to remember. It is not a bad idea to talk about their lives in popular language. What about a kind of happiness?

So, do you have a more suitable second line? You might as well try to make a pair in the comment area.

Reference materials: "Wuzazu", "Complete Collection of Chinese Couplets", etc.

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