"I didn't kill Boren, but Boren died because of me." Who does "Boren" here refer to?

Zhou Wei (yǐ), courtesy name Boren.

"I did not kill Boren, but Boren died because of me." This proverb comes from "Book of Jin·Biography Thirty-Nine" and was said by Wang Dao.

This sentence also contains an allusion. Speaking of this allusion, it is actually a misunderstanding.

During the period of Emperor Yuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the royal family was a wealthy family, and Wang Dun was the brother of Director Wang. But this Wang Dun relied on his talents and refused to obey the court's discipline, let alone the favored minister of Emperor Yuan. He had never been reused, so he led 20,000 elite troops and rushed directly from Wuhan to Nanjing.

His attack was so good that Emperor Yuan was greatly frightened. Liu Hui even suggested to Emperor Yuan of Jin to kill everyone in the Wang family in Nanjing. At that moment, Director Wang, who had heard the news, took all his disciples with official positions and cried in front of the door, hoping to escape. And I cried for several days.

One morning, Zhou Boren went to the palace to see him. Director Wang quietly called out to Zhou Boren, hoping that Zhou Boren could help him clear things up and say good things about his family to Emperor Jin Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Boren didn’t make any expression, and walked straight in as if he didn’t hear anything. But after meeting the emperor, Zhou Boren tried his best to excuse Wang Dao. Emperor Jin Yuan also felt that it was justified, so he no longer planned to pursue it.

After staying with Zhou Boren for dinner, Zhou Boren went home drunk and met Director Wang when he went out. Director Wang asked Boren in a low voice about the situation inside. Unexpectedly, Zhou Boren left the palace without even looking at them.

It was probably at this time that the seeds of complaint were sown.

Later, Wang Dun became a high official. Under one person, he was above ten thousand people. He controlled the life and death of many ministers in his hands, and he could kill them whenever he wanted. When facing Zhou Boren, Wang Dun looked at Director Wang and saw that Director Wang had no expression. He gave an order and his head fell to the ground.

Later, when the king went to the palace to watch, he accidentally discovered a letter written by Zhou Boren to the emperor, which was full of excuses for the Wang family. Suddenly, Wang Dao suddenly realized and left this famous saying: I didn't kill Boren directly, but Boren died because of me.