Stories of ancient Chinese celebrities

Stories of famous people in ancient China:

1. The story of Sun Shuao: The Gospel of Huangqiu

Sun Shuao was a famous minister of the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, he warned his son: "The king has offered me many fiefs, but I have not accepted them. This is so that after I ascend to heaven, the king will give you a fief. If that is the case, you must not accept the land." Fertile place!

There is a barren hill between Yue and Chu. It is a place where dead people are buried. The place has a bad reputation and the land is not fertile because the Chu people believe in ghosts and gods. Chinese people also regard it as a common practice to pray for blessings from ghosts and gods to avoid disasters, so they will not fight for this "unlucky land". You can rely on this land to achieve your career."

After Sun Shuao's death, Sure enough, the King of Chu wanted to give his son some fertile land. His son did not accept it and only requested that the wasteland of "Qiu Qiu" be sealed to him. The King of Chu happily agreed to his request. As a result, the Sun family continued to thrive there until the Han Dynasty.

2. Duke Huan of Qi made great use of Guan Zhong

Gong Xianggang of Qi was an unprincipled and ignorant king. In the Qi State at that time, there were two far-sighted and experienced talents: one was Guan Zhong and the other was Bao Shuya. The two of them discussed and said: "If the monarch continues to be in this state of confusion, he will definitely lose his power. Among the princes of Qi State, the only ones worthy of assistance are Young Master Jiu and Young Master Xiaobai. We will each serve one person, and the one who succeeds first will recruit the other." One."

The young master they are talking about is the eldest son of Qi Xianggong, born to a woman from the state of Lu; the young master Xiaobai is the second son, born to a woman from the state of Ju. So Bao Shuya followed the young master Xiaobai to the state of Ju, and Guan Zhong followed the young master Jiu to the state of Lu.

Qi Xianggong's stupidity finally aroused the anger of the officials, launched a mutiny, killed Qi Xianggong, and made Gongsun Wuwu the king. Later, Gongsun Wuwu was also assassinated. The ministers sent people to the State of Lu to welcome Prince Jiu as king. Prince Jiu took Guan Zhong with him and marched towards the State of Qi under the escort of the Lu army.

But it is said that the young master Xiaobai heard in Ju State that Qi State was in chaos and had no king, so he made a plan with Bao Shuya, borrowed hundreds of military chariots from Ju State, and returned to Qi State to compete for the throne. In this way, a fierce battle broke out between the two brothers. During the battle, Guan Zhong personally shot an arrow at Prince Xiaobai, injuring him. But in the end it was the young master Xiaobai who killed the young master Jiu and became the king of Qi. This was Duke Huan of Qi.

Bao Shuya was a hero of Duke Huan of Qi. He was trusted and respected by Duke Huan. Duke Huan appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the army. He did not forget Guan Zhong and looked for opportunities to recommend Guan Zhong to Duke Huan. At first, Duke Huan refused to appoint Guan Zhong because he had once been his enemy and almost killed himself. Bao Shuya explained to him: Guan Zhong and I were our own masters at the beginning, and there was nothing wrong with it; if you want to do great things, you must be open-minded.

Therefore, Duke Huan accepted Bao Shuya's suggestion and appointed Guan Zhong as prime minister, regardless of his previous grudges, and finally achieved a generation of hegemony.

3. Empress Ma of the Ming Dynasty admonished the wrong case

Empress Ma was the wife of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. She is well-educated and has a profound understanding of justice. She is one of the few female politicians in Chinese history. Zhu Yuanzhang was impatient by nature. After becoming emperor, he became harsh on others, more self-willed, and moody.

Whenever Zhu Yuanzhang became angry before the court, Empress Ma would mediate the situation. Many innocent people who were blamed saved their lives or had their sentences reduced because of her secret protection and rescue. The son of Guo Jingxiang, who joined the army in Hezhou, was accused of being disobedient and unfilial. He once held a spear to kill Guo Jingxiang. When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was furious and immediately sent an order to arrest and kill him.

Empress Ma remonstrated: "Guo Jingxiang is such an only son, how could he kill his father? The rumors may be slander. Taking a step back, even if his son is unfilial, it has not happened. Killing his father would have bad consequences. If he kills his son, it will not only be illegal, but also make Guo Jingxiang old and homeless, and his fate will be even more miserable." After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang thought it was reasonable, so he followed the imperial edict and ordered him to die. people investigate. Later, it was found out that Guo Zi's murder of his father was indeed a misinformation.

4. Ban Chao joined the army

Ban Chao has lofty ambitions and does not care about small things. However, he is filial and diligent at home, often working hard in his life, and does not regard labor as a shame. He was eloquent and had a thorough reading of many historical books. In 62 AD (the fifth year of Yongping), his elder brother Ban Gu was recruited as a school clerk. Ban Chao and his mother also accompanied Ban Chao to Luoyang.

Because his family was poor, Ban Chao often copied books for the government to earn money to support his family. He was copying for a long time and was exhausted. Once, he stopped what he was doing, threw down his pen and sighed: "If a man doesn't have better ambitions and strategies, he should be like Fu Jiezi in the Zhao Emperor period and Zhang Qian in the Wu Emperor period. How can he be busy between pens and inkstones for a long time after he has made great achievements in a foreign land and won a title?"

The people around him laughed at him, and Ban Chao said: "How can you understand? The ambition of a strong man!"

5. The painter Zhao Guang is unyielding

Zhao Guang is from Hefei and was originally a book boy in Li Boshi's family. When Li Boshi was painting, he stayed by his side. As time went by, he became good at painting, especially horses, which was almost the same as what Li Boshi did. During the Jianyan period, he fell into the hands of Jin Bing. Jin Bing heard that he was good at painting, so he asked him to paint the captured women.

Zhao Guang resolutely refused to paint. Jin Bing threatened him with a knife. When he failed, he cut off his right thumb. Zhao Guang actually paints with his left hand.

After the situation calmed down, Zhao Guang only painted Guanyin. A few years later, Zhao Guang died. Most of Li Boshi's Guanyin paintings collected by prominent intellectuals today were written by Zhao Guang.