Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Our Misreading of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru

Lin Xiangru "returned the jade to Zhao", and Lian Po "pleaded guilty to the thorn". Afterwards, the two "reconciled each other" and jointly protected the Zhao country and resisted the strong Qin. The stories are well-known and well-known by women and children, but there are actually many misunderstandings in these wonderful stories . In our impression, Lin Xiangru is a middle-aged civil servant, and Lian Po is an old general, but it is not the case. Let us first take a look at the brief introduction of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in historical materials. Lian Po (327 BC? - 243 BC?), surnamed Ying, surnamed Lian, named Po.A native of Jinyang (now Taiyuan, Shanxi), an outstanding military strategist during the Warring States Period.At the end of the Warring States period, the famous generals of Zhao State, together with Bai Qi, Wang Jian and Li Mu, were called "Four Great Generals of the Warring States Period".

Lin Xiangru (329 BC-259 BC), a minister of the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period, was born in Mengmeng, Liulin, Shanxi, or Linziping, an ancient county in Shanxi.Official to Shangqing, a famous statesman and diplomat in the Warring States period. Careful friends may have discovered that the elder of the two is Lin Xiangru, not Lian Po-Lin Xiangru was born in 329 BC, and Lian Po was born in about 327 BC (the birth date of generals is often different. Sure, this is an interesting phenomenon in Chinese history), that is to say, the veteran Lian Po in everyone's mind is actually two years younger than Lin Xiangru.

The reason why we have the impression that Lian Po is older than Lin Xiangru is probably because before Lin Xiangru became a blockbuster, Lian Po was already well-known among the princes for his bravery and skill in war, and later generations of literary and artistic works such as opera paintings showed that Lian Po was not afraid of losing face and had the courage to change his past. Lian Po's virtues, and deliberately exaggerated Lian Po's age. Some people may think that this misreading has something to do with Sima Qian, the author of "Historical Records", which really wronged this master of history. In "Biography of Lian Po Lin Xiangru", he did not show that Lian Po was older than Lin Xiangru.In addition, Master Sima did not write the word "general and prime minister", but only said "(Lian Po Lin Xiangru) died with each other, and they were friends who cut necks and necks".

Although Sima Qian did not use "General Xianghe" to describe the friendship between Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, one of them was actually a Xiangguo, but this person was not Lin Xiangru, but Lian Po. In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (283 BC), Lin Xiangru was worshiped by King Zhao as a senior doctor because he returned to Zhao with a complete bibi.At the Mianchi meeting, Lin Xiangru defeated and strengthened Qin and preserved the dignity of Zhao State. King Zhao Huiwen "has made great achievements in Xiangru, worshiped him as Shangqing, and was on the right of Lian Po."Shangqing is a senior official in the government, roughly equivalent to the current member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, but he is not a prime minister after all.

When Lin Xiangru was active on the political stage of Zhao State, the Xiangguo of Zhao State was mainly Zhao Sheng, the younger brother of King Huiwen of Zhao. Lord Pingyuan became Zhao Xiangru before Lin Xiangru became a doctor, and he died in the position of Xiangguo in the fifteenth year of King Zhao Xiaocheng (251 BC), that is, eight years after Lin Xiangru passed away.Although Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng resigned three times briefly in order to win over "foreign" talents, but he was replaced by Le Yi, Wei Ran and Tian Dan, not Lin Xiangru. Interestingly, Lian Po, who seems to be a big boss, has been a prime minister. According to "Historical Records Zhao Family", in the fifteenth year of King Zhao Xiaocheng (251 BC), "Xinping Jun was granted the title of Xiangguo Lianpo by Weiwen". "Historical Records: Biography of Lian Po Lin Xiangru" also said that "Zhao Yiwen named Lian Po the Lord of Xinping, and he was a false Prime Minister". At that time, Lord Pingyuan had just passed away, and Lian Po was in charge of state affairs temporarily.

Therefore, it is more accurate to call the story of "Harmony of Generals and Harmony" as we know it "Wenwuhe".