Chapter 35 first quarter

As Cai Jing, the number one villain in the Northern Song Dynasty who wore the iron hat of "the first villain in the Northern Song Dynasty" for nearly a thousand years, he created at least four firsts in the team of villains on the stage of Chinese history: the best handwriting, the legend The most, the most times in the field, and the longest life. Let me talk about the legend about Cai Jing first.Among the many anecdotes about Cai Jing, two are the most interesting, both about eating.One is that after Cai Jing’s downfall, a businessman in Kaifeng married a cook from Cai Jing’s family as his concubine. Not long after entering the house, the businessman asked the cook to cook two dishes. The cook said no. Baozifang.Two days later, the businessman asked the cook to steam two baskets of steamed buns to try, to see what kind of steamed buns Taishi Cai usually eats. Responsible for cutting onions (the businessman fainted after hearing this).

The second one about eating is that Qinzong came to power and Cai Jing was demoted to exile in Lingnan.There were still 3,000 nails in the broken ship, so Cai Taishi naturally packed a few large ships with gold and silver treasures. As a result, Cai Taishi, who was rich in money, could not buy food during the three thousand li journey from Kaifeng to Changsha, because the shopkeepers along the way heard that it was Cai Jing. No amount of money would sell him food. Not only that, but the common people spontaneously threw rotten eggs along the way to "greeting" Cai Jing's mother who had been dead for N years, so that the majestic empire was the butcher, and finally died of shame, hunger and thirst .

Both stories cannot stand the test. Although Cai Jing was extravagant and extravagant, and although the catering industry in the Song Dynasty was developed and gradually specialized, there was actually a shop in a steamed stuffed bun room specializing in shredding green onions. People with a discerning eye can tell that this story has added a lot. "Artistic moisture" is nothing more than criticizing Taishi Cai's extravagant life.And the latter one is even more unreasonable. Even if the monarchs and people of the Northern Song Dynasty were jealous, the information was not developed at that time, and there were very few people who really saw Cai Taishi with their own eyes, and Cai Jing fled in exile. He reported his name everywhere, so how could the people along the coast know that he is Cai Taishi and refuse to sell food?Cai Taishi's theory of starving to death obviously cannot withstand scrutiny and textual research.

The fact is that the exile in Lingnan, the invasion of the Jin people, and the ruin of the country, for an eighty-year-old man, this is an unbearable pain in life. From Kaifeng to Tanzhou, there is still a long and barren journey ahead, all of which are enough Killed him. Let’s talk about Cai Taishi’s calligraphy again.Everyone knows that the four masters of calligraphy in the Northern Song Dynasty are Su Huangmi Cai. Originally, the candidate for this Cai was Cai Jing. cousin), but most people in the industry believe that Cai Xiang's calligraphy attainments are far inferior to his younger brother's.It is said that Cai Jing talked with Mi Fu, one of the four great masters at that time. Cai Jing asked who had the best calligraphy in the current world. Bian).Cai Jing said next, and Mi Fu smiled and said that of course it was me.

Mi Fu is known as Mi Dian, and he treats the rich and powerful like dung all his life, so of course he won't flatter Cai Taishi, and he speaks the truth.As early as during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, when Cai Jing had not yet entered the center of imperial power, his characters had already been "top notch" and "no one surpassed him".It is said that once the hot summer was unbearable, Cai Jing was sitting on a rocking chair in the mansion to enjoy the cool, and two servants were beside him fanning Mr. Cai very hard. These two servants.After a few days, Cai Jing suddenly discovered that these two guys suddenly became wealthy. Cai Jing asked why, and the two said that the fan you gave us that day was auctioned in the calligraphy and painting cultural relics market, and it was sold by one of your super fans for 20,000. Buy it at the price of gold, and take care of the little ones and make a fortune.

That super fan of Cai Jing was then King Duan and later Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji. Later generations often talk about Cai Jing's luxurious life, but in fact, Cai Jing's high salary for 20 years as minister and the market value of his calligraphy and painting at that time were enough to live a super luxurious life of rich clothes and fine food.The top literati in the Song Dynasty all lived in heaven, and there were too many seniors who were more luxurious than Cai Taishi. Lu Mengzheng, Song Xueshi (Qi), and Ouyang Xiu were all the same. There is little evidence of this either. Cai Jing's most legendary story is after his death.According to Hong Mai's "Rong Zhai Essays", Cai Jing died halfway in exile in Lingnan and was buried hastily.Thirty-five years later (1162 A.D.) after Emperor Xiaozong Zhao Shen came to power in the Southern Song Dynasty.Cai Jing was also the one who helped Yue Fei and others restore their reputation, and his tomb was moved to Fengting's hometown.When Cai Taishi was reburied, people found that Cai Taishi, who had passed away for more than 40 years, "the flesh is rotten, but there is a "swastika!" character raised on the chest of the only one, about two cents high, as if engraved." This is frightening. The people of the world at that time, because the word "卍" was a symbol of Buddha's auspicious appearance, how could it grow on the body of a generation of traitors?People in the world are puzzled or puzzled. This has become a great unsolved mystery of the Southern Song Dynasty, and it has also added a profound touch to Cai Jing's legendary life.

Finally, the legends about Cai Jing are all related to stone tablets and small figures.One is that Cai Jing came to power as the leader of the new party, and suppressed the old party members of Yuanyou to the extreme. Those who are alive, demoted officials, exiled exiles, and even introduced discriminatory regulations that the children of old party members are not allowed to marry the Zhao royal family; and Those old party leaders who died, such as Sima Guang, Su Dongpo, Wen Yanbo, etc., not only lost many titles and honors after death, but Cai Zhizai also engraved them on the east wall of Wende Palace Gate as a blacklist of traitors, so that future generations will always think of them as traitors. Precepts, and all state capitals across the country must also erect monuments as a precept.

When the task was conveyed to the Chang'an Mansion, the magistrate of course had to carry out the order from above, and stonemasons were called in to carve the stele. One of the unnamed stonemasons openly expressed his refusal to carve a loyal elder like Sima Junshi, saying that Master Sima was famous but no one knew about it, but he wanted to inscribe it on the stele. A villain can't bear to engrave a name on a treacherous minister's stele.The magistrate got angry and slapped the gavel hard, saying that if you don't carry out the order, the board will wait until you agree to carve it.

My arm couldn't twist my thigh, so the stonemason sighed and said that I can carve it if I want, but I request that my name not be left on the stele (usually the stele carver will sign at the end of the stele), and I don't want my children and grandchildren to scold me for being an old fool . The latter legend is related to the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing.In the current Cave No. 103 of Fowan, Beishan, Dazu, Chongqing, there is a "Zhao Yijian Gong Shinto Stele", which is called "the only moment in the universe" by the historian Ma Heng.This unnamed stele, later verified by historians, was written by Fan Zuyu and written by Cai Jing.

But why was this inscription engraved on Beishan, Dazu?The owner of the stele, Zhao Yijian Gong (Zhao Zhan), was an official during the Renzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong periods. Politically, he belonged to the Yuanyou old party. He had no history of serving as an official in Chongqing. The stele of political enemies, and why it was engraved on Beishan in Dazu, Chongqing as an unnamed stele, is now impossible to verify, so only folklore can fill this gap. The story goes like this.Although Zhao Zhan was at odds with Cai Jing in terms of political views, one of his nephews worked under Cai Jing's sect. After Zhao Zhan's death, his nephew found Fan Zuyu (also an old party member) to write a memorial for Zhao Zhan. To bestow ink treasures, Cai Jing saw Comrade Xiao Zhao's face of working hard for him, and wrote this "Zhao Yijian Gong Shendao Monument" with a brush.

Later, when the Jin people invaded, Xiao Zhao brought Cai Jing’s calligraphy to the south and came to Chongqing. After seeing through the world, he became a monk in Dazu. Reminiscing about the past, he often took out the calligraphy given by Master Cai to appreciate it, so he wrote this beautiful post through the ages. The idea engraved in the empty mountain has been passed down through the ages. But at this time, Cai Jing was already a dog in the water, and everyone shouted and beat him. Most of his calligraphy were burned. This "unknown monument". The stories of two little people, one is written into the history books by many historians, and the other is scattered into folklore, one respects people, and the other respects characters, but we believe that the two stories are equally true, and the temperament embodied by the little people is also respectable. Perhaps Cai Jing can't be simply summed up by the term "a generation of traitors".