Chapter 16 (16) Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage

Visiting the thatched cottage three times is a well-known story, but it is also a history shrouded in romance.In "Three Kingdoms", there are only five characters in the record of "three visits to the thatched cottage", and there are even more historical records that Zhuge Liang recommended himself, not Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage.So what is the truth of history? Why is the story of "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" repeated?Please pay attention to it - three visits to thatched cottage. "Three visits to the thatched cottage" was an important turning point in Zhuge Liang's life, and Zhuge Liang became Liu Bei's most important adviser in his life.This part of the story was vividly performed by Luo Guanzhong in the novel. He used Liu Bei's virtuous and virtuous corporal to set off a character Zhuge Liang who is almost like a fairy.It took nearly two chapters to describe the meeting between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, but in the history book "Three Kingdoms", there are only five words for this paragraph: "Where you go three times, you will see."So, what happened to Sangu thatched cottage?Has there ever been a three-visiting thatched cottage in history?Professor Yi Zhongtian of Xiamen University is a guest on "Hundreds of Lectures" to restore a real history for you. The "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" is currently being broadcast, so stay tuned.

In the last episode, we left a question, that is, when Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, the monarch and minister, did Liu Bei go to Zhuge Liang, or did Zhuge Liang take the initiative to go to Liu Bei?There are different records on this issue in history. "Three Kingdoms" said that Liu Bei went to Zhuge Liang, and recorded it in five words, that is, "everything goes three times, we see", but "Wei Lue" and "Kyushu Spring and Autumn" said it was Zhuge Liang went to find Liu Bei. According to this "Wei Lue" and "Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn", it is said that this incident took place in the twelfth year of Jian'an, which is 207 AD. At that time, Cao Cao had basically unified northern China, and the next target to be eliminated was Jingzhou. , so the situation in Jingzhou is already very urgent.So Zhuge Liang went north to meet Liu Bei, because Liu Bei was stationed in Fancheng at that time, after Zhuge Liang saw Liu Bei, Liu Bei didn't know him, didn't know him, so he treated him as an ordinary scholar, an ordinary scholar, and an ordinary talent.I probably received a lot of people like this at that time. Everyone had a meal together, and after a meal, they dispersed, but Zhuge Liang didn’t leave, and Liu Bei ignored him, and didn’t ask him what’s the matter, so he took one by himself. The yak tail was weaving handicrafts there, Zhuge Liang said, is the general's ambition to weave handicrafts?Liu Bei threw the yak tail aside, what are you talking about?Let's forget about our worries.Zhuge Liang said, General, think about Liu Zhennan—who is Liu Zhennan?It was Liu Biao. Liu Biao's position at the time was General Zhennan, so he was referred to as Liu Zhennan——Zhuge Liang said, general, is Liu Zhennan comparable to Cao Cao?Liu Bei said that was not comparable.Zhuge Liang asked again, general, are you comparable to Cao Cao?Liu Bei said that it was not as good as that.Zhuge Liang said, Liu Zhennan is not as good as Cao Cao, and you are not as good as Cao Cao, General. Are you just sitting in Jingzhou waiting to die?Just wait for others to slaughter it?Liu Bei said, alas, I am also worried, there is no way!Zhuge Liang gave him an idea, saying what is our current problem in Jingzhou?There are a lot of refugees fleeing from the north, and these people have no registered permanent residence. If they are not our registered households, then the government has no control over the manpower and financial resources of this part of the people. Therefore, these people should be investigated and given to them. If you have a registered permanent residence, you should pay taxes, you should contribute your efforts, and you should serve in the military. Then Jingzhou will be strong.

This is the record in "Wei Lue" and "Jiuzhou Chunqiu". Then there is a problem with this record, which is that it conflicts with the statement in "Three Kingdoms". Is there any basis for "Three Kingdoms"?Yes, according to Zhuge Liang's "Teacher List".We are now used to say that Zhuge Liang has two lists of teachers, one is called "The List of Former Teachers" and the other is called "The List of Later Teachers". Some people think this is a fake, but there is no doubt about "The Former Teacher".Then Zhuge Liang made it very clear in "The Former Teacher's Biao" that it was Liu Bei who visited the thatched cottage three times before he came out of the mountain.In addition, after Pei Songzhi compiled Zhuge Liang's collection, there was a "Shang Zhuge Liang Collection Table" which also recorded the same way. Therefore, when Pei Songzhi annotated "Three Kingdoms", he put "Wei Lue" and "Kyushu Spring and Autumn" into account. He annotated it in the note, and at the same time he posted a comment. He said that in history, due to the different documents of historians, that is, his information channels and sources of information are different, so there will be different records. This is normal, but It's so weird how conflicted and contradictory this thing is.

Regarding the three visits to the thatched cottage, the records in the history books "Wei Lue", "Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn" and Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's Biao" are quite different. Not only that, it also completely subverts the three visits to the thatched cottage in the familiar novels.In the palace, Liu Bei walked into Wolonggang three times to visit Zhuge Liang who kept a low profile, and finally Zhuge Liang walked out of the mountains and forests to assist Liu Bei in becoming an emperor.Why is this anecdote that has been sung by generations of readers in a different way in history books?In terms of historical reality, is it Zhuge Liang's self-recommendation or Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage?Why is this thing so strange?

In fact, this cannot be said to be very strange, and Zhuge Liang's self-recommended statement, although it is a non-mainstream opinion, is still supported by a group of historians.For example, there is a Mr. Liu Xiao who once wrote an article called "The Question of "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage"". He thought that the statement of "Three Visits" was unreliable. Why?He believes that as far as both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are concerned, Liu Bei certainly needs Zhuge Liang, but Zhuge Liang needs Liu Bei even more. Therefore, he put forward three opinions. The first point is that Zhuge Liang must come out of the mountain, because it is very clear in the "Three Kingdoms": "Compare yourself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi." For him, Liu Bei is the best candidate for becoming a prime minister, making contributions, and doing things, that is, as a boss candidate. We have already said this reason before.Zhuge Liang did not rely on Cao Cao, did not rely on Sun Quan, and did not even serve Liu Biao nearby. He just wanted to choose the best boss for himself, and Liu Bei was undoubtedly the best candidate. How could he sit in Longzhong and wait for Liu Bei to "look three times" "Woolen cloth?So what if Liu Bei doesn't care and doesn't come to him?So Liu Xiao said, this is equivalent to saying that Zhuge Liang made a resolution there. If Liu Bei doesn't come out and invite me three times, I will be a farmer in this place for the rest of my life. Is this possible?You said that he is such a person who compares himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, what is he doing in Longzhong?Building a new socialist countryside?

The second point is that Liu Bei needs talents, but what he needs is a group of people, not a single person; Zhuge Liang needs a boss, and what he needs is not a group of bosses, but a boss.So please think about it, is it the urgency of a group of people, or the urgency of a single person?This is the second point. The third point, Mr. Liu Xiao said, with Zhuge Liang's wisdom and his social status at that time, he should have discovered Liu Bei earlier than Liu Bei had discovered him.Because Liu Bei is very famous, he has become a hero in the world. It is true that no one in the world knows the king, and who doesn't know that there is Liu Bei?Liu Bei may not know that there is a Zhuge Liang.So under such circumstances, it should be Zhuge Liang who went to look for Liu Bei. What's more, the situation was very urgent at that time.Therefore, Mr. Liu Xiao came to a conclusion that Sangu thatched cottage is logically unacceptable.It should be said that his analysis still has his reasons, so this means that we have to deny "Three Kingdoms" and "Teacher List", and this cannot be denied, that is, you can deny "Three Kingdoms", and "Teacher List" is negated No, now there is no evidence that "The List of Teachers" is a fake, so what about "List of Teachers"?

"The minister is a commoner, and he works in Nanyang. Gouquan lives in troubled times, and does not seek to be known to the princes. The first emperor did not regard his ministers as despicable, obscene and self-defeating. He paid three visits to the ministers in the grass hut, and consulted them on the affairs of the world. I am grateful, so Xu Xiandi used it to drive away." This makes it very clear that the two words "youshi" and "suixu" express the causal relationship. It is because Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times and discussed the current affairs with him, which made him feel grateful, so he agreed to follow. Liu Bei, so promise it.So "Chu Shi Biao" cannot be denied, so now there is only one way to solve the problem, that is, neither "Chu Shi Biao" nor "Wei Lue" and "Jiuzhou Chunqiu" are denied, so what is going on?I have a guess, that is, what was said in "Wei Lue" and "Nine Provinces Spring and Autumn" is also true: Zhuge Liang went to Liu Bei, had that conversation, and Liu Bei also adopted his suggestion, but he still didn't take it. He regarded him as a first-class talent, so Zhuge Liang went back again.After returning, Liu Bei suddenly realized for some reason that this person is the one who helped me achieve great success. I must invite him back, so I went there three times and invited him back again.First there is a door-to-door recommendation, and then there are three visits to the thatched cottage.But let me make this statement clear, it is purely my conjecture, without any other supporting evidence.

Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, this classic story that has been sung from generation to generation, has another face in the history books "Wei Lue" and "Kyushu Spring and Autumn". It was not Liu Bei's personal invitation, but Zhuge Liang's self-recommendation.This is somewhat unacceptable to those who like Zhuge Liang.If the records in "Wei Lue" and "Jiuzhou Chunqiu" are true, then in Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's Biao", how to explain the sentence "three visits to the ministers in the grass"?Could it be that Zhuge Liang lied?Or is "Teacher's Biao" not written by Zhuge Liang at all?So, has there ever been a story of visiting a thatched cottage in history?

To solve this mystery, there is actually another problem here, that is, how many years did Liu Bei run away from Yuan Shao and defect to Liu Biao in Jingzhou?Six years, six to seven years, why haven't Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei met each other for six years?This is actually a key point in this case, so many historians tried to explain this issue, because they felt that this matter was unjustifiable, so they put forward a statement, saying that Liu Bei actually went to Zhuge Liang, but he did not see him for the first time. He didn't see him the second time, so in the twelfth year of Jian'an, that is, six years after he came to Jingzhou, he didn't see him for the third time.This statement is a bit problematic. You said that Liu Bei’s three visits, did he go to him once every ten years in Jian’an, once every eleven years in Jian’an, once every twelve years in Jian’an, and once a year?It seemed hard to make sense, and it was even harder to find him once every two years on average.Some people also suggested that it was because Zhuge Liang was hard to find and lived very secretively. I can't find him, he came to Jingzhou a long time ago, and you have to know that he is a relative of Liu Biao. He has contacts with Jingzhou's officialdom, Jingzhou's high society, and Jingzhou's scholar group. How can he be a man? What about the ones you can't find?So these reasons seem to be untenable.

Some historians also tried to explain this issue. For example, Mr. Yin Yungong proposed two reasons. The first reason was that he believed that Zhuge Liang was not well-known at that time.What is the description of Zhuge Liang in "Three Kingdoms" when we read it? "Every time I compare myself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, I don't think so." It means that Zhuge Liang's self-confidence is very strong, but at that time the Jingzhou scholar group did not unanimously think that he was a first-class talent. Disapproval.Then when Liu Bei heard other people's introduction to Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei would weigh it up and say, is this true or false?He would hesitate, and a few years of hesitation would pass.

On the other hand, Zhuge Liang has psychological obstacles.Because the goal that Zhuge Liang designed for himself is that after joining this group, he must be under one person and above ten thousand people, he must be the chief adviser, and he must be the number two person in the group, and the relationship between Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei If you are too close, you will eat in the same vessel, sleep in the same bed, you will not be able to get in with needles or splashed with water, it will be difficult for you to squeeze in, and he will hesitate. So these two statements are reasonable, but I think there is another very important issue, that is age.We need to know how old Zhuge Liang was when he came out of the mountain? 26 years old, how old was Liu Bei when he visited the thatched cottage? At the age of 46, it is almost impossible for a 46-year-old veteran of the world to treat a 26-year-old young man who has never shown any special abilities as a guest of honor. When he was forty years old, he went to a country and invited a twenty-year-old man to be his chief of staff?So age is also an important reason. If Cao Cao was not so aggressive later, this matter might have to be delayed.All in all, Liu Bei made the most important decision in his life, that is, he decided to let go of the airs of the emperor's uncle and the elders, and go to the countryside to meet a young man who is more than 20 years younger than him and has no title or fame. Three visits to thatched cottages are credible, but self-recommendation at the door can only be doubted. According to Mr. Yi Zhongtian's analysis, judging from the records in "Three Kingdoms", the story of Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage is still credible.Zhuge Liang was indeed well-known at the time, and his departure represented the wish of some people. Therefore, to a certain extent, Liu Bei's understanding of Zhuge Liang was promoted by the Jingzhou scholar group represented by Sima Hui and Xu Shu, which also contributed to Liu Bei's understanding of Zhuge Liang. Later, he visited the thatched cottage three times.So, what is the real process of visiting the thatched cottage three times?Is it really what it says in the novel? Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times. Did he go there three times and only see him once, or did he go three times and see him three times?Most people read "Three Kingdoms" and read the message from these five characters, "Where you go three times, you see it", because you feel that you only see it after going three times.But when we read Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's Biao" and Chen Shou's "On Zhuge Liang's Collected Biao", this is not the meaning, "Three visits to the ministers in the thatched hut", we did not say that we only saw it once three times.Let's read Du Fu's poem again, "Three visits to frequent the world's plans, and two dynasties to open up the hearts of veteran ministers", and we didn't say that we only saw it once three times, and Mr. Zhou Ruchang explained that the word "frequent" means many times.Therefore, it is possible that I went three times and met three times. Not only did I go three times and I met three times, it is likely that I went more than three times. This "three" means many times, because in ancient books, "three" can mean many. , again and again, again and again, didn't it mean that there were only three times.I may have been there many times, and once I went there, I talked about it once. According to the "Teacher List", "counselors use the current affairs of the world" to keep asking questions and talk about what we should do in the world, and the more we talk, the closer we are , The more we talk, the more speculative, the more we talk, the better the fit, the more we talk about the relationship, the better we understand, Liu Bei made a decision, this is the person I'm looking for, Zhuge Liang also made a decision, this is the person I'm looking for.So it is possible that this is the case. Well, if we can confirm such conclusions, then Sangu Maolu is an out-and-out romance, and even if Liu Bei went there three times and only saw it once, it is still a romance, because there are only five words in "Three Kingdoms": "Fan San Go, but see", but the "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" is very wonderfully written.The first time I went there, I saw a group of farmers singing while farming. I walked over and asked, who composed this song?Mr. Kong Ming, look again, where does Mr. Kong Ming live?The farmer said that he lived behind that mountain. When he looked at this mountain, alas, the weather was extraordinary.Then after going there excitedly, I ran into an ignorant child watching the door there. Liu Bei said that I came to see Mr., and Mr. went out in the morning. Where did Mr. go?I don't know, whereabouts are uncertain.When will the sir come back?I don't know, come and go.After hitting a wall, I had to look at the scenery very sadly, and then met Zhuge Liang's good friend Cui Zhouping. At that time, Liu Bei was overjoyed. Just like Jia Baoyu met Lin Daiyu, Jia Baoyu met Lin Daiyu's first words, oops, a fairy-like sister fell from the sky. At that time, Liu Bei saw a fairy-like brother walking across from him. A friend, he was impressed. When he came back from the second day, he first saw two of his friends, one was Shi Tao, Shi Guangyuan, with a white face and long beard, and the second friend, Meng Jian Meng Gongwei, was sitting in a hotel singing and singing, and Liu Bei went to talk about it. .After the talk, I went to the village again, and saw a young man embracing the furnace and singing, as if doing a "super boy voice", singing, and then went up to salute, and asked if it was Zhuge Liang's brother.Then came out an old man, who was also personable, with the feeling of an outsider, and asked if it was his father-in-law.After two rounds of tossing like this, Liu Bei was already so impressed that he lived in this place, and he made the farmer look like a college student, singing while working, these friends of his, his younger brother, His father-in-law, everyone is an expert, so he can still get it! So for the third time, when Liu Bei went again, he first chose an auspicious day to fast, bathe and change clothes, and his attitude changed, and he was very correct.Then when I reached Wollongong, I dismounted and walked, and then walked to the thatched cottage, and stepped down the steps.Said that the husband is taking a nap, don't disturb, don't disturb, Liu Bei will wait here, wait and wait.At this time, Liu Bei is no longer like a big boss who comes to recruit, but like a lover who comes to propose marriage. His love is comparable to that of Zhang Sheng.Everyone has heard from Teacher Li Changji that Zhang Sheng fell in love with Cui Yingying at first sight, and he wanted to pass on some information through the matchmaker. What did he say when he saw the matchmaker?Xiaosheng's surname is Zhang, his name is Gong, and his style name is Junrui. He is originally from Xiluo. He is only twenty-three years old and has never been married. Who asked you so many questions about what the matchmaker said.So what did Liu Bei say when he saw Zhuge Liang’s gatekeeper? The left general of the Han Dynasty, Yicheng Tinghou, led Yuzhou Muhuangshu Liu Beite to visit Mr. and told him all his titles. What did the kid say? I can’t remember. Live that much. These two plots are really comparable, and it is indeed the case. If Cui Yingying in the drama is waiting for her, then Zhuge Liang in the novel is waiting for her. They are all waiting for the person they like the most.We know that in such an era, the relationship between monarch and minister is a bit like the relationship between husband and wife. What should we pay attention to?At that time, a person with high moral character, once he chose a monarch or a boss, he would be very self-disciplined and demanded that he be consistent and could not betray.Of course, there were many people who rebelled in that era, and there were also many people who changed their families. It cannot be considered immoral, but people who are particularly strict and self-disciplined will remain the same. Zhuge Liang has very high demands on himself morally, so he also It cannot be changed, so he must choose the right one.Then there is a problem here, the other party must have sincerity, because whether Zhuge Liang in the novel or Cui Yingying in the drama, they are all very high-spirited people, and they will never make a promise casually. To test the other party, he must put on enough airs, whet his appetite, and truly prove that the other party is sincere before he agrees. So this description is wonderful, very wonderful, very wonderful, but unfortunately it is false.But although the Three Visits to Thatched Cottage is fictional, it still has meaning, so where is the meaning?We can now regard it as an ancient version of marketing textbooks. It is very interesting to look at this incident from a modern perspective. In this incident, Liu Bei is like the big boss of an investment company. He decided to invest and buy out A certain talent, Zhuge Liang, is like a professional manager who is preparing to apply for an executive officer. Both of them have a need and process of mutual testing and understanding, so his set of things can be seen from a modern perspective. I feel that all these singing peasants, ignorant boys, and weird friends are all babysitters.This is of course the conclusion we have come to today looking back at this issue from a modern perspective, and even I can frankly admit that my speculation is purely my personal opinion, not a historical one. , nor is it the opinion of the times, nor is it the opinion of Luo Guanzhong. So what is Luo Guanzhong's opinion?In other words, why did Luo Guanzhong write like this?I guess there are two reasons. The first reason is that it is good-looking, and novels must be good-looking.I have a definition of a novel, someone asked me what is a novel?My definition is that it is something that can be read in bed. If a novel is not good-looking, it loses the original meaning of "novel". However, Luo Guanzhong's San Gu Maolu, whether it is true or not, it is good-looking, there is no problem, it is really good-looking , This is what he needs as a novelist and writer. The second reason may have something to do with Luo Guanzhong himself.Luo Guanzhong was born at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. He participated in Zhang Shicheng's peasant uprising and served as Zhang Shicheng's staff. It is said in history books that Luo Guanzhong is a man with ambition to be king. What does that mean?Even he was the one who wanted to assist a person to achieve the emperor's career, but in the later struggle, Zhu Yuanzhang won. He failed to realize his ideal. Like Zhuge Liang, he failed to succeed, but he didn't die. , Luo Guanzhong is not dead, but this sense of loss and loneliness is the same, so when he created the character of Zhuge Liang, he inevitably pinned some of his own ideas.What's more, Zhuge Liang is indeed a role model for ancient Chinese scholars. Almost all ancient Chinese scholars have a Zhuge Liang complex, and they compare themselves to Zhuge Liang consciously or unconsciously. But we have a problem, that is, there were many spiritual idols of cultural people in ancient China. Wen Tianxiang was also a spiritual idol, Yue Fei was also a spiritual idol, and there were many such people. Why is Zhuge Liang the only one among Chinese scholars, cultural people, and intellectuals? Why is his status so lofty among the people?One very important reason is that they paid three visits to the thatched cottage, that is, other people, whether it was Yue Fei or Wen Tianxiang, were not invited by the emperor three times and four times, but Zhuge Liang invited three times by himself.However, scholars in ancient China had an ambivalence, that is, on the one hand, they really wanted to do things. The so-called learning of literary and martial arts, and loaning money to the emperor's family, he had a stomach full of economics, knowledge, and abilities. If he wants to use it in one place, he has to find a good boss, because he can’t be the boss himself; but on the other hand, he is high-minded, and his psychology is very fragile. I am ashamed to come to the door to be kicked out. It is best that all the bosses and emperors come to the door respectfully to ask him to come out, and this is the only example of this.So Luo Guanzhong, as such a scholar, such a cultural person, can he not make a big fuss about this matter?He definitely wants to capitalize the close-up. I guess this may be the psychology behind this "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage". Anyway, "Three Visits to Thatched Cottage" is a very meaningful event in Chinese history. In fact, in my opinion, did Liu Bei go to Zhuge Liang first, or did Zhuge Liang go to Liu Bei first? Did he meet three times and talk three times, or went there three times? We talked once, it's not very important, the important thing is what they talked about.If they really talked three times, we can’t know the whole content of it, we only know one conclusive opinion, that is Longzhong Dui, in which Zhuge Liang’s political genius is fully displayed, " "Longzhong Pair" has also become a well-known countermeasure in ancient China.But few people know that seven years ago, that is, in the fifth year of Jian'an, there was another person who made a similar suggestion to Sun Quan. This person also advocated "first three divisions and then unification" like Zhuge Liang, so who is this person? Woolen cloth?Please see the next episode - Longzhong Countermeasures.