Conjoined baby girls descend into the world, officials paint auspicious signs, ridiculed for absurd flattery

Officials painted conjoined baby girls auspicious omens to the emperor, flattering behavior was ridiculed by colleagues

In the fourth year of Jianxing, Emperor Min of the Western Jin Dynasty, the western capital Chang'an fell, the royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty crossed the Yangtze River south, and the Jin Yuan Emperor Sima Rui became emperor in Jianye, and the world returned to its heart. On October 22 of this year, the 25-year-old wife of Ren Qiao, the 25-year-old wife of Xincai County, gave birth to two daughters, but their bodies were connected. The two baby girls face each other and are connected to each other, but the parts above the waist and below the navel are separated from each other. It is generally believed that this is a sign that the world is divided and not yet unified. However, Lu Hui had a different view. By figuring out the emperor's thoughts, he planned to use the conjoined baby girl as a good omen to flatter the emperor Sima Rui, so he wrote: "According to the records in "Rui Ying Tu" , 'The branches with the same stem and different roots are called connected branches, and the seedlings with the stems with different ears are called Jiahe.' Like flowers and trees, the bodies are connected, and they are considered auspicious. Now there are conjoined conjoined baby girls born with the same body and the same heart. It should be regarded as an auspicious omen bestowed by God. "Book of Changes" says: 'Two people are of the same mind, and they will cut off gold.' Now the heaven has created such a huge auspiciousness in the territory of Shangshandong. , the sign of the return of the four seas to one. When I heard about this, I was very happy, so I drew a picture of the auspicious sign of the conjoined baby girl and presented it to Your Majesty."

After Lu Hui's memorial was presented to Emperor Yuan of Jin, some knowledgeable people at that time all laughed at Lu Hui's far-fetched behavior as a minister. Someone anonymously criticized Lu Hui, saying: "It is important for people to have self-knowledge. Zang Yuanzhong, who is known for his profound knowledge, has a black history of sacrificing seabirds by the sea, and this absurd behavior has been recorded in the annals of history for thousands of years. Therefore, as the world An exemplary scholar cannot stop learning at any time. The ancients said: 'A tree without branches is called Bing, and a person who pretends to be knowledgeable without learning and skill is called G. (blind eyes).' The knowledge you know should motivate yourself and strengthen your studies, instead of talking nonsense like Lu Hui and making people ridiculed. Shouldn’t scholars take Lu Hui as a warning and study hard?”

Small comment: The vision of conjoined twins appeared more than once in Sou Shen Ji. The previous interpretations were that the court decrees were different, and the emperor's prestige was not enough, so it was difficult to convince the public. In this article, Lu Hui painted the auspicious omen of conjoined twins to Sima Rui, Emperor Yuan of Jin Dynasty. Although it was flattering, according to the social consensus at the time, it was very likely that it was patted on the horse's hoof. Although Sima Rui, the emperor of Jinyuan, was not good at being an emperor, he should have enough knowledge. Looking at Lu Hui's open eyes and talking nonsense, the expression on Sima Rui's face at that time must be very exciting.

To a certain extent, Sima Rui's emperor's position was picked up in vain. After twenty years of "brother, brother and brother respect" in the Western Jin Dynasty, the royal family was almost withered. The third and fourth emperors of the Western Jin Dynasty, Jin Huai, Sima Chi, and Jin Min, Sima Ye, were both captured and taken prisoner by the Han Zhao established by the Huns. The same was killed after being captured on both sides. Emperor Min of Jin Sima Ye was captured in the fourth year of Jianxing, and was killed in the sixth year of Jianxing. During this period, there was no emperor in the Western Jin Dynasty, only the princes and princes of the Emperor Yaozun. Sima Rui was located in the south of the Yangtze River, far away from the war in the north, and obtained the local great family. The support of the Wang family is the most powerful. Therefore, after the news that Jin Min Emperor Sima Ye was killed came out, Jin Yuan Emperor Sima Rui became the emperor logically and established a small court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Original: Jin Min Emperor Jianxing four years, the Western Capital overturned, the Yuan Emperor began to be the King of Jin, the heart of the four seas. On October 22 of that year, Xincai county official appointed Qiao's wife Hu's twenty-fifth year, and gave birth to two daughters. This covers the unparalleled demon in the world. At that time, Shi Luhui said: "According to the "Rui Ying Tu", it said: 'Different roots and the same body, it is called connection. An image of a hanging spirit. Therefore, "Easy" says: 'Two people are of the same mind, and it is beneficial to break the gold.' Xiu Xianjian was born in the country of eastern Shaanxi, and built the auspiciousness of the concentric heart of the four seas. Of. The gentleman said: "It is difficult to know. With the talent of Zang Wenzhong, he still lives in a shrine. It is written in a square book and will not be forgotten for thousands of years. Therefore, scholars must not fail to learn. If you don't learn it, it's called blind. 'When it's covered up, it's like a cover. Can't it be reluctant?"

Statement: "Sou Shen Ji" is a novel written by Gan Bao (?—AD 336), a historian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In terms of the time of creation, it has a history of nearly 1,700 years. During this period, Chinese myths and stories are also constantly changing. In the process of evolution and completion, the character image described will inevitably deviate from the current mainstream image. Therefore, this article is mainly based on the reading notes of the original text of Soshenji, mainly based on the translation of the original text and the supplement of brain holes. Due to the limited level of personal knowledge, the translation of some words is inevitably inaccurate. In addition, for the records of some characters in the text other than "Sou Shen Ji", the understanding is not too comprehensive. It is inevitable that there will be omissions and mistakes in the description. Please bear with me.