Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 01-30-12 21:51
Burn beanstalks to cook beans
煮豆燃萁 (Zhu3 Dou4 Ran2 Qi2)
It was during the reign of Emperor Xian Di Liu Xie (獻帝皇帝劉協 190AD
to 220AD) of the Later Han Dynasty (東漢朝 25AD to 220AD) that Cao Cao (曹
操155AD to 220AD) was the Prime Minister. Cao Cao had twenty five sons.
The most five famous five sons were. Cao Ang (曹昂), Cao Pi (曹丕), Cao
Zhang (曹彰), Cao Zhi (曹植 192AD to 232AD)) alias Cao Zi Jian (曹子健)
and Cao Xiong (曹熊). Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang died in Wan Cheng (宛城
). Cao Zhi was an alcoholic. Yet Cao Cao loved Cao Zhi the most. Cao Zhang
was a brave man but without much brain. Cao Xiong was a sick man and Cao
Cao believed that Cao Xiong would not live long. Cao Pi was much closer,
more polite to Cao Cao and due to this Cao Cao inducted him as his heir
apparent. In 211AD, Cao Cao appointed Cao Pi the Deputy Prime Minister.
In 216AD, the 21st year reign of Emperor Xian Di, Cao Cao proclaimed himself
the Wei Wang (魏王) or the Prince of Wei. Cao Cao adopted a phrase from
the book "Yi Yun Qi 易運期“ as his title. The phrase was:「鬼在山, 禾女
連, 王天下 The ghost is in the mountain, Joins with the female crop, Rules
the world]. Cao Cao arranged the three words of 「禾女鬼 The ghost of the
female crop」to form the word 魏(Wei) for Wei Dynasty. 王天下 meant to rule
the whole world (the country).Cao Cao believed that eventually Wei, that
was he and his offspring, would rule the whole world (the Han empire).
The following year Cao Cao inducted Cao Pi the Crown Prince of Wei as well
as his heir apparent. Cao Cao died in 220AD in Luoyang (洛陽), aged 66,
and Cao Pi became the Prince of Wei and the Prime Minister.
Cao Zhi, who was a brilliance scholar particularly in composing poems. Cao
Pi was jealous of his talent and was contemplating an excuse to kill his
younger brother. When Cao Cao died Cao Zhi was in Linzi (臨淄 in the present
day province of Shandong 山東省) and he did not attend Cao Cao's funeral.
Cao Pi was angry and he dispatched an officer called Xu Chu (許褚) with
an army to arrest Cao Zhi. Eventually Cao Zhi was arrested and brought to
Luoyang to face Cao Pi. Before he killed his younger brother Cao Pi wanted
to test his talent. Cao Pi told his younger brother that if he could, after
pacing seven steps, compose a poem about two brothers without using the
word brothers he would be spared.
After he had paced seven steps Cao Zhi said:
煮豆特作羹,---Zhu3 dou4 te zuo4 geng
漉鼓以為汁.---Lu4.gu3 yi3 wei2 zhi.
萁在釜下燃,---Qi2 zai4 fu3 xia4 ran2,
豆在釜中泣.---Dou4 zai4 fu3 zhong qi4.
本是同根生,---Ben3 shi4 tong2 gen sheng
相煎何太急.---Xiang jian he2 tai4 ji2.
Boiling beans in a caldron to make bean curd and juice,
It requires fire to heat the caldron.
The fire under the caldron is from the burning of the dry beanstalks,
The sizzling in the caldron is from the beans.
Since the beans and beanstalks are from the same roots,
Why should it be in such a hurry to burn the beanstalks
and boil the beans?
Cao Zhi was using the way of cooking beans to make bean juice (萁豆相煎)
to compare why brothers should not kill brother - fratricide (骨肉相殘).
It was an excellent poem and Cao Pi was greatly moved. It would be a great
waste to get rid of such a talented brother. So Cao Pi spared his brother's
life and Cao Zhi was banished to Anxiang (安鄉 in present day Anxiang county
in Hunan province 湖南省).
In the tenth month of that year Cao Pi abolished the Emperorship of Xian
Di and he established the Wei Dynasty (魏朝 221AD to 265AD). Cao Pi ascended
the throne as Emperor Wen (文帝 220AD to 226AD), the first Emperor of the
Wei Dynasty.
The moral is that there should be no fratricidal strife in a family or a
country.
Source:
魏曹植詩:
"煮豆燃豆萁, 豆在釜中泣"
Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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