Wei Jie, one of the four most beautiful men in China, combines talent and good looks. It's a pity that because she was so beautiful, she was watched to death. This is the origin of the idiom "Watch and kill Wei Jie".
Regarding the ranking of the four beauties, they are roughly Pan An, King Lanling, Song Yu, and Wei Jie. Wei Jie's ranking at the bottom seems a bit unfair, because among the four, he was the only one who died because of his beauty. Based on this alone, his appearance is more outstanding than the other three. After all, there is no second person in history who was "looked at and killed" because of his beauty.
"Look at the killing of Wei Jie" is recorded in "Shishuo Xinyu". The story takes place at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, during the "Eight Kings Rebellion" and the "Five Husbands Rebellion", the northern nobles fled across the Yangtze River to the south. Wei Jie first arrived in Nanchang and met with General Wang Dun. However, Wei Jie discovered that Wang Dun was ambitious and arrogant, and feared that he might have second thoughts about the court, so he said goodbye and went to Nanjing.
While Wei Jie was still on the road, the city of Nanjing had already caught wind of it. "People have heard of his name for a long time, and the audience is like a wall."
Just like today's celebrities appearing at airports and hotels , fans have been crowding around for a long time, and the crowds are surging, rubbing shoulders, and even the whole place is empty, just to catch a glimpse of the star's face.
In order to repay their fans, celebrities often hold celebrity meet-and-greets, show their faces, say a few words, and even shake hands and hug fans to satisfy the fans' high enthusiasm and show the celebrities' responsibility. The "personality" of responsibility.
Of course Wei Jie does not need any "personal design", his talents and appearance are all "natural design". However, he was too responsible, and the most terrible thing was that he was frail and sick. During the war-torn years, he could not bear the fatigue of traveling long distances, and he was also tired of dealing with the loyal fans who were watching on three levels inside and outside, so that he eventually collapsed from exhaustion and was "watched to death" alive. ”, died at the age of twenty-seven.
The Wei and Jin Dynasties were rich in celebrities. From the Cao family and his son, the Seven Sons of Jian'an, the Seven Sages of Zhulin, to the Wang and Xie clan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there were as many famous people as the stars in the sky. Famous officials have always competed with each other in literary talent, appearance, humor, character, uninhibitedness, boldness, seclusion, vocal music, wealth, etc. There is no comparison between them. And the world is also rushing to imitate it. For those who cannot imitate, it has become a noble fashion to see the celebrities' voices, looks, writings and paintings.
Here is a very funny story. As Wei Jie's predecessor, Pan An was a handsome man during the Western Jin Dynasty. His appearance always caused a sensation in the city, and men, women, old and young greeted him on the street. In particular, groups of young girls were obsessed with him and rushed to offer him flowers and fruits, so Pan An always came back with a full load every time he went out. At that time, there was a great scholar named Zuo Si, who was very ugly. Maybe he was afraid of poverty, or maybe he wanted to be new and different, and he wanted to imitate Pan An's "throwing fruit on the car", but he ended up being spit on and rotten eggs and rotten tomatoes all over the street.
Zuo Si was a great talent, and his masterpiece "Sandu Fu" once made "Luoyang paper expensive". Later generations commented, "In Taikang's poems, the talents of Erlu are incomparable, and the talents of Pan and Pan are both diminished. The one with deep love and great talent is Zuo Taichong." It is enough to show that Zuo Si's talent has surpassed Pan An, and even later generations Li Bai regarded him as his idol. But Zuo Si ignored his own talents and wanted to compete with Pan An for his looks. He started to play the trick of trying to imitate the first of the four beauties. The consequences can be imagined. But it is more likely that Zuo Taichong was just playing "performance art".
Unlike Zuo Si, who contrasts Pan An’s beauty, Wei Jie’s appearance is like “all the stars over the moon”.
Wang Ji, Wei Jie's uncle, was a cavalry general in the dynasty. He was "heroic, majestic and courageous." According to current aesthetic standards, Wang Ji is a "sporty man". Moreover, Wang Ji has always been aloof and looked down on anyone. But every time he saw Wei Jie, he would always sigh: "With the pearls and jade by my side, I feel filthy." This is where the idiom "I feel ashamed of myself" comes from.
Wei Jie's father-in-law, Yue Guang, was a famous official in the Western Jin Dynasty. He was an official and a minister, and was a leader of Qingtan. "This person's water mirror can see the crystal clear sky, as if covered with clouds and mist and see the blue sky." Therefore, people at the time commented on Leguang's "ice clearness". As Wei Jie's skin was as white as jade, whenever people saw him they couldn't help but ask: "Whose family is this?" At that time, people called the two men together: "My father-in-law is Bingqing, and my son-in-law is Yurun." The idiom "ice clear and jade moist" also comes from this.
At the same time as Wei Jie, there was a handsome man named Du Yizhi. When Wang Xizhi saw him, he said that "his face is like gelatin and his eyes are like dots of paint. He is a fairy." But even Wang Xizhi looked at him Du Yi was as beautiful as a fairy. People at the time commented that Du Yi was several levels worse than Wei Jie. In the words of Xie Shang, a famous official at the time, Du Yi had "clear skin" and Wei Jie had "clear spirit". The same "Qing", Du Yi only stayed on the surface, while Wei Jie rose to "God".
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when there were many romantic people, the two most important criteria for famous officials were "clear conversation" and "handsomeness". In fact, these two standards can also be said to be the same standard. Talking is an elegant art. If a person is not beautiful, it will simply ruin the scenery and turn off the appetite. Ji Kang, headed by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest, is a handsome man, and there are also a number of high-ranking officials and famous officials such as He Yan, Yu Liang, Zhou Wei, Xie An, Xie Xuan, Xie Lingyun, Wang Xizhi, Wang Huizhi, Wang Xianzhi, and the above-mentioned Wang Ji, etc. , all of them are suave and full of temperament.
Therefore, if you want to step into the threshold of "plain conversation", appearance is a very critical criterion. Otherwise, even a great talent like Zuo Taichong can only hide at home and hold back his big moves. He will only dare to come out and meet others when his masterpiece comes out. It took him ten years to write "Sandu Fu" before he became famous in the capital.
Wei Jie is different. He achieved great success at a young age. When he was five years old, his grandfather Wei Guan praised him, saying that he was definitely a unique talent. It was a pity that he could not see the day when he became famous.
It can be said that Wei Jie’s talent precedes his appearance. And his outstanding appearance is more due to his talent and highlights his brilliance. Wei Jie was so talented and beautiful, and all the good things that combined talent and wisdom were taken away by Wei Jie, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he was a "natural design".
If Wei Jie’s appearance can be said to be like “the stars are shining over the moon”, then his talent can also shine brightly in that bright time and space where the gods are rising.
It is necessary to talk about the history of the Wei family first. Wei Jie's grandfather, Wei Guan, served as an important minister in the Cao Wei and Western Jin Dynasties. He was worshiped by the "Three Dukes" and had a distinguished life experience. Not only that, the three generations of the Wei family also hold an extremely high position in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Wei Guan's father, Wei Ji, was a calligrapher. Wei Guan studied under Zhang Zhi and got Zhang Zhi's "muscles", and his son Wei Heng got Zhang Zhi's "bones".
People who study calligraphy may only know Wang Xizhi, but few people know Wei Guan and Wei Heng. But we all know that Wang Xizhi’s teacher was Mrs. Wei. Mrs. Wei’s real name was Wei Shuo, and she was Wei Heng’s cousin. Wei Jie is Wei Heng's son, and Mrs. Wei is Wei Jie's aunt. The influence of Wei's calligraphy school was extremely far-reaching. During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wei's calligraphy style affected the whole country.
Wei Jie grew up in such a "god clan". Although his calligraphy was not as good as that of his predecessors, he was buried because of his outstanding talent and appearance.
Wei Jie's talent first benefited from the philosophy of Lao and Zhuang, because from his "sickness in dreams", we can know that he was influenced by "Zhuang Zhou's Dream of Butterflies".
Wei Jie has been appreciated and influenced by Yue Guang since he was a child. Later, Le Guang became Wei Jie's father-in-law. One day, Wei Jie asked Le Guang: "Why do people dream?" Le Guang said it was because he had something in mind. Wei Jie said: "Things that have never been touched physically and mentally appear in a dream. How can this be a thought?" Le Guang said: "It is something that has been done. People never dream of riding into a mouse hole. Or pounding ginger and garlic to feed the iron pestle, this is all because there are no such ideas and no precedents to imitate." Wei Jie thought about the inheritance problem, and couldn't find an answer after thinking about it all day long, and finally got sick from thinking. After Yue Guang heard about it, he took a car to analyze the problem for Wei Jie. Wei Jie's illness gradually improved. Yue Guang said with emotion: "This child must not have an incurable disease in his heart!"
In this story, Le Guang's explanation does not seem to be very clear, but at least it allows us to see that a young Wei Jie is already thinking about deep philosophical issues. And from Le Guang’s final emotion, we learned that Wei Jie’s inner world has been sublimated, his worries have been eliminated, he has no heartache, and he is at peace. Therefore, Sima Guang commented on Wei Jie, "I often think that people's shortcomings can be forgiven by emotion, but it is not irrelevant and can be dealt with, so I will never see the color of joy and sadness in my life."
The so-called "pure talk" all comes from Through the philosophy and metaphysics of Lao and Zhuang, and through the Jian'an style and Zhengshi's voice, the Wei and Jin Dynasties were finally formed and will be famous throughout the ages.
Wei Jie has a profound inheritance from a famous family, has a peerless appearance, coupled with good eloquence and good temperament, can often attract a large number of people with his gestures.
Wang Cheng (also known as Pingzi), a wealthy and powerful man at that time, was extremely talented and rarely admired anyone in his life. However, when he heard Wei Jie talk about mysteries, he was so admired that he fell into admiration. At that time, there was a famous saying: "Wei Jie's theory" "Tao, Pingzi will definitely fall." Wang Cheng, Wang Xuan, and Wang Ji are all famous, but they are all inferior to Wei Jie. People say: "The three sons of the Wang family are not as good as the one son of the Wei family."
Even the arrogant general Wang Dun was greatly impressed after meeting Wei Jie in Nanchang. Wang Dun was known for his bravery, but talking was not his strong point, so when he learned that Wei Jie was coming to Nanchang, he called the famous official Xie Kun to support him, so as not to be embarrassed because he could not say a few words. As a result, something even more embarrassing happened. Wei Jie and Xie Kun hit it off immediately and chatted for a whole day, completely leaving Wang Dun aside. Even so, Wang Dun still said to Xie Kun with great emotion: "In the past, Wang Bi's speech in the court was like the sound of gold, and his remarks in Jiangbiao were like jade vibrations. His subtle remarks were interrupted and continued. Unexpectedly, Yongjia At the end of the year, the voices from the Zhengshi period were heard again. If He Yan was still there, he would definitely fall in love with him." Compared with Wang and He, it can be seen that his talents are extensive. It's no wonder that after Wei Jie's death, Xie Kun cried bitterly: "The country has lost its pillar!"
Perhaps God wanted to show his fairness by not allowing the talented and beautiful Wei Jie to live long. Or perhaps in order to fulfill this almost perfect "Ji Ren" without any flaws and only let all the good things remain in the world, Wei Jie's brilliant life came to an end at the age of only twenty-seven.
Or perhaps using a period is not enough to express the emotion of "watching the killing of Wei Jie", and even using an exclamation point cannot describe its shockingness. All because "this person should only exist in heaven", Wei Jie himself is a symbol, a perfect and irreplaceable symbol. In the vast history, in the splendid cultural time and space, it is like an exquisite and beautiful work of art, which can only be viewed from a distance, not played with.