Death of Takahiro

Recently, when I read the selected works of Ming Dynasty, Gao Qi should be a must-choose Ming writer, but the divisions during the change of generation were disturbing and not so absolute. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Gao Qi himself was soon convicted and died. As for other literary creations, it may be more suitable to be regarded as a writer of the Yuan Dynasty, or a writer from the junction of Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

A sign of civilization is the renunciation of torture.

Zweig specifically described the tragic burning of the stake, which was horrifying to read.

The punishment of lingering, which we often hear about, is also to scare and stop some dare to resist through cruel and inhuman behavior.

Foucault explores the purpose of torture in Discipline and Punishment, while pointing out that this kind of public execution, through physical tyranny beyond the punishment itself, is a form of ritual revenge, and its ultimate purpose is not the corresponding punishment for the crime, but It is to use this dehumanizing means to express the absoluteness of the monarchical power which cannot be destroyed.

"Eighteenth-century reformers believed that in this dangerous ritualized violence (public torture), both sides went beyond the legitimate exercise of power. In their view, tyranny faced rebellion, and the two were mutually reinforcing. This is a double danger. Criminal justice, therefore, should not retaliate, but only punish.” (Discipline and Punishment)

Gao Qi just died under the torture of Zhu Yuanzhang in the sixth year of Hongwu (1373).

Later, Zhu Yunming said in "Wild Notes" that Gao Shi was cut into eight paragraphs.

However, according to the general practice of cutting in half, it is not true, because the cruelty of the punishment of "cutting in half" lies in delaying the pain of death, and it has its terrifying deterrent effect. This is like Mo Yan's "Sandalwood Punishment", which is to satisfy the torturer's revenge by prolonging the suffering of the tortured.

Therefore, even if Gao Qi was indeed chopped into pieces, it was just an exaggerated rumor, or he even insulted the corpse after being chopped in half.

But why did Gao Qi fall into such an ending?

This is actually related to the social environment at that time. Gao Qi was a native of Changzhou County, Pingjiang Road, which is the Suzhou House in the Ming Dynasty, and today's Suzhou City. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a group of heroes rose together. This is the core area of Zhang Shicheng. In those days, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang attacked each other for a long time. Although they were defeated and died, the people of Suzhou generation always had sympathy for Zhang, and there were few foreign Zhu Yuanzhang troops. good feeling.

Later, when Mr. Liang Yusheng wrote "Ping Zong Xia Ying", he also specifically mentioned this history, and made up a fictional Zhang Danfeng to interpret the story of Romeo Juliet.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang himself was always apprehensive about securing the throne. The same is true for Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, who was often brought up by later generations. A contemporary scholar has also made statistics on the order and standard of Zhu Yuanzhang's killing of heroes. In this table, the choice of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty is no different from that of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. They all started from "outsiders", and in the end, only the next one was kept. Part of it can be regarded as the core closeness, and the mess left to future generations is also a group of relatives and descendants. Then came the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" and "Zhu Di's Seizing the Throne".

By the way, when Zhu Di faced Fang Xiaoru's perseverance, the method he adopted was also considered to be a father and son concentric. Not only did he have the flower head of "killing the ten clan", but even in the legend, he was also subjected to the same torture method: beheading in the waist. (About the halving, Wikipedia also counts people who have been subjected to this punishment in history, you can refer to it.) But in the official historical records, Fang Xiaoru was killed by Lingchi, probably because the halving was too cheap. Only by breaking into pieces can Zhu Di be able to vent the emperor's heart that Zhu Di has survived several lives and died in the process of rebelling and won in despair.

But then again. The reason for Fang Xiaoru's death, no matter how Zhu Di planned to explain it, could not change the historical evaluation in the end. Later emperors of the Ming Dynasty gradually restored Fang Xiaoru's reputation. But what about Gao Qi? Although everyone knew that he was wronged and that he had no ten clans to kill, the specific cause and effect didn't come until the end of the Ming Dynasty, when Qian Qianyi came to research the beginning, he still believed that it originated from a little poem of him. This was also adopted by the Ming History. In fact, when I read it today, it is nothing but a false accusation that Qingfeng is illiterate. But for the people around the emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang's own likes and dislikes can still be detected. Therefore, what matters is not what Zhu Yuanzhang thinks of this poem, but when those who intend to flatter and take advantage of this situation grasp this dynamic, Zhu Yuanzhang himself will constantly circulate and testify himself in various news.

This is also the reason why Wei Guan was convicted immediately after being slandered, and Gao Qi also died because of an article on Liang.

Wei Guan is an honest person, how could he have guessed that Zhu Yuanzhang Jiuyun was in awe of Zhang Shicheng's love in Sudi? At this time, it was stimulated together. The so-called revenge and complaints, whether Wei Guan implicated Gao Qi, or Gao Qi implicated Wei Guan, is no longer important. Just like the disputes between the descendants of Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan in the Tang Dynasty, the root cause was not someone's fault, but Zhu Yuanzhang's own discomfort.

To put it more directly, Zhu Yuanzhang's thinking in the early Ming Dynasty was very similar to that of the Qing people after they entered the customs. It's all a kind of "how can I get a big position", and I pay special attention to the opinions of all sides. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to write "The Record of Showing the Traitor Party" (later Yongzheng's classmates also happily wrote "The Record of Da Yi Jue Mi") and "Da Gao", so that everyone in the world would obey my arrangement from generation to generation. Of course, after he died, the grandson didn't listen to him, and the son didn't listen to him either. In the end, this ancestor's method was really the ancestor's method.

In fact, after several centuries, looking at Gao Qi's death, how did he escape this fate?

In fact, there is no good way. It can only be said that people who were as famous as him at that time were either lucky or unfortunate.

Zhuangzi's fictional dialogue between Yan Hui and Confucius in "The World in the World" is to illustrate this point.

In the world, there are always bounds that cannot be escaped. Gao Qi certainly has it, and Zhu Yuanzhang, who is opposite to the cube, is not without it. Although Gao Qi was in great pain when he was about to be executed, but after Zhu Yuanzhang established his country, he was nowhere to be found without fear.

In modern times, Zhu Yuanzhang has become a symbol of nationalism. Everyone must oppose the Qing Dynasty. Although it may not be restored, it is really a weapon to put Zhu Yuanzhang up as a banner. Later, some swaying people used it to borrow the past and satirize the present. It can be seen that they have learned a lot of history, but they have forgotten it. Gao Qi's life has always been inseparable from his poetry.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948, more than 70 years ago, but it is still an expectation and creed that human beings have slowly acquired through trial and error and correction. To this day, although it is still possible to play tricks in written language, the various freedoms mentioned in this manifesto are still accepted laws.

Naturally, there are always some "buts" who come to emphasize various special reasons for us, but as long as we see that they have to emphasize the special on top of this law, we can also understand that there is no difference in the hearts of the world.

People can be different in taste, skin color, and personality... We can also cite various differences between "you and me", but there are always some things, it is not because These "different" changes. It is on this principle that Gao Qi and Zhu Yuanzhang also reached an agreement. They all need safety, Gao Qi cannot change, and Zhu Yuanzhang has the power to change, but only chooses a wrong path.

When the emperors and eunuchs on the coal mountain were hesitating together, when Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong set fire to their houses and slaughtered wantonly, when the emperors sat under the upright plaques of the Qing Dynasty, there was only one child left in the end. ...

I don't know if Gao Qi can imagine this kind of imagination, Zhu Yuanzhang certainly won't imagine it, because all he thinks about is to give his children and grandchildren, cut off the thorns on the stick, and finally earn the family property , can not be stolen.

Gao Qi's little poem, which is thought to have caused his death, is as follows:

"The female slave helps the drunken step on the moss, and the Mingyue West Garden attends the banquet. The puppy barks at the shadow of the flower, who is forbidden to come to the palace in the middle of the night?" ("Palace Maid")

And there are many poems that he is praised by later generations, I just quote a few randomly:

Cross the water, cross the water, see the flowers and see the flowers. Chunfengjiang was on the road, and he didn't realize that he came to Jun's house. ("Looking for Hu Yinjun")

Rivers and rivers bloom only in spring, and I don't know how easy it is to relieve people's worries. Mountains and rivers are lonely, clothes and tears, modern and ancient depression and simple book dust. Hastily met people and knew the face, and hurriedly made no room for guests. Who comforts you in ten years of distress, Lai Dejun's family is a close neighbor. ("A Journey to the King in Early Spring")

Where to wander, there are water kuma in the forest. Home dogs know at night, and wild birds in spring sleep. In some places, only medicine is cultivated, but in no village there is no plum. Xinglai is ashamed to drink alone, and when the time comes, the old farmer is called to accompany him. ("Miscellaneous Fu of Suburban Villas (Sixteen Songs) Where Can I Wander")

Last but not least, although Gao Qi mentioned in his poem that he was old, he actually only lived to be thirty-six years old.