The mystery of Zhuge Liang's family history Zhuge Liang's bumpy childhood
The world's understanding of Zhuge Liang's great talents mostly comes from what happened after Liu Bei invited him out of the mountain. So what was Zhuge Liang's growth experience before he came out at the age of 27? That's about to start with his ancestors. Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu, Langya County, Xuzhou at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Yangdu is today's yinan county. His ancestor was also a great figure, namely Ying Ge, the general who followed Chen Sheng and Guangwu Uprising. Then, why did Zhuge Liang's ancestor surnamed Ge change his surname to Zhuge? It turns out that Ying Ge, the ancestor of Zhuge family, was the general of Chen Sheng, the leader of the peasant uprising army in the late Qin Dynasty. He repeatedly made meritorious military service and was later killed by Chen Sheng. Emperor Wen of Han acceded to the throne, pursued his anti-Qin contribution and named his grandson Langya County. After several generations, the family moved from one county to another, only to find that there was already a family named Ge, and it was still a big family. Because Zhuge Liang's ancestors came from various counties, people in Yangdu called them "Zhuge". After a long time, "Zhuge" became a surname, which is also a fact.
Zhuge Liang's childhood coincided with the Yellow Scarf Uprising in the Central Plains. Later, Cao Cao "held the emperor to make the princes." At that time, the warlord regime had been formed. Seeing this, Zhuge Liang's uncle Zhuge Xuan felt that his hometown could not stay any longer. At this time, Yuan Shu appointed him as the prefect of Zhangyu County in Yangzhou, so he took Zhuge Liang and his sister and brother to work in Zhang Yu.
Zhuge Liang is fifteen years old. Zhuge Liang's brother Zhu Gejin stayed in his hometown for some time. Later, when he couldn't stay any longer, he took refuge in Jiangdong and Sun Quan and eventually became an important minister of Wu Dong. Zhuge Liang followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan to Zhang Yu's office, but it never rains but it pours. Zhuge was appointed as the prefect of Zhang Xuanyu by Yuan Shu. The Eastern Han Dynasty court refused to admit it, and sent a man named Zhu Hao to be the magistrate of Zhang Yu. This Zhu Hao is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He didn't just take office with his family like Zhuge Xuan, but borrowed military forces from Liu You, the secretariat of Yangzhou at that time, and seized power by force. I can't help it. Zhuge Liang's younger brother and sister have just left their hometown and will follow their uncle to other places. Finally,
Xiangyang is located in today's Xiangfan City, Hubei Province, beside the Hanshui River, with extremely convenient land and water transportation. After Liu Biao came to power, Xiangyang was the seat of Jingzhou secretariat, which is today's provincial capital. Jingzhou was a very stable area at that time with good economic conditions. Many celebrities in the north come here to avoid chaos, so Jingzhou's culture is also very developed. After Zhuge Liang followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan to Jingzhou, his life finally settled down. Within a year or two, his two sisters also got married.
Uncle Zhuge Xuan found his two nieces by virtue of his relationship with Liu Biao and the prominent position of Zhuge family, both of whom were local aristocratic men. Zhuge Liang's sister married Kuai's family. The Kuai family played an important role in Jingzhou at that time. Among them, Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue were Liu Biao's confidants and made great contributions to Liu Biao's pacification of Jingzhou. Kuai himself was also appointed as the order of Fangling County by Liu Biao, and his position was extraordinary.
Zhuge Liang's second sister married well, and her husband was Pang Shanmin, the son of Xiangyang celebrity Pang Degong. Pang Degong is knowledgeable, famous and respected in Jingzhou area. Pang Shanmin is also a famous scholar in Jingzhou, and he is very talented. Later, he became a yellow door official in Wei, and Ponzi was also a famous family in Jingzhou.
In ancient marriage, men and women were made in heaven. Obviously, it is difficult to compete with Kuai and Pang only by relying on the fame and status of Zhuge family. The personal relationship between Zhuge Xuan and Liu Biao undoubtedly played a vital role in the success of their marriage.
Two years after Zhuge Liang's family went to Xiangyang, when Zhuge Liang was seventeen, his uncle Zhuge Xuan died of illness. At this time, Zhuge Liang's two sisters were married, leaving only his younger brother Zhuge Jun and him. After the death of his uncle, Zhuge Liang's brothers could not always live on Liu Biao, so Zhuge Liang took his younger brother to live in Cao Lu's residence in Longzhong. That's what Zhuge Liang said in the year of "The Model": "Indulge in Nanyang, save yourself in troubled times, and don't ask Wen Da to be a vassal".
Zhuge Liang's reclamation war
The phrase "farming in Nanyang" has caused a debate for one or two thousand years. As for whether Zhuge Liang practiced in Nanyang, Henan Province or Xiangyang, Hubei Province before coming out of the mountain, there is no conclusion yet. At that time, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong, not far from Xiangyang City. Now this Longzhong is also a secluded place where Henan and Hubei compete for Zhuge Liang. Is Zhuge Liang from Nanyang or Xiangyang? In fact, this place where Zhuge Liang lived belonged to Nanyang at that time, so it can be called Nanyang Zhuge Lu. But the geographical location is very close to Xiangyang, only 20 miles, so Xiangyang people say that Longzhong is Xiangyang.
In fact, as early as the death of Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms period, private and official memorial buildings dedicated to Zhuge Liang were quickly established in the places where he lived and fought. Nanyang, as a place where Zhuge Liang "strives for strength", naturally built a temple for him to keep morality and read merits. This is the famous Zhuge Lu in Nanyang, also known as Wuhou Temple. Similarly, Xiangyang Longzhong also built some memorial buildings for him earlier. Since then, Nanyang and Xiangyang have launched a protracted war.
Nanyang people said that Zhuge Liang himself said, "I am a civilian and work hard in Nanyang." This is not true. In addition, the Sacrifice to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang written by Li Xing in the Western Jin Dynasty also confirmed that Zhuge Liang was farming in Nanyang, north of Hanshui River. According to the historical records of Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is recognized that Zhuge Liang was farming in Nanyang, north of Hanshui River.
Xiangyang people also said that Nanyang, which Zhuge Liang said, is not Nanyang today. Xiangyang belonged to Nanyang County in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Moreover, there is evidence from Xi Chishen in Hanshu Chunqiu: "Zhuge Liang's family is in Dengxian County, Nanyang, 20 miles away from Xiangyang, and is famous in Longzhong."
Where did Zhuge Liang devote himself to farming? Whether Xiangyang or Nanyang, isn't it the surging Hanshui that nurtured him and made him? In fact, there is nothing to argue about this issue.
After his uncle died, Zhuge Liang devoted more thoughts to his studies. Besides extensive reading, he often goes out to study, make friends and broaden his horizons.
During this period, there were two people who had the greatest influence on Zhuge Liang. They can be said to be Zhuge Liang's mentor and friend. The first is Pang Degong, the father-in-law of Zhuge Liang's second sister. As I said before, Pang Degong is a famous and powerful person in Jingzhou, and the Pang family is also a famous family in Xiangyang. Liu Biao, a pastoral official in Jingzhou, asked him to come out of the mountain many times, but he refused. Finally, Liu Biao couldn't help it, and went for help and persuasion himself. As a result, he made a trip for nothing.
Pang Degong valued talent and knowledge, but despised fame and fortune. Zhuge Liang and Pang Degong were originally related. They often go to Pang Degong's house and ask him for advice. Every time I go, I "get under the bed alone", which is very respectful. Pang Degong didn't stop it at first. After a long time, in the process of teaching Zhuge Liang, I gradually got a comprehensive understanding of this young man's knowledge and ambition, and thought that he would be a useful talent in the future, so I gave him a title, commonly known as "Wolong". Pang Degong has a nephew, Pang Tong, who is also an outstanding scholar. Pang Degong called him "Feng Chu". This is the origin of "Long Fu and Feng Chu win one, so they can live in peace" in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. And the name "Wolong" has been handed down.
The second person who influenced Zhuge Liang was "Water Mirror Teacher" Si Mahui. Si Mahui, a native of Yingchuan, came to Jingzhou from the north and became good friends with Pang Degong. Si Mahui was also a celebrity at that time. Many young people learn from him. He is a bit like a university professor. Such a great scholar is just around the corner. How can Zhuge Liang let go? He often goes to Si Mahui for advice, studies hard and makes rapid progress in his studies. Si Mahui also attaches great importance to this young man. Liu Bei's trip to the thatched cottage will become a much-told story in the future, largely due to Si Mahui's recommendation to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang's Political Marriage
There is a jingle in Xiangyang: "Don't be a wife, be an ugly girl", which means "Don't choose a wife like Zhuge Liang, just marry an ugly girl like Huang". The history books describe Zhuge Liang as "brilliant, bullying, eight feet long and full of face". In a word, he is handsome! How can he marry an ugly girl?
Huang, a celebrity in Zhennan, took the initiative to find you. Like Pang Degong, Huang is from Jingzhou. This man is cheerful and knowledgeable. Zhuge Liang asked him for advice many times, and Huang was also very optimistic about Zhuge Liang. One day, Huang proposed to Zhuge Liang and said, "She is an ugly girl with yellow hair and black hair." That is to say, I have a daughter who is ugly, with yellow hair and dark skin. Although people are ugly, they are not worse than Zhuge Liang in terms of knowledge. Zhuge Liang readily agreed. As soon as Zhuge Liang nodded, Huang immediately sent someone to drive his daughter to get married.
In fact, Huang's so-called "ugly girl" should be a self-deprecating statement. Compared with Zhuge Liang's appearance, Miss Huang's yellow hair and dark skin are definitely much worse. A handsome man married an ugly woman. Naturally it will be passed down as a joke, even a joke. The news passed around, getting worse.
It is also untenable that Zhuge Liang chose Huang's daughter because "appearance is not important". There is no denying that the talented women in Huang's works are from famous families. Of course, they are not as good as ordinary women, but only among women. In ancient times, it was emphasized that "a woman without talent is virtue", and few women could read and write. Generally speaking, it is unusual for most women to be "knowledgeable". Therefore, Huang said that her daughter's knowledge can be comparable to Zhuge Liang's. It should be said that her daughter's knowledge is the best among women, not that her daughter really has Zhuge Liang's knowledge and wisdom.
Since Zhuge Liang's criterion for choosing a spouse is not "valuing talent over appearance", what is it? In fact, Zhuge Liang's marriage is a complete political marriage. Huang's wife is the daughter of Cai Yi, a famous Jingzhou family. The Chua family is very influential in Jingzhou. Cai Mao's other daughter married Liu Biao, a priest in Jingzhou. Cai Mao, the son of Cai Mao, was Liu Biao's most trusted and dependent general. The Cai family has a great political background in Jingzhou and is a noble family. With such political capital, even if Huang's daughter is really ugly, are you afraid of not getting married? More importantly, it's not that ugly, and it's smart. This is a standard family.
Huang chose Zhuge Liang as his son-in-law. In addition to appearance and knowledge, he also valued Zhuge's political power in Jingzhou. Zhuge Liang's elder sister married Kuaijia, and the second sister married Pang Shanmin, the son of Pang Degong. Kuai and Pang are the most popular names in Jingzhou, and they play an important role. Once this marriage is successful, it seems to be the marriage between the Huang family and Zhuge family. In fact, four famous families in Jingzhou, namely Kuai, Cai, Pang and Huang, have become relatives, including Liu Biao's family and Zhuge's family in the north. In the current words, that is "strong alliance."
Moreover, this marriage is probably not just Huang's idea, but the result that several big families agree or need. Although Zhuge Liang was brilliant, he was still a little-known scholar at that time. If he wants to get ahead, he must rely on his family background and marriage background. It is Zhuge Liang's dream to marry into a big family in Jingzhou. Therefore, the marriage between Zhuge Liang and Huang is an out-and-out political marriage.