At that time, King Fu-chai of Wu, in order to avenge his father's murder, led his troops into the state of Yue. After the army was defeated, King Goujian became a prisoner of war, and Fan Li, a great doctor of the state of Yue, followed the king and his wife as a hostage to become a slave in the state of Wu. Three years later, King Fu-chai of Wu released the couple and Fan Li. After returning to his country, Gou Jie tried his best to avenge the humiliation by preparing for a ten-year reunion. He adopted the beauty plan proposed by Fan Li and offered Xi Shi to King Fu-chai of Wu. Xi Shi, with her beautiful appearance and excellent chess and singing and dancing, caused the king of Wu to be drunk in the palace day after day, addicted to wine and sex, ignoring the government, and under her inner circle, Goujian finally destroyed Wu and restored his country.
Throughout the ages, Xi Shi has been widely praised as a patriotic, hard-working, simple, beautiful and touching image of ancient women in commentaries, literary works, folklore and dramas. Especially after Xi Shi was portrayed as a woman who played a significant role in the history of Wu-Yue relations in the late Spring and Autumn period, the beautiful legend of Xi Shi has been passed down from generation to generation in the folklore.
However, in recent years, some historians have written that there is no Xishi in history, based on the writings of the pre-Qin scholars, who have repeatedly seen the "Xishi". Such as the "tube - small claims" chapter contains "female court officials, Xi Shi, the world's beautiful people. The author of the book Guanzhong Department of the early Spring and Autumn period, it can be seen, "Xi Shi" was born at least 200 years earlier than the Goujian, how can Guanzhong talk about Xi Shi 200 years later? And according to "Zhuangzi - the theory of things" cloud: "so for is to lift the stalk and pillar, calendar and Xi Shi, to restore the treacherous and strange, Dao Tong for a." From the Sima Biao note, it seems that the "Xi Shi" and more than 100 years earlier than the war between Wu and Yue. Accordingly, the word "Xi Shi" is an ancient term for beautiful women, not exclusively refers to a person, a beautiful woman can be called Xi Shi, such as music in many places in the "Luo Shi" as well. After the pre-Qin sons, jia yi "new book - persuade the chapter", Liu Xiang "said the garden - respect the virtuous chapter", Lu Jia "new language" and "huainanzi", although also mentioned xishi, but only as a beautiful woman's image, and more than with female court officials and double, can not see the xishi and wu yueyang two countries of the political affairs of what entanglement.
So there was a "Xi Shi" in the war between Wu and Yue?
So was there a "Xi Shi" in the war between Wu and Yue? The Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) and the Luzhuan (Chronicles of the King of Yue) both mention Fan, but they don't talk about Xi Shi, let alone her relationship with Fan Li. Xi Shi appears in the writings of the Western Han Dynasty, but there is no mention of Xi Shi's involvement in the war between Wu and Yue. For example, in Jia Yi's New Book - Exhortation to Learning, "If a man takes Xi Shi and is blinded by uncleanness, then all people cover their noses." To the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is a record of Goujian's revenge with the beauty plan, Yuan Kang's "Yue Jie Shu" cloud: "Yue is decorated with beautiful women Xi Shi, Zheng Dan, so that the doctor kind of offering to the king of Wu ......" "Wu Yue Spring and Autumn Annals - Goujian conspiracy outreach," Wen kind of statement to break the strategy of the Wu, and the fourth is "send beautiful women to confuse their hearts and mess up their plans", so Goujian "so that the phase of the country, get ramie mountain sold salary women said Xi Shi, Zheng Dan, decorated with Rougao gauze, taught to face step. Learning in Tucheng, in the city alley, three years to learn to dress and offer in Wu". Xi Shi body Wu heart Yue, for the State of Yue made an outstanding contribution to the story of the destruction of Wu, mainly based on the record of Yuan Kang's "Yue Jie Shu" gradually evolved.
From the perspective of historiography, the rise and fall of a country has its own historical inevitability, with its profound economic, political, military and diplomatic reasons, not one or two people can be swayed.
There have been different stories about the end of Xi Shi. One theory is that Xi Shi was later killed by being thrown into the water, and the earliest record of this theory is found in the chapter of Mozi - Kissing the Scholar, which says: "Xi Shi's Shen, her beauty." ("沉" means "to sink" in ancient Chinese), which means that Xi Shi was sunk in the water, and that her death was due to her beauty. The Xiuwenwuyiluan (修文御览) cites the account of Xi Shi in the Wu-Yue Chunqiu (Wu Yue Chun Qiu) compiled by Zhao Ye (赵晔) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which says, "After the death of Wu, the Yue floated Xi Shi to the river, so that she would follow the owls to her death." The word "float" here also means "sink". The word "scops owl" means a leather bag. The meaning of this sentence is that after the fall of Wu, the king of Yue put Xi Shi in a leather bag and sank her into the river.
The Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin once wrote "Jingyang Well" stanzas: "Jingyang Palace wells left to grieve, not all the Dragon Luan vowed to die; intestinal breaks the King of Wu outside the palace water, muddy mud is still buried Xishi".
Another poet, Pi Rixiu, also has a poem titled "Pavilion Wah Palace Huai Gu" *** five, the fifth is: "ringing the corridor in the gold and jade steps, picking apples on the mountain Cherry body; I do not know where the water burial now, the stream moon bends to knit knit.
From these two poems, we can know that in the Tang Dynasty, there was also a rumor that Xi Shi was sunk in the water, but neither of them talked about Xi Shi's relationship with Fan Li.
Another theory is that Xi Shi followed Fan Li into the Five Lakes. It is written in "The Book of Yue Jie" that "after Wu, Xi Shi returned to Fan Li and went to the Five Lakes with him." Du Mu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem Du Niang: "Xishi went down to Gusu, and a barge chased the owl." The "scops owl" here is not interpreted as a leather bag, but refers to Fan Li. The historical record - the king of yueyang hook practice family" said fan li after the death of wu, "floating sea out of qi, change the name, self-proclaimed scops owl zipi". Because of the legend of Fan Li in the rivers and lakes, perhaps the descendants could not bear to see this wonderful woman suffer such a sad end, the story of Xi Shi and Fan Li are hidden in the five lakes of the beautiful marriage, in order to send their sympathies.
The Revised Edition of the Dictionary published in Shanghai a few years ago also says, "Xishi, known as Xizi, was a native of Ramie, a state of Vietnam, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. She was offered by King Goujian of Vietnam to King Fuzha of Wu, who made her the favorite consort of the latter. Legend has it that after the fall of Wu, she entered the Five Lakes with Fan Li". There is no mention of the legend that she was sunk in the water, probably also willing Xishi to have a perfect home.
All in all, the history of Xishi's person, and how she ended up, is yet to be further explored by the historians.