The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Xi Shi is one of the four great beauties in ancient times and is the embodiment and synonym of beauty.

Xi Shi, the first of the four great beauties, is known to everyone.

There is no need to say much about her beauty. She can make the fish feel ashamed of themselves by the stream, and her every frown and smile can make Dong Shi imitate her.

Xi Shi's greatest luck was that the State of Yue successfully defeated the State of Wu and became the winner of the war.

"She is the most beautiful of the four beauties and the most beautiful undercover agent in the Spring and Autumn Period."

"He changed the course of history single-handedly. He is a well-trained and most powerful spy."

"Xi Shi, her real name is Shi Yi Guang."

"In 506 BC, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Xi Shi was born in Zhuluo Village, Yue State."

"There are East Village and West Village in Zhuluo. Xishi lived in West Village, so everyone called her Xishi."

"Xi Shi lived by the Huansha Creek. Her father sold firewood and her mother washed silk."

"Xi Shi is one of the four great beauties. The term 'sinking fish' in 'sinking fish and falling geese' refers to Xi Shi."

"Xi Shi was washing her silk by the Puyang River in Yue State. The fish in the water were so shy seeing how beautiful she was that they dived to the bottom of the river."

"The Tang Dynasty poet Song Zhiwen used the allusion of Xi Shi sinking fish in a line in his poem "Washing Silk for the Landman"."

"Birds startled into the pine moss, fish tails sank into the lotus."

"There are many poems describing Xi Shi's beauty, such as Li Bai's "Xi Shi"."

"Washing silk in clear water, I am at ease with the clear waves."

"It is hard for the white teeth to open their mouths, and they are deep in the blue clouds."

"Su Dongpo's "Drinking on the Lake, First Clear, Then Rainy" shows that Xi Shi is the embodiment of beauty."

“It’s beautiful when the water is shining and the sky is clear, but it’s also strange when the mountains are empty and covered with rain.”

"If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to wear light makeup and heavy makeup."

"The sparkling waves on a sunny day and the vast mountains in the mist and rain, Xi Shi gives people such a feeling."

"Xi Shi had heart pains and often covered her chest and frowned because of discomfort."

"An ugly girl from the village next to Xi Shi imitated Xi Shi, also covering her chest and frowning."

"As a result, everyone was so scared that they ran away. This is the origin of the idiom 'Dong Shi Xiou Pin'."

"Xi Shi, who lived quietly as a beautiful girl in Xicun, never thought that one day she would leave such a profound mark in history."

"The complete story of Xi Shi first appeared in two books from the Eastern Han Dynasty."

"One is the Yue Jue Shu written by Yuan Kang, a historian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the other is the Wu Yue Chun Qiu written by Zhao Ye, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty."

"In the story of Xi Shi, there are three historical celebrities, Fan Li, King Fuchai of Wu, and King Goujian of Yue."

"The relationship between Wu and Yue was very bad. King Helu of Wu, the father of King Fuchai of Wu, died in a war with the Kingdom of Yue."

"The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable."

"After Helu's death, Fuchai worked hard to strengthen the country and began to prepare to wipe out the Kingdom of Yue in one fell swoop."

"In 494 BC, Fu Chai defeated the Kingdom of Yue, and King Gou Jian of Yue was forced to seek peace with the Kingdom of Wu."

"The Wu Kingdom avenged its great vengeance and captured Gou Jian, who then suffered. When will this cycle of revenge end?"

"The conflict between the two countries has intensified, and the Yue State has also begun to think about how to take revenge."

Su Shi: In my eyes, the most satisfying thing for Xi Shi is to fly far away and stay away from the struggle for power.

After the fall of the Wu Kingdom, Xi Shi followed her former lover, Fan Li, the first meritorious official who destroyed the Wu Kingdom.

The two of them retired together, sailed on the five lakes, and lived a free and unrestrained life.

It should be said that this ending is beautiful and romantic.

At that time, Fan Li was ordered to search for beautiful women in Yue State so as to send them to Wu State to confuse the King of Wu.

As a result, Xi Shi was discovered and they both fell in love.

However, the two ended their love for the sake of Yue's national restoration.

Xi Shi went to the State of Wu, and Fan Li continued to serve Gou Jian.

In a blink of an eye, twenty years passed and the Wu Kingdom finally perished.

Fan Li understood the character of King Gou Jian of Yue, and knew that he could share adversity but not wealth.

At the same time, Fan Li was deeply attached to his sweetheart Xi Shi.

So when the Wu Palace was attacked, he took Xi Shi away and disappeared from then on.

This kind of romantic ending is what he likes and what he desires.

If you want to compare the West Lake with Xizi, light makeup and thick makeup are always suitable.

West Lake is beautiful in itself, and with Xi Shi, it becomes even more beautiful.

He liked to link West Lake and Xi Shi together, and always promoted the happy ending of Fan Li retiring after achieving success and living in seclusion with the beautiful Xi Shi.

The reason for this is related to his life experience and mental journey.

He became famous at a young age and was well-known all over the world before he was twenty years old.

After that, he passed the imperial examination and started his official career at a young age.

However, when he was in his forties, he suffered a major setback in his life, which was the Wudai Poetry Case.

Some members of the New Party picked out words and phrases from his poems and essays with ulterior motives, misinterpreting them as slandering the emperor and satirizing the new laws.

He was imprisoned and nearly died, and was later exiled to Huangzhou, where he stayed for five years.

In the past five or six years, he has become much quieter and more mature, and his early ideals have gradually faded away.

On the one hand, he still longed to serve the court and benefit the people, but on the other hand, he had a deep disgust for the struggle for power.

When Song Shenzong died, he was reappointed as the prefect of Hangzhou.

During his years in Hangzhou, he carried out major water conservancy projects to benefit the local people.

But the other side also wants to retreat at the peak of its power like the famous minister Fan Li in history.

After achieving success, he went boating on the lakes and seas with his confidante.

To live this life is indeed one of the greatest joys in life.

"In 490 BC, Wen Zhong, a minister of the State of Yue, formulated nine strategies to destroy Wu in order to avenge the previous humiliation. Among them, he tailored a beauty trap for King Fuchai of Wu."

"But Wen Zhong searched the harem of Yue State and could not find a suitable candidate, so the task of the beauty pageant was given to the doctor Fan Li."

"One day, Fan Li came to the Huansha River and saw Xi Shi washing clothes by the river."

"When Fan Li saw Xi Shi's beautiful figure, he fell in love with her at once."

"Fan Li was also very handsome when he was young, and Xi Shi was also moved when she saw him."

"The two young people fell in love and started dating."

"The Qing Dynasty poet Song Xiang also wrote the poem "Fan Li Carrying Xi Shi", one of which describes the scene at that time."

"She sheds tears while washing her white silk garment, and sings while picking lotus flowers beside the crow's nest."

"But Wen Zhong came out to break up the couple. He thought Xi Shi was the best candidate for the beauty trap."

"So they used Xi Shi as an undercover agent to forcibly separate the young couple."

"Fan Li had no choice but to choose career over love and gave up his love for Xi Shi."

"Destiny is so wonderful, you never know what will happen next second."

"It's like a choice made at a certain moment, which changes a person's life forever."

"In 487 BC, Xi Shi officially joined the Wu State's undercover program."

"Along with Xi Shi, there is another person named Zheng Dan who was selected for the undercover program."

"After they entered the palace, they began a series of undercover training. The Kingdom of Yue was determined to train them to be all-round undercover agents who can sing, dance, play the piano, and paint."

"After everything was ready, Fan Li went to the State of Wu and presented Xi Shi and Zheng Dan as gifts to King Fuchai."

"When Fu Chai saw the two beauties, he was so happy that he immediately praised Gou Jian, which made Wu Zixu so angry that he turned his brows against him."

"After Xi Shi arrived in Wu, she began her career as a spy."

"Xi Shi quickly got into the role and put into practice everything she had learned during her training in Yue State."

"King Fuchai of Wu was so bewildered that he never came to court again."

"King Fuchai of Wu spent all his time enjoying himself with Xi Shi, completely neglecting state affairs."

"It led to the decline of Wu's national strength and discord between the ruler and his subjects."

"On the other hand, Gou Jian began to work hard after returning to his country, sleeping on straw and eating bitter food, and working hard to govern the country."

"After a hard struggle, Yue was ready to attack Wu."

"Whether it's a mule or a horse, we need to take it out for a walk. The war between Wu and Yue has started again."

"Under a series of strategies and deployments, the Wu Kingdom was defeated."

"Fuchai committed suicide out of shame, and Xi Shi successfully completed her undercover mission."

"In 473 BC, with the help of Xi Shi, Gou Jian finally avenged his humiliation and destroyed the State of Wu." Li Longji: Gou Jian's life of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall is indeed inspiring, but the fact that King Fu Chai of Wu indulged in beauty and lost his country is more worthy of attention.

King Gou Jian of Yue was defeated by King Fu Chai of Wu, and Gou Jian was sent to serve the king as a prisoner of war.

In fact, before being sent to Wu to serve the King of Wu, Gou Jian had already begun planning for revenge.

In that era, it was necessary to destroy a country.

The best way is to let the king of this country ignore state affairs and indulge in lust and pleasure.

So Gou Jian quickly sent people to look for beautiful women among the people, and it was under such circumstances that he found Xi Shi.

Fan Li first found Xi Shi, but because Xi Shi was so beautiful, he fell in love with her.

Thus, Fan Li and Xi Shi had a love story.

Originally, Fan Li did not want to give Xi Shi away, he wanted to find another one.

However, as time was too tight, Gou Jian sent Wen Zhong to handle the matter again.

So, Wen Zhong discovered Xi Shi.

In this way, the love story of Fan Li and Xi Shi had to end abruptly.

Later, Xi Shi was presented to the King of Wu.

At the same time, Fan Li accompanied Gou Jian to the State of Wu to serve the King of Wu.

As for Wen Zhong, he was left in Yue State to manage the people.

One theory is that the reason why Fan Li accompanied Gou Jian to serve the King of Wu was that Fan Li was very smart.

Fan Li knew that only by following Gou Jian all the time could he avoid being suspected by Gou Jian.

Wen Zhong did not understand this truth, so Gou Jian eventually killed Wen Zhong after returning to his country.

Another theory is that the reason why Fan Li followed Gou Jian to the State of Wu was because of Xi Shi.

If Fan Li continued to stay in Yue State, he would have felt very uncomfortable since his lover was sent to the Wu Palace.

So even if he had to be a slave and live an inhuman life, he would follow her as long as he could see Xi Shi one more moment.

After Gou Jian went to the State of Wu, he served the King of Wu very attentively.

Every time the King of Wu wanted to get on the carriage, Gou Jian would squat on the ground and serve as a stool for the King of Wu.

Later, the King of Wu fell ill, and Gou Jian tried to please him.

He even tasted the King of Wu's feces himself to judge his condition.

All that Gou Jian did moved the King of Wu deeply.

Although Wu Zixu strongly opposed it, the King of Wu finally released Gou Jian.

After Gou Jian returned, he worked hard to govern the country and the Yue State became stronger.

Later, the State of Yue took advantage of the opportunity when the State of Wu went north to compete with the State of Jin for hegemony and stabbed the State of Wu in the back and destroyed it.

"However, the beautiful Xi Shi who overfulfilled her undercover mission ended up with a mysterious ending in her life."

"There are various accounts of Xi Shi's fate in later generations."

"The Yue Jue Shu written by a man from the Eastern Han Dynasty records that after the fall of her country, Xi Shi returned to Fan Li and they sailed away on the five lakes together."

"Literary and dramatic works are written in much the same way, giving Xi Shi and Fan Li a happy ending."

"Xi Shi returned to Fan Li, and the two of them sailed away, disappearing into the vast sea of ​​smoke."

"Su Dongpo once wrote, "I went to the five lakes to seek the way, and returned in a small boat, still carrying Xi Shi with me."

"Besides the happy ending, there is another story that Shen Jiang said."

"This statement was recorded in ancient books quite early. Legend has it that King Gou Jian of Yue believed that the fall of Wu was due to King Fu Chai's obsession with Xi Shi's beauty."

"King Gou Jian of Yue once said that Xi Shi was the one who contributed to the fall of Wu."

"It means that Xi Shi was a beauty that brought disaster. In order to prevent Xi Shi's beauty from bringing disaster to Yue State, Gou Jian finally let Xi Shi drown in the river."

"The story in the Records of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is a little different. It is said that after the Kingdom of Yue conquered the Kingdom of Wu, Gou Jian wanted to take Xi Shi into his harem."

"However, Echigo was jealous of Xi Shi and spread rumors that she was a woman who brought disaster to the country, so he ordered his men to sink her to the bottom of the river."

"And what Mozi said in 'Mozi's Friendship with Scholars' clearly pointed out that Xi Shi was drowned in the river because of her beauty."

"Bi Gan's death was due to his resistance."

"Meng Ben's killing was a sign of his bravery."

"Xi Shi's sinking is due to her beauty."

"The split of Wu Qi was caused by that incident."

"It is still unknown what happened to Xi Shi in the end."

"But people naturally hope that Xi Shi can have a beautiful and romantic ending, holding hands with Fan Li beside the Taihu Lake, singing and dancing in the night."

"Mencius said that there were no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn Period."

"In that war-torn era, women were often given as gifts to each other in order to ease relations between the two countries and achieve national strategies."

"Women's rights are completely unequal compared to men's."

"That's how it is with Xi Shi. No matter how beautiful or talented she is, she has no right to decide her own future."

"So from the very beginning, their fate was tinged with tragedy."

"Many people in later generations attributed the country's demise to a single woman, which is unfair and slanderous."

"As the Tang Dynasty poet Luo Yin wrote, a nation rises and falls at its own time. Why should the people of Wu blame Xi Shi? If Xi Shi had helped to bring down the Wu Kingdom, who would have been responsible for the fall of the Yue Kingdom?"

Li Shimin: Since ancient times, beautiful women have had short lives and are not allowed to grow old in this world. Xi Shi became a tool used by King Gou Jian of Yue to take revenge on the State of Wu.

After the smoke of the Wu-Yue conflict cleared, there were various legends about the fate of the beautiful Xi Shi.

First, he hanged himself out of guilt.

After Xi Shi helped the Kingdom of Yue to destroy the Kingdom of Wu, she felt gratified that she had completed her mission.

On the other hand, he also felt guilty and felt sorry for King Fuchai of Wu.

He was unable to free himself from an extremely contradictory psychological state and finally committed suicide by hanging himself.

Second, he was taken away by Fan Li.

After the fall of Wu, Xi Shi returned to Fan Li, and they sailed away on the five lakes together.

On the day the Wu Kingdom was destroyed, Fan Li did two things.

One was to persuade his good friend Wen Zhong, who had shared the same hardships with him, to leave Gou Jian as soon as possible.

Another thing is that he found his old lover Xi Shi deep in the shade of flowers under Gusu Terrace.

The two men fled hastily to Taihu Lake, both riding a small boat, and disappeared in the vast sea of ​​smoke.

Third, he was drowned in the lake by Fan Li.

After the fall of the Wu Kingdom, the King of Yue wanted to keep Xi Shi by his side because of her beauty.

But Fan Li firmly opposed it. He wanted the King of Yue to learn from the King of Wu's lesson and not be tempted by beauty.

Fan Li devised a plan and sent people to use the King of Yue's chariot to trick Xi Shi onto the boat on Taihu Lake.

When they reached the center of the lake, he took advantage of Xi Shi's inattention and cruelly pushed her off the boat. Xi Shi drowned in Taihu Lake.

This statement is based on male supremacy.

In other words, the reason why Fan Li did this was because he liked Xi Shi at first.

But because Xi Shi was sent to the Wu Palace, she lived with Fu Chai day and night for such a long time.

As a man, Fan Li couldn't stand it and his mentality changed drastically.

Fan Li thought Xi Shi was dirty, so he pushed Xi Shi into the lake in order to wash her clean.

Fourth, he was drowned in the river by the people of Wu.

After the fall of the Wu Kingdom, the people of Wu vented all their anger on Xi Shi.

The people of Wu wrapped Xi Shi in layers of brocade and drowned her in the Yangtze River.

As a Tang Dynasty poet said, the rise and fall of a country has its own time, so why should the people of Wu blame Xi Shi?

From this poem, we can see that there is a certain possibility that Xi Shi was drowned in the river by the people of Wu.

Fifth, he was drowned in the river by Gou Jian.

King Gou Jian of Yue once said that the credit for the fall of Wu should go to Xi Shi.

Gou Jian believed that the demise of Wu was caused by Fu Chai's obsession with Xi Shi's beauty, and he wanted to prevent Xi Shi's beauty from bringing harm to Yue.

Gou Jian repaid kindness with evil, and regarded Xi Shi as a beauty who brought disaster, and ordered her to be drowned in the river.

Sixth, he was drowned in the Echigo River.

After Yue conquered Wu, Gou Jian wanted to take Xi Shi into his harem.

Echigo believed that Xi Shi was a woman who would bring disaster to the country. Fearing that Xi Shi would bring disaster to Yue, he ordered his men to wrap Xi Shi in a cowhide bag and sink her to the bottom of the river.

This statement is also popular because it fits the king's lust and the queen's jealousy. (End of this chapter)