The Southern Dynasty historian Shen Yue once said:
"Since its inception, no knighthood has been awarded consecutively, and literary talents have successively become as prosperous as the Wang clan."
For thousands of years, political and cultural talents have emerged among the sons of the Langya Wang clan.
The number of titles and the high number of titles make it difficult for other noble families to look up to.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Jin Dynasty alone, there were 15 members of the Wang family and 8 empresses, twice as many as the other three families combined.
And all this originated from Wang Ji, the ancestor of the Wang family.
Patriarch Wang Ji
Wang Ji was born in Langya Gaoyu (present-day Jimo District, Qingdao) in the Western Han Dynasty, and later moved his family to Linyi County (present-day Linyi City), which was also part of Langya County, to avoid war.
The Wang clan therefore called themselves the Langya Wang clan to distinguish themselves from the Taiyuan Wang clan.
Wang Ji is extremely talented and learned.
At that time, the doctors only knew one sutra, and he knew all five sutras, and he was a master among Confucians.
Wang Ji had served as a prefectural commander, but because of his outstanding talent, he was recommended to serve as a lieutenant under Liu He, the king of Changyi, in charge of the security of Kyoto.
When he saw that Liu He was greedy and did not ask about political affairs, he went to counsel, but he was not adopted.
A few years later, Liu Fuling, the twenty-one-year-old and childless Emperor of Han Zhao, died.
As a nephew, Liu He the Prince of Changyi was conscripted into the dynasty and made crown prince, and soon succeeded to the throne.
However, Liu He, who had become emperor, still went his own way and did not repent at all, and Wang Ji advised again, but it was still not adopted.
Although Wang Ji's suggestion was never approved by Liu He, it was praised by the ministers of the DPRK.
Therefore, when Liu He was deposed and Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, Wang Jiguansheng was a doctor who advised the doctor to give advice on state affairs.
In the process, Wang Ji realized:
It is always difficult to speak quickly, but there will be evil in the heart. Only by speaking slowly can we ensure peace and kindness, and only then can we reach high.
And these words were exactly what he had warned Liu He.
In his article to Liu He that year, "Playing the King of Changyi", he wrote at the beginning that "words should be slow, and hearts should be kind."
However, Liu He never fulfilled these six words, and although he eventually inherited the throne, he was deposed after only 27 days.
Liu He's rapid demise, as well as Wang Ji's own years of experience as an official, made him deeply appreciate the deep meaning of these six words.
"Speak slowly" is not to speak slowly in the literal sense, but to say not to rush to take the lead.
To go a step further, it is not to compete for fame and profit, but to be careful in words and deeds.
"Good heart" emphasizes that no matter how high or low the official position is, we must be kind and consider more for others.
Wang Ji believes that if the family business is passed on forever, these two points must be done, so he often uses these six words to warn future generations.
Since then, the descendants of the Wang clan have kept these six-character mantras in mind, carried them forward, and finally achieved a great cause.
Founder Wang Xiang
As the years passed, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, Wang Xiang, a member of the Wang clan, was born.
In his early years, Wang Xiang was known for his filial piety to his stepmother.
Later, because of his outstanding military and political talents, he was repeatedly promoted and promoted to the rank of lieutenant of Yipin.
In this year, Sima Zhao was crowned King of Jin.
Sima Zhao's ambition to become emperor was well known to passers-by.
After Wang Xiang learned the news, he privately consulted with He Zeng and Xun Yan, who were also the third duke, and saw how the King of Jin should behave.
He Zeng and Xun Yan believed that they should bow down.
Because Sima Zhao was definitely going to be emperor, He Zeng, Xun Yan, and Wang Xiang were all ministers, so naturally they should perform the ritual of kneeling and worshipping.
Wang Xiang said:
"Like the King of Jin, we are all Wei Chen.
Even if his intention to seize the throne is well known, we must be careful in our words and deeds, not to be flattered, and not to rush to achieve quick success. ”
It can be seen that Wang Xiang's thinking is consistent with the ancestor Wang Ji's "slow speech".
However, He Zeng and Xun Yan thought that this was too cautious, so after seeing Sima Zhao, they immediately performed the kneeling salute.
However, when Wang Xiang faced Sima Zhao, he only looked long and did not bow down.
Between the words, it was all a gesture between the ministers, and there was no rush to flatter.
This practice made Sima Zhao look at Wang Xiang with astonishment.
Sima Zhao believed that Wang Xiang's act not only showed that he would not be an enemy of Sima Zhao, but also that he would not expose Sima Zhao's thoughts.
Not humble, just right.
Therefore, Sima Zhao later had great respect for Wang Xiang, and his descendant Sima Yan did the same for Wang Xiang.
Sima Yan continued to give Wang Xiang various titles and honors, and although Wang Xiang vigorously resigned, it benefited the Wang clan.
As a result, the Langya Wang clan became a powerful and prestigious family.
Before his death, Wang Xiang developed Wang Ji's six-character mantra into five words: "faith, virtue, filial piety, compassion, and let", which were passed on to his descendants.
These five words are also a judgment of his life.
He was filial to his parents, friendly to his brothers, and cautious in his words and deeds, laying the foundation for the magnate status of the Wang clan.
Under his leadership, the sons of the Wang clan kept in mind the teachings of their ancestors and climbed one peak after another.
Outstanding representative Wang Dao
Since the time of Wang Ji, the Wang clan of Langya has only begun to be made an official, and by the time of Wang Xiang, it has become famous in the government and the opposition.
And the one who pushed this position to the top was Wang Dao during the two Jin Dynasties.
Wang Dao was born in the Western Jin Dynasty and was good friends with Sima Rui, the king of Langya at that time.
Wang Dao was keenly aware that the Western Jin Dynasty at that time was already a sign of the fall of the country, so he suggested that Sima Rui guard Jiankang (present-day Nanjing) to prepare for the establishment of a new state.
Although Wang Dao was highly regarded by Sima Rui, he did not take this as an opportunity to monopolize power.
Instead, he was kind to people and actively helped the rich and noble families in the south to do things for Sima Rui.
This style of "doing good deeds" made the Langya Wang clan widely supported in Jiangnan.
Soon after, the Western Jin Dynasty did indeed perish, and Sima Rui established the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Jiankang.
Ten years later, the warlord Su Jun rebelled and burned the palace to rubble.
Therefore, after the quelling of the chaos, some people in the DPRK advocated moving the capital from Jiankang.
Wen Yao advocated moving to Nanchang, and Lu Ye advocated moving to Huiji.
And Wang Dao? Then it advocates not moving the capital.
Wang Dao believes that the matter of moving the capital is of great importance and cannot be easily proposed.
If you can "calm down", then "the group is at ease".
That is to say, things should be done slowly and slowly, more for the sake of the people, so that the country is naturally stable.
These eight words are Wang Dao's political policy and attitude toward the world.
Using this as a benchmark, he formulated a policy of "quiet" and "leniency", which stabilized the situation and the economy.
We can see that "quietness", "forgiveness" and prudence in words and deeds, and kindness to people are in the same line, in fact, it is the expansion and sublimation of "words should be slow, people should be good".
Therefore, Wang Dao is a typical practitioner of Wang's six-character mantra.
Because of this, the influence of the Wang clan reached its peak during this period.
Later, after the fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen appeared one after another, and although the emperor changed back and forth, it was always the Wang clan that held the power.
However, after the Sui and Tang dynasties destroyed Chen, they vigorously suppressed the rich clan, and the Langya Wang clan gradually fell silent.
But this does not mean that the six-character mantra has been lost, it is still remembered by the descendants of the Wang family.
Many years later, the Wang clan relied on these six words to recreate the glory.
The founder of the sect, Wang Hu
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wang Hu, a descendant of the Wang clan, went through the Later Han and Later Zhou dynasties, and found his place in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Because of his outstanding talents, Wang Hu was repeatedly promoted to the rank of knight, and the official was promoted to the rank of foreign lang of the household department.
This official position was of high status and belonged to the emperor's close attendant, which showed that Wang Hu was deeply trusted by Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty.
At that time, Zhao Kuangyin was suspicious of his younger brother Zhao Guangyi, so he was also quite uneasy about Zhao Guangyi's father-in-law Fu Yanqing, and was always worried that the two would be in cahoots with each other in an attempt to commit misdeeds.
In addition, at that time, Fu Yanqing really did not have any political achievements, so Zhao Kuangyin asked Wang Hu to collect Fu Yanqing's guilt.
Zhao Kuangyin also promised Wang Hu that once fu Yanqing was overthrown, he would make Wang Hu the prime minister.
After several months of careful investigation, Wang Hu found that although Fu Yanqing had some inappropriate places, such as not strict enough management of subordinates, there was no bad deeds in addition.
As for zhao Kuangyin's feared treason, there is no evidence.
Therefore, Wang Hu reported truthfully, and with the strength of a hundred mouths of a family to protect Fu Yanqing, he also advised Zhao Kuangyin to say:
"During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, many kings killed innocents indiscriminately out of jealousy, so the fortunes of the country were short. Your Majesty, take this as a warning! ”
Zhao Kuangyin didn't think so, but in the end, because there was no real evidence, he did not kill Fu Yanqing.
Of course, because Wang Hu did not overthrow Fu Yanqing, he naturally failed to become the prime minister.
Later, Wang Hu planted three locust trees in the mansion and said:
"These three locust trees represent the three dukes, and my descendants will have those who can be ranked among the three dukes."
At that time, the world believed that Wang Hu was slow in his words and good deeds, and his merits would be able to bless his descendants.
Sure enough, his children and grandchildren were ranked third dukes.
Since then, the Langya Wang Clan, which seems to have been annihilated, has reappeared in the jianghu with the name of the Three Acacia Wang Clan and attracted the attention of the world.
Wang Hu practiced the six-character mantra of the first ancestor Wang Ji and made it to the extreme.
The Wang clan also rose again and opened a new round of brilliant splendor.
Throughout the thousands of years, the Title of King of Langya has been awarded consecutively, with many empresses and horses, countless officials at all levels, and a considerable number of high-ranking officials and knights.
Not only that, but their cultural achievements have also impressed the world.
The Wang clan people have a general canonical system, gong calligraphy and painting, are good at poetry, and even have a considerable influence in historiography and Confucian and Shang culture.
And all of this began with the six words of Wang Ji in that year.
Speak slowly and be kind.
There is no need to rush to express one's position in everything, there is no need to rush to be the first, and it is prudent to be cautious in words and deeds;
All affairs must be for the sake of others, we must have good intentions, and kindness and compassion are the good recipe.