It is said that Gou Jian's biological mother, Gou Shi, once played in Zhangshui and prayed for a son at the Ximen Leopard Temple, and dreamed of having intercourse with the gods that night, so she was pregnant with Jian Jian. Twelve months later, when a divine light shone in the heavens, and there were red characters on his back, which read, "Cao Jianchen and Tuwang Xianyang." Later, Hehong changed his surname to Zhishi (苻氏) based on this and the saying "King Of Ying".
Historically, Jian Jian was a controversial historical figure, but no matter how controversial, as a Former Qin monarch during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, he did have extraordinary abilities and remarkable achievements. Among them, the most prominent achievement was that Jian Jian successfully unified the north at that time, and captured the territory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, facing the north and south of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. However, it was such a powerful and meritorious monarch who, in the end, died a disgraceful death.
So, how did Jian Jian die? Why did he end up like this?
Shortly after the End of the Battle of Shuishui in 383 AD, Murong Chong, the Prince of Former Yan, no longer took the initiative to attack other cities, but chose to cultivate his spirit, accumulate strength, preserve the combat effectiveness of the army, and quietly wait for the time to mature before continuing to attack. When Murong Chong sent troops to surround Chang'an City, something strange suddenly happened. Tens of thousands of crows hovered over Chang'an City, and the terrible cries not only disturbed the people in Chang'an City, but also affected the combat effectiveness of the soldiers defending the city.
As we all know, the crow is an ominous symbol, surrounded by tens of thousands of crows in Chang'an City, naturally no one thinks that Jian Jian can keep it, even the warlocks in Chang'an City predicted that Chang'an will soon be breached. The Former Yan monarch Murong Chong felt that he had waited for a ripe time, so he sent troops to attack Chang'an. In this battle, the Former Qin emperor Jian Jian led the troops, but during the great battle, he was wounded by a bow and arrow and had to stop the battle and enter the city to recuperate.
The Records of the Ancient Runes of Jia is an ancient book that has been circulating in Chang'an City for a long time, and there is a passage in the book: "The emperor will grow up for a long time." The blunt meaning is: let Jian Jian go to the Five Generals Mountain to hide, and then nothing will happen. Another Qin rumor said, "Jianjin Five Generals Grow Up." In these two sentences, King Jian of Qin discovered the Five Generals Mountain in the northeast of Chang'an City, and firmly believed that as long as he went to the Five Generals Mountain, he could eliminate all the current crises.
Therefore, Jian Jian finally chose to leave his son, Crown Prince Gonghong, in Chang'an to defend the city, and ran to The Five Generals Mountain by himself.
After determining the five generals' trip to the mountain, the Qin king Jian Jianxian sent his confidant Yang Ding to the west gate of Chang'an City to fight in order to attract the elite troops of Murong Chong of Former Yan. Then, with hundreds of cavalrymen, Jian Jian led his favorite concubine Lady Zhang, the youngest son and daughter Zhongshan Gongzhi and Baojin all the way east towards The Five Generals Mountain. As a result, just as he was about to leave, he heard that the army he had sent to contain Murong Chong and his general Yang Ding had been caught in the enemy's treacherous scheme, fell into a dangerous situation, and was captured by Murong Chong's army.
Jian Jian felt incredulous and panicked, so after hastily saying goodbye to his relatives, he went out of Chang'an City.
Now in Chang'an City, the most powerful and first-ranking general is Yang Ding, and even Yang Ding has been captured, who else can meet the battle? The whole of Chang'an City was in a state of panic, and people were in a state of panic. At this time, Murong Chong's army continued to attack Chang'an City, and the Prince of Qin who was guarding the city felt that Chang'an City could not be defended, so he left the people of the city and fled west with the imperial relatives, and finally, surrendered to the Jin Dynasty.
The monarch was gone, and the civil and military officials of mancheng naturally fled in a hurry, and even hundreds of Lieutenant Colonel Quan Yi defected to Later Qin. The monarch of Later Qin was named Yao Cang, and after he knew that former Qin monarch Gong Jian had left Chang'an City, he planned to intercept him in the middle of the road, and at this time, he just happened to meet the generals who had defected, and he knew more about The current situation of Jian Jian. After knowing that Jian Jian was on his way to Mount Wujiang, Yao Chang immediately sent troops to surround Mount Wujiangshan and escort his captives to Xinping.
In Xinping, in order to show his dignity, Yao Chang deliberately did not receive the captive Jian Jian, but he sent someone to ask Jian Jian for the jade seal. Facing the subordinates who asked for the jade seal, Jian Jian was not afraid at all, and scolded him: "You chaotic courtiers and thieves, you actually dare to ask your monarch for the jade seal, how can the jade seal fall into your hands, I have already sent the jade seal to the Jin Kingdom." Then, he kept cursing Yao Cang, saying that he was ungrateful and deceitful.
After learning that Jian Jian had sent Yuxi away, Yao Cang forced Jian Jian to commit suicide. Before hanging himself, Jian Jian also stabbed his daughter Baojin to death with a sword, and could not let these Qiang people insult his daughter. Lady Zhang, the favorite concubine, was very virtuous, and after crying and bidding farewell to The body of Gong Jian, she also drew her sword and committed suicide. Jian Jian's youngest son, Zhongshan Gongxuan, also committed suicide and followed his parents.
The generals and soldiers of Later Qin heard about the death of the Zhijian family and felt that they were all heroic people, and the soldiers were touched to learn that the Death of the Zhijian family was so heroic. Things have reached this point, and Yao Cang does not want to be notorious because of the matter of Jian Jian, and only publicizes to the outside world: the family of Jian Jian has committed suicide, and a solemn funeral has been held for him, posthumously crowning King Jian jian of Qin as the "Magnificent Heavenly King".
In the early qin period before his rule, Jian Jian did his best to govern the country well, reused the Han Chinese Wang Meng, and also implemented a series of policies that were convenient for the people and benefited the people, and the country became prosperous because of his governance. However, unfortunately, in the later stages, he began to become a good and happy worker, did not give the people a moment to rest, and became a woman's benevolence in his life and work, and eventually, he lost his world.
According to the "Chung Tung Sketch", it is rumored that he died in the dream of the temple's master Maha at Shinpyeong-ji Temple, and hoped that the temple would be converted into a temple dedicated to Jian Jian and more than ten guards. The abbot did not comply, the county and town where the temple was located, sure enough, died one after another, and then had no choice, that is, to honor its spiritual instructions, after changing the temple, there was really no disease. Taoist believers yan qiyi, in the face of the plague to build a shrine to avoid disasters, known as the prince of the gong and the god of the family.
Resources:
【Book of Jin", "Spring and Autumn of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Volume IV", "Chung Tung Sketches"]