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姓董名卓字仲穎，東漢末年臨洮人。性粗暴而有謀，漢靈帝時為并州牧。帝崩，少帝立，外戚與宦官相爭。何進召董卓進京誅宦官。卓未至，進被殺。此時，袁紹殺宦官，洛陽大亂。卓軍至，平定內亂，稱為相國。廢少帝，立獻帝，集權一身，淫亂凶暴，毒流朝野。故袁紹號召各州牧共討之，推紹為盟主。卓見大勢已去，焚燒洛陽，挾獻帝西遷長安，自為太師，有篡國之意。王允用美人計，誘呂布刺殺董卓。從此，群雄各據一方，逐鹿中原，你爭我奪，無有寧日矣！
註解﹕
董卓字仲穎，東漢末年臨洮（山西）人，是個老西子。本來老西子性情很柔和，沒有脾氣，可是這個老西子脾氣很大，也不柔和。他的性情粗暴，有陰謀；不是陽謀。好像毛澤東似的，是個大陰謀家。
在漢靈帝時，他就做到很大的官，當并州牧。靈帝崩時，太子少帝做皇帝，因年紀輕，就受宦官的欺負。外邊有皇親國舅也和宦官爭權，弄得朝政不振。
那時何太后也垂簾聽政，她的親戚何進就作三軍司令的官，可是他沒有權力和宦官來爭。惹不起宦官，他就引狼入室，召董卓進京，平定宦官。可是董卓聽見這個召令，心想，「機會可來了。」所以他就發兵到洛陽，可是故意拖延時日，軍隊慢慢走，拖延時日也就是要看鷸蚌相爭，他要漁翁得利，他要看看哪一方失敗了。
若是宦官被外戚弄垮了，他可以來對付外戚；如果外戚失敗了，宦官勝了，他可進來好好對付宦官。他來是來，來是想預備趁機奪權。這時候他若快一點來，何進怎麼會被殺呢？可能他發兵的時候，透露消息給宦官知道；宦官知道了何進叫人來對付他們，所以就先把何進殺了。這時，袁紹又殺宦官兩千多名，宦官失敗了，於是洛陽大亂。董卓就趁此機會到洛陽，把亂平定了。
因為他是投機分子，不是真心為漢朝，想找機會自立。所以這時候他就自封為相國，把少帝廢了，改立獻帝。
漢獻帝是漢朝末年一個無能力的皇帝，董卓這時就大權在握。他非常淫亂凶暴，一有了權，就荼毒老百姓。他這種殘暴流到朝野；朝廷的人也怕他，老百姓也怕他。
這時候袁紹號召各州牧（各地的領袖）共討之，大家一起來把他殺了。大家一起推袁紹為盟主，做大家一個表率。董卓見大勢已去，便把洛陽城燒了，控制漢獻帝，西遷到長安，自封為太師爺，有篡國之意，他想取而代之漢獻帝。這時候王允設個美人計。
貂嬋是三國時代一位最美的女人，他本來是王允的一個丫鬟。王允因為看國家這樣混亂，就想一個辦法來把國家整頓好。可是怎麼能除去董卓？董卓本身也是個詭計多端，老奸巨滑，心狠手辣的一個人，又加上一個呂布。
呂布是三國時代的一位大勇將，呂布以後投靠董卓，又拜董卓為義父。董卓得到呂布，就如虎添翼，所以誰也惹不起他。呂布是一個非常有勇的人，甚至劉、關、張三人也都抵擋不住他。
這個丫鬟見到王允這麼憂愁，就問：「老爺，你有什麼困難的事情，可告訴我。我可以替你分憂，我願意幫助你分擔憂愁。」王允說：「你一個女子，怎麼可以分擔我的憂愁？」但王允又一想，計上心頭，「好！用一個美人計試一試。」
於是他請呂布來吃飯，就叫貂嬋出來敬酒。呂布看見貂嬋就迷了。王允一看他鍾意貂嬋，就把貂嬋許配給他；以後，又請董卓來吃飯，又叫貂嬋出來跳舞唱歌，敬酒招待。王允說：「這是我的女兒。」董卓一見美女，也就被迷住了。王允就把她送給了董卓。
當董卓將貂嬋帶回家，呂布以為他的乾爸爸為他娶媳婦，高興得不得了。等到拜堂時，原來是給董卓的。這時呂布很不高興，但因為董卓是義父，有權力，他也沒有辦法。所謂「寄在屋簷下，焉敢不低頭。」於是就忍著。
貂嬋等著董卓出去了，就約會呂布在花園見面。呂布和貂嬋兩人談話，貂嬋就向他訴說這種冤屈，哭哭啼啼地說：「我父親本來是把我許配給你的，想不到到這兒來，被你義父董卓霸佔了。我現在不知怎麼辦好？」呂布這時一聽，是可忍也，孰不可忍也，說：「你不要哭，我會把妳救出去。我要是救不出你，我也不活了，也不做人了。」
正在這個時候，董卓回來，看見貂嬋對呂布哭，以為呂布把貂嬋佔有了。於是拿起呂布的方天戟，要把呂布刺死，呂布趕緊跑掉。貂嬋是故意挑撥離間，令呂布刺殺董卓，王司徒的美人計成功了。
從此群雄各據一方，逐鹿中原，都要做主席，做國家的元首，做皇帝。所以你爭我奪，你想把我消滅，我亦想把你消滅，無有寧日，漢朝天下就亂了。
評董卓（續）
一九八六年八月八日
評曰﹕
東漢末年 輩出大奸
各顯其能 一手遮天
董卓乘機 奪取政權
廢帝謀位 不得死然
註解﹕
「東漢末年，輩出大奸」：東漢末年的時候，出來很多大奸雄。
「各顯其能，一手遮天」：個個逞自己詭計多端的能力，都想用一隻手把天遮上了，也就是想把皇帝殺了，自己取而代之。
「董卓乘機，奪取政權」：所以董卓這時乘機而起，他把政權奪去了。
「廢帝謀位，不得死然」：他把皇帝廢了，把天子的位子奪過來，可是他沒有那麼大的福報，自己被呂布殺死了。老百姓恨他太厲害，就用火把他燒了。據說董卓有三百多磅，你看他身上有多少油？燃著了三天才燒完，所以不得死然。
又說偈曰﹕
僥倖成功只一時 殃及子孫受凌遲
老奸巨滑陰毒類 狐群狗黨共一池
禍國殃民罪難赦 喪心病狂業同歸
愚者顛倒貪無厭 因果循環嘆自失
註解﹕
「僥倖成功只一時」：董卓不擇手段，不應得而得，這是一種僥倖而得，只是一時。
「殃及子孫受凌遲」：他這種禍殃，連及他的子孫也被凌遲處死，皆不得其死。
「老奸巨滑陰毒類」：董卓是個老奸、大滑頭，很陰毒的。
「狐群狗黨共一池」：當時都是一群狐群狗黨在一起互相利用。
「禍國殃民罪難赦」：他把國家弄壞了，也把老百姓也害得很苦。他的罪不能赦的。
「喪心病狂業同歸」：他這種行為真是喪心病狂，他所造的罪業陪他在一起。
「愚者顛倒貪無厭」：因為他太愚癡，顛倒是非黑白，貪而無厭，貪名貪利，不擇手段貪做領袖，做皇帝，沒有厭倦的時候。
「因果循環嘆自失」：到頭來，他也會發覺這種因果，自己受果報，自己也覺得做錯事了。
「評董卓」文完 |
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Dong Zhuo of Linyao, alias Dong Zhong Ying, lived around the end of the Eastern Han period. He was a cruel, ruthless and scheming person. He was a governor in King Ling’s time in the Han Dynasty. When King Ling died, his son was made the king, and the eunuchs and the king’s maternal relatives fought for power. He Jin sent for Dong Zhuo to kill the eunuchs in the capital; however, he was killed before Dong Zhuo arrived. At the same time, Yuan Shao massacred the eunuchs, and Luoyang was thrown into a turmoil. Dong Zhuo brought order to the capital when he arrived with his army, and thus became the prime minister of the country. He became the dictator of the country, and was able to replace the young king with King Xian. His ruthlessness brought chaos to the country. Yuan Shao thus called for all governors to rise against Dong Zhuo. The governors voted for Yuan Shao to lead the allegiance. Dong Zhuo, knowing that he was no match for the allegiance, thus burnt Luoyang and forced King Xian to move the capital west to Chang’an. He made himself the king’s advisor, and it was obvious that he intended to become the king himself. Wang Yun made use of a beautiful woman and lured Lü Bu into killing Dong Zhuo. Since then, the country was divided by the different powers, which fought each other incessantly, and it was a long time before China saw peace again.
Commentary:
Dong Zhuo of Linzhao (known as Shanxi today), alias Dong Zhong Ying, lived during the end of the Eastern Han period. People of Shanxi are usually gentle and mild-tempered. However, Dong Zhuo was bad-tempered and far from gentle. He was ruthless and scheming, like the great schemer Mao Zedong.
He rose to high power and was made a governor during King Ling’s time in the Han Dynasty. When King Ling died, the young prince Shao succeeded the throne. However, as he was very young, King Shao was unable to control the eunuchs at all; the power struggles between the eunuchs and the king’s maternal relatives weakened the power of the court.
Empress Dowager He interfered and administered state affairs behind a bamboo screen then. Her relative He Jin was made the admiral of the three armies. Yet, even He Jin had not enough power to fight against the eunuchs. He thus called for Dong Zhuo to come to the capital to fight the eunuchs. This was as dangerous as one letting a wolf into his house. When Dong Zhuo received this order, he thought, “This is my chance!” Therefore, he deployed his army to Luoyang, but delayed as much as possible. He ordered his army to proceed at slow speed, such that he could benefit from the conflict between the eunuchs and the king’s relatives.
If the eunuchs were beaten, he could concentrate on tackling the king’s relatives; if the king’s relatives lost the power struggle, he could fight the eunuchs when he entered the capital. Therefore, although he seemingly obeyed orders to come to the capital, he was actually looking for a chance to seize the power himself in doing so.
Had he reached Luoyang sooner, He Jin might not have been killed. Dong Zhuo might have purposely leaked the news that He Jin was onto the eunuchs, such that the eunuchs would kill He Jin first. At the same time, Yuan Shao killed more than 2,000 eunuchs and the eunuchs thus failed in the political struggle. Luoyang was in turmoil. Dong Zhuo seized the opportunity to enter Luoyang and calmed the political turmoil.
Dong Zhuo was an opportunist; he wasn’t concerned with the good of the nation but his own power. Therefore, he pronounced himself prime minister, and replaced the young king with King Xian.
A totally useless emperor like King Xian gave Dong Zhuo the chance to seize all the power for himself. He was cruel and ruthless and used his power to abuse the people. His ruthlessness spread through the country, and the people and court officials were all terrified of him.
Yuan Shao thus called for all magistrates to unite and fight against Dong Zhuo and kill him. Everyone voted for Yuan Shao to be the leader of the union. Dong Zhuo, realizing that he was losing out, burnt Luoyang and forced King Xian to move the capital west to Chang’an. He then pronounced himself chief advisor to the King, and it became obvious that he wanted to seize the throne for himself. It was then that Wang Yun used a woman’s beauty to gain tactical advantage.
Wang Yun’s maid, Diao Chan, was one of the most beautiful women in the Three Kingdoms period. Wang Yun wanted to bring order to the chaotic country. However, Dong Zhuo was a ruthless and scheming person. How could he be gotten rid of so easily? Furthermore, there was Lü Bu at his side.
Lü Bu was a famous general during the Three Kingdoms period. He sought the patronage of Dong Zhuo and became his godson. Dong Zhuo’s power grew even stronger with Lü Bu under his wings, and no one could stand against him. Lü Bu was fearless, and even Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were no match for him.
Diao Chan saw her master brooding and asked, “ Master, what’s on your mind? I am willing to help you in whatever is troubling you if I am able to be of help.” Wang Yun replied, “ You are just a woman; how could you help me?” However, on second thought, he decided to use Diao Chan’s beauty as bait.
He invited Lü Bu to dine at his house and asked Diao Chan to offer a toast to Lü Bu. Lü Bu saw Diao Chan and fell head over heels in love. Wang Yun promised to marry her to Lü Bu, seeing that Lü Bu was crazy over her beauty. Wang Yun then invited Dong Zhuo to dine at his house, and asked Diao Chan to sing and dance for Dong Zhuo. He told Dong Zhuo that she was his daughter, and gave her to Dong Zhuo, who was also crazy over her beauty.
When Dong Zhuo brought Diao Chan home, Lü Bu was overjoyed, for he thought his godfather had arranged a marriage for him. However, he found out at the ceremony that Dong Zhuo himself wanted to marry Diao Chan. He was very angry, but there was nothing he could do, for Dong Zhuo was his godfather and held the power.
Diao Chan waited till Dong Zhuo was out and met Lü Bu in the garden. There were only the two of them, and Diao Chan cried, “ My father wanted to marry me to you, but your godfather took me for himself when I came here. What am I to do?” Lü Bu was furious and could not bear with it anymore.“ Don’t you cry. I’ll get you out. I won’t live anymore if I can’t get you out of here,” he said.
Dong Zhuo came back and saw this scene of Diao Chan crying in Lü Bu’s presence; he thought that Lü Bu had taken advantage of Diao Chan and tried to use Lü Bu’s weapon to kill his godson. Lü Bu managed to escape. Diao Chan worked to sow discord between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, causing Lü Bu to eventually kill Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun’s snare was thus successful.
Thereafter, each warlord occupied a part of the country and fought for the ruling power. Everyone wanted to become the emperor and tried to wipe out the others. The Han Dynasty was thus thrown into chaos.
A verse in critique says:
At the end of the Eastern Han, many traitors arose.
Each utilized his skills
Trying to singlehandedly cover the sky.
Dong Zhuo saw his chance and seized political power.
He replaced the emperor with another,
Intending to lay his own hands on the throne.
Yet he died an unfortunate death.
Commentary:
At the end of the Eastern Han, many traitors arose. There were many treacherous warlords at the end of the Eastern Han period.
Each utilized his skills/ Trying to singlehandedly cover the sky. Each of them tried to use his scheming abilities to “cover the sky,”that is, to kill the emperor and take the throne for himself.
Dong Zhuo saw his chance and seized political power. Dong Zhuo thus took the opportunity and seized the power himself.
He replaced the emperor with another, / Intending to lay his own hands on the throne. / Yet he died without realizing his plan. He overthrew the emperor and seized the throne, but he was not destined to enjoy the power. He was killed by Lü Bu, and his corpse was burnt by the people, who hated him for his ruthlessness. It was said that Dong Zhuo weighed more than 300 pounds. How much fat and oil do you think was in his body? His corpse burnt for three days. Hence it was said that he died an unfortunate death.
Another verse says:
His chance success did not last long;
On the contrary, it brought his descendants painful deaths.
Dong Zhuo was sly and scheming, and so were his associates.
His unforgivable sins brought disaster to the country and its people,
And all that went to the grave with him was his lunacy and his karma.
This fool was deluded and insatiably greedy.
The cycle of cause and effect will make him realize his mistakes.
Commentary:
His chance success did not last long. Dong Zhuo’s success in seizing power at any cost did not last long, for it was only by chance that he gained power which did not belong to him.
On the contrary, it brought his decedents painful deaths. This bad karma he sowed resulted in all his descendents’ painful deaths.
Dong Zhuo was sly and scheming, and so were his associates. Dong Zhuo was malicious and sly as a fox, and so were his associates. They made use of each other.
His unforgivable sins brought disaster to the country and its people. He brought chaos to the country and made the people suffer greatly, and such sins are unforgivable.
And all that went to the grave with him was his lunacy and his karma. He had behaved like a lunatic, and his karma would remain with him always.
This fool was deluded and insatiably greedy. His ignorance made him mistake wrong for right and vice versa. His insatiable greed resulted in his relentless seeking for wealth and fame, wanting to seize the throne at all costs.
The cycle of cause and effect will make him realize his mistakes. In the end, he will realize his mistake when he suffers the karmic effect of his own wrongdoings.
[The End of “A Critique of Dong Zhuo”]
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