In general, Xue Pinggui is a historical fabrication, while Xue Rengui is a real person. As a fictional character, Xue Pinggui's popularity and influence can be compared with Xue Rengui. Xue Pinggui mostly appears in folk fictional stories and operas. As an artistic image, Xue Pinggui has a noble origin. The Xue Pinggui in the artistic image is the prince of Tang Xuanzong, and the daughter of Prime Minister Wang Yun, Wang Baochuan, threw an embroidery ball and chose him as her son-in-law.
In contrast, Xue Rengui has a vivid and real background. Both "Old Book of Tang" and "New Book of Tang" have detailed records of Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui is also called Xue Li. The old Tang Book records that he was a Han nationality and was born in Hejin, Shanxi Province today. Born in 614 AD, so in 683 AD. Xue Pinggui's ancestor is Xue Andu, King of Hedong in the Northern Wei Dynasty. During the early Tang Dynasty, Xue Rengui followed Li Shimin to fight in Liaodong. After being recruited and joining the army, he quickly won Li Shimin's praise for his outstanding performance and made great contributions to Li Shimin's battle in Liaodong.
After that, Xue Rengui continued to serve Li Shimin. He once led an army to defeat the Nine-surnamed Tiele. In the war against Goguryeo, he performed bravely and surrendered Goguryeo. Then he defeated the Turks and gained a reputation that no one could match. Most of the deeds spread among the people, such as "good policy stopped fighting" and "benevolent government of Korea", are about Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui once served as the governor of Guazhou, inspecting the school and acting as the governor of the state. Finally, he was named Pingyang County Duke. The prototype of the Peking Opera "Wujia Slope" is Xue Rengui and his first wife Liu Yingchun in "Fenhe Bay". The locations and storylines of the two are very similar, and the locations where the stories take place are also in Hanyao. It can be said that this should be strong evidence that Xue Pinggui originated from Xue Rengui.
In general, although there is no documented record of Xue Pinggui in history, the two of them were almost in the same era, and their names are one word different. The prototypes of the stories of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan are mostly related to Xue Rengui. Similar to his original wife Liu Yingchun. Therefore, it can be considered that "Wujia Slope" evolved from "Fenhe Bay". What is certain is that although Xue Pinggui and Xue Rengui are not the same person, their experiences are very similar. It can be said that Xue Pinggui is the artistic sublimation of Xue Rengui's image. Artistic creation originates from life but is higher than life. In order to make the storyline of the opera full, it is also common to add some fictional elements and make some modifications and packaging to the names and origins of the characters. As time goes by, the images of many real historical figures have become blurred. For the purpose of celebrating commemoration, people appropriately add some innovative elements, which actually makes the characters more vivid. As spectators, we not only need to see the reality of history, but also see ourselves through the art district, and that self is the display of the role of art.