According to "History of Scholars in Xiangzhou", "In the twelfth year of Shunzhi, B entered the list of the history of the old valley, and was the fourth Taoist official of Guizhou and the deputy chief secretary of the inspection department." According to the Dictionary of Historical Figures in Hubei (published by Hubei People's Publishing House 1984), Chen Shimei was an official of the Qing Dynasty. Formerly known as Niangu, also known as Shu Mei and Zhou Jun (namely Xunxian County, Hubei Province, now danjiangkou city), he was born in an official family. He studied in Beijing in the early Qing Dynasty, and was the top scholar of Xinmaoke in Shunzhi for eight years (165 1 year).
At first, he was appointed as the magistrate of Hebei Province. Later, because of Kangxi's appreciation, he was promoted to be the provincial judge of Siren House and Shidao in Guizhou, and also served as a political envoy to participate in politics. When he was an official in Guizhou, some classmates came to vote for the official position. I received him many times and advised him to study hard in order to make his career prosperous. Later, because more and more people came to vote, it was difficult to deal with it, so they instructed the butler foreman to refuse. Hu Mengdie is one of his classmates who lives in Qinjiapo, a suburb of Zhou Jun. He used to help him get money when he went to Beijing to take an exam. Because he was rejected by the big housekeeper, he suddenly got revenge, so he pinched some things in the society that he was ungrateful to leave his wife and children, added them to him, and made a drama "Qin Xianglian", which was performed in Shaanxi and Henan.
According to legend, when the Henan Opera Troupe performed this play in the late Qing Dynasty, one of Chen's descendants vomited blood on the spot after watching it. Chen Shimei's eighth generation grandson also organized family members, smashed the trunk of the troupe on the spot, and beat the actors, killing several people, and the performance was forced to stop.
Extended data:
The image of Chen Shimei originated from the Ming Dynasty novel "Enlarging Bao Long to Judge Hundred Cases", and the story of Chen Shimei was perfected and stereotyped in the sequel to the classic masterpiece "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" in Qing Dynasty, which influenced the traditional opera "Qin Xianglian" (also known as "My Beauty Case"). Chen Shimei was an ungrateful villain who abandoned his wife and children in the play, and was finally beheaded by Bao Zheng, so he became synonymous with ingratitude in later generations.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Chen Shimei