Yu Wei's family lived in the southeast corner of Chang'an, a place where prostitutes and prostitutes gathered at that time. After the death of his father, the family was in great financial straits. Young Wei had a small reputation for poetry, and was soon taken seriously by Wen Tingjun, the strangely ugly lyricist of the Tang Dynasty's Flower House School, who later became a master and disciple. One day, teacher and student together to the south of the city Chongzhen Guan tour, just encountered a group of new into the earth scrambling in the Guan wall inscriptions, young Wei also waved his pen to leave:
Yunfeng full moon in the spring eyes, all the silver hooks under the finger;
Self-hate Luo Yi to cover the verse, lifting the head of the empty envy in the name of the list.
There is a Li Yi's heart of the fluttering gentleman greatly admired, and asked Wen Tingjun from the matchmaking. Li Yi that year just over 20, from a family, born upright, gentle temperament. However, his wife Pei's family, brutal nature. 16-year-old cardamom years of age of the little young Wei has not yet known the world, this person is introduced by the teacher, and looks like the origin is also so elegant and noble, and confusedly became Li Yi's "second wife". Mr. Li in Chang'an outside the golden house, far away from home Pei's fierce from abroad, not only the young Wei beat up, and forced Li Yi to kick her out of the house. The marriage lasted only three months.
Li Yi secretly still reluctant to give up, donate money to send young Wei to Xianyi Guan. The Taoist nuns at the temple gave the name "Xuanji" to the fish, and from then on, she became Xuanji. During the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was prevalent, and most of the famous Taoist temples were tourist attractions and places for socializing, so many female Taoist priests who were slightly better in talent and color became social butterflies. However, the Taoist nuns of Xianyi Guan were strict and disciplined, so they always maintained a clean situation.
Three years later, the master of Xianyi Guan died, and her friend, Caiyu, eloped with the painter who was repairing the murals. Meanwhile, Mr. Li, however, left the capital with his wife and went far away to Yangzhou to take up an official post, without even a word of greeting. After Mr. Li's departure, Xuanji's finances are in trouble. She is a fiery woman, how to stand such contempt! So in the cold and quiet Xianyi Guan, she wrote this song, which was later recited throughout the ages, "It is easy to find a priceless treasure, it is difficult to get a lover":
Shy sun covers the sleeve, the worry of spring is lazy to get up the makeup;
It is easy to find a priceless treasure, it is difficult to get a lover.
Tears on the pillow, broken hearts among the flowers;
Why hate Wang Chang when you can see Song Yu?
From now on, outside the Taoist temple, she posted a "Yu Xuanji poetry waiting to teach" red paper notice, which is undoubtedly a banner, the statement suddenly rise. Fish xuanji's reputation is more and more widely spread. From one of her "Tao Huai Poem", it can reflect her life situation at that time:
Swallow sparrow in vain, gold and silver will not seek; full of spring green wine, to the moon night zither quiet.
All around the masonry is interesting, draw hairpins to reflect the fine stream; lying in bed to delete all the books, half-drunk from combing hair.
Yu Xuanji's lovers came and went at that time, and among them was Zuo Mingyang, a talented man from the Later Tang Dynasty. When he was still a scholar, because of his appearance and grooming like Li Yi, become the fish Xuanji's guest. The love between the two can be guessed from a poem by Zuo Mingyang:
The day is slanting when the doves are flying, the Zen room is quiet and sipping fragrant tea;
The bells are ringing at sunset, and the robe is hanging on the nail of the foil curtain.
But she did not seem to be related to Zuo Mingyang. After that, Yu Xuanji also fell in love with a rich merchant Li Jinren, who ran a silk business, and a musician named Chen Ai. In this period of her life, Yu Xuanji lived a leisurely, dashing and happy life, which can be read out from her poem:
Spring flowers, autumn and moon are in the poem, and the day and the night are the immortals.
Empty curtains were never rolled down, long moved a couch to the mountain sleep.
Xuanji had a personal servant girl named Lujiao, a plump body, good at making a flavor. One day, Xuanji from the outside home, saw the green chiao speech stammering, eyes exposed to the spring, and Chen Qin Shi left without saying goodbye, Xuanji immediately suspicion, carefully examined the green chiao whole body, and found that her chest has nail scratches. Xuanji fire, can not be restrained, the old and new sorrows and hatred vented in the green chiao body. So this just 24 years old talented girl was flogged and killed by the evil official Pei Cheng, a member of the Pei clan, and executed. When she was tied up in the public court, she did not even say a word in her own defense, but confessed everything and only asked for a quick death.
Yu Xuanji's poems *** there are 48 of them in the All-Tang Dynasty Poems.
The Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai River, first published in Yu Huai's Banqiao Miscellany, were Gu Hengbo, Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Kou Baimen and Ma Xianglan! The later joined Liu Ruyi, Chen Yuanyuan and known as the Eight Beauties.
One, Liu Ru is (one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai)
Liu Ru is active in the Ming and Qing dynasties at the time of the famous courtesan, she is a strong personality, integrity, intelligence, courage and great, no less famous than Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujing and Gu Mei-sheng. Liu Ruye name is, the word is, small word confabricated, the original name of love willow, because of reading the words of Xin Qiji: "I see the green hills more charming, I expect the green hills to see me should be as", so the self-named Ruye; later also known as "Hedong Jun", "confabricated Jun
She was also known as "Hedong Jun" and "Gracilar Jun".
She is a native of Jiaxing, born in the 50th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, young and intelligent, but due to poverty, she was sold to Wujiang as a maidservant from a young age, and then fell into the Zhangtai at a young age, changed her name to Liu Yin, and traveled between Jinling, Zhejiang, and Jinling in the chaotic world. Due to her beauty and talent, she became a famous concubine in Qinhuai. She left a lot of memorable anecdotes and quite literate poems "grass on the lake", "wuyinzhuo" and shakujin.
Liu Ruyue was once friendly with Zhang Shibi, the leader of the Southern Ming Restoration Society, and Chen Zilong, with whom she was in love, but Chen died in an unfortunate defeat in the anti-Qing uprising. Liu's choice of son-in-law requirements are very high, many celebrities to propose marriage she did not see, some only stay in the friendship stage. Finally in Chongzhen fourteen years when she was more than 20 years old, married more than half a hundred Donglin leader, the famous bureaucrat Qian Qianyi. Qian married Liu, for her in Yushan built a spectacular and gorgeous "Jiangyun building" and "red beans Hall", the Golden House. Liu had a daughter. Some "red" people believe that Cao Xueqin designed Jiangyun Xuan is from Liu's Jiangyun Building.
When the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself, the Qing army occupied Beijing, Nanjing built Hongguang small court, Liu Ruyi support Qian Qianyi as the Minister of Rites of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Soon the Qing army south, when the soldiers downtown, Liu's persuade the money with its martyrdom in the water, money meditation speechless, and finally walked down to the pool to try the water, said: "the water is too cold, can not go down". Liu's "body to sink into the pool water", but to the money hard to hold. So the money will be coy face welcome down. Qian surrendered to the Qing Dynasty to Beijing, Liu stayed in Nanjing do not go. Qian did the Qing dynasty's Ministry of Rites and Hanlin scholar, due to Liu's influence, half a year later, he claimed to be ill and resigned. Later, he was implicated in a case and suffered two lawsuits. Liu Ruyi in his illness on his behalf to bribe rescue from prison, and encouraged him to contact Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Huangyan, Qu Shizhi, Wei Keng, etc., who were still resisting. Liu and do their best to fund, comfort anti-Qing volunteers, these all show her strong patriotic national spirit. Qian Qianyi's surrender to the Qing Dynasty should have been criticized by later generations, but the righteousness of Liu Ruyi diluted people's antipathy towards him.
Yu Dafu in the "Entertainment Xia Miscellany" recorded Liu Ruyi's "spring I smell room" poem. In terms of literary and artistic talent, she could be called the first of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai". The famous scholar chen yin ke read her poems, "also have jaw-dropping" feeling, liu ru shi's "clear words and beautiful sentences" is very admirable. Qing people think that her shakuji "more colorful than the six dynasties, deep love Ban Cai". Liu's also proficient in music and rhythm, long-sleeved dance, calligraphy and painting is also negative reputation, her painting skillful simplicity, beautiful; calligraphy is y appreciated by later generations, called it "iron wrist with silver hooks, once will be a wonderful trace of collection".
After Qian's death in 1666, the countryside clan gathered to seize his property, Liu's in order to protect the Qian family property, but also with a silk knot neckline to kill themselves. Though the villains were scared away, a generation of talented women ended their lives in this way. Liu's death was buried in Yushan Fushui Villa.
Second, Chen Yuanyuan (one of the Eight Beauties of Qin Huai)
Chen Yuanyuan was originally a courtesan in Kunshan, lived in Qin Huai, because of her superior color, but also with the major historical events, so the Qing people will be included in the "Eight Beauties of Qin Huai". Chen Yuanyuan was originally named Xing, Yuan, Yuanyuan, and Wanfang, and changed her surname to Chen when she was a child from her foster mother, Chen. She was a beautiful woman, with bright flowers and beautiful snow, and she could sing and dance well, and she was a champion of color and art.
The end of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's peasant insurgents shocked the court, Chongzhen Emperor day and night restless. Relatives Jiading Zhou Kui want to give the emperor to seek a beautiful woman, in order to relieve the emperor's worried heart, and then bequeathed Tian Fei's brother Tian Wan down to the south of the Yangtze River to find a beautiful. Tian Wan found Chen Yuanyuan, was intoxicated by her posture, so he privately occupied for himself. Soon Li Zicheng's army approached the capital, and the Chongzhen Emperor urgently called Wu Sangui to town of Shanhaiguan. Tian Wan on the peasant insurgents all day worry and fear, they set up a feast for Wu Sangui farewell party, Yuan Yuan rate singing team into the hall performance. After seeing Yuanyuan, Wu Sangui was so excited and happy that he embraced Yuanyuan to accompany him to drink. Wine after three rounds of the alarm suddenly, Tian Wan fearfully up to Wu said: "the enemy to, what will happen?" Wu Sangui said: "can be round to see the gift, I first of all to protect the family unharmed." Not waiting for Tian Wan answer, Wu Sangui is to take the round bye-bye. Wu Sangui was persuaded by his father, who supervised the imperial camp, to leave Yuanyuan in his capital residence to prevent his peers from inviting right and wrong for the emperor to know.
After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Wu Sangui's father surrendered to the rebel army, and Chen Yuanyuan was plundered by Li's men. When Wu Sangui promised to surrender to Li Zicheng, Wen Yuanyuan has been occupied by Li's generals, the crown of anger, shouting "a man can not protect his own room what life for?" So he surrendered to the Qing army and went to war with the peasant army. This is Wu Meicun in the "round song" in the said: "mourning the six armies are onyx, a crown of anger for the red face".
Li Zicheng, after the defeat, will Wu's father and his family of 38 mouth all killed, and then abandoned the capital out of the country. Wu Sangui holding the killing of his father to take his wife, day and night to chase the peasant army to Shanxi. At this time Wu's generals in the capital searched for Chen Yuanyuan, fly riding transmission, since the introduction of Wu Sangui with Chen Yuanyuan from Qin into Shu, and then occupied Yunnan. Wu's into the title of king of yunnan, want to Yuanyuan as the main consort, Yuanyuan excuse to resign, WuSanGui don't marry. I do not want to marry the main consort of fierce jealousy, Wu's love of Ji more framed wrongly killed, Yuanyuan then live alone in a separate house. Yuanyuan lost favor with Wu gradually centrifugal, Wu had plotted to kill her, Yuanyuan learned, so begged to cut her hair as a nun, from now on in the Wuhuashan Huaguo Temple long fasting embroidered Buddha.
Later Wu Sangui declared independence in Yunnan, the Kangxi Emperor's troops in Yunnan, the winter of 1681, Kunming City, Wu Sangui died, Chen Yuan Yuan also sunk in the temple outside the Lotus Pond, died and was buried in the side of the pool. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the temple also hides Chen Yuanyuan small shadow two frames, the pool left a stone poem.
Three, Dong Xiaowan (Qinhuai one of the Eight Beauties)
Dong Xiaowan is the end of the Ming Dynasty is famous as one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai, Dong Xiaowan, the name of the white, a word of the Qinglian, nicknamed the Green Lotus, alias the Green Lotus Women's History, her name and the word are due to the admiration of Li Bai and up. She was smart and beautiful, with a beautiful hair, fair and graceful, and was a first-class character in the old courtyard of the Qinhuai. Her beauty had caused a group of famous ministers, gentry and merchants to fight. But this woman in the wind and dust despise the power and wealth, skill and maneuver, the courage to fight. And the end of the Ming Dynasty, one of the four geniuses, Bold Bějían rich in talent, suave and elegant, the two fell in love at first sight. Bold Paijiang handsome, elegant, known as the "beautiful boy", is a talented man in the Fuxing Society.
After XiaoWan joined the Bold family, she got along very harmoniously with the Bold family. Ma Gongren (Paijiang's mother) and Su Yuanfang (Paijiang's wife) were especially fond of Xiaowan, and Xiaowan was very respectful and obedient, serving them with more care than a servant girl. In their spare time, Xiaowan and Paijiang often sat in the study of the painting garden, waving ink, enjoying flowers and tea, commenting on landscapes, and identifying jinshi. When Xiaowan first entered the Bold family, she imitated Zhong Yao's post and learned from Cao E's stele, writing thousands of words every day, neither missing nor missing words.
Xiaowan also wrote small-case fans for relatives and friends instead of Paijiang. Once upon a time in Suzhou, Xiaowan had studied painting for a while, and was able to draw small clumps of cold trees with chu-ching brushwork. The Painted Butterflies, which she painted when she was 15 years old, is now collected in the Wuxi Museum, and is inscribed by Xiaowan, with two seal seals and a highly rated poem by a recent author. There are very few paintings of Xiaowan in the world, and the picture is a rare masterpiece. After arriving at Rugao, she kept her special hobby of painting, playing with her newly acquired scrolls and small axes or her old collection at home.
The most convincing thing about Xiaowan is that she lived her daily life in a romantic and beautiful way. Xiaowan's nature is indifferent, not addicted to fat and sweet food. With a small pot of tea boiled rice, and then accompanied by one or two plates of watercress fragrant edamame, is her meal. Paijiang meals like to eat sweets, seafood and waxy smoked food. Xiaowan knows the taste of Paijiang very well, she made for Paijiang's food is fresh, clean and delicious, with a variety of patterns. Such as brewing syrup for the dew, wine, white porcelain cups with dozens of flowers dew, not to mention the mouth to taste, alone that five colors floating, the strange aroma of overflowing, it is enough to quench the thirst to quench the effect of drink. In terms of drinking tea, Xiaowan and Paijiang have **** the same hobby. They are often a person a pot, in front of the flowers and the moon in silence relative to each other, savoring the tea color and fragrance of the temperament.
Small Wan often study recipes, see where there is a strange flavor, go to visit its production method, with their own wisdom and skillful hands to do it. Now people often eat the tiger skin meat, that is, go oil meat, is Dong Xiaowan's invention, therefore, it also has a little-known name called "Dong meat", the name of this dish, although some of the Tangqiu beauty, but and the "Dongpo meat" is the opposite of the fun. In addition, Xiaowan is also good at making candy, she was in Qinhuai when she used sesame seeds, fried noodles, caramel, pine nuts, peach kernels and sesame oil as raw materials made of shortening sugar, cut into squares five minutes long, three minutes wide and one minute thick, this shortening sugar outside the yellow inside crispy, sweet, but not greasy, people called "Dong Sugar", now Yangzhou's famous point of irrigation incense Dong Sugar (also known as the inch of gold Dong Sugar), Some people Dong Xiaowan and Yi Yin, Yi Ya, Taihe Gong, meal ancestor, Fan Zheng, Liu Niangzi, Song Wu Sister-in-Law, Xiao Beauty, Wang Xiaoyu listed as China's top ten ancient chefs, I am afraid that is not too much.
The color of the moon is like water, which is what Xiaowan loves the most. On summer nights, Xiaowan likes to recite the poems of the Tang Dynasty about the moon and the fireflies and playboys. In order to appreciate the beauty of the moon, she often move a few couches with the rise and fall of the moon. In the middle of the night back indoors, she still want to push open the window, so that the moonlight hovering between the pillow woven mat. When the moon went west, she rolled up the curtains and leaned against the window to look at the moon, and often recited Li He's poem "The moon is dripping, the waves are smoky and jade" over and over again. "I and you throughout the year, love to enjoy the bright moonlight, the immortal road Zen pass is also in the quiet through." This is how Xiaowan appreciates the subtle and elegant cultural interest in the natural and practical daily life, and admires the poetic life of transcendence and clarity in her humble life.
Paijiang said that he had enjoyed all the happiness of his life in the nine years he lived with Xiaowan.
Being a good friend of the family, he said that he had been living with Xiaowan for nine years, which included sitting in the incense pavilion and tasting the incense. The most appreciated "horizontal separation sink", which is a kind of inner quality firm and texture is horizontal incense. Xiaowan most cherished Dongguan people as the best "daughter incense", they also have a lot of "Penglai incense". Paijiang once found a kind of "raw yellow incense" that tasted like fragrant orchids from Jiangnan, and he took one or two pieces of it to his friend Lai Suiqiu in Guangdong to appreciate, and Lai Suiqiu marveled at it. Xiaowan also made a hundred incense pills with a Western incense recipe obtained from the imperial household. They paid attention to the mood when tasting incense. In the cold night room, the jade curtains are hanging, lit two or three red candles, in a few Xuande furnace burning incense, quiet reference to the nose to see, as if into the depths of the Ruizhuzhongxiang.
Four, Li Xiangjun (one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai)
In the late Ming Dynasty, that very degenerate era, most of the court ministers numbness has been unable to feel that the situation they are facing, is increasingly becoming internal and external problems. But along the banks of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, in the richly scented embroidery buildings, there lived a group of women who were very worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty.
Mei Xianglou, located in the middle of Banknote Bank Street, is one of these embroidered buildings. Its owner, courtesan Li Xiangjun, was a household name. In fact, among the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai at that time, Li Xiangjun's fame was not as big as that of Liu Ruishi or Chen Yuanyuan. Nowadays, this is the only embroidery building you can find when strolling along the old alleys of Qinhuai. This is a two-story embroidery building, narrow stairs, walking footsteps, through the floor clearly upward. Chongzhen twelve years of autumn, only 21 years old, but has been known in all directions, one of the four sons of the Fuxing society Hou Fangwei, just from Henan Shangqiu to Nanjing, will put aside the upcoming township exams, directly on this dark red staircase.
That year, Li Xiangjun was just sixteen years old, "gentle and delicate, only to accompany the tortoiseshell feast, and shy, not yet into the hibiscus tent." She sat in front of the lattice window with the embroidered curtains hanging down, looking at the Qinhuai River, she was waiting for the love of her dreams. When Hou Fangwei suddenly appeared in front of her, she must have sensed that the marriage she had been waiting for had arrived. It should have been a love affair between a talented man and a beautiful woman, but it was just a pity that it was set in the wrong era. The Ming Dynasty is rapidly collapsing as the Manchurian iron hooves enter the country. Prince Zhu's hasty transition to the south, in the midst of a pandemonium, hastily set up the Southern Ming regime in Nanjing.
Ruan Dacheng, a nemesis of the Fuxing Society, seized the opportunity and emerged from the deep alleys of Jinling. He defected to Ma Shiying, a Southern Ming sycophant, and appeared on the front stage of the political arena. Ruan Dacheng was originally a figure scorned by the Qing class, but he still wanted to change his ways. Thus, he attempted to bribe Hou Fangwei with money to achieve his personal political goals. This trick was soon recognized by the talented Li Xiangjun. She firmly rejected the temptation of Ruan Dacheng's money, and asked Hou Fangwei immediately cut off relations with him, and draw a clear line. Ruan Dacheng, old and shy, retaliated with despicable means. Hou Fangwei had no choice but to leave Nanjing in tears, and this short-lived love also hastily drew a sad conclusion.
No matter how Hou Fangwei behaved later, it should be said that Li Xiangjun was beyond reproach in her own love life. Afterward, still on this embroidered building, she y lamented to her friend, "Is not Mr. Tian different from Mr. Ruan? I to the praise of Duke Hou is what? Today, it is the concubine who sells the Duke to profit from his gold and go to him!" The pursuit of love so steadfast, and is happening in a Qinhuai courtesan's body, it is rare.
Qing Shunzhi three years (1646 AD), the fall of Nanjing, the Southern Ming Dynasty into a bubble in history. For Li Xiangjun, the external environment in which she lived changed forever, and her quest for love was eventually dashed by Hou Fangwei's return to the north. The famous scholar who was labeled in books as having the will to serve the country, Hou Fangwei, a former official's son, did not hold on to his political temperament for long, and in the eighth year of the Shunzhi period he took another imperial examination organized by the Qing Dynasty, which once again ended in failure. In his love life, he did not reunite with Li Xiangjun at Qixia Mountain, as written in Peach Blossom Fan. Reading over Hou Fangwei's life history again, he should be a very failed person.
In the late spring of the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655), the peach blossom trees had already withered and fallen red everywhere. Li Xiangjun quietly closed the fan inscribed with a poem by Hou Fangwei, and mournfully packed up her traveling clothes to bid farewell to the past. She came alone to the bottom of Mount Qixia and became a monk in a silent Taoist temple. History books say that Li Xiangjun did not know where she ended up afterward.
Fifth, Gu Hengbo (one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai)
In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the famous "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai", Gu Hengbo is one of the most prestigious status, she was enjoined by the "First Lady", Liu Ruyue Chen Yuanyuan also has less than At the same time, she is also one of the most controversial ---- It is said that first there is a private life with her talent due to her back alliance martyrdom and death, and then her husband Gong Dingyu in the Ming Dynasty late unprotected every said "I would like to die, Nai concubines refused to do", just like a red face of the scourge of the world, either harming people's lives or destroying the reputation of people, with most people Most people have the impression that the "Qinhuai Eight Beauties" are chivalrous and gentle, and have a deep understanding of the righteousness of a very different. Famous historian Mr. Monson tasted "Mrs. Hengbo examined" an article on the character of Gong Gu greatly disdained, that the couple are snobbish and shameless, profit-minded generation. Once hailed as ""a courteous and virtuous man who loves his wife, and a chivalrous and precipitous woman"", Mrs. Hengbo, is she really so bad?
Gu Hengbo, born in 1619, the original name of Gu Mei, the word Mei Sheng, also known as Gu Mei, the number of Hengbo, also known as Zhizhu, good talent, also known as Mei Sheng, known as "Mrs. Hengbo", after marriage, changed his name to Xu Shanzhi, Shangyuan (now Nanjing). According to "Banqiao Miscellany" records, Gu Hengbo "Zhuang Yan beautiful and elegant, style. Sideburns like clouds, peach blossom face; bow curved small, waist support light Asia", she knew literature and history, good at poetry and painting, painted landscape natural and beautiful, especially good at painting orchids, seventeen years old painted "Orchid Figure" fan now hidden in the Palace Museum, eighteen years old, together with Li Xiangjun, Wang Yue, etc. to participate in Yangzhou celebrity Zheng Yuanxun in Nanjing, the "Orchid Society". At the age of eighteen, Li Xiangjun and Wang Yue joined the "Orchid Society" in Nanjing with Zheng Yuanxun, a famous scholar in Yangzhou. (Nanguo, refers to the selling of art without selling the body of the famous prostitutes in Jiangnan) and fine music, tasted a small counterpart with Dong Xiaowan acting in the "West Tower Tale", "teach the son".
Gu Hengbo lived in the eyebrow building, "beautiful window embroidery, toothpicks and jade shafts, stacked several cases; Yaoqin Jinsei, furnished around, incense smoke, eaves Martin when", people called "lost floor" ---- some people say "lost floor". "refers to the Gu Hengbo streaming charming, visitors are not spellbound, it is a literal meaning. "Lost House" is the Department of Emperor Yang built in Yangzhou, Yangzhou, because the place "winding deep, attic buildings scattered, Xuan curtains cover, and each other even belong to, such as the immortal tour", so the name "Lost House". To "lost building" jokingly called "eyebrow building", the originator of the Yu Huai Department of Jiangnan scholar, at that time and was in love with the horizontal wave, said when the positive meaning, referring to the "eyebrow building" architectural skillful work, layout The building is skillfully crafted, the arrangement is unique, and the view is like a fairyland. Once this reputation came out, it was widely used. Gu Hengbo personality bold and uninhibited, there are men's wind, in the Qinhuai eight girls and Liu Ruyi more like, people tasted to say "eyebrow brother" call, quite like Liu Ruyi's self-proclaimed "brother". But compared to the willow, and a little more capricious and cynical.
Rumor has it that the rationalist Huang Daozhou (after the anti-Qing martyrdom in Jiangxi) tasted "in the eyes of the prostitute, the heart of the prostitute," boasting that the East Forest students were drunk while he asked Hengbo to go to the clothes **** couch, to try to see if he really had the skills of Liu Shihui. This rumor may not be entirely true, but reflects the style of Gu Hengbo in the eyes of the people of the time, who did not take the world's rites for granted. Her style of doing things her own way, not caring about the world's eyes, I'm afraid that she was able to later and Jiangzuo Gong Dingyu, a talented man of the three lifetimes of the important reason for the flight of wings, however, her controversial to a certain extent is also a result of this personality incurred bad consequences. Gu Hengbo talent and appearance, there is "the first of the southern song", naturally favored by the celebrities, so that the eyebrow building door as if the city, almost no feast day, often get the eyebrow building invited to the feast is called "eyebrow building guests", just like a symbol of elegance, and many of the Jiangnan literary feast, but also Every Gu Mei Sheng absence for regret.
Six, Bian Yujing (one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai)
Bian Yujing name Sai, also known as Sai Sai, because later came from the name of "Yujing Taoist", accustomed to call Yujing. She was born in the Qinhuai official family, two sisters, due to the father's early death, the two fell into courtesans, Bian Sai poetry, qin, calligraphy and painting can do everything, especially good at the lowercase, but also through the literature and history. Her painting skillful, pen like a line of clouds, "a pen to do more than 10 paper" like painting the wind branch curls, especially good at painting orchids. 18 years old when the tour of Wumen, living in Huqiu, between the Qinhuai and Suzhou, is the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, a famous courtesan in the Qinhuai. Bian Sai is generally not good at meeting guests, but if she meets a good person, she will talk like a cloud, which makes her fall in love with her.
Bian Sai had a marriage with Wu Meicun, a famous poet in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Chongzhen fourteen years in the spring, Wu Meicun in Nanjing, outside the Water West Gate of Shengchu upstairs farewell send-off brother Wu Zhiyan to Chengdu governor, where he met Wu Zhiyan come to see off Bian Sai sisters, see Bian Sai that noble and contains a few melancholy temperament, can not help but think of Jiangnan prevalent in two lines of the poem: "shop to find Bian Sai, flowers out of the bottom of the Chen Yuan". During the meeting Wu and Bian Sai's literary talent to explore, so Wu could not help but fall in love, after the two frequent exchanges, deepening feelings. Later, Wu in the long dry apartment to get Bian of a brief, know Bian want to marry him, the heart is very contradictory. Because Wu heard a message, Chongzhen Emperor's favorite concubine Tian's brother Tian Wan recently came to Jinling Princess, has been looking at Chen Yuanyuan and Bian Sai and so on. Wu was cowed in front of the powerful uncle of the state, and only played a few songs in Bian Sai's apartment before leaving sadly.
Two years later, Bian Sai married a vassal, because it is not satisfied, so the maid Zuo Rou into the service, he begged his body hair, in Suzhou as a female Taoist monk, attached to more than 70 years of famous doctor Zheng Baogu, Zheng built a separate palace to fund. Bian Sai long fasting embroidery Buddha, holding class recitation precepts very strict, in order to repay the kindness of Zheng, with three years for Zheng prick tongue blood book "Dharma Flower Sutra".
At this time, Wu Meicun became an official of the Qing Dynasty, the mood of decadence. One day in the seventh year of Shunzhi, Bian Sai saw Wu's four poems "Qinhe Sense of the Old" at Qian Qianyi's house, and realized how much Wu missed her. Months later, the two finally met in Taicang, Bian Sai for Wu's qin, Wu was overwhelmed with emotion, wrote "listening to the female Taoist priest Bian Yujing play qin song" to give, the poem said Bian in the decade, pointing out the Qing army down south, Yujing "strings cold and no sound", a bleak situation. After Bian Sai came to live in seclusion in Wuxi Huishan, more than ten years later, died of illness, buried in the Jinlin grove of Huishan Jiituoan.
Seven, Kou Baimen (one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai)
Kou Baimen's name is Meimei, the word Baimen, one of the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai at the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is because the white door is simple and not smooth, and decided her tragedy in the marriage.
The late spring of Chongzhen 15 years, the prestige of the Minister of State Guobo Zhu Guobi, in the escort of the police officers to the banknote bank street Kou family, after several interactions, the white door left a good impression of him, polite, gentle and friendly, so in Zhu's marriage will be a mouthful of consent. The autumn night of that year, 17-year-old Kou Baimen heavy makeup on the sedan chair. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the custom of the time for women of Le nationality in Jinling to take off their nationality and marry at night. Zhu Guobi in order to show the prestige and grandeur, sent 5,000 soldiers holding red lanterns from the Wuding Bridge, along the way to the Neiqiao Zhu Mansion, an unprecedented spectacle, becoming the largest one in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty to welcome the bride scene.
Ju Guobil is actually a smooth and cunning bureaucrats, he married Kou Baimen is a momentary need, a few months later his ingenuity and widowhood will be gradually exposed, so the Kou's aside, and still walking in the Zhangtai willow alley between. 1645, the Qing Dynasty army south. Zhu Guobi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, soon into the capital, and was placed under house arrest by the Qing court. Zhu's desire to sell even Kou Baimen, including the singer maidservant together, Baimen to Zhu Yun: "If the sale of concubines income is only a few hundred gold ...... if you make concubines return to the south, between January when the 10,000 gold to report to the public." Zhu thought about it and then agreed, Kou Baimen short clothes and horses with maidservant Douer returned to Jinling. Kou's sisters in the old house with the help of raising 20,000 taels of silver will Zhu Guobi ransom. At this time Zhu wanted to reunite the good dream, but was refused by Kou, she said: "when you used silver to redeem me out of the country, now I also use silver to redeem you back" when the end can be.
Kou's return to Jinling, known as the Warrior Woman, she "built a garden pavilion, the knot of guests, the day and the literati to go back and forth, the wine is hot, or song or cry, but also sigh the beauty of the late curtain, contempt for the red beans of the floating zero". After a filial piety from yangzhou, not satisfied with the return to jinling, and finally strayed from leji died of illness. At that time the literary altar priest of the donglin leader Qian Qianyi made "kou baimen" poem memorial said: "kou sisters always beautiful, eighteen years in the flower letter fan, today qinhuai fear of the same value, to prevent him from red tears a stained clothes. The red powder of the clumps of residual remembrance of the gentleman's grace, the heroine who knows the Kou Baimen? The heart of the coffin is not yet dead, a wisp of incense pill is the soul of Fangfei."
Eighth, Ma Xianglan (one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai)
Ma Xianglan (1548--1604) can be called the poetess and painter of the Ming Dynasty. According to Qinhuai Guangji, her name was Shouzhen, her name was Xianglan, her name was Xuan'er, and her name was Yuejiao, and she was known as "Sinniang" because she was the fourth in her family. She was a beautiful woman, good at poetry and painting, especially good at painting orchids and bamboos, so she was known as "Xianglan". Although her appearance is not outstanding, "posture head such as ordinary people", but "the spirit of the open cleansing, maundy as spring willow early warbler, spit words and look forward to, and skillfully serve the people".
Ma's high attainments in painting, when Cao Xueqin's grandfather, Cao Yin, had three times in a row for the "Ma Xianglan Painting Orchid Scroll" poem, ***7 sentences, recorded in Cao Yin's "Dongting set". Her painting skill was evaluated as "Orchid imitation of Zigu, bamboo method Zhongji, all can inherit its rhyme" in "The History of Painting through the Ages". In the Forbidden City of Beijing in the calligraphy and painting masterpieces are also mixed with Ma's orchid album pages, with a unique color, her paintings in foreign countries have been regarded as treasures. In literature, Ma was also quite talented, having written two volumes of poems in the Xianglanzi Collection and a play called San Sheng Zhuan (The Biography of Three Lives). Ma was also a versatile artist who was good at music, song and dance, and could write and direct her own plays. The troupe she taught in the workshop was able to perform "The Story of the Western Chamber", and those who learned the technique from her were taught the real thing.
Ma's grew up in Nanjing, since childhood, unfortunately fell into the dust, but she was open-minded, the nature of the hope of chivalry, often waving money to help young people. Her residence for the Qinhuai victory, the name of the many visitors, and Jiangnan scholar Wang Zhideng friendship, her letters to Wang Zhideng collection in the "generations of famous women in the book". In Wang Zhideng 70 birthday, Ma's capital to buy a boat carrying dozens of courtesans, went to Suzhou to celebrate the birthday of the wine, "banquets and drinks for months, singing and dancing up to the day", after the return of a sick, and finally forced to take a bath in order to ritual sitting and passed away at the age of 57 years old. Ma's death was buried in his mansion, now Bailuzhouzhou Park, near the Bifeng Temple.