Author: Yu San Source: "Modern Express" Drawing by Yu Xiaoxiang The old friend left the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and the fireworks descended from Yangzhou in March. What to see in Yangzhou? See the forest-like beauty of Yangzhou? Taste Yangzhou’s exquisite cuisine? Or feel the slow pace and comfort of Yangzhou? No one has forgotten that there are also beauties from Yangzhou. From ancient times to the present, almost everyone who has been to Yangzhou or not will say the same thing: Yangzhou has produced beautiful women since ancient times. So, does Yangzhou really “produce” beauties? Is it the common saying that "the three thousand beauties brought by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty lived among the people and improved the genes of Yangzhou people"? Or does it stem from the training and propaganda of "thin horse" breeders? To unravel the secret of "why beauties came from Yangzhou", we should comprehensively recognize and understand Yangzhou and the past of the ancient city that was not as good as smoke... When did the theory of "beauties" begin in the Sui Dynasty? Pageants for beautiful maids fill palaces all over the world, and prosperous cities rely on various factors, more than half of which are related to water, which is especially true in our country. Yangzhou is located in the north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and has unique geographical conditions. More than 2,000 years ago, King Wu Fu Chai built a water transport link between Han and Yangzhou, and Yangzhou entered the city-building era. More than 1,400 years ago, Yang Guang, a great talent with world-famous poetry and literary talent, excellent talent for geography and water conservancy but who had chosen the wrong profession, pooled the advantages of the north and the south to build the Grand Canal. Yangzhou was fortunately chosen to become the city. A piece of beautiful jade at the intersection of two rivers. The canal is the only north-south water transportation line in China from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the present. In ancient times when transportation was underdeveloped, convenient and fast water transportation became the main mode of transportation and transportation. The Grand Canal is responsible for two-thirds of the country's salt transportation and about half of its water transportation. It is the economic and material artery of the entire country, and it is also an important guarantee for the strategic system. Busy transportation brings Yangzhou a strong economy and rich culture. By the Qing, Kang and Qian dynasties, Yangzhou had ranked among the top ten cities in the world. Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, who built the Grand Canal, has been buried in Leitang in the northern suburbs of Yangzhou City. Although the cemetery is lonely, the canal he dug has made unparalleled contributions to the Chinese nation. There are many romantic legends between him and Yangzhou, as well as a lot of sadness, anger and helplessness. Some unofficial historians say that he came to Yangzhou from Luoyang to dig the Grand Canal just to see Qionghua. Some even say that he dug the Grand Canal just to see the beauty of a Taoist nun. As for the exact reason, I believe that future generations will give him a fair evaluation. You must know that when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was digging the canal, there were neither the most beautiful Qionghua in the world nor the famous Yangzhou beauties. However, when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came to Yangzhou, he marveled at the developed water conservancy here. Almost all farmland in the territory could be irrigated. The people were prosperous and healthy, and the folk customs were simple. So he built terraces and buildings in Yangzhou, and engaged in gardens and public greening. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty even named the willow tree, which is slender and fragile than the spring breeze and more graceful than the autumn wind, "Yangliu" after his surname. Once you have a palace, you need to select beautiful maids to fill it. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. This emperor, who had made contributions to people's livelihood but did not take the people's sufferings into consideration, was good at learning and poetry, but became a representative of dissoluteness, was eventually forced to commit suicide and passed away. The palace was destroyed, and the maiden's whereabouts were unknown. Those palace ladies either lived among the people or became wives and concubines of soldiers. This is just an introduction to "beauties come out of Yangzhou". How were the real "beauties from Yangzhou" born? The green mountains are faint and the water is far away, and the grass in the south of the Yangtze River has not withered after autumn. Twenty-Four Bridges On a moonlit night, where can a beautiful lady teach me how to play the flute? ——Du Mu's "Send to Judge Han Chuo of Yangzhou" "Beauty" comes from poetry. Cao Yin engraved 900 volumes of "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" to promote the beauty of Yangzhou in the Sui Dynasty. It has become the text on the bamboo slips. The "willow" in Yangzhou city that has gone through the vicissitudes of the world still welcomes the dawn. Feng Mingyue ushered in the prosperous Tang Dynasty peacefully. Due to Yangzhou's geographical conditions, a large amount of materials were transferred from Yangzhou or directly headed north, resulting in astronomical taxes and profits. Yangzhou quickly grew into a famous southeastern capital during the Tang Dynasty, and became the center of the southeastern economic and cultural artery besides Kyoto. Literati who have never been to Yangzhou are like pilgrims who have never been to Mecca, and their lives will be considered imperfect. On the other hand, its convenient transportation will also create many opportunities for literati traveling from south to north to stay here. So Li Bai came, Du Mu came, Zhang Hu came, Xu Ning came, and poets, calligraphers, and painters represented by them all came. In the era of poems expressing aspirations and narratives, they wrote eternal quatrains for Yangzhou - Li Bai's "The old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, fireworks descend to Yangzhou in March"; Du Mu's "The green mountains are faintly covered by the water, and the grass in the south of the Yangtze River is exhausted in autumn". "On a moonlit night before the twenty-fourth bridge, how can a beauty teach me how to play the flute?" Xu Ning's "Ms. Xiao's face is so thin that it is difficult to shed tears, and her peach-leaf eyebrows are long and easy to be sad. The world is divided into three parts on a bright moonlit night, and two parts are in Yangzhou"; Zhang Hu's poems such as "Ten miles of long streets are lined with wells, and you can see the gods on the Moonlight Bridge; life is only for Yangzhou when you die, and the mountains of Zen wisdom are bright and the tombs are good." etc. are all well-known poems and are the best gifts they left to Yangzhou. ... Just as the repeated parts in a song are easy for people to remember, in order to make it easier for future generations to pass on and recite, they omitted other sentences that were thought to be less widespread or unrepresentative. But reading through the whole poem, most of them are out-and-out love poems, or hymns describing beautiful women. With the arrival of so many literati and the support of a strong economic foundation, Yangzhou established more than 30 academies and flourished. "Yangzhou has one-third (one-third) of the prosperity of southeastern academies." There are also famous teachers in charge of it, and there is a bustle of scholars from all over the world. Yangzhou became the place where various academic works, poems and songs were published. Among them, Cao Yinfeng, a weaver from Jiangning in the Qing Dynasty, supervised the engraving of 900 volumes of "Poetry of the Tang Dynasty" in Yangzhou and distributed it nationwide.

Therefore, people who have never been to Yangzhou can feel from the poem how the beauties of Yangzhou are so beautiful and pitiable. The girls in the poem who can't even keep up with the "Ten Miles of Spring Breeze", the women who are so thin-skinned that they can't bear tears, and the women in the city who are as beautiful as gods are simply rare in the world and unparalleled in the sky. In fact, since the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been countless literati and poets praising and singing about Yangzhou, and indispensable are the beauties of Yangzhou. The woman who has benefited from heaven and earth, through the artistic processing of literati, goes where the poems go. "Beautiful girls come out of Yangzhou" has been passed down from generation to generation and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Qionghua, Qionghua and peony represent the beauties of Yangzhou, one cold and one charming. If Yangzhou really has beauties that Du Mu, Xu Ning and others envy and pity, what kind of natural and social environment made Yangzhou give birth to Lian the Creator? A beauty who is also quite satisfied? Yangzhou is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, with abundant rainfall, criss-crossed lakes, a mild climate, and superior natural conditions. Cultivable fields can be found throughout the territory. The water levels along the more than 80-kilometer-long Yangtze River and several large lakes within the territory were stable, and there were no major disasters. With such unique geographical conditions, the flowers, plants, trees, and even birds, beasts, humans, and insects that grow here are all a blessing. Under such an environment, if the ancient era of pursuing exotic flowers and exotic flowers did not produce some things that are rare in the world and unparalleled in the world, it would be in vain the intention of the Creator of heaven and earth. Speaking of two flowers related to beauties, one is the viburnum, which attracts people all over the world; the other is the peony, which is as expensive as Luoyang peony. There are many poems praising these two kinds of flowers in the past dynasties. The most well-known poems praising Qionghua include Xie Juezai's "Birthday in Yangzhou", "The Qionghua is as luxuriant as brocade in the temple, and the western flowers in the lake are thinner than autumn"; Li Bai's "Qin Nu Xiu" " Ximen Qin's daughter is as beautiful as a qionghua"... There are also countless poems about peony. Su Shi wrote in "Inscribed on Zhaochang Peony" that "Yangzhou has recently turned red with thousands of leaves, which is the beauty of the fashionable times." Han Qi wrote a poem: "Guangling peony is so wonderful and beautiful, and its name is as good as that of Luoyang." Qionghua and peony, a holy one The snow-like green leaves are even more cool and charming, and a charming and romantic figure emerges spontaneously at the bottom of the leaves. These two kinds of flowers can probably represent the beauties of Yangzhou (native and immigrants). The former is full of talent and passively retreats from the world, while the latter has a beautiful figure and is fragrant in merchants and tea shops. There are many kinds of peony in Yangzhou. When the peonies bloom, people from around Yangzhou and further afield seem to have accepted the invitation of the flower news and rush to Yangzhou to enjoy the flowers. Not only are peonies blooming everywhere along Yangzhou Road in the spring breeze, but also people in Yangzhou, rich and poor, men, women, old and young, like to wear peony flowers. Therefore, there is a spring flower market near Kaiming Bridge, where there are flower farmers or sellers selling flowers day and night. Qionghua, because of its small number, has aroused people's pursuit and want to see its beauty. Since the unique geographical conditions of Yangzhou can give birth to a rare flower (qionghua) and a lot of peony (paeony), then the people and women of Yangzhou will definitely not hesitate to give gifts and nourish the "fairy flower". "An ordinary woman. Lin Daiyu in "Dream of Red Mansions" is from Yangzhou. The beautiful scenery and products of Yangzhou create beauties. Lin Daiyu has seen many kinds of hair flowers since she was a child. Speaking of the natural environment, what about the social environment? What unique humanistic features and atmosphere of life are there in Yangzhou’s land and water that have produced such beautiful women who are famous all over the world? "Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night" written by Zhang Ruoxu, a Yangzhou poet in the Tang Dynasty, was hailed by predecessors as a masterpiece that "covers the entire Tang Dynasty alone". The poem expresses strong feelings of separation, but it also depicts Yangzhou's river, moon, water and wild fields. Extremely expressive. This poem is a wonderful poem describing women. In the poem, from a noble lady to a woman washing clothes, from singing to a woman chanting while looking at the moon, from a woman suffering from the pain of separation to a woman who is eager to miss her wife, it can be said that this It is a group portrait of women from all walks of life. There are flowers blooming under the moonlight, and the fragrance of flowers is everywhere. What kind of woman is there, facing the flowers and the moon, listening to the flute and harp, bathing in the fragrant moonlit night, how can she not teach her daughters to be attentive and look forward, look back three times with one step, and appear graceful with every step? Beautiful women, like ordinary women, need to live in a house, eat, wear clothes, and put on makeup. They like beautiful headdresses and embroidered shoes with powder inside, and they also need to dress in front of the mirror. And all of these, Yangzhou in the prosperous era had abundant products, and it can be said that everything is available. Even the Tongcao flowers and silk flowers worn on the hair were made in hundreds of patterns, becoming the favorites of court beauties and ladies. Lin Daiyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is from Yangzhou. She has seen many kinds of head flowers since she was a child, so naturally she was not interested in choosing the remaining pair of palace flowers. Since ancient times, Yangzhou has prospered in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with profound cultural heritage and rich literary and artistic atmosphere. Coupled with her unique and coquettish flowers, moon and water bridge, the jade worn by the beauty, the lacquerware, powder, spices, clothing, shoes, jewelry, headdress (tongcaohua, silk gauze flower, etc.), and the rhombus mirror, There are also the beautiful scenery to enjoy, the pavilions and pavilions to live in, the music and opera to listen to, the songs and dances to watch... all these scenery and things, even a girl from an ordinary family, nurtured in such an environment, will grow into a jasper-carved figure. The same beauty comes. Yangzhou Fried Rice is now famous all over the world. Food is also "beautiful" and beauties are born. Yangzhou Fried Rice was originally fried by farmers with leftovers and cold rice. You must know that beauty not only depends on appearance, but also requires inner maintenance and nutrition. Who doesn’t envy Yangzhou cuisine? Who wouldn't eat his fat belly and round waist when he arrived in Yangzhou? When talking about the food of Yangzhou people, it corresponds to what Confucius said: You never tire of fine food, and you never tire of delicate food. Yangzhou people are really more particular about food than those in Jiangnan, and they lack the rigidity of the north like pavilions and pavilions. Yangzhou people study eating, not only to entertain guests but also to maintain health.

From rich merchants to ordinary people, from delicacies of mountains and seas to fried pickles with river shrimps, crystal pig's trotters, three-head (lion head, fish head, pig head) banquet to lettuce and broad beans stall eggs. There is also the famous saying "skin contains water in the morning and water contains water in the evening". Yangzhou people eat healthily, carefully and tastefully. It is true that jade food nourishes people, and modern science has proven that what kind of nutrition can really nourish a certain kind of body, face, and even demeanor will change accordingly. Coupled with generations of genetic selection and social development, it is not surprising that Yangzhou cuisine can nourish generations of beauties. Yangzhou people not only like to eat at home, but also join together in a group, which is commonly known as "opening a group feast" or a hundred families' banquet. The host has to bring his own ingredients, cook, and utensils to perform in front of the wealthy family. The food has been recognized by everyone, and the owner and chef of this restaurant are famous for their specialty dishes. Since the Qing Dynasty, "Yangzhou restaurants" have been particularly developed in Huaiyang cuisine, and signature restaurants have opened all over the country, even in Hong Kong, Macao and abroad. A cage of "Yangzhou steamed buns" and a bowl of "Yangzhou fried rice" have long been famous at home and abroad, attracting many diners. Don’t you know that “Yangzhou fried rice” was originally made by farmers who combined leftovers with cold rice and heated them before eating, in order to save firewood. But when it comes to wealthy people, it has evolved into chopping various different ingredients into cubes, adding special seasonings to rice to make a dish of "Yangzhou Fried Rice". The delicacies that are simple but have become famous all over the world show another style of Yangzhou, a city full of romance. There are not many records in history about the dishes cooked by Yangzhou chefs. Their excellence lies in their ability to make extraordinary delicacies from common ingredients. Nowadays, there is a restaurant called "Cai Gen Xiang", which means that simple vegetable roots can also be used to make delicacies in the world. There is the "Yangzhou School" for esoteric and difficult academics, and there is the "Yangzhou School" for daily simple cooking. Yangzhou people eat exquisitely, elegantly, romantically, happily, and carefreely. Eat while looking at the scenery, eating while listening to music and watching a show, and eating while doing business. Today's Yangzhou people also have a unique custom of "talking things over over the wine table". Poor families sold their daughters as "thin horses". "Skinny horses" are a history of blood and tears for Yangzhou beauties. They were either married as merchants' concubines, or sent to fireworks in Willow Lane. Speaking of Yangzhou beauties, the famous Yangzhou "thin horses" cannot be ignored. . There is a common saying "Marry Ma Ma" that is still circulated orally among Yangzhou people, which means marrying a wife. This horse evolved from the word thin horse. In ancient times, Yangzhou was the settlement of salt merchants from the Huaihe River and Huaihe River (Huainan and Huaibei). The salt merchants were the richest people at that time, and their luxurious life was comparable to that of the royal family. Since the Ming Dynasty, a large number of young women have appeared in Yangzhou who have been specially trained and prepared to marry wealthy businessmen as concubines. These women regard thinness as beauty, and are all slender and emaciated, so they are called "Yangzhou thin horses". The poor families in Yangzhou city and surrounding rural areas who had no food and clothing had to sell their already thin daughters to work as lean horses to survive those days of embarrassment and helplessness. "Skinny horses" were bought to Yangzhou by gangsters, and after several years of training, they were first taught to behave in a dignified or graceful manner, and then taught to learn calligraphy, painting, music, chess, singing and dancing. Zhang Dalai of the Qing Dynasty explained in "Houjia Ji": People in Yangzhou often bought little girls from poor families, taught them how to write, write, sing and dance, and then sold them as maids and concubines, earning as much as a thousand gold, and they were called "skinny horses". There is an extremely strict appraisal process for selecting thin horses, and the most important thing for merchants is the evaluation of the thin horse’s small feet. There is also a very detailed method for identifying this "three-inch golden lotus", and people have also formulated seven standards for this: "thin, small, pointed, curved, fragrant, soft, and straight". In Yangzhou during the Qing Dynasty, there were businessmen who specialized in surviving around the "thin horse" industry chain. They provide one-stop service from purchasing to training to finding buyers, and even hold weddings for thin horses and buyers. According to historical records, the "thin horse" bought from Yangzhou has received formal education and is full of skills. It can be used in the hall and in the kitchen. It is gentle, courteous and frugal. It rarely makes other wives and concubines angry in the owner's home, and it is not jealous. It is very popular. It is to reassure the men. Some people actually feel the benefits of Yangzhou's "thin horses" and go to Yangzhou to buy them again and again. At that time, raising thin horses was not a shameful thing. Because thin horses were profitable, some merchants also raised young women. If they met a generous buyer, it was natural to make thousands of gold. The beauties known as "thin horses" either followed their buyers to the vast world outside Yangzhou, or they stayed in their hometown to find suitable families to marry. But not all "skinny horses" can successfully marry into wealthy families. Finally, some of the remaining "skinny horses" had to be sent to Fireworks Willow Alley. On the banks of the Qinhuai River, most of the "Yangbang" singing girls are from "skinny horses". And those "thin horses" who are "lucky" to be taken as concubines by wealthy officials, businessmen, and noble princes do not necessarily live a happy life from then on. Some people say that Yangzhou Shou Ma is a history of blood and tears of Yangzhou beauties. Since there are countless Yangzhou beauties who are envied by the world for their delicious food, how many Yangzhou beauties are famous all over the world? The "Princess Princess" who came out earlier than Wang Zhaojun, whether in terms of long history, status, or contribution to our Chinese nation, we must first recommend Liu Xijun, the "Princess of Jiangdu" in the Han Dynasty. Her father was Liu Jian, the king of Jiangdu, who was selected by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was in power at the time. He married to Wusun (today's upper reaches of the Ili River) and became the queen of King Kunmo. Liu Xijun was the first royal family member with the surname Liu sent to foreign affairs in the Western Han Dynasty. She was 72 years earlier than Wang Zhaojun's departure. She was the first "marriage princess" named in the annals of history, and the first talented woman among the marriage princesses of the Western Han Dynasty. Her "Sad Song" still brings tears to my eyes when I read it.

It is said that Liu Xijun's tragic song reached the ears of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty couldn't help but be moved by it. Every other year, an envoy with a brocade curtain was sent to Wusun to present it to her. This Yangzhou beauty, who is famous in history, has set three firsts: the first person to achieve marriage in ancient times; the first person to express poetry and ambition in the poetry world; and the first person to create the musical instrument pipa. In order to commemorate her, people still have a handprint of her stopping and looking back at home in Lingbi, Anhui. The "Holy Hand" of Thrush in the Sui Dynasty Wu Jiangxian, a beauty from Yangzhou in the Sui Dynasty, was a female official in the palace of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and was named Lady Kongtong. He is good at painting eyebrows and has been praised as the "Master of eyebrow painting" by the past dynasties. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was forced to commit suicide, Jiangxian followed Emperor Yang to commit suicide like a fairy from the Nine Heavens, and his fragrant soul disappeared in an instant. She is a model of beauty in Yangzhou, composing an eternal tragedy with her loyalty. "Teresa Teng" of the Tang Dynasty When talking about Liu Cai, a beauty who was good at singing and dancing in the Tang Dynasty, Teresa Teng will come to mind. She was deeply appreciated by Yuan Zhen, who said that she was "elegant in speech and charming in manner, and charming in manner". When she sang along with the soldiers, wherever her singing went, even women in the boudoir and pedestrians would shed tears when they heard it. Not only can she sing, but she can also compose lyrics and music. She is a creative artist. She has sung more than 120 songs alone. She also had a romantic affair with the great poet Yuan Zhen, but unfortunately we don’t know how it ended. Mao Xixi, a beautiful woman from Yangzhou in the Song Dynasty, was a famous prostitute in Yangzhou during the Southern Song Dynasty and her ancestral home was Gaoyou. Born into a family of officials, he learned calligraphy and swordsmanship from an early age, and was well-equipped with both civil and military skills. Unfortunately, the Jin soldiers invaded the south, Gaoyou fell, and fled to Yangzhou with his wet nurse. He quickly became famous in Yangzhou city because he knew how to play piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, dancing and singing. Later, she was forcibly taken as a concubine by Rongquan, the commander-in-chief of Gaoyou. Rongquan rebelled. Mao Xixi reprimanded Rongquan before the banquet and was killed in pieces. After the rebellion was over, Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty named Mao Xixi the Heroic Lady. "History of the Song Dynasty" has a biography of Mao Xixi. The tomb is located in the south of Gaoyou City and is commonly known as "Ms. Mao Xixi's Tomb". "Zhu Niangniang" who had good relations with Guan Hanqing. There was a "foreign beauty" Zhu Lianxiu in Yangzhou in the Yuan Dynasty. She was an early drama actress. Later generations of artists in the Yuan Dynasty called her "Zhu Niangniang". He has good friendships with composers Guan Hanqing, Feng Zizhen and others. Later, she married Hong Dangu, a Taoist from Qiantang, and left Yangzhou and moved to Hangzhou where she settled until her death. The most beautiful concubine of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. The beauty Tian Xiuying of the Ming Dynasty was the most beautiful concubine of the last emperor Chongzhen. She was born to her father Tian Hongyu when he was the president of Yangzhou. It is estimated that the aura of Yangzhou infected her. Tian Xiuying was born delicate and slender since she was a child. She is taciturn and has many talents. She is good at playing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, riding horses and hunting, playing flute and tuning silk. She has a sweet appearance, and more importantly, she is naturally gifted. It is fragrant, "even if you eat hot food in the hot summer or walk in the scorching sun, your muscles will not sweat, and the fragrance will be felt on the pillow and on the table", which is deeply loved by Wang Zhu Youjian. When she was 16 years old (1627), she was selected as Princess Shin. As time goes by, where have the beauties of Yangzhou that the poets sung about gone? They may all be buried in historical memory. But after all, Yangzhou produced beauties, and the words left by literati and poets were not false. The unique environment and the developed urban economy have not been passed down like the beauty of Yangzhou. Nowadays, when people say that "Yangzhou has produced beauties since ancient times", girls in Yangzhou will feel a little pressure and will always say "I am the maid of beauties" to each other. After all, beautiful women belong to that era. They once had a life full of songs and songs, and a picturesque past. However, I believe that now or in the near future, there will be "Yangzhou beauties" who are famous throughout history. If you have leisurely strolling through the streets of Yangzhou, and suddenly look back, there may be a beautiful woman looking at you through the carved wooden window... Disclaimer: All articles marked on this website as "Source: ××× (not "Hundred Schools Forum") Magazine or Baijia Lecture Network)" works are reprinted from other media. The purpose of reprinting is to convey more information, which does not mean that this website agrees with its views and is responsible for its authenticity.