Gu Hengbo, Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Koubaimen, Ma Xianglan and other six people were first recorded in Yu Huai's Banqiao Miscellanies! Later generations joined Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan, which is called Eight Brilliants.

The eight of them have several similarities. First of all, they all have patriotic national integrity. Apart from Ma Xianglan, all the people in the Eight Yan in Qinhuai experienced the great turmoil of regime change from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. At that time, many corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty were afraid of death and betrayed their country for glory. In sharp contrast to them, Qin Huai Ba Yan, although a woman who was oppressed at the bottom of society, was able to show lofty national solar terms at the critical moment of national survival. Then, they have high attainments in poetry and painting. All eight of them can write poems and draw pictures, but most of them have been lost. Only Liu Rushi's works have been preserved. They are diligent in writing and try their best to express their feelings about life.

The Palace Museum once exhibited Ma Xianglan's long scroll of orchids, and Wuxi Museum also exhibited Dong Xiaowan's butterfly picture in Nanjing. The last point is that they are very loyal to love and friendship. The eight beauties in Qinhuai were forced to go to the brothel. Who ever thought of such a life as a comedian? They all want to find a congenial Mr. Right for life, but their kindness always takes love and friendship as the criteria for choosing a spouse, but it has gone through ups and downs. This is certainly the tragedy of women in society at that time, and it also reflects their own noble qualities.

1. Liu Rushi (one of the eight beauties of Qinhuai)

Liu Rushi was a famous talented prostitute who lived at the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. She was strong, upright and intelligent, and she was very courageous, and her reputation was no less than that of Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujing and Gu Meisheng. Liu Rushi's name is, the word is like this, the fine print is awkward, and his real name is love willow. Because he read Xin Qiji's words: "I see how charming the castle peak is, and I expect the castle peak to see me like this", so he named himself like this; Later, it was also called "Hedong Jun" and "Hong Wujun".

She is a native of Jiaxing. She was born in the 51 years of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. She was intelligent and eager to learn when she was young. However, due to her poor family, she was plundered and sold to Wujiang as a maid at an early age. When she was young, she fell into Zhangtai and changed her name to Liu Yin. She traveled between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jinling in troubled times. Because of her beauty and talent, she became a famous girl in Qinhuai. She left behind many anecdotes and literary manuscripts, such as Grass on the Lake, Wuyinzhuo and letters.

Liu Rushi was friendly with Zhang Bin and Chen Zilong, the leaders of the Southern Ming Society, and was congenial to Chen, but Chen was unfortunately defeated and died in the anti-Qing uprising. Liu's choice of husband is very demanding, and many celebrities have failed to marry her, and some only stay in the friendship stage. Finally, in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, when she was in her twenties, she married Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, who was over half a century old and a famous bureaucrat. After Qian married Liu, she built a magnificent "Crimson Cloud House" and "Red Bean Pavilion" in Yushan, and the golden house was hidden in a charming place. Liu has a daughter after his death. Some "Dream of Red Mansions" believe that the crimson Yun Xuan designed by Cao Xueqin comes from the crimson cloud building of Liu.

When Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself and the Qing army occupied Beijing, a small court in Hong Guang was built in Nanjing, and Liu Rushi supported Qian Qianyi as the etiquette minister of Nanming. Soon the Qing army went south, and when Enemy at the Gates was there, Liu advised Qian to join him in the water to die. Qian was speechless in thought, and finally went down to the pool to try the water, saying, "It's too cold to go down.". Liu "tried his best to sink into the pool", but he gave Qian a hard hold. So the money was ashamed to meet it. Qian Jiangqing went to Beijing, but Liu stayed in Nanjing. Qian became an assistant minister of etiquette and a bachelor of Hanlin in the Qing Dynasty. Influenced by Liu's family, he resigned after half a year. Later, because of the case, I ate two lawsuits. Liu Rushi bribed him to be rescued from prison when he was ill, and encouraged him to contact Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Huangyan, Qu Shizhen and Wei Geng who were still resisting. Liu did her best to support and comfort the Qing rebels, which showed her strong patriotic national integrity. Qian Qianyi's demotion should have been criticized by later generations, but it was Liu Rushi's righteous deeds that diluted people's antipathy to him.

Yu Dafu recorded Liu Rushi's poem "I smell the room in spring" in "Miscellaneous Stories of Entertainment". As far as literary and artistic talents are concerned, she can be called "Eight Colourful Flowers in Qinhuai". After reading her poems, Chen Yinque, a famous scholar, felt "stunned" and admired Liu Rushi's "clear words and beautiful sentences". The Qing people thought that her letters were "more beautiful than the Six Dynasties, and she loved Ban Cai deeply". Liu is also proficient in temperament, long-sleeved and good at dancing, and her paintings are also famous. Her paintings are skillful and simple, and beautiful. Calligraphy won the admiration of later generations, calling it "an iron fist with a silver hook, and once collected the wonderful trace."

after Qian's death in p>1666, the villagers gathered to seize his real estate. In order to protect the property of Qian's family, Liu killed himself with silk. Although the villains were scared away, a generation of talented women ended their lives like this. After Liu's death, he was buried in Fushui Mountain Villa in Yushan.

second, Chen Yuanyuan (one of the eight beauties of Qinhuai)

Chen Yuanyuan, a native of Kunshan, once lived in Qinhuai. Because of her superior color and art, she was associated with major historical events, so the Qing people included her in the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai". Chen Yuanyuan's original surname was Xing, Yuan, Yuan and Fang, and she was adopted by her foster mother Chen, so she changed her surname to Chen. She is beautiful in color, beautiful in flowers, good at singing and dancing, and the best in color and art.

In the last years of Chongzhen, the peasant uprising army in Li Zicheng threatened the imperial court, and Emperor Chongzhen was restless day and night. Zhou Kui, a consort of Jiading Bo, wanted to find a stunning beauty for the emperor, so as to relieve the emperor's anxiety, so he left Tian Fei's brother Tian Wan to find beauty in the south of the Yangtze River. After Tian Wan found Chen Yuanyuan, he was fascinated by his beauty and took it for himself privately. Soon Li Zicheng's team approached the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen called Shanhaiguan in Wu Sangui Town. Tian Tian was worried about the peasant uprising army all day, so he gave a grand banquet for Wu Sangui's farewell dinner, and Yuan Yuan led the chorus to perform in the hall. After seeing Yuanyuan, Wu Sangui was ecstatic and hugged Yuanyuan as a hostess. After drinking, the three patrolmen reported that it was protruding. Tian Yi stepped forward to Wu in fear and said, "What will happen if you get here?" Wu Sangui said: "If you can see the gift with a round face, I will protect your family first." Before Tian Tian answered, Wu Sangui took Yuan Yuan's farewell speech. Wu Sangui persuaded his father, who was in charge of the imperial camp, to leave Yuan Yuan in the capital mansion to prevent his peers from causing trouble and let the emperor know.

after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Wu Sangui's father surrendered to the insurgents, and Chen Yuanyuan was plundered by Li's men. When Wu Sangui promised to surrender to Li Zicheng, Wen Yuanyuan was occupied by Li Zhi's Ministry, and he was furious and shouted, "What can a gentleman do if he can't protect himself?" So he surrendered and the Qing army went to war with the peasant army. This is what Wu Meicun said in Yuan Yuan Qu: "Mourning all six armies, rushing to the crown and getting angry is a beauty"

After Li Zicheng's defeat, he killed all the father of Wu and 38 members of his family, and then left Beijing. Wu Sangui took revenge for killing his father and wife, and pursued the peasant army to Shanxi day and night. At this time, Wu's Ministry will search for Chen Yuanyuan in the capital city, fly and transmit, and lead Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan from Qin to Shu, and then monopolize Yunnan. Wu was promoted to the title of Queen Yunnan, and Yuan Yuan wanted to be the real princess. Yuan Yuan excused her dismissal, but Wu Sangui didn't marry her. I don't want to be jealous of the princess I married, so I framed and killed Wu's love, and Yuanyuan lived alone in another hospital. After Yuan Yuan fell out of favor, she gradually turned away from Wu. Wu had conspired to kill her. When Yuan Yuan learned about it, she begged for a haircut and embroidered Buddha in Wuhuashan Huaguo Temple.

Later, Wu Sangui declared independence in Yunnan, and Emperor Kangxi sent troops to Yunnan. In the winter of 1681, the city of Kunming was broken. After Wu Sangui's death, Chen Yuanyuan drowned himself in the lotus pond outside the temple and was buried beside the pond after his death. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were still two frames of Chen Yuanyuan's small film in the temple, and Chi Pan left stone poems.

Third, Dong Xiaowan (one of the Eight Colourful Flowers in Qinhuai)

Dong Xiaowan was one of the famous Eight Colourful Flowers in Qinhuai in the late Ming Dynasty. Dong Xiaowan, whose name was Bai, was called Violet, and her name and words were all due to her admiration for Li Bai. She is smart, witty, beautiful and graceful, and she is a first-class woman in Qinhuai Old Courtyard. Her beauty has caused a group of famous public officials and businessmen to fight against each other. But this dusty woman despises powerful people, juggles skillfully and struggles bravely. At the end of Ming Dynasty, one of the four gifted scholars ventured across the border, rich in talent and charming, and they fell in love at first sight. Maobijiang is handsome in appearance and natural and unrestrained in manner. He is called "beautiful boy" and is a talented person in the society.

Xiaowan got along very well with the Maos after entering the Maos' gate. Ma Gong-ren (the mother of the frontier) and Su Yuanfang (the wife of the frontier) especially like Xiaowan, and Xiaowan is also very respectful and obedient, serving them more diligently than her maid. In their spare time, Xiaowan and Bijiang often sit in the study of the painting garden, splashing ink, enjoying flowers and tea, commenting on landscapes and identifying epigraphy. When Xiaowan first entered the family, he imitated Zhong You's post and Cao E's tablet, and wrote thousands of words every day, without typos or omissions.

Xiaowan once wrote small letters for relatives and friends instead of Bijiang. Once upon a time in Suzhou, Xiaowan studied painting for a period of time, and she was able to draw a small bush of cold trees, and her pen and ink were touching. At the age of 15, she painted "The Butterfly Map", which is now collected in Wuxi Museum, with Xiaowan's inscription, two-sided stamp marks and poems highly praised by people close to her. Xiaowan's painting is rarely handed down from generation to generation, and it is a rare masterpiece. After arriving in Rugao, she kept a special interest in painting, and always exhibited new scrolls and scrolls or old collections at home.

the most impressive thing about Xiaowan is that she leads a romantic and beautiful everyday life. Xiaowan is indifferent by nature and doesn't like fat and sweet food. Cooking rice with a small pot of tea, accompanied by one or two dishes of watercress and fragrant black beans, is her meal. Bijiang likes sweets, seafood and smoked food. Xiaowan knows the taste of Bijiang, and the food she makes for Bijiang is fresh, clean and delicious, with various patterns. If the wine is brewed into dew, dozens of kinds of flower dew will be filled in white porcelain cups after drinking, not to mention tasting it with your mouth. The five colors floating and the strange fragrance overflowing are enough to quench your thirst. In terms of drinking tea, Xiaowan and Bijiang have the same hobby. They are often one person and one pot, silently facing each other before and after the flowers, savoring the color, fragrance and temperament of tea.

Xiaowan often studies recipes. When she sees a strange flavor, she goes to ask for its making method and makes it with her own clever hands. Tiger skin meat, which people often eat now, is the invention of Dong Xiaowan. Therefore, it also has a little-known name "Dong Meat". Although this dish is somewhat abrupt and beautiful, it is in harmony with Dongpo Meat. In addition, Xiaowan is also good at making candy. When she was in Qinhuai, she used sesame seeds, fried noodles, caramel, pine nuts, peach kernels and sesame oil as raw materials to make crisp candy, which was cut into cubes with a length of five points, a width of three points and a thickness of one point. This crisp candy was yellow outside and crisp inside, sweet but not greasy. People called it "Dong Tang", and now Yangzhou famous pastry is filled with fragrant Dong Tang (also called inch gold) Some people have listed Dong Xiaowan, Yi Yin, Yi Ya, Taihe Gong, Shanzu, Fanzheng, Liu Niangzi, Wusao Song, Xiao Meiren and Wang Xiaoyu as the top ten famous chefs in ancient China, which is not an exaggeration.

the moonlight is like water, and the smallest one is attracted to it. In the cool summer night, Xiaowan likes to recite poems about the moon, fireflies and wanfan in the Tang Dynasty. In order to appreciate the beauty of moonlight, she often moves several couches with the rise and fall of the moon. Back indoors in the middle of the night, she still pushed open the window and let the moonlight wander between the pillows. When the moon goes west, she rolls up the curtain again, leans against the window and looks at it, reluctant to part with it, and often recites Li He's poem "The moon is lingering, the waves are full of smoke and jade" repeatedly. "You and I love to enjoy this bright moonlight all year round, and the Xianlu Zen Pass will be opened in silence." In this way, Xiaowan appreciates subtle and elegant cultural interest in natural and plain daily life, and yearns for detached and clear poetic life in humble life.

Bijiang said that he enjoyed all the happiness of his life in the nine years when he lived with Xiaowan. This happiness also includes sitting in the fragrant pavilion and savoring the fragrance. Bijiang appreciates "horizontal sinking" most, which is an agarwood with firm internal quality and horizontal texture. Xiaowan cherishes the "daughter fragrance" that Dongguan people regard as a masterpiece, and they also have a lot of "Penglai fragrance". Bijiang once found a kind of "raw yellow incense" that tasted like fragrant orchid from the south of the Yangtze River. He gave one or two pieces to his friend Li Suiqiu in Guangdong for appreciation, and Li Suiqiu was amazed. Xiaowan has also made hundreds of fragrant pills with western fragrant prescriptions obtained from Neifu. They pay attention to the mood when tasting incense. In a small room on a cold night, jade hangs down, two or three red candles are lit, agarwood is burned in a few Xuande furnaces, and the nose view is quiet, as if you have entered the depths of the fragrance of Rui Zhu.

Fourth, Li Xiangjun (one of the eight beauties of Qinhuai)

In the very decadent era of the late Ming Dynasty, most court ministers were so numb that they could not feel the situation they were facing, and they were becoming increasingly worried about domestic troubles and foreign invasion. On the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, there are a group of women in the world of mortals who are very worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Meixiang Building, located in the middle of Chaoku Street, is one of these embroidered buildings. Its owner, Li Xiangjun, a geisha, is a household name. In fact, Li Xiangjun's fame was not as great as that of Liu Rushi or Chen Yuanyuan in the Eight Gorgeous Qinhuai at that time. Now, walking around Qinhuai old alley, this is the only embroidered building that can be found. This is a two-storey embroidered building with narrow stairs, and the footsteps of walking clearly upload through the floor. In the autumn of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Hou Fangyu, who was only 21 years old, had just arrived in Nanjing from Shangqiu, Henan Province, and put aside the upcoming after having obtained the provincial examinations, and went directly to this dark red staircase.

That year, Li Xiangjun was in her prime at the age of sixteen, and she was "gentle and delicate, so she accompanied the banquet of hawksbill, but she turned shy and didn't enter the account of Lotus." She sat in front of the window where the embroidered curtain hung, overlooking the Qinhuai River, waiting for the love in her dream. When Hou Fangyu suddenly appeared in front of her, she must have felt that the marriage she was expecting had arrived. This should have been a romantic affair of a talented person and a beautiful woman, but it's a pity to choose the wrong background of the times. With the entry of the Manchu iron hoof, the Ming Dynasty building collapsed rapidly. Prince Zhu hastily crossed the south, and in a smoky atmosphere, he hastily established the Nanming regime in Nanjing.

Ruan Dacheng, the sworn enemy of Fu She Society, seized this opportunity and walked out of the deep alley of Jinling. He took refuge in Ma Shiying, a courtier of Nanming, and appeared at the front desk of the political stage. Ruan Dacheng was originally a figure spurned by the clean class, but he still wanted to change his face. So, he tried to buy off Hou Fangyu with money to achieve his personal political goals. This trick was quickly seen through by Li Xiangjun, a talented person. She resolutely rejected Ruan Dacheng's money temptation, and demanded that Hou Fangyu immediately break off relations with him and draw a line. Ruan Dacheng, who was ashamed and angry, retaliated by despicable means. Hou Fangyu was helpless and left Nanjing with tears, and this short-lived love came to a sad end hastily.

Regardless of Hou Fangyu's later performance, it should be said that Li Xiangjun is beyond reproach in his love life. Afterwards, she was still in this embroidered building and sighed deeply to her friends: "Is Tian Gong different from Ruan Gong? What do I say to those who praise Hou Gongzi? I'm going there for my money, and I'm selling my son! " The pursuit of love is so steadfast, and it happened to a Qinhuai geisha, which is really rare.

In the third year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (AD 1646), Nanjing fell, and Nanming became a bubble in history. For Li Xiangjun, the external environment in which she lived has undergone tremendous changes, and the love she pursued was finally shattered by Hou Fangyu's return to the north. Hou Fangyu, a celebrity who was advertised in books as having the ambition to serve the country, did not stick to his political integrity for long. In the eighth year of Shunzhi, he took part in the imperial examination organized by the Qing Dynasty, and the result ended in failure again. In love life, he didn't meet Li Xiangjun in Qixia Mountain as written in Peach Blossom Fan. Looking back at Hou Fangyu's life, he should be a very failed person.

In the late spring of the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), the peach blossoms all over the trees have withered and fallen red everywhere. Li Xiangjun quietly closed.