Gu Hengbo, Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Kou Baimen, Ma Xianglan, Liu Rushi, Chen Yuanyuan

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Eight Beauties of Jinling were famous for their beauty and talent in the Qinhuai River. Almost no one knows it, no one knows it. At that time, more than hundreds of literati and poets came here because of its reputation. The fate of many all-powerful historical figures is closely related to them. Beauties love heroes, prostitutes love talented men. Their beauty not only fascinates ordinary people, but also fascinates many heroes and talents, and even changes history. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Qinhuai River was full of people with wooden roofs and roofs, singing and dancing, and playing music all night long. Among them, there are many brothels, a world full of prostitutes, and it has become the most prosperous singing and dancing place in the Ming Dynasty. Many brothels house young girls who have lost their parents and are helpless. They taught him music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, singing and dancing. When it grows up, it becomes the sign of the brothel. Liu Rushi, Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujing, Zheng Tuoniang, Gu Meisheng, Kou Baimen, Chen Yuanyuan, and Dong Xiaowan among the Eight Beauties of Jinling were all raised from young prostitutes to become "stunningly beautiful" in the Qinhuai River. Not only do the eight beauties have first-class looks and figures, they are also proficient in poetry, song and dance. What is even more valuable is that they care about world affairs and have close contacts with the literati who followed the Donglin Party. Among them, Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujing, Dong Xiaowan, and Hou Fangyu among the four young masters in the late Ming Dynasty, Fang Yizhi and Maoxiang's romantic affairs were legendary by people at the time. Little did you know that the fourth young master in the late Ming Dynasty played a decisive role in the literary world at that time. The Fushe they founded was another important political literary society after the Donglin Party. The four young masters in the late Ming Dynasty all came from famous and scholarly families, and their poetry and articles were first-rate. Among them, Fang was endowed with wisdom, culture and military skills and made many contributions to the Ming Dynasty. He served as the inspector of the Hanlin Academy of Emperor Chongzhen. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he worked hard to restore the Ming Dynasty and served as an official of King Yong Ding of the Southern Ming Dynasty and a prime minister of Emperor Yongli. When the unification of the Qing Dynasty became a foregone conclusion, he actively prepared for anti-Qing and restoration activities. At that time, thousands of people admired his name and defected. Liu Rushi, Gu Meisheng, and Kou Baimen among the Eight Beauties all later followed famous historical ministers in the late Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, many people in the Bayan were hunted down for political reasons. Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan also appeared in the lives of the most powerful historical figures at that time. It is said that Wu Sangui, a general in the late Ming Dynasty, joined the army of Chuang King Li Zicheng. He controlled the Great Wall Fortress and played a vital role in resisting Qing troops. Chen Yuanyuan was presented to Wu Sangui and received great favor. The two have a deep relationship. Later, another general under Li Zicheng snatched Chen Yuanyuan. Wu Sangui was infatuated with her, so he said angrily: "I have a heavy army and I can't even protect a woman!" He was so angry that he became a beauty. From then on, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and turned against her. After all, the peasant army was no match for the well-trained regular army. The Qing army entered the pass and annihilated it like a whirlwind. But history is different. Wu Sangui's rebellion was not simply because of Chen Yuanyuan, but before snatching Chen Yuanyuan, Li Zicheng's troops broke into the Wu family and kidnapped Wu Sangui's father, which led to the rebellion. Chen Yuanyuan was simply characterized as a disaster because of the feudal etiquette of male superiority and female inferiority. In fact, Li Zicheng's failure was entirely due to being too arrogant, and it had nothing to do with whether he robbed Chen Yuanyuan, or in other words, his failure was because he kidnapped Wu Sangui's father. Behind many historical events, many strange and outrageous behaviors of emperors, generals and ministers that are difficult for ordinary people to understand can be answered from their fate. Heroes love beauties, and the eight beauties of Jinling are extremely beautiful!

Edit this paragraph Zhangtai Liuyin

——Liu Rushi, a majestic character

Liu Rushi

Liu Rushi was active in the Ming Dynasty She was a famous singing prostitute in the Qing Dynasty. She had a strong personality, integrity, intelligence, and courage. Her reputation was no less than that of Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujing, and Gu Meisheng. Liu Rushi's name is hidden, with the courtesy name Rushi, and the diminutive Zhiwu. His real name is Yang Ai. He read Xin Qiji's poem: "I saw how charming the green mountains are, and I expected that the green mountains would look like this to me." Therefore, he named himself Rushi; later he was also called "Hedong Jun" and "Hedong Jun". "Mr. Miwu". She is from Jiaxing, born in the forty-sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1618). She was smart and eager to learn when she was young. However, due to her poverty, she was robbed and sold to Wujiang as a maidservant at an early age. When she was young, she fell into Zhangtai and changed her name to Liu Yin. In the troubled times, he traveled between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jinling. Because of her unparalleled beauty and talent, she became a famous concubine of Qinhuai. She left behind many anecdotes worth telling and literary poems such as "Grass on the Lake", "Wu Yin Zhuo" and "Child Slips". Liu Rushi was once friendly with Zhang Fu and Chen Zilong, the leaders of the Nanming Restoration Society, and agreed with Chen Qing. However, Chen was unfortunately defeated and died in the anti-Qing uprising. Liu's requirements for choosing a son-in-law were very high. She looked down on many proposals from celebrities, and some of them only stayed at the friendship stage. Finally, in the 14th year of Chongzhen, when she was in her 20s, she married Qian Qianyi, a leader of Donglin who was over 50 years old and a famous bureaucrat. After Qian married Liu, he built the magnificent "Jiangyun Tower" and "Hongdou Pavilion" for her in Yushan. The golden house hides the beauty. Liu's descendants gave birth to a daughter. Some "red scholars" believe that the Jiangyun Pavilion designed by Cao Xueqin is derived from the Jiangyun Tower of the Liu family. When Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself and the Qing army occupied Beijing, the Hongguang Small Court was built in Nanjing, which was known as Nanming in history. Liu Rushi supported Qian Qianyi to become the Minister of Rites of Nanming. Soon the Qing army marched south. When the troops approached the city, Liu persuaded Qian to join him and die for his country. Qian was thoughtful and speechless. Finally, he stepped into the pool and tested the water and said, "The water is too cold to enter." Mrs. Liu "wanted to sink into the pool", but Ms. Qian held her back. So Qian was shy and welcomed the surrender. Qian Jiangqing went to Beijing, but Liu stayed in Nanjing.

Qian became a minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of the Imperial Academy in the Qing Dynasty. Due to the influence of the Liu family, he resigned after half a year due to illness. Later, he was involved in two lawsuits. Liu Rushi bribed him to be released from prison while he was ill, and encouraged him to contact Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Huangyan, Qu Shichun, Wei Geng, etc. who were still resisting. Liu also tried her best to support and comfort the anti-Qing rebels, all of which showed her strong patriotism and national integrity. Qian Qianyi's surrender to the Qing Dynasty should have been criticized by later generations, but Liu Rushi's righteous deeds diluted people's antipathy towards him. Yu Dafu recorded Liu Rushi's poem "I Hear the Room in Spring" in "Yuxia Zazai". In terms of literary and artistic talents, she can be called the first of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai". After reading her poems, the famous scholar Chen Yinke felt "stunned" and admired Liu Rushi's "clear words and beautiful sentences". The people of the Qing Dynasty believed that her ruler slips were "more beautiful than those in the Six Dynasties, and they were deeply affectionate to Ban Cai". Liu is also proficient in music, good at dancing, and is also famous for her calligraphy and painting. Her paintings are skillful, simple, and beautiful; her calligraphy is highly praised by future generations, who call her "an iron fist with a silver hook that can capture wonderful traces." After Qian's death in 1664, the villagers gathered to seize his property. In order to protect the Qian family's property, Liu actually committed suicide with a silk tie. 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 Villa in Yushan. Liu Rushi is a very talented female poet. Her handed down works include "Wu Yin Cao", "Liu Rushi's Poems", "Chi Xu" and so on. The beauty of the country

——The famous concubine Chen Yuanyuan of the Qing Dynasty Chen Yuanyuan was originally a singing girl from Kunshan and once lived in Qinhuai. Because of her outstanding sexual skills and her connection with major historical events, Chen Yuanyuan of the Qing Dynasty

< p>People included her among the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai". Chen Yuanyuan's original surname is Xing, her given name is Yuan, her courtesy name is Yuanyuan, and her courtesy name is Wanfang. She adopted her adoptive mother Chen as a child, so she changed her surname to Chen. She is extremely beautiful, with bright flowers and snow, she is good at singing and dancing, and her beauty and art are among the best. In the last years of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's peasant uprising army shocked the court, and Emperor Chongzhen was restless day and night. Zhou Kui, the uncle of Jiading, wanted to find a stunning beauty for the emperor to relieve the emperor's worries, so he sent Concubine Tian's brother Tian Wan to the south of the Yangtze River to look for her. After Tian Wan found Chen Yuanyuan, he was so fascinated by her beauty that he secretly took it as his own. Soon Li Zicheng's troops approached the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen urgently summoned Wu Sangui to guard Shanhaiguan. Tian Wan was worried about the peasant uprising all day long, so he held a grand banquet for Wu Sangui, and Yuanyuan led the singing group to perform in the hall. After Wu Sangui saw Yuanyuan, he was so fascinated that he was so happy that he hugged Yuanyuan and drank with her. After drinking for three rounds, the alarm sounded. Tian Wan stepped forward in fear and asked Wu, "What will happen if the bandits arrive?" Wu Sangui said, "If you can see Yuanyuan as a gift, I will protect your family first." Before Tian Wan could answer, Wu Sangui That is, with a round greeting. Wu Sangui was persuaded by his father, who was in charge of the imperial camp, to keep Yuanyuan in the capital to prevent his colleagues from causing trouble and letting the emperor know about it. After Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, Wu Sangui's father surrendered to the rebels, and Chen Yuanyuan was plundered by Li's men. When Wu Sangui agreed to surrender to Li Zicheng, he heard that Yuanyuan had been captured by Li's generals. He was furious and shouted, "What can a man do if he can't protect himself?" Then he surrendered to the Qing army and started a war with the peasant army. This is what Wu Meicun said in "Yuanyuanqu": "The six armies who mourn are all in plain clothes, and the crown and anger become beauty." After Li Zicheng was defeated, he killed Wu's father and all 38 members of his family, and then abandoned the capital and fled. Wu Sangui pursued the peasant army to Shanxi day and night with the revenge of killing his father and seizing his wife. At this time, Wu's troops searched for Chen Yuanyuan in the capital, teleported on flying cavalry, and led Wu Sangui to take Chen Yuanyuan from Qin to Shu, and then monopolized Yunnan. When the Wu family became Queen of Yunnan, she wanted to make Yuan Yuan his concubine, but Yuan Yuan resigned with excuses and Wu Sangui did not marry her. Not wanting the concubine she married to be jealous, she framed and unjustly killed Wu's concubine, so Yuanyuan lived alone in a separate courtyard. After Yuanyuan fell out of favor, she gradually became alienated from Wu. Wu once plotted to murder her. After Yuanyuan learned about it, she became a nun and became a nun. From then on, she embroidered Buddha images in Changzhai at Huaguo Temple in Mount Wuhua. Later, Wu Sangui declared independence in Yunnan, Emperor Kangxi sent troops to Yunnan, and the city of Kunming was destroyed in the winter of 1681. After Wu Sangui's death, Chen Yuanyuan also sank 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 two small frames of Chen Yuanyuan hidden in the temple, and there were poems carved on stone by the pool.

Edit this paragraph Qingxiu Qinglian

——Beautiful and charming Dong Xiaowan Dong Xiaowan is one of the famous Eight Beauties of Qinhuai in the late Ming Dynasty. Dong Xiaowan, whose name is Bai, also has the nickname Qinglian. Qinglian Nu Shi, her name and Dong Xiaowan

were both derived from her admiration for Li Bai. She is smart, graceful, beautiful, graceful and graceful. She is a first-class figure among the women in the old courtyard of Qinhuai. Her beauty once caused a group of famous officials, gentry and merchants to fight openly and secretly. But this woman who lives in the world despises the powerful, cleverly maneuvers, and has the courage to fight. One of the four talented men in the late Ming Dynasty ventured across the border. He was talented and suave, and Dong Xiaowan fell in love with him at first sight. Mao Bijiang has a handsome appearance and a chic demeanor. He is known as the "beautiful boy" and is a talented man in Fushe. After Xiaowan entered the Mao family, he got along very harmoniously with the Mao family. Ma Gongren (Pijiang's mother) and Su Yuanfang (Pijiang's wife) particularly like Xiaowan, and Xiaowan is also very respectful and obedient, serving them more carefully than a maid. In their spare time, Xiaowan and Pijiang often sat in the study room of the painting garden, splashing ink, admiring flowers and drinking tea, commenting on landscapes, and identifying gold and stone. When Xiaowan first entered the Mao family, he imitated Zhong Yao's calligraphy and Cao'e's stele. He wrote thousands of words every day, and he neither missed nor missed any words. Xiaowan also wrote small regular script fans for relatives and friends on Bijiang's behalf. When she was in Suzhou, Xiaowan studied painting for a period of time and was able to paint small clumps of cold trees with lovely and moving brushwork. The "Colorful Butterfly Picture" she painted when she was 15 years old is now collected in the Wuxi Municipal Museum. It has Xiaowan's inscription, the stamp of Erfang, and the inscribed poem that is highly praised by recent people.

Very few of Xiaowan's paintings have been handed down from generation to generation, and this painting is a rare masterpiece. After arriving in Rugao, she maintained her special interest in painting and often played with new scrolls or old ones at home. The most impressive thing about Xiaowan is that she lives her trivial daily life romantically, beautifully and affectionately. Xiaowan is indifferent by nature and does not like rich and sweet food. Boil rice with a small pot of tea, and serve it with one or two dishes of pickled vegetables and fermented black beans, and that's her meal. Pijiang's appetite likes to eat sweets, seafood and cured and smoked foods. Xiaowan knows Pijiang's taste well, and the delicacies she makes for Pijiang are fresh, delicious, and varied. For example, if wine is made into dew, use a white porcelain cup to hold dozens of floral dews after drinking. Not to mention tasting it with your mouth, the five colors floating around and the strange fragrance overflowing are enough to quench your thirst and quench your thirst. When it comes to drinking tea, Xiaowan and Pijiang have the same hobby. They often sit with one person and one pot, facing each other in silence in front of the flowers and under the moonlight, savoring the color, fragrance and temperament of the tea. Xiaowan often studies recipes. When he sees a strange flavor, he goes to find out how to make it and makes it with his own wisdom and skill. The tiger skin meat that people often eat now, that is, the fat-free meat, was invented by Dong Xiaowan. Therefore, it also has a little-known name called "Dong Pork". Although this dish name is a bit abrupt, it is the same as "Dongpo Pork". On the contrary, they complement each other interestingly. In addition, Xiaowan is also good at making sweets. When she was in Qinhuai, she used sesame, fried noodles, maltose, pine nuts, peach kernels and sesame oil as raw materials to make halva. She cut it into cubes that were five minutes long, three minutes wide and one minute thick. This kind of crispy candy is yellow on the outside and crispy on the inside, sweet but not greasy. People call it "Dongtang". Now the famous Yangzhou snacks are fragrant dongtang (also called cunjin dongtang) and rolled dongtang (also called sesame halva). and Rugao Shuiminglou brand Dongtang are famous local specialties throughout the country. Some people list Dong Xiaowan, Yi Yin, Yi Ya, Taihe Gong, Shanzu, Fanzheng, Liu Niangzi, Song Wusao, Xiao Meiren and Wang Xiaoyu as the top ten famous chefs in ancient my country. It is probably not an exaggeration. The moonlight is like water, which is what Xiaowan is most attracted to. To enjoy the coolness on summer nights, Xiaowan likes to recite Tang Dynasty poems about chanting the moon and "Flowing Fireflies" and "Wan Fan". In order to appreciate the beauty of the moonlight, she often moved several couches with the rise and fall of the moon. When she returned indoors in the middle of the night, she would still open the window and let the moonlight linger between the pillows. When the moon went to the west, she rolled up the curtains again, leaned against the window and looked out, reluctant to let go, and often recited Li He's poem "The moon is wet, the waves are misty jade". "You and I love to appreciate the bright moonlight all year round, and the fairy road to Zen is opened in silence." This is how Xiaowan appreciates the subtle and elegant cultural taste in the natural and plain daily life, and in the humble life Yearning for a poetic life of detachment and clarity in life. Pijiang said that he had enjoyed all the happiness in his life in the nine years he lived with Xiaowan. This blessing also includes sitting quietly in the incense pavilion and savoring the famous incense. Pijiang admires "Hengge Shen" most, which is a kind of agarwood with a firm inner substance and horizontal texture. Xiaowan cherishes the "daughter fragrance" that Dongguan people consider to be the best, and they also have a lot of "Penglai fragrance". Pijiang once found a kind of "raw yellow fragrance" from the south of the Yangtze River that tasted like fragrant orchid. He gave one or two pieces to his friend Li Suiqiu from Guangdong to appreciate it, and Li Suiqiu was amazed. Xiaowan also made hundreds of fragrant pills using Western fragrant prescriptions obtained from the inner palace. They pay attention to the mood when tasting fragrance. In the small room on a cold night, jade curtains hang down, two or three red candles are lit, and agarwood is burned in several Xuande stoves. Looking quietly, it feels like entering the depths of the fragrance of pistil beads.

Edit this paragraph: The peach blossoms are scattered

——The chivalrous and courageous Li Xiangjun, also known as Li Xiang, is from Nanjing. She is a famous prostitute in Moling Jiaofang and one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. In the very decadent era of the late Ming Dynasty, most of the court ministers were so numb that they could no longer feel the situation they were facing, and Li Xiangjun

was becoming increasingly troubled by internal and external troubles. On the banks of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, in the embroidered buildings with fragrant and green clothes, there lived a group of mortal women who were very worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty. The Meixiang Building located in the middle of Chaoku Street is one of these embroidery buildings. Its owner, the singing girl Li Xiangjun, is a household name. In fact, among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai at that time, Li Xiangjun was not as famous as Liu Rushi or Chen Yuanyuan. Now when you walk through the old alleys of Qinhuai, this is the only embroidery building you can find. This is a two-story embroidered building with narrow stairs, and the sound of walking footsteps is clearly transmitted upward through the floor. In the autumn of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Hou Fangyu, who was only 21 years old but already famous all over the world and one of the four young masters of Fushe, had just arrived in Nanjing from Shangqiu, Henan Province. He put aside the upcoming provincial examination and went straight to this dark red stairs. That year, Li Xiangjun was in her prime at the age of sixteen. She was "gentle and slender, and she only accompanied the tortoise-shell banquet. She was delicate and shy, and had not entered the hibiscus tent." She sat in front of the lattice window with embroidered curtains hanging, looking at the Qinhuai River in the distance. She is waiting for the love of her dreams. When Hou Fangyu suddenly appeared in front of her, she must have felt that the marriage she was looking forward to had arrived. This was supposed to be a romance between a talented man and a beautiful woman, but it was a pity that the wrong era and background were chosen. With the entry of the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty building collapsed rapidly. Prince Zhu rushed south in a hurry, and hastily established the Nanming regime in Nanjing amidst the chaos. Ruan Dacheng, Fushe's mortal enemy, seized this opportunity and walked out of the deep alleys of Jinling. He took refuge with Ma Shiying, a minister of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and appeared on the front stage of the political stage. Ruan Dacheng was originally a figure spurned by the elite class, but he still wanted to change his appearance. Therefore, he tried to use money to bribe Hou Fangyu to achieve his personal political goals. This trick was quickly discovered by Li Xiangjun, who had learned a lot about people. She resolutely rejected Ruan Dacheng's financial temptation and asked Hou Fangyu to immediately sever ties with him and draw a clear line. Ruan Dacheng became angry and used despicable means to retaliate.

Hou Fangyu was helpless and left Nanjing in tears. This short-lived love also came to a hasty and sad end. Regardless of Hou Fangyu's subsequent performance, it should be said that Li Xiangjun is above reproach in his love life. Afterwards, she was still in the embroidery building and sighed deeply to her friends: "Is Mr. Tian different from Mr. Ruan? Who do I praise Mr. Hou? Now I go to him to benefit from his gold. I am a concubine." Selling the young master!" It is rare for such a persistent pursuit of love to happen to a Qinhuai singing prostitute. In the third year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1646 AD), Nanjing fell, and Nanming became a historical bubble. For Li Xiangjun, the external environment in which she lives has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the love she pursues is ultimately shattered by Hou Fangyu's return to the north. Hou Fangyu, who was advertised in books as a celebrity with ambitions to serve the country, was a former official's son, but his political integrity did not last long. In the eighth year of Shunzhi, he was forced to take the imperial examination organized by the Qing Dynasty. The result was once again... ended in failure. In terms of love life, he did not reunite with Li Xiangjun in Qixia Mountain as written in "The Peach Blossom Fan". Reading Hou Fangyu's life course again, he should be a tragic figure. In the late spring of the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), the peach blossoms on the trees had withered, and the ground was red. Li Xiangjun quietly closed the fan with a poem inscribed by Hou Fangyu, packed his bags sadly, and said goodbye to the past. She came alone to the foot of Qixia Mountain and became a Taoist priest in a quiet Taoist temple. According to historical records, Li Xiangjun’s fate is unknown.

Edit this paragraph Mrs. Hengbo

——The chivalrous heart Gu Meisheng Among the famous "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Gu Hengbo was the most prominent one. She was grandly conferred the title of Gu Hengbo

"First-class Madam", Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan were not as good as her. At the same time, she was also the most controversial one - it is said that there was a talented man who had a private life-long contract with her. Because of her betrayal of her alliance and her death in love, her husband Gong Dingzi, who was serving as an official in the late Ming Dynasty, would always say to people, "I want to die, but I don't want to do anything". Ruining people's reputation is completely different from the chivalrous and soft-hearted people who understand the righteousness of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" in most people's minds. The famous historian Mr. Meng Sen once wrote an article "An Examination of Mrs. Hengbo". He was very disapproving of Gong Guzhi's character and believed that both the couple were snobbish and shameless people who were greedy for profit. Is Mrs. Hengbo, who was once known as "a courteous and virtuous lover, a chivalrous person", really so unbearable? Gu Hengbo was born in 1619. His real name was Gu Mei, also known as Meisheng, also known as Gu Mei, also known as Hengbo, also known as Zhizhu, Shancaijun, also known as Meisheng. He was also known as "Mrs. Hengbo". After marriage, he changed his name to Xu Shanchi. A native of Shangyuan (now Nanjing). According to "Banqiao Miscellaneous Notes", Gu Hengbo is "Zhuang Yan, beautiful and elegant, with outstanding demeanor. Her hair is like clouds, her face is full of peach blossoms; her bow is small and her waist is light." She is well-versed in literature and history, is good at poetry and painting, and the landscapes she painted are natural and beautiful. He was especially good at painting orchids. The "Orchid Picture" fan he painted when he was seventeen is now in the Palace Museum. At the age of eighteen, he joined Li Xiangjun, Wang Yue and others in the "Orchid Society" organized by Yangzhou celebrity Zheng Yuanxun in Nanjing. People at that time followed Ma Shouzhen in his painting style (that is, Ma Xianglan, who was born earlier, was also one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, a well-known female painter in the Ming Dynasty, especially good at painting orchids), and her appearance was better than her, so she was promoted to Nanqu (generally referring to performing arts without selling oneself). Jiangnan prostitute) first. He is also good at music and has tried to co-star with Xiaosheng in "The Story of the West Tower" and "The Godson" with Dong Xiaowan. Gu Hengbo lived in Meilou, with "embroidered windows, toothpicks and jade scrolls, several cases stacked up; Yaoqin and brocade separatists, furnishings on the left and right, cigarette smoke lingering, and Martin-like eaves". People at the time jokingly called it "Milou" - some people called it "Milou" "Milou" refers to Gu Hengbo's romantic and charming character, which makes all visitors fascinated, which is really meaningless. The "Mild Tower" was originally built in Yangzhou during the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. It was named "Mild Tower" because of its "deep twists and turns, scattered attics, curtains, and interconnected buildings, like immortals wandering around." The "Mei Tower" is jokingly called "Mei Tower". The founder of the figurines, Yu Huai, was a talented person from the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, he was also very passionate about Hengbo. His words should be taken as compliments, referring to the "Mei Tower"'s ingenious construction and unique layout. It looks like it. Same as fairyland. As soon as this reputation came out, it spread like wildfire and was widely used. Gu Hengbo had a bold and unruly personality, with a masculine style. He was more similar to Liu Rushi among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. People at that time called him "Brother Mei", which was quite similar to Liu Rushi calling himself "Brother". But compared to Liu, he is a bit more willful and cynical. It is said that the Neo-Confucian scholar Huang Daozhou at that time (who later died in Jiangxi during the Anti-Qing Dynasty) boasted that he had "a prostitute in his eyes but no prostitute in his heart". When he was drunk, the disciples of Donglin invited Hengbo to go to his bed and try it out. Test whether he really has Liu Xiahui's ability. This rumor may not be entirely true, but it reflects Gu Hengbo's attitude of not caring about secular ethics in the eyes of the people at the time. Her style of going her own way and not caring about the world's opinions was probably an important reason why she was able to have a close relationship with Gong Dingzi, a talented man from Jiangzuo, for three lifetimes. However, her being controversial is also a consequence of this personality to a certain extent. . Gu Hengbo was both talented and beautiful, and was known as the "Number One in Southern Song Dynasty". Naturally, he was widely favored by celebrities, so that Meilou's door was like a city, and there was almost no time for banquets. Those who often invited Meilou to banquets were called "Meilou guests" , has become a symbol of elegance, and many literary banquets in Jiangnan always regret the absence of Gu Meisheng.

Edit this section about Changzhai Buddha embroidery

——Changzhai Buddha embroidery by Bian Yujing. Bian Yujing is famous for his famous competition, also known as Saisai. Because he later called himself "Yujing Taoist", he is commonly known as Yujing. She was born into a family of Qinhuai officials, Bian Yujing

Two sisters, because their father died early, they were reduced to singing prostitutes. Bian Sai was good at poetry, qin, calligraphy and painting, especially good at regular script, and also had a good knowledge of literature and history.

She is skilled in painting skills, and her pen strokes are as smooth as moving clouds. She likes to paint graceful branches, and is especially good at painting orchids. When she was 18 years old, she traveled to Wumen and lived in Huqiu. She traveled between Qinhuai and Suzhou. She was a famous singing girl in Qinhuai in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Bian Sai is generally not good at reciprocating guests, but if he meets a beautiful person and knows his friends, he will talk like a cloud and attract people. Bian Sai once had a marriage with Wu Meicun, a famous poet in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In the spring of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Wu Meicun sent off his brother Wu Zhiyan to be appointed as the prefect of Chengdu at the Shengchu Tower outside Shuixi Gate of Nanjing. Here he met the Bian Sai sisters who came to see Wu Zhiyan off. He saw Bian Sai's noble, refined and elegant appearance. It has a somewhat melancholy temperament, and I can't help but think of two popular poems in the south of the Yangtze River: "Looking for Bian Sai in the wine cellar, Chen Yuan emerges from the bottom of the flower." During the dinner, Wu tested Bian Sai's literary talents, which made Wu fall in love. From then on, the two had frequent contacts and their relationship gradually deepened. Later, Wu got a letter from Bian at his residence in Changqianli. He knew that Bian wanted to marry him, and he felt very conflicted. Because Wu heard the news that Tian Wan, the brother of Emperor Chongzhen's favorite concubine Tian, ??had recently come to Jinling to choose a concubine, and he had already chosen Chen Yuanyuan, Bian Sai and others. Wu was timid in front of his powerful uncle, and only played a few songs at Bian Sai's apartment before leaving sadly. Two years later, Bian Sai married a prince. Unsatisfied, he sent his maid Rourou to him. He begged for help and became a female Taoist priest in Suzhou. He was attached to Zheng Baoyu, a famous doctor who was more than 70 years old. Build a separate palace to finance it. Bian Sai Changzhai embroidered Buddha, held lessons and recited the precepts very strictly. In order to repay Zheng's kindness, he spent three years stabbing his tongue and writing the Lotus Sutra in blood for Zheng. At this time, Wumeicun became an official in the Qing Dynasty and felt depressed. One day in the seventh year of Shunzhi, Bian Sai saw Wu's four poems "Qinhe Sense of the Past" at Qian Qianyi's house, and he knew that Wu missed her. A few months later, the two finally met in Taicang. Bian Sai played the piano for Wu. Wu was so moved that he wrote "Listening to the Female Taoist Bian Yujing Playing the Qin Song" as a gift to him. The poem tells the story of Bian in these ten years, with some points. After the Qing troops went to Jiangnan and Yujing, "the strings were cold and silent", it was a desolate situation. Bian Sai later lived in seclusion in Huishan, Wuxi. He died of illness more than ten years later and was buried in Jinshulin at Zhetuo Temple in Huishan. There have always been different opinions on why Wumei Village is so incomprehensible. Some say that Tian Guozhang went to the south of the Yangtze River to search for beauties in order to curry favor with Chongzhen... In Wumei Village, Bian Yujing waited all his life but never got the promise. There must be some disappointment. It may not necessarily sink into the painful abyss of separation.

Edit this paragraph: Red Tears on Clothes

——The romantic heroine Kou Baimen. Kou Baimen, also known as Kou Mei, was from Nanjing. She was one of the eight beauties of Qinhuai in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. First, the Kou family is a famous family of prostitutes. She is the best prostitute in the Kou family in the past. Yu Huai called her "charming and beautiful." "Today the Qinhuai general is worth his weight in gold" was Qian Qianyi's praise of Kou Baimen's talent and appearance. Kou Baimen's life is full of legends. "Banqiao Miscellaneous Notes" says: The white gate is quiet and beautiful; the falling Kou Baimen

Dang is romantic, can play music, is good at painting orchids, knows each other and plays rhymes, can recite poems, but is slippery and cannot learn. It was precisely because Bai Men was simple and untactful that she suffered a tragedy in marriage and love. In the late spring of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Guobi, the prominent hero and protector of the country, came to Kou's house on Chaoku Street with the support of his officers. After several interactions, Baimen left a good impression on him. He was polite, gentle and kind, so he When Zhu proposed marriage, he agreed immediately. On the autumn night of that year, 17-year-old Kou Baimen boarded the sedan chair with heavy makeup. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the custom at the time for women with Le Ji Ling in Jinling to leave their nationality and become good friends or get married at night. In order to show his majesty and grandeur, Zhu Guobi sent 5,000 soldiers holding red lanterns starting from Wuding Bridge and standing solemnly along the way to Zhu Mansion on the inner bridge. The grand occasion was unprecedented and became the largest wedding scene in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Guobi was actually a slick and cunning bureaucrat. His marriage to Kou Baimen was a temporary necessity. After a few months, his ruthlessness was gradually exposed, so he left Kou aside and continued to walk among the willow alleys in Zhangtai. In 1645, the Qing army went south. Zhu Guobi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, soon entered the capital, and was placed under house arrest by the Qing government. Zhu wanted to sell all the singers and maids, including Lian Kou Baimen, but Baimen said to Zhu Yun: "If the proceeds from selling my concubine are only a few hundred gold... If I send my concubine back to the south, I will be paid ten thousand gold in one month." "Mr. Zhu thought and agreed, and Kou Baimen returned to Jinling with his maid Dou'er on horseback and short clothes. With the help of sisters from the old courtyard, Kou raised 20,000 taels of silver to redeem Zhu Guobi. At this time, Mrs. Zhu wanted to have her dream come true again, but was rejected by Mrs. Kou. She said: "Back then, you used money to redeem me from my citizenship, and now I also use money to redeem you." It should be settled. After Kou returned to Jinling, she was known as a heroine. She "built garden pavilions, hosted guests, and interacted with literati and poets every day. Her ears were full of wine, singing or crying. She also lamented the beauty's lateness and lamented the falling red beans." Later, a certain Xiaolian from Yangzhou returned to Jinling unhappily, and finally died of illness in his home in Leji. At that time, Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin in the literary world, wrote a memorial poem "Kou Baimen" and said: "The sisters of the Kou family have always been beautiful. For eighteen years, they have been obsessed with flowers. Today, Qin Huai is afraid that he will be worth it, and he will not let his red tears stain his clothes." The red powder is in memory of the king, but the heroine knows that the coffin is still alive, and the scent of the pill is the fragrance of the soul."

Edit this paragraph: Qingyaolan.

——Ma Xianglan, an intelligent and versatile artist. Ma Xianglan (1548-1604) can be called a female poet and painter of the Ming Dynasty. According to "Qinhuai Guangji", her first name was Ma Xianglan, whose given name was Xianglan, her nickname was Xuan'er, and her nickname was Yuejiao. Because she was the fourth child in the family, she was known as "Siniang". She has a smart nature, is good at poetry and painting, and is especially good at painting orchid and bamboo, so she is known as "Xianglan". Although her appearance is not outstanding, "her posture and head are like ordinary people", but her "expression is clear, her voice is like the early orioles on spring willows, her words are hopeful, and she cleverly waits for people's wishes."

Ma was very accomplished in painting. At that time, Cao Xueqin's grandfather, Cao Yin, wrote poems for "Ma Xianglan Painting Orchid Scroll" three times in a row, with a total of 7 lines, which were recorded in Cao Yin's "Dongting Collection". Her painting skills were evaluated in "History of Painting in the Past Dynasties" as "orchid imitates Zigu, bamboo imitates Zhongji, all of which can imitate her charm". Among the exquisite calligraphy and paintings in the Forbidden City in Beijing are Ma's orchid albums, which shine with unique brilliance. Her paintings have always been regarded as treasures abroad. Ma was also quite talented in literature, and had written two volumes of poems in "The Collection of Xianglanzi" and the script "The Story of Three Lives". Ma is versatile. He is also proficient in music, good at singing and dancing, and can write and direct his own plays. The theater troupe she taught in the workshop was able to perform "The Complete Story of the West Chamber", and those who followed her to learn the skills would be prepared for the true story. Ma grew up in Nanjing and unfortunately fell into prostitution at an early age. However, she was broad-minded and had a chivalrous nature, and she often spent money to help young people. She lived in a scenic spot in the Qinhuai River and received many admirers. She had a close friendship with Wang Zhideng, a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River. Her letters to Wang Zhideng were collected in "Slips from Ladies of the Past". When Wang Zhideng celebrated his 70th birthday, Ma raised funds to buy a boat to carry dozens of singers and went to Suzhou to buy wine and celebrate his birthday. They "banqueted for months and sang and danced till the end of the night." After returning home, he became ill and finally forced himself to take a bath and sit upright in worship of the Buddha before he passed away. , 57 years old. After his death, Ma was buried in his residence, near the Bifeng Temple in Bailuzhou Park today. In the Tokyo Museum in Japan, there is a collection of "Molan Tu" from the Ming Dynasty in China. This painting was not by a famous master, but by Ma Xianglan, a famous Qinhuai prostitute during the Ming Shenzong period, but it is regarded as a treasure by the Japanese.