Chapter 12 3. Jiang Caiping, the lonely and proud concubine

After Concubine Wu Hui died, Xuanzong was depressed and depressed all day long.The eunuch Gao Lishi, who accompanied Xuanzong around, guessed the emperor's mind, and invited him to go to the south of the Yangtze River to look for beautiful women.During the Kaiyuan period, when Gao Lishi came to Putian County in central Fujian, he chose a beautiful woman named Jiang Caiping.His father, Jiang Zhongxun, is a doctor who has practiced medicine for generations.When Jiang Caiping was 7 years old, she was able to recite two groups of poems, "Zhou Nan" and "Zhao Nan", and said to her father: "Although I am a girl, I should take this poem as my ambition." The father was very surprised, so he named her Cai. apple.When Gao Lishi went to Fujian as an envoy, Jiang Caiping had already reached the age of wearing hairpins.Gao Lishi saw her outstanding talent and learning, so he selected her and brought her back to the palace to present to Xuanzong.

Jiang Caiping not only has a beautiful appearance, but also is good at literature and art, good at poetry and prose, with light demeanor, rich and elegant.When Xuanzong saw it, he was very appreciative, thinking that Chang'an Da Nei, Daming, and Xingqing Palaces, as well as Dongdu (Luoyang) Da Nei and Shangyang Palaces, had thousands of beauties that were not as beautiful as Jiang Caiping.Because Jiang Caiping loved plum blossoms, Xuanzong sent people to plant plum blossoms around her residence.Xuanzong personally inscribed the word "Mei Ting" on the plaque.When the plum blossoms were in full bloom, Jiang Caiping made a reward for the plum blossoms, and she still lingered under the flowers in the middle of the night, unable to bear to leave.Xuanzong therefore jokingly called her "Concubine Mei".

Concubine Mei's personality is quiet and subtle, deep and elegant, and she doesn't like whitewashing. She just wears plain makeup and elegant clothes every day, which makes her look more graceful and charming.She is good at writing poems and essays, and has written seven Fus including "Xiao Lan", "Pear Garden", "Plum Blossom", "Phoenix Flute", "Glass Cup", "Scissors" and "Qichuang", comparing herself to Xie Daoyun, a talented woman in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The relationship between the five Xuanzong brothers is very close, and they often chat together.Xuanzong once wrote in a Fu "Ode to the Wagtail": "My brothers, there are only five people. After hearing the government, they will be extended to the palace. Shenyou and Zhizhi, chanting Tangdi's poems, Yongyongru, Yiyiru is like a show of family love." Because Concubine Mei can make the whole hall more radiant when she dances Jinghong Dance, Xuanzong proudly boasted to his brothers that she was the "Plum Essence" and often let Concubine Mei appear at the banquet of brothers' gatherings. serve.During a feast, Xuanzong ordered Concubine Mei to cut up oranges and give them to the princes.At that time Ning Wang Li Xian (Xuanzong's eldest brother) was already drunk, and when he saw Concubine Mei bring oranges, he got up to pick them up, but his feet didn't obey and he stepped on Concubine Mei's shoe by mistake.Concubine Mei was very upset, she got angry, went back to Meiyuan by herself, and then sent someone to tell Xuanzong: "The concubine has a bad stomach, so I can't see the wind." "The Biography of Concubine Mei") Xuanzong was unhappy, so he withdrew the banquet and broke up unhappy.The aloofness and stubbornness of Concubine Mei's character can be seen.

Just at this time, someone recommended Yang Yuhuan to Xuanzong.Xuanzong was overjoyed, and immediately sent someone to fetch Yang Yuhuan into the palace, and he fell in love at first sight.From then on, "there are three thousand beauties in the harem, and three thousand dote on one body". When Yang Yuhuan first entered the palace, Xuanzong still favored Concubine Mei and often visited her.There was still some tit-for-tat contest between the two women.Although Concubine Mei has a beautiful appearance, she has a noble and withdrawn personality, and she is lonely and self-admired.In fairness, Yang Yuhuan's appearance, talent, and style are far superior to Concubine Mei's. Her appearance made Concubine Mei's life take a turn for the worse.The weight of Xuanzong's feelings gradually leaned towards Yang Yuhuan.In the battle for her husband's favor, Concubine Mei could only retreat steadily.

During the Lantern Festival Gala in the last year of Kaiyuan, Concubine Mei and Yang Yuhuan went to watch the lanterns, and met unexpectedly on the street.At that time, Yang Yuhuan didn't have a title yet, but she was just a Taoist priest living in the inner palace. According to etiquette, she should salute Concubine Mei.Concubine Mei has always been proud of her talents, but because Yang Yuhuan put her down, her heart has long been sour.That night, he took this opportunity to ridicule Yang Yuhuan's plumpness: "Looking at your plump figure, you can be regarded as a fat maidservant!" In the end, she was demoted to Shangyang East Palace.

One day, Xuanzong was sitting in the plum garden, thinking about people when he saw things, so he sent his regular attendant Gao Lishi to summon Concubine Mei to meet at Cuihua West Pavilion.Gao Lishi flew to Shangyang East Palace to meet Concubine Mei.Concubine Mei went to the Cuihua Pavilion to meet Xuanzong, and cried: "The concubine deserves death. I know I will be abandoned forever. I didn't expect to see Longyan again today!" Xuanzong said: "Is there a day when I won't miss you? See Your face has become much thinner." Concubine Mei said, "Floating clouds cover the bright moon, and heavy rain annoys the spring flowers. Faced with such a situation, how can you not lose weight?" Xuanzong said, "The beauty lies in the fact that you are thin." Concubine Mei smiled and said, "Better than that How about that fat, old man (referring to Yang Yuhuan)?" Xuanzong also laughed and said, "Each has its own advantages." When the two talked about their past love, they both felt very sad.

The next day, Concubine Yang heard in the harem that the emperor and Concubine Mei slept in Cuihua Pavilion last night, and angrily rushed to Xingshi to inquire about the crime.The eunuch at the gate reported to Xuanzong in panic: "The concubine has come to the pavilion, what should I do?" Xuanzong quickly put on his clothes and hid Concubine Mei in the interlayer of the curtain.As soon as Concubine Yang came in, she asked, "Where is Meijing?" The emperor Xuanzong was afraid that Concubine Yang would be jealous, so he didn't dare to say that he was with other women, but said, "She is in the East Palace." Concubine Yang said, "Please, Your Majesty." Summon her, and we will go to the hot spring with her to take a bath today." Xuanzong said: "This woman has been thrown into the cold palace and cannot go together." Concubine Yang said nonchalantly: "The sun has come out, please go out to court. I will stay in Cuihua Pavilion and wait for Your Majesty to come back." Xuanzong naturally couldn't let Yang Guifei stay, so he pulled the quilt, lay down again, pretended to be sick, and said, "I'm sick today, so I can't go to court. At this time, Concubine Yang had already seen the woman's shoes under the bed, and she was so jealous that she couldn't bear it anymore, and immediately pulled off the gold and silver jewelry on her head and threw it on the ground, and left angrily.

Seeing Concubine Yang go away in a fit of anger, Xuanzong wanted to ask Concubine Mei to recount Yu Huan.Unexpectedly, seeing Concubine Yang was angry, the little eunuch had already quietly sent Concubine Mei back to her residence for fear of another disturbance.Xuanzong was inexplicably angry, and when he heard about it, he was furious, and he drew his sword and beheaded the young eunuch who made his own way.But he was still reluctant to part with Concubine Yang, for fear that Concubine Yang would be angry, so he finally gave up Concubine Mei. Soon, Concubine Mei was impatient with loneliness, so she bribed Gao Lishi with a thousand taels of gold and asked him to ask a poet to copy the work of Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty to write "Ode to the Long Gate" to express her wish to Xuanzong.Although Gao Lishi sympathized with Concubine Mei, considering that Concubine Yang was more and more favored and powerful, he could only shirk and said: "I can't find anyone who can write this kind of Fu." "Dong Fu", reminiscing about the past years, lamenting the past and present of being alone in an empty house, is deeply affectionate and quite touching.

Concubine Yang Gui was very jealous when she heard about Concubine Mei's making a fu. She was afraid that Xuanzong's old love would rekindle, so she said to Xuanzong: "Concubine Jiang is mediocre and lowly. She vents her resentment in cryptic words. I hope Your Majesty will order her to commit suicide!" Xuanzong remained silent. .Although Yang Guifei repeatedly slandered Concubine Mei and asked Xuanzong to kill Concubine Mei, Xuanzong still refused.Probably in his heart, he still can't forget that Concubine Mei once brought great comfort to his soul. Concubine Mei lived in the desert like years, with infinite resentment, Gu Ying wandering, and happened to see the envoy from Lingnan returning to Beijing, and asked the people around her: "Where is the envoy?" The noble concubine is the messenger of fruit." Concubine Mei couldn't help crying when she heard Dayou Loudong's loss of favor.

Xuanzong missed Concubine Mei by chance in Huae Tower, and ordered someone to give a sealed pearl to Concubine Mei.Concubine Mei didn't accept it, so she wrote a poem and handed it to Xuanzong: "The eyebrows of the willow leaves have not been drawn for a long time, and the red silk is stained with remnants and tears. Nagato has no grooming, so why bother with pearls to comfort the lonely!" When Yang Yuhuan was called into the palace for the first time, she cried goodbye to her parents. It was cold and her tears turned into red ice. Yang Yuhuan's body was fat and timid, and every summer, she sweated, red, greasy and fragrant, or wiped on a towel On the handkerchief, the color is like pink) After reading the poem, Xuanzong was very dissatisfied with Concubine Mei's aloofness and nobility, but liked the beauty of the poem, so he asked Yuefu to compose a new song and sing it, the title of which was "Yihuzhu".

Concubine Mei couldn't beat Concubine Yang Gui all the time, so she had to be alone and lonely.After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Xuanzong fled in a hurry and forgot Concubine Mei in Chang'an.When the rebels entered Chang'an, Concubine Mei was killed by the rebels.Legend has it that after Xuanzong came back, he occasionally went to Meiting and saw Concubine Mei in a dream.But if Concubine Yang Gui is still by her side at this moment, the dream is definitely gone. In modern times, there is a play "Concubine Mei", written by Jin Zhongsun and premiered in 1925 by Cheng Yanqiu.Concubine Mei's tragic character is concentrated in the play.Several passages are very pleasant to sing, especially the passage: "In the other courtyard, the music is played by the wind, and there is a burst of laughter that can be heard clearly. I just sit in the shadow of the plum blossoms in the secluded pavilion, and watch the forest smoke and the early moon as dusk again. It is miserable to hear that the fallen leaves are empty and the porch is self-alarming, and his side is just playing the flute and the sheng. At first he didn’t believe in the king of Shuidongliu, he was lucky, but now he only says goodbye to Li Enxin.” The characteristic is not in the story itself, but in the artistic conception. There are many things to hate in life, the same as in ancient and modern times.Concubine Mei's life can be said to represent the desolate fate of the vast majority of women in the harem. They could not control the boat of their own destiny, they could only drift with the current in the long river of history, and then were quietly annihilated by the wind and waves.