In 1645, the Qing army captured Nandu in one fell swoop, and the Ming Dynasty was destroyed.
One day, a woman held her husband's hand and said, "The Ming Dynasty has been destroyed irretrievably. As a relic of the previous dynasty, why don't you die for your country!"
Husband Xiao Jiujiu thought in his heart, "It's better to die than live, why should I die?" But he didn't dare to say that. Facing his little wife who was 36 years younger than him, he could only pretend to test the waters. , turned around and said: "Madam, the water is too cold, let's come back another day."
After hearing this, her little lady didn't say anything, got up and was about to jump into the lake.
Others exclaimed, whose woman has such a strong temper?
She is Liu Rushi, the most talented and talented courtesan of Qinhuai. 0
1. Liu Rushi
In 1618, Liu Rushi was born in a poor family in the south of the Yangtze River and was sold into a brothel when he was young.
This brothel, called Shengze Guijiayuan, specializes in buying girls from poor families and training them to learn piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, and singing and dancing musical instruments. When they grow up, they can be used by dignitaries for their entertainment.
The brothel owner Xu Fo was a famous prostitute at that time. Seeing that Liu Rushi was naturally pretty and very clever, he adopted her as his adopted daughter and taught her everything he had learned in his life, hoping that she would grow up. Later, it can become the sign of the brothel and attract business for her.
Sure enough, two years later, Liu Rushi was so talented that all the talented people in the world almost broke through the brothel door and spent a lot of money just to win the smile of the beauty.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Liu Rushi was 14 years old and slim.
"A graceful lady, a gentleman is always brave." When she participated in the beauty pageant for the first time, she was spotted by Zhou Daodeng, a bachelor at the time, and immediately bought her home as a maid.
Liu Rushi was not arrogant because of this, but was low-key, humble, loyal, smart, well-behaved, and able to read and write. As a maid, she was deeply loved by Zhou's mother.
15-year-old Liu Rushi is as beautiful as a bud waiting to bloom. Zhou Daodeng was very affectionate and insisted on taking her as his concubine despite the objections of Mrs. Jifang.
He held Liu Rushi in his arms all day like he doted on his daughter. Even when he taught her calligraphy, he had her sit on his lap, face to face, holding her little hands tightly and teaching her step by step.
Zhou Daodeng taught Liu Rushi to read and write
Zhou Daodeng's excessive doting gradually aroused the jealousy of his wife, and Liu Rushi soon became the public enemy of Mrs. Jifang. After Zhou Daodeng's death , Liu Rushi, who had no protection, was repeatedly persecuted by everyone and almost died.
For the sake of the harmony of the entire Zhou family, Zhou's mother reluctantly expelled Liu Rushi from the Zhou mansion and sold her to a brothel again.
Liu Rushi was not disheartened when she returned to the brothel. She secretly made up her mind that in the past, she was arbitrarily chosen by others, and she must be her own master in the future.
So she put on gorgeous clothes again, combed her hair into a beautiful bun, applied rouge and powder, and decided to turn around gorgeously.
Returning to the brothel, the famous prostitute boldly flirted with her, but she fell in love with the wrong one
Liu Rushi, who was naturally intelligent, was educated by Xu Fo since childhood, and had already graceful dancing and excellent piano skills; When the Zhou family was a concubine, under the guidance of Zhou Daodeng, the hard-working Liu Rushi improved a lot in calligraphy and poetry.
This time, Liu Rushi no longer concealed herself as before, and she began to boldly show off her talents.
She was so good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting that the brothels were full and many young talents came here. Soon she became a famous singing girl in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Of these people, some coveted her beauty, some appreciated her singing and dancing, some envied her painting, and even more were impressed by her talent.
Although she was a female, she could pick up poems, lyrics and poems at her fingertips. Her literary talent was not inferior to that of the literati at that time, which naturally aroused the popularity of everyone. However, Liu Rushi only recited poems and poems with them, and drank and sang with them. , always keep their relationship at the friendship stage.
Until someone appeared, she experienced an unforgettable love.
This man’s name is Chen Zilong.
In November 1632, a literary celebrity in Songjiang celebrated his birthday and entertained many guests.
At that time, there were many talented people, beauties, and distinguished guests. Liu Rushi was also invited to attend. Through the introduction of a friend, he met the famous Chen Zilong at that time.
This man was a great talent in the literary world in the late Ming Dynasty. He was known as the "first poet of the Ming Dynasty" and had extremely high attainments in poetry and prose.
Liu Rushi had long admired her extraordinary talent, and was even more moved when she saw her. Chen Zilong had seen the poems that the gentle and beautiful Liu Rushi had given him, and admired her very much. The two hit it off. , and soon they began to flirt with each other and became ambiguous with each other.
Liu Rushi also wrote "Ode to the Male Luo God" specifically for Chen Zilong, calling him his male god.
She thought she had found her destination in life, so she became more and more affectionate, and the two gradually turned from ambiguity to passionate love.
When the love was strong, Chen Zilong said, "Let me redeem my life for you, so that you can enjoy your freedom." Liu Rushi, however, snuggled into the arms of her beloved and said softly: "You redeem your life for me, which is equivalent to You have restored my freedom, and you have been favored by me. I am afraid that you will not be able to treat me as an equal in the future.
”
In fact, Liu Rushi had her own plan. When she turned around, she gave up most of her wealth, redeemed her freedom, and ran to tell Chen Zilong happily.
However, things turned out to be undesirable.
When Chen Zilong heard the news, he didn't say a word.
It turned out that Chen Zilong was a celebrity in the literary world at that time, and he could accept it even though he was married. Concubine, but in view of Liu Rushi's status as a brothel girl, due to etiquette, it is possible to have a private meeting, but it is absolutely impossible to accept her as a concubine.
In shame and anger, Liu Rushi finally understood that the brothel girl's identity has been changed. It cannot be changed. If you rely on others, you will never have the chance to stand in the sun. You can only live freely and freely by yourself.
After Chen Zilong became a scholar in high school, Liu Rushi saw him off calmly in men's clothes.
< p>Without complaining or entanglement, she resolutely let go of her obsession and turned around to leave the man she loved so much.Let go of her obsession and meet the person who brought her to the top in this life
Qian Qianyi was at that time. The famous leader of the Donglin Party and a great writer, Liu Rushi has a cheerful nature and is used to meeting high-ranking officials. Although he has great admiration for Qian Qianyi, he is also down-to-earth and recites poems as he pleases. < /p>
In this way, Qian Qianyi temporarily forgot his worries and was in a good mood. He recited sixteen poems to express his gratitude to the beautiful lady for accompanying him on the lake tour.
This was a short time. After getting along, Liu Rushi's heart suddenly blossomed, and her previous admiration for Qian Qianyi gradually turned into the woman's love for her lover, paving the way for their future encounter.
Two years later in the winter, The weather was extremely cold, and Qian Qianyi's "Banye Hall" was also deserted. After he was at home, few people came to visit.
One day, the housekeeper came to report that there was a man named "Liu Ru". A man named "Shi" handed me a note to visit.
Qian Qianyi thought to himself that since the good time was so boring, it would be better to see who would be willing to come to see me, so he asked the housekeeper to invite someone to the living room.
p>When he arrived, the guest had already come in.
This man has a handsome face, bright eyes and white teeth. In addition to his petite stature, he is also a handsome and handsome man. This is the first time we met. , but Qian Qianyi felt a sense of déjà vu to him.
After the polite greetings, the other party recited a poem, which was exactly the sixteen poems Qian Qianyi recited for Liu Rushi on the edge of the West Lake that day. One of the songs.
Qian Qianyi suddenly realized that the handsome young man in front of him was actually the stunning and talented Liu Rushi who had traveled to the West Lake with him that day.
While talking and laughing, He invited Liu Rushi to stay in the "Banyetang" for a while, reciting poems and writing poems together, and discussing writing skills. This was exactly what Liu Rushi wanted, and she happily agreed.
In order to win Liu Rushi's favor, Qian Qianyi gave the order. The housekeeper built a hut in ten days, named "I heard it".
The two of them drank poetry and wine in the hut, and even walked in the snow to look for plum blossoms when it snowed. Young and old, you and I are singing together, as if we were wandering in paradise, so happy.
In 1641, 23-year-old Liu Rushi finally got her wish and married the 59-year-old powerful bureaucrat Qian Qianyi by virtue of her talent and appearance.
Even though there is a 36-year age difference between the two, the age gap does not affect their relationship at all. Liu Rushi firmly asked the Ming matchmaker to marry him. Qian Qianyi also believed that it is difficult to buy a beautiful smile, so he agreed immediately.
So, on the edge of the West Lake, the exquisite flower boat was filled with bells and drums.
Liu Rushi, who was wearing a phoenix crown, took off her hijab and enjoyed the sunshine to her heart's content. Qian Qianyi next to her looked at her with a doting look on her face.
Liu Rushi finally married into a wealthy family openly and openly.
Everyone in the world was ridiculing the highly respected literary giant for marrying a prostitute with a wedding ceremony, which was against etiquette and common sense, but the two of them turned a blind eye and happily went to the West Lake to get married.
I don’t want this husband who is rich but weak and incompetent
In 1645, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Hongguang regime of the Nanming Dynasty was established. Liu Rushi strongly supported Qian Qianyi’s return to the court and served the Nanming Dynasty.
Soon, Qian Qianyi became the Minister of Rites, and Liu Rushi suddenly became the wife of the Minister of Rites of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
On weekdays, she not only takes care of Qian Qianyi's daily life, but also often discusses war trends with him.
Just like before when women disguised themselves as men and discussed the current situation and national affairs with many anti-Qing martyrs, Liu Rushi was extremely worried at this time when facing the instability of her family and country.
In the blink of an eye, the Qing army captured Nandu, and the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed.
After the Qing army entered the city, they looted, killed and looted. The people in the city were temporarily displaced and wailed everywhere.
Seeing this scene, Liu Rushi was furious but could do nothing. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty was over, Liu Rushi had a new plan.
One evening, a small boat was rowed on the West Lake. At that time, the moonlight was as bright as water, and an old man and a young man were drinking in the boat.
The two are Liu Rushi and Qian Qianyi. "My lord, since we have to admit that the Qing Dynasty is now under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, you, as a relic of the old dynasty, are living in this world and are ashamed of the previous dynasty. Why don't we go together? You will die for your country and I will die for your husband."
Looking at Liu Rushi with a sad face, Qian Qianyi did not have the courage and could only pretend to agree.
He pretended to walk to the side of the boat, stretched out his hand to test the water first, then quickly withdrew it and said: "The water is too cold, I don't care, I'm just afraid that my wife will catch a cold and cannot jump. "
Seeing this scene, Liu Rushi understood Qian Qianyi's thoughts very well, and couldn't help feeling sad. He stood up and was about to jump into the lake.
Qian Qianyi managed to hold on with all his strength and survived.
Shortly afterwards, Qian Qianyi ignored Liu Rushi's dissuasion, decided to shave his hair and braid his hair, and defected to the Qing Dynasty, serving as the Minister of Rites of the Qing Dynasty.
After experiencing these things, Liu Rushi and Qian Qianyi gradually became estranged.
The great writer whom she admired was always loyal and patriotic, but turned out to be so cowardly and incompetent at critical moments. Liu Rushi was extremely disappointed. When Qian Qianyi went to the north to take up a post, she left angrily and went south alone to join. Anti-Qing team.
In the anti-Qing team, Liu Rushi was anxious when he saw that the rebel soldiers were suffering from a shortage of pay, clothing and food.
She was so cruel that she sold off all the jewelry she had accumulated for many years and exchanged it for silver and sent it to the generals of the anti-Qing rebel army. The country was ruined, so what was the use of money?
Under the influence of Liu Rushi, Qian Qianyi, who had been an official for half a year, also resigned and returned home due to illness.
In 1647, Huang Yuqi, an anti-Qing righteous man, organized more than a thousand ships to fight against the Qing Dynasty on the sea of ??Zhoushan. Liu Rushi heard the news and took Qian Qianyi on board the ship to reward the anti-Qing rebels.
She also encouraged Qian Qianyi many times to actively contact Zheng Chenggong, a famous anti-Qing general, and told him that even if he spent all his family wealth to help him fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty,
In the face of national justice, Liu Rushi disregarded life and death and rushed to the front without any hesitation. Who said women are inferior to men? How many men can match her courage and courage?
In 1664, just after Qian Qianyi passed away, the villains of the Qian family colluded with the government to demand the family property. Liu Rushi repeatedly gave in, but the villains continued to slander and pester him. In order to protect the Qian family's property from being misappropriated by others, they were unbearable. The humiliated Liu Rushi ended his life with a piece of silk.
A generation of unparalleled talented women, their beauty fades away.
Epilogue:
Hundreds of years later, Chen Yinke, a tutor at Tsinghua University and a famous historian, spent ten years writing a biography of Liu Rushi. He said that Liu Rushi "had the spirit of national independence" ".
Undoubtedly, Liu Rushi has an independent spirit and free thoughts: she is not restrained by vulgar customs and dares to pursue her own happy life; she can clearly distinguish between right and wrong, and at all times, national justice is above all else.
She lives in a feudal society where men are superior to women. She is neither humble nor arrogant. When the country is in crisis, her integrity and conduct are far superior to those of high-ranking officials and scholars. She can be called a rare and strange woman in history.
Women hundreds of years ago should be able to do this. I hope that you and I today, living in an impetuous society, can persist in being a clean stream, like Liu Rushi, independent, confident, and free for life!