"What's wrong? Hu Dianzheng doesn't like it? If he doesn't like it, we won't perform it." The actor wearing a green headscarf asked fearfully.
The male slaves of the Jiaofangsi all wore green turbans or green hats and were not allowed to marry decent families. They could only marry female slaves, and their children would be slaves for generations.
In addition to performing in the palace, the women of the Jiaofangsi sometimes had to perform at official banquets and even accompany the emperor at the table to drink. Therefore, it is now popular to jokingly call husbands whose wives have other men "wearing a green hat."
Hu Shanwei took a deep breath and said, "I've been revising the play for a whole day and my head hurts. Let's stop here today. I'll keep the script and continue the play tomorrow."
The actor thought that "Pipa Ji" had a chance to perform and was overjoyed. "Thank you, Hu Dianzheng. We will definitely perform well tomorrow."
Hu Shanwei took the book back to Gongzhengsi, and Chen Ermei from the Shangshi Bureau came to visit with a food box. She was looking for Huang Wei De, a female scholar who was writing clerks. She took out all kinds of food from the food box, which Hu Shanwei had never seen before.
Chen Ermei was from Panyu, Guangdong. When she heard that Huang Weide was also from Guangdong and had been separated from his family as a child and abducted and enslaved by criminals, she felt very sympathetic and often came to talk to Huang Weide, helping her recall her childhood memories in the hope that she could help him find his family.
Chen Ermei first mumbled the dialects of various places in Guangdong and asked Huang Wei De if he had any impression.
Huang Wei De listened to the bird's chirping and shook her head, feeling that it was all strange. As far as she could remember, she was abducted to Nanjing and spoke the Jinling elegant language. The elegant language means a common language and has nothing to do with elegance. It is similar to the modern Mandarin. It began during the Southern and Northern Dynasties when the Eastern Jin Dynasty court crossed the sea to the east and established its capital in Jiankang City (now Nanjing). In order to integrate the north and south regions, the Jinling elegant language, which combined the northern Luoyang dialect and the Wu dialect, was promulgated.
When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Emperor Hongwu promulgated the "Hongwu Zhengyun", which is a combination of the Central Plains and Jinling elegant languages, commonly known as Nanjing Mandarin. Chen Ermei, a Cantonese, often read the "Hongwu Zhengyun" to correct her often amusing intonation.
Huang Wei De had no reaction to the Guangdong dialects, but Chen Er Mei was not giving up. Today, she cooked a few local specialties and brought them to him. She said, "People will forget where their hometown is, but the memory of taste is very hard to forget. Try every dish, maybe the taste will awaken your childhood memories."
In fact, Huang Wei De himself had given up long ago, but Chen Ermei was naturally warm-hearted, so she had to take a few bites of each dish with her chopsticks. When she came to a diamond-shaped pastry with nine layers of rice skin pressed together, she stopped. Instead of trying the next dish, she picked it up and looked at it for a moment, and continued to eat the pastry until she finished it.
"This is it!" Huang Weide put down his chopsticks with tears streaming down his face. "I vaguely remember someone tearing the cake apart layer by layer and feeding it to me."
Chen Ermei was delighted and said, "This is nine-layer cake, a local delicacy in Nanhai, Foshan, Guangdong. Perhaps you are from there. I will write to my family and ask them to go to this area and ask for a family with the surname Huang who has fled and lost a girl who is your age."
The palace prohibited private correspondence with people outside the palace, but that did not mean cutting off contact with family members. Greetings during festivals or news of the death of a family member could be exchanged through letters.
However, before a letter enters or leaves the palace, it must be reviewed by the Shangyi Bureau to check whether there is any forbidden words such as revealing palace secrets, and it must be kept on file before it can be sent out. Once a person enters the palace, there is no privacy at all. What is forbidden is "privately", and if it passes the palace review, it is not considered a violation of palace rules.
A woman who could afford to read and pass the examination for female officials must come from a wealthy family. It would be convenient for Chen Ermei's family to find someone after receiving the letter.
Everyone was happy for Huang Wei De. Hu Shan Wei watched this warm scene and thought that people have joys and sorrows, and the moon waxes and wanes. The pain of the past made Hu Shan Wei what he is today.
She had always been avoiding the desperate and humble Hu Shanwei, but she had a strong resonance with the "weak, timid and useless" Zhao Wuniang in "The Lute". She saw herself - Hu Shanwei, who once pinned all her hopes on her "husband who was far away and would never come back".
The hope her fiancé gave her was matched by the despair she felt. This overwhelming despair made her take a desperate fight and take the examination to become a female official.
If you can't face the pain, how can you get over it completely
Hu Shanwei calmed himself down and opened the book "Pipa Ji".
Different from the common folk version of Cai Bojie who betrayed his parents and wife, the Cai Bojie here is a loyal and filial person.
Cai Bojie and his wife Zhao Wuniang loved each other after marriage, and he took care of his parents. He was a good husband and a good son. But Cai's father insisted that his son go to Beijing to take the imperial examination and win fame. Driven by filial piety, Cai Bojie bid farewell to his hometown and went to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
After passing the imperial examination and becoming the top scholar, the emperor granted him marriage with Miss Niu, the daughter of Prime Minister Niu. In order to be loyal to the emperor, Cai Bojie was forced to marry Miss Niu. He sent a letter home, but was deceived by a villain. The couple who waited in their hometown did not receive the letter, but suffered from famine. Zhao Wuniang ate chaff and gave the white rice to her parents-in-law. After her parents-in-law died, she buried them with soil wrapped in her silk skirt and went to Beijing to find her husband with a pipa.
By chance, Miss Niu learned that the singing Zhao Wuniang was her husband's original wife. Moved by Zhao Wuniang's filial piety and determination, she voluntarily helped Zhao Wuniang and Cai Bojie to clear up the misunderstanding. Miss Niu gave up her position as the first wife and took the position of second wife. The family was reunited. Cai Bojie returned to his hometown with his two virtuous wives, returned home in glory, and reburied his parents.
As the actor said, this southern opera script was written with great care, and the court part was elegant and gorgeous, with brilliant literary talent. When it came to Zhao Wuniang's struggle against fate, the writing style suddenly changed to a simple and unpretentious style, and the breath of life that came to her face was very touching.
Zhao Wuniang was forced to make a living. While eating bran, she sang: "Bran and rice are originally dependent on each other, but they are blown away into two places. One is cheap and the other is expensive, just like me and my husband, we will never see each other again... This bran, there are still people eating it, but I wonder where my bones are buried?"
Every word was heart-wrenching and touched her heart. Hu Shanwei covered her face and cried. After she calmed down, she washed her face, put on makeup again, drew her eyebrows, and took the script to find Fan Gongzheng.
But when he left the study, it was already dark. Most of the female officials of the Palace Administration Department had left, and only a few female officials on night duty were still there. Huang Wei De pointed to a bubbling charcoal hot pot on the dining table and said, "It's cold, so we'll have a hot pot tonight. I know Hu Dian is busy in the study, so I won't disturb him. I'll keep it warm here and wait for him to finish before we eat."
I was so absorbed in watching that I forgot about eating. Hu Shanwei said, "I have something urgent to do with Fan Gongzheng. I will eat after I finish my business."
Huang Weide said, "You should eat first. Just now, Lady Cao summoned all the female officials from the six bureaus and one department to discuss the ceremony for the enthronement of the six princesses on the third day of the twelfth lunar month. Even if you go, you will just have to wait outside."
Princesses in the Ming Dynasty court would generally be given formal titles and granted golden books and imperial seals when they reached the age of fifteen and were about to choose a husband to marry.
The Sixth Princess is the youngest daughter of Concubine Sun. Concubine Sun and Empress Ma have extremely similar backgrounds and lives. They are confidants and although they share the same husband, they are as close as sisters. Ever since Empress Ma pushed Sun to the throne of Concubine, the two of them have worked together to suppress the six palaces in the east and west. The harem has become peaceful and no one dares to cause trouble.
Queen Ma treated the Sixth Princess as if she were her own daughter.
Therefore, Empress Ma attached great importance to the ceremony of enthroning the Sixth Princess, and specifically instructed Cao Shanggong to "do it well". How dare the six bureaus and one department be sloppy? They all treated the ceremony of enthroning the Sixth Princess as the most important event in the twelfth lunar month, second only to New Year's Eve.
Hu Shanwei had dinner and waited in Fan Gongzheng's room until almost midnight before Fan Gongzheng came back.
Fan Gongzheng got a headache when he saw Hu Shanwei and sighed, "I really admire your youth and energy. I am too old to endure it. I am so tired. What do you have to say tonight? Come back tomorrow."
Fan Gongzheng issued an order to expel the guests.
Hu Shanwei handed the script of Lute Story written by Gao Ming to Fan Gongzheng and briefly described the plot. "I think the script is very well written. It is rare that there is no vulgar or inappropriate content. The only shortcoming is that it is too preachy and the ending is too perfect. The scholar Cai Bojie is simply a perfect moral person who is loyal and filial. He has everything he wants. He passed the imperial examination, married a lady from a famous family, and became a high-ranking official. However, he still feels wronged. He has no choice but to do so for the sake of filial piety and loyalty to the emperor. However, as a palace drama, being too preachy is not a shortcoming, but an advantage."
Hu Shanwei said, "The Emperor once said that all flattering and erotic songs are not allowed in palace operas, but those about gods and immortals, righteous husbands and chaste wives, filial sons and obedient grandchildren, and those that encourage people to be kind and celebrate peace are all allowed. Cai Bojie, Zhao Wuniang, and Miss Niu are all filial sons and virtuous wives, which coincides with the Confucian idea of 'beautifying human relations and strengthening customs'. They have the merit of educating people through poetry, and the Emperor should like them. Please have a look first by Palace Master Fan. If you agree, we will have the Jiaofangsi perform them tomorrow."
This was a palace drama, and also a southern drama that was not usually performed on stage. Hu Shanwei did not dare to act on her own, and she needed Fan Gongzheng to give his nod first.
Fan Gongzheng didn't want to offend Hu Shanwei by reading the book that made him wait until midnight and insist on recommending the author despite the order to expel him, so he took it and flipped through it. He was careless at first, but soon he was attracted by the words and the tragic sentiment expressed in it.
Hu Shanwei came prepared and said, "I have checked. The author Gao Ming was a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the late Yuan Dynasty. He was also an honest official. He wrote plays with the original intention of educating the world, which is different from the folk authors who make a living by pleasing the audience. He changed the character of Cai Bojie and turned him into a loyal and filial scholar with feelings and righteousness. He also used the tragic story of Zhao Wu Niang eating bran and vegetables and wrapping her silk skirt to bury her parents-in-law to attract the audience. This kind of drama with a storyline that makes people sigh and educates the world is just suitable for the court."
Fan Gongzheng was born into a family of poetry and etiquette. She was the granddaughter of Fan Qie, one of the four great poets of the Yuan Dynasty. How could she not understand the power of teaching through opera and poetry
She read the book quickly and made a judgment quickly: "It is indeed good. I will take time to listen to "Pipa Ji" with you tomorrow. If there is no problem, we will choose this Zhenan opera on the winter solstice to change the taste of the palace."
On the day of the winter solstice, "The Lute" was performed at the palace banquet.
At first, when they heard that it was a southern opera, everyone was not interested. But when the first opera, "Song of Water Melody", started, and sang "From the present to the past, there are so many stories... If it is not related to morality, it is useless even if it is good", Emperor Hongwu stopped drinking. This sentence was exactly what he wanted. Emperor Hongwu believed that the rituals and music of the Yuan Dynasty had collapsed and the people were divided, so after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he focused on rituals and education to reshape the civilization of the Central Plains.
It was clearly just a play, but the emperor dared to say at the beginning that if the play did not "concern morals" and educate people, then no matter how good the play was, it would be in vain. This view was exactly what Emperor Hongwu was thinking.
The palace was the center of the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor was the center of the palace. Emperor Hongwu obviously showed great interest in this southern opera, and who dared to disturb the emperor's interest
Moreover, when the play reached the part where Zhao Wu Niang ate bran, the lyrics were vivid and sorrowful, which was very infectious. Empress Ma, Concubine Sun and other concubines who had suffered during the war all looked moved and their eyes were red.
When it came to burying the parents-in-law in silk skirts, many people at the banquet shed tears.
There was no place for Hu Shanwei, a mere seventh-rank official, in the palace opera. She stood far away under a pavilion, holding a warm hand warmer, and looked alone at the stage in the distance where one performance after another was about to begin.
The music of northern opera is mostly played with pipa and guzheng, while the music of southern opera is mostly played with flutes and pipes. The sounds are long, so Hu Shanwei could hear the music from a long distance away.
In a trance, she turned into Zhao Wuniang on the stage, who was first a "timid and lonely person", then wrapped in a silk skirt to bury her parents-in-law, and resolutely went to Beijing with a pipa to find her husband. She empathized with Zhao Wuniang's pain, timidity, hope and despair, and her search for new hope in despair, because she had similar experiences.
She personally recommended "The Lute Story", which was equivalent to tearing open her own unhealed hidden pain bit by bit with her own hands, exposing it in broad daylight, and then squeezing out the pus and blood with all her strength. It hurt so much that she couldn't breathe, and her hands could not stop squeezing out the pus and blood for a moment. She had to squeeze it all out before the hidden pain would disappear and the old wound would truly heal.
She stabbed the timid Hu Shanwei to death with her own hands, one knife at a time, and defeated herself. From then on, if anyone mentioned her fiancé again, she would no longer collapse at the first blow, and she would no longer be shrouded in the shadow of the past and unable to extricate herself.
Maybe at that time, she just smiled indifferently.
Unconsciously, a smile appeared on Hu Shanwei's face in the pavilion. She would no longer shed tears for the past.
On the stage, the last song of "Pipa Ji" was "Eternal Reunion":
"… A grand banquet was held, and the four scenes often gathered together. It showed civilization and prosperity, and the filial sons and daughters were praised, and the jade candles were harmoniously returned to the holy master."
The story, which has gone through many twists and turns, ended with a happy ending. The Hongwu Emperor was very pleased and praised the Lute Story. He said with a smile, "The Five Classics and the Four Books are like cloth and food, which every family has. The brilliant Lute Story is like delicacies from the mountains and the sea, which a wealthy family cannot do without. I will perform it a few times every day in the future."
The official from the Jiaofang Division hurriedly said, "As ordered."
Emperor Hongwu added: "The Lute Story is a southern opera, which is not easy to sing. The Jiaofangsi re-composed the music with instruments that are easy to play and sing, such as the pipa, guzheng, and konghou, and wrote a new version of the opera to promote it among the people for the purpose of educating the world."
Sure enough, Hu Shanwei's judgment was correct. The slightly preachy shortcomings of this play were exactly the advantages that Emperor Hongwu liked.
What the superior likes, the subordinates will follow suit, not to mention that Emperor Hongwu also said that "wealth and splendor are indispensable to a family", who dared not listen? They invited opera troupes to sing the brilliant "Pipa Ji". This southern opera, which was almost unknown in the late Yuan Dynasty because of its lack of "cool" conflicts and excessive preaching, became a "hot" drama in the early Ming Dynasty, and no other drama could match its popularity.
From then on, Southern drama entered the mainstream and began to become a court drama, and "The Lute Story" became the ancestor of Southern drama.
Emperor Hongwu was so fond of "Pipa Ji" that he ordered that he should listen to it every day. However, he still wanted to listen to it more and asked the Jiaofangsi: "Who selected this play?"
The official from the Jiaofang Division hurriedly said, "It was only because of the strong recommendation from the Gongzheng Division Hu Dianzheng that the Lute Story was able to be performed on the Winter Solstice."
A seventh-rank official was not usually in the emperor's eyes. Emperor Hongwu was very curious about this discerning female official and said, "Explain Hu Dianzheng."
The author has something to say: Only by taking preventive measures can Hu Shanwei withstand future storms.
100 red packets tonight~ come and get them
Emperor Hongwu was an avid fan of "The Lute", listening to it every day, just like "Fisherman's Song at Dusk", the soundtrack of "Weather Forecast", which he would never get tired of even after listening to for decades.
Now the question is, which famous ancient Chinese text did "Fisherman's Song at Dusk" come from
a Peach Blossom Spring b Returning to the Countryside c Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng d Preface to the Lanting Poems