The wheels are rumbling, the horses are neighing, and the spring breeze in February is like a pair of scissors. .yankuAi. A must-have for chasing books
This is Zhu Ping'an's most intuitive feeling about the capital city at this moment. There are endless carriages and horses coming and going, and the spring breeze brings a hint of coolness on his face.
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen were the tour guides who were going to take Zhu Ping'an to the Chongfu Temple outside Xuanwu Gate, which was the modern Fayuan Temple. It was not too far away. After leaving Xuanwu Gate and walking south along the street, it didn't take too long to reach the Chongfu Temple.
As is customary, after taking the imperial examination, many candidates like to go to the temple to find spiritual sustenance, make a wish, burn incense, etc.
In addition, this is the apricot blossom season, and the apricot blossoms at Chongfu Temple are also a famous sight.
The three of them walked south along the street outside Xuanwu Gate. The street was crowded with people and vendors, and it was very lively. There were all kinds of shops on the street, including inns, guild halls, shops and teahouses. However, the most common ones were vegetable stalls and vegetable shops. Although it was early spring, all kinds of vegetables were already being sold on the street.
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen were competent tour guides. They introduced the local customs and practices along the way to Zhu Ping'an as they walked.
"This is Caishi Street. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the largest vegetable market in our Ming Dynasty. Most people in the entire capital have come here to buy vegetables." Zhang Siwei introduced the street to Zhu Pingan as they walked.
Oh, this is Caishi Street.
Zhu Ping'an nodded when he heard this. It turned out that this was the very famous Caishikou in later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, this Caishikou Street was just the largest vegetable market. In the Qing Dynasty, this place became famous. The main reason for Caishikou's fame was that the Qing government moved the execution ground from the Xisi Pailou in the Ming Dynasty to Caishikou outside Xuanwumen, and executed the prisoners sentenced to be executed in the autumn on the eve of the winter solstice.
However, it is currently just the largest vegetable market.
"Now that we are here, there is a place we must see." Wang Shizhen was still walking behind, and when he reached a place, he suddenly became energetic, and while talking to Zhu Ping'an, he led the way in a direction.
Just a few steps away, we arrived at a pharmacy called "Xi Henian Tang".
The pharmacy is grand and large in scale, but what attracts Zhu Pingan the most is the plaque of the pharmacy, on which are engraved the three characters "He Nian Tang". The character "้นค" has many strokes and is asymmetrical with the other two characters, but the three characters put together form a very good layout and look quite artistic.
"The characters on this plaque are as graceful as a startled swan, and as vigorous and powerful as a bird. It is surprising that such calligraphy can be found in the market..." Zhu Ping'an looked up at the three characters "Heniantang". It seemed that this person's calligraphy was even better than his own. He couldn't help but feel emotional.
"Zihou. Good eyesight." Wang Shizhen originally wanted to point out the plaque to Zhu Ping'an, but when he saw Zhu Ping'an noticed the plaque at first sight, he smiled and praised.
"Wensheng, Zihou, it's not advisable to stay here for long." Zhang Siwei seemed to be somewhat disgusted with this Henian Hall.
"Why?" Zhu Pingan was a little puzzled.
"That's right, Ziwei, why are you in such a hurry?" Wang Shizhen was also confused. He had just discovered this place not long ago. When he passed by this pharmacy by chance, he found this plaque and was attracted by the font on the plaque. Because he had something to do at the time, he just looked at it for a while and left. This time, he passed by. He couldn't help but bring Zhu Pingan and others to appreciate this plaque together. He wanted to take a good look this time, but when he heard Zhang Siwei say that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, Wang Shizhen found it difficult to understand.
Zhang Siwei did not answer on the spot. Instead, he waited until Wang Shizhen and Zhu Ping'an had finished reading the plaque and left Henian Hall, and then he told them the reason a little further away.
It turns out that this Heniantang, located in the northwest corner of Caishi Street, is the back garden of Yan Song's home. This pharmacy was invested and opened by the old prime minister who was both a killer and a healer in his spare time. The name means "pine and crane prolong life". Yan Song has had a very bad reputation over the years. Although he is extremely powerful, some upright people still keep a distance from him.
"What? That means the plaque was written by Yan...?" Wang Shizhen's face looked a little bad, as if he had swallowed a fly.
Zhang Siwei nodded. After getting confirmation, Wang Shizhen's face became even more embarrassed, as if he saw a pig eating ginseng.
"Oh, what a pity." Wang Shizhen shook his head and sighed.
In the evaluation of calligraphy throughout the ages, the quality of calligraphy and the character of the person are an integral whole, and the character of the person has always been higher than the quality of calligraphy. Calligraphy is a highly integrated embodiment of a person's knowledge, talent, and quality. For collectors of calligraphy works with low character, it is equivalent to collecting evil spirits, which not only tarnishes the family tradition, but also damages their own character.
That's why Wang Shizhen sighed endlessly.
"So that's how it is, no wonder, what a pity"
After listening to Zhang Siwei's explanation, Zhu Pingan nodded. It turned out that it was written by Yan Song. No wonder Yan Song was one of the three great calligraphers of treacherous officials in history. In later generations, there was an anecdote about Yan Song's calligraphy: it was said that the three characters "Zhi Gong Tang" on the plaque of the main hall of the Beijing Imperial Examination Hall were written by Yan Song. When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty learned of this fact, he wanted to replace it, so he ordered all the calligraphers in the court to write these three characters. As an emperor who liked to play with words, he also wrote several times. However, he found that his imperial pen and the writings of others were not as good as Yan Song's, so he had to give up and still let the treacherous official's words hang high.
From this we can see that Yan Song's handwriting is indeed of a high standard. It's a pity that Yan Song's character is too bad, and because of his character, his handwriting is despised by many people.
From the reactions of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, it can be seen that these two gentlemen do not have much good feelings towards Yan Song. From the reactions of Zhu Ping'an, it can also be seen that Zhu Ping'an does not have much good feelings towards Yan Song either.
The three of them smiled at each other, shook their heads, came to Caishi Street, and continued walking south.
After walking for a while, we came to a small alleyway connecting to Caishi Street. Many people, mostly men, gathered there in groups of three or five, surrounding an empty space, pointing and talking among themselves.
What happened
The three of them walked forward curiously to see what was going on.
The onlookers saw that the three people were well-dressed and must have been either rich or noble, or both. So they made way for the three people to pass through the crowd and get to the front.
When I got to the front, I realized the truth of what everyone was watching:
In the venue, a young girl in plain clothes was kneeling facing everyone. A straw was inserted in her long hair. Her black hair covered half of her face. The exposed half of her face was lightly made up and had faint traces of tears.
In this era, wearing straw on your head is not a cute gesture. "Grass" means cheap, which means that this thing is not "valuable" to me. If you put a straw sign on it, you will sell it. In different historical periods of ancient Chinese society, straw signs were used for everything from daily necessities to poor families selling their children due to hunger and cold.
The young girl in front of me has straw stuck in her hair, which means she is going to sell herself.
This kind of plot is often seen in novels, but I didn't expect to see a real plot. I hope it's not a melodramatic plot. Zhu Pingan shook his head slightly. (To be continued.)