During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a prostitute in the capital, and as long as the story of the Northern Song Dynasty is recorded in the history of the wild, most of her will be mentioned. There is a generation of emperor Zhao Yao, down to all kinds of literati rioters Green Forest Good Han, it seems that there has been a story of joy or sorrow with her, and these stories have also added a touch of mystery to her, making people yearn, she is - Li Shishi.
But with so many descriptions, some of them may contradict each other, what kind of person is the real Master Li? Is her ending as beautiful as depicted in the novel?
Photo: Li Shishi stills
One
Master Li's
rough
Life.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, in the capital city, a cry sounded among a cloth merchant surnamed Wang, and the master Wang Yin received a thousand gold. Unfortunately, the baby was still in its infancy, and Wang Yin's wife, the baby's mother, died of illness. Having lost her breast milk and the family had no money left to find a nurse, the little girl doll was raised by her father with soy milk.
The nutrition of soy milk naturally can not be compared with breast milk, the child who is fed by soy milk, the natural physical fitness is not as good as ordinary people, plus the little girl loves to cry, Wang Yin in order to let the child grow up healthily, he took the child to the temple to pray, asked the monk to preside over the sacrifice ceremony for the child, hoping that the child would live a safe life.
No one expected that when the monk gently stroked the top of the child's hair with his generous palm, the child miraculously stopped crying, and when he saw the situation, Wang Yin thought that the child was related to the Buddhist family, so he named the child "Shishi", which means "shi" in slang for the buddhist disciple.
Photo: Stills of Li Shishi in his infancy stopping crying
When Shi Shi was four years old, Wang Yin was detained for violating the law, and soon fell ill and died in prison, and Shi Shi, who was originally a single parent, became an orphan.
Fortunately, there was a grandmother surnamed Li who saw that shi shi was pitiful and adopted her, and since then shi shi has followed this li grandmother to change her surname to Li. This Grandmother Li was born into a prostitute and was a person in the fireworks willow alley, so it was reasonable for Master Li to become a famous prostitute when he grew up.
From an early age, Shi Shi followed Grandma Li and other teachers to learn poetry, songs, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and the intelligent and agile shi shi also quickly mastered many skills.
Master Li has been clever and cute since he was a child, and when he grows up, he is even more beautiful and moving. Master Li, who was excellent in poetry and calligraphy, soon became a famous beauty in beijing.
Two
Master Li's affair with the emperor.
In the story of Li Shishi and so many men, perhaps the most famous is her and the emperor of the calligrapher and painter who founded the "thin gold body": Zhao Yao of the Song Huizong. Zhao Tuo should be familiar to everyone, and their stories have also been described in "Water Margin".
Among the emperors of the past, he had to leave his name. When Master Li moved the capital, her name naturally reached the ears of His Majesty the Emperor, and the emperor longed for this woman and wanted to see her face many times.
Finally, Zhao Yao could not resist the urgency in his heart, and for the sake of the emperor's honorific name, he had to transform into another identity: a rich merchant, surnamed Zhao Mingyi, under the guidance of the eunuch, privately met this famous prostitute Li Shishi.
Photo: Song Huizong Zhao Tuo private meeting Li Shishi stills
After a long wait, Zhao Tuo finally saw this fairy-like girl as she wished, and when she met, she was attracted by Master Li's outstanding appearance and intoxicated by her idyllic temperament.
After this meeting, Zhao Tuo could no longer control himself and was eager to see Master Li every day. In ancient times, there were princes of the Beacon Theatre, but this Zhao Tuo was not willing to show weakness, in order to meet Master Li privately, he sent people to build a tunnel from the palace, and the end of the tunnel was the "Royal XiangLou" where Master Li was located.
Photo: Stills of the "YuxiangLou" where Master Li is located
According to ye shi records, Li Shishi not only gained the favor of the emperor, but also had close contacts with the famous euphemistic poet Zhou Bangyan. Since the ancient Qinglou there are many singers and prostitutes, singing poetry, borrowing poetry to make their own fame, lyricists, especially lyricists who are unhappy with their careers, will also write words for them, and through their singing, to spread their talents, forming a mutually helpful atmosphere.
Master Li is naturally no exception, especially this Zhou Bangyan, his appearance is also a gentleman, and the gentle word school shows Master Li's gentleness and gentleness, beautiful and elegant. The two of them, one is good at filling in words, one is good at singing, and the two can be described as confidants, so it is reasonable for the two of them to intersect.
There was an interesting story circulating in the anecdotes, and it was said that one day, Zhou Bangyan heard that Zhao Tuo was unwell, and deduced that he would not come to Master Li in the near future, and he would not touch him in the past, so zhou Bangyan naturally did not want to let go of such a good opportunity. Unfortunately, he underestimated Zhao Yao's courage and even dragged his sick body to Master Li's room.
Zhou Bangyan was stunned and quickly went under the bed, afraid of being discovered by Zhao Yao, and when the two of them separated, they came out from under the bed in a panic. He even made a song "Youth Tour", which portrayed the things heard to make people feel immersed.
3. Master Li
The final outcome
For Master Li, after all, she is only a dusty woman, and the rhymes left behind may be recorded, but there are too many explanations for her ending.
According to the first theory, after the Invasion of jin soldiers, Li Shishi was captured and committed suicide for his innocence.
Due to the Long-term implementation of heavy literature and suppression of martial arts in the Northern Song Dynasty, which led to the lack of powerful generals in the court, the invasion of Liaojin, which eventually led to the "Difficulty of Jingkang", Zhao Yao's father and son were captured by the enemy army, in order to please the Jin people had to sacrifice beautiful women in an attempt to redeem the Second Emperor, Li Shishi such a beautiful woman was naturally among them, although Li Shishi was born in the Qinglou, but had a heart that was not afraid, she preferred to die and eventually committed suicide.
In the second theory, Master Li became a monk and spent the rest of his life with the Qinglan Ancient Buddha.
On the day of the Jin invasion, Li Shishi donated all his property, hoping that the Song army could continue to fight. However, he unloaded the ring, threw himself into the Buddhist Gate, and spent this life quietly and peacefully.
In the third theory, Master Li returned to the people and married and had children.
After the Jin people occupied the capital city, Li Shishi took advantage of the chaos to escape and hide in the countryside, encountering a merchant family on the way to escape. Married to him as a human wife, she returned to the family to marry and teach her children, and spent her old age plainly.
In the fourth theory, Master Li still lives in the Qinglou.
After the Song Dynasty moved south, Li Shishi followed the fleeing people to the south, because there was no survival skill, he could still only sell singing and dancing for a living, and at first he could still maintain his life by virtue of his charm. After old age, no one appreciates, only one person can struggle to maintain a normal life, and finally die.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!