There is a quiet and elegant place in the northwest of Suzhou City, called "Peach Blossom Wood", which was once the former residence of Tang Bohu, one of the "Four Talents" of Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty, a calligrapher and painter, and a poet. At that time, Tang Bohu, who was frustrated by the imperial examination and the officialdom, raised money everywhere, purchased the long-abandoned peach blossom dock as a paradise for the second half of his life, and spent the rest of his life with his third and last wife.
Some people can't help but ask: Was that lady once the Qiu Xiang that he had worked so hard to get?! The answer is not so, the historical Qiu Xiang is just a Famous Prostitute in Jinling who is more than 20 years older than Tang Bohu, and there is no historical data to support the intersection of Tang Bohu and the famous prostitute Qiu Xiang in any life trajectory.
The woman who accompanied the 37-year-old Tang Bohu to settle down in Taohuawu in northern Jiangsu is not fictional, she was once born as an official prostitute, she was Tang Bohu's beloved wife, the couple gave birth to a daughter, and spent many years in Taohuawu plain but steady and happy days.
Shen Jiuniang, an official prostitute who mistakenly entered the Zhangtai
During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, there was an official prostitute in Gusu City who was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, named Shen Jiuniang. The official prostitutes in ancient times were different from ordinary prostitutes, and the objects of their service were only local officials and court officials, who were not only superior in appearance, but also talented, all of whom were high-end Qinglou women who were absolutely colored and artistic.
Shen Jiuniang was born in 1475 AD, and the various records left over from history rarely appear in the pen and ink related to Shen Jiuniang, and the reason why people remember Shen Jiuniang in Suzhou is because of a love and marriage between her and Tang Bohu. According to legend, Shen Jiuniang was born in Shuxiang Mendi, and since childhood, she has been infected by the ink rhyme of shuxiang and learned all kinds of literati and elegant arts, and is a rare talented girl.
When Shen Jiuniang was 14 years old, her family unfortunately passed away one after another, and Shen Jiuniang, who had no one to protect her, was exiled on the street, and was favored by the old bustards of the official brothel teaching workshop, took her into the industry, accepted her as an official prostitute, and carefully cultivated.
Shen Jiuniang was born qingxiu duanyan, and the talent is intelligent, in the church, Shen Jiuniang's pen and ink Danqing never lose to others, and can sing and dance, but also talk about poetry, and gradually become the famous flower leader in Suzhou.
Shen Jiuniang is a person who mistakenly entered the Zhangtai, although she has a gentle temperament, she does not want to be a prostitute for life, and when she becomes an adult, she is even more yearning for love and marriage. Therefore, she has always silently looked forward to the appearance of a man who loves her and spoils her, takes her out of her citizenship, and gives her a stable and happy family and life.
Tang Bohu, a talented man of a generation with a bumpy fate and a bumpy emotional life
Tang Bohu, a native of Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty, was born into a merchant's family whose father, Tang Guangde, ran a small restaurant, including his mother Qiu, a younger sister, and a younger brother.
The Tang family had already fallen into the family road before and after Tang Bohu was born, but Tang Bohu, who had been clever and clever since childhood, had revitalized the family and seen hope.
Tang Bohu had a strong talent for learning, he was familiar with poetry and etiquette, and his literary style was outstanding, and he won the suzhou government examination at the age of 18, and because of this, Tang Bohu married the second daughter of the scholar Xu Yanrui early. After getting married, his wife soon spread her branches and gave birth to a lin child for the Tang family. Therefore, Tang Bohu in that period can be described as full of vigor and spring breeze.
But the weather is unpredictable, since Tang Bohu was 24 years old, the misfortune of the Tang family has followed, first the parents and sister have died of accidents, and then, the wife Xu Shi also unfortunately died of illness, because of the lack of family care, the young child also died prematurely.
In just a few years, the Tang family has changed from a lively big family to a sparsely popular and empty mansion, which is a huge blow to Tang Bohu.
Looking at Tang Bohu, who was increasingly depressed and frustrated, his friend Zhu Zhishan proposed that he continue to aspire to obtain meritorious titles. A word to wake up the dreamer, Tang Bohu regained his spirits, after more than 3 years of hard reading, finally won the first place in the township examination at the age of 29.
That van had just gained a meritorious name, and there was a red luan star movement here - the daughter of a small official, He Shijiu, heard that Tang Bohu was talented and elegant, so she entrusted the matchmaker to promote the marriage and good deeds. Soon, Tang Bohu married He Shi, who looked very gentle and virtuous.
Tang Bohu's life was back on the right track, but fate was still secretly playing tricks on him. A year later, Tang Bohu went to Beijing to participate in the examination, but unexpectedly planted a big heel - in a fraud case implicated by a friend, Tang Bohu was sentenced to prison by the imperial court for cheating, and was later deposed as a small local civil servant.
Tang Bohu felt that he had been very wronged, and he also thought that his talent could be wasted on a small literary official, so he resolutely did not go to his post, packed his bags and returned to his home in Suzhou.
After Tang Bohu returned home, he felt a wave of indifference and ridicule from his wife He Shi - it turned out that He Shi was more concerned about whether her husband could make a smooth progress in his career and whether he could bring her wealth and glory.
Tang Bohu, who had no hope in his career, was obviously on the blacklist of the imperial court, so He Shi proposed peace and departure. Tang Bohu understood what He Shi was thinking and thinking, and simply gave He Shi a letter of resignation, ending this hopeless marriage.
After that, Tang Bohu became a lonely man again, he simply let go of the skeleton, exchanged poetry for silver money, and then took the silver money to the Qinglou Sect Workshop to drunkenly dream and die, and sold his sorrows with wine.
Suffering and sharing, true feelings are difficult to find, Tang Bohu and Shen Jiuniang know each other and cherish each other
On a night when there was a warm and soft language and a sound and color dog and horse, Tang Bohu, who was drunk in the Qinglou, met Shen Jiuniang, a famous prostitute in Suzhou who was famous for her color and art.
Shen Jiuniang had long admired Tang Bohu, but when she saw such a talented young talent drunk and full of vicissitudes, she couldn't help but feel pity. From then on, as long as Tang Bohu came to Shen Jiuniang's side, the sympathetic Shen Jiuniang would be gentle and silently accompanied, pouring out his full talent and tenderness, turning into a delicate and lovely flower of interpretation.
Tang Bohu used paintings to earn silver money, and after a long time, he actually found that there was always the shadow of Shen Jiuniang in each of his paintings, and at that moment he suddenly realized that Shen Jiuniang had become the fragrant and gentle brand on his heart.
Thinking about it, Tang Bohu decided to spend his life hand in hand with Shen Jiuniang. He first took out all his silver money and redeemed shen jiuniang. Then, he optimistically looked at a long-abandoned mansion villa in the southwest of Suzhou City, "Peach Blossom Dock", so he made up his mind to buy a house and give Shen Jiuniang an ideal and warm place to return.
While stepping up painting and selling words, Tang Bohu took out the books he had treasured for many years as collateral, and borrowed a lot of money from many friends, and finally bought a quiet and elegant peach blossom dock.
Since then, Peach Blossom Dock has been rejuvenated, Tang Bohu called himself the "Peach Blossom Master", and Shen Jiuniang set up a garden here to plant trees, raise mulberry fish, and plant a pond full of lotus flowers. The husband and wife are very affectionate and have lived a comfortable and idyllic life. Two years later, Shen Jiuniang gave birth to a female doll with a pink carving, and Tang Bohu was even more overjoyed and very satisfied.
With the company of his wife and daughter, Tang Bohu spent an unusually happy little period of life. Unfortunately, when her daughter was 5 years old, Jiangnan suffered a huge flood, and Tang Bohu's paintings were completely destroyed in the flood, so that the livelihood of the three families of Taohuawu became a problem.
Shen Jiuniang is determined to face the current predicament with her husband, she embroiders and sews for large families during the day, washes and washes things at night, and earns silver with her industrious hands to maintain the family's expenses. Excessive work and fatigue soon caused Shen Jiuniang's body to have various problems, and she began to fall ill frequently, and at one point she was bedridden and breathless.
On the 8th spring day when Tang Bohu married Shen Jiuniang, Shen Jiuniang finally passed away, leaving her daughter to live with Tang Bohu for her life.
In the 2 years of Jiajing, Tang Bohu, who was sick and weak, finally died silently at home, and the daughter who was married far away was too late to recall, and the old friends from the old days worked together to raise money to properly bury Tang Bohu.
The world is generally known for Tang Bohu's talent and style, but many people have forgotten his bumpy and bumpy life, let alone remember that he was betrayed by people full of affection and had also received the most perfect love in the world.