There are thousands of Chinese idioms, each of which is not casually kneaded, and its back is generally linked to a certain historical story, which is worth exploring. There is an idiom that is not commonly used, and can even be said to have been eliminated, called "love concubines for horses", this idiom sounds like there is a big story behind it.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Xiao Gang of Liang jianwen once made a palace poem "Exchanging Horses with People Loving Concubines", expressing the tragic fate of meeting people who were thin in love and being exchanged with people as objects from the perspective of abandoning women - "Whoever speaks like white jade must be ashamed of Qingli", who knows that I, a person who is like a flower and a jade, is not even as good as a blue-black horse!
In the Tang Dynasty, Li Yan told a story about Cao Cao's son Cao Zhang, saying that he saw a fine white BMW on the road one day and especially wanted to have it. So he set up a feast to invite the master of the white horse, summoned a number of his own beautiful concubines, and said to the master of the horse: "There are beautiful concubines to be exchanged, but the king chooses", and exchange my beautiful concubines for your horses, and you can choose one yourself.
The owner of the horse then picked a concubine of his choice, and Cao Zhang also got the BMW he wanted and named it "White Eagle".
In the feudal society where men are superior to women, people do not think that there is anything wrong with this, but regard it as "dashing", for them, women like concubines, like horses and other playthings, are for them to play.
In ancient times, the status of concubines was incredibly low, and they could be bought and sold, which was nothing new.
The wife is "taking", the concubine is "na", the wealth of the wife is the "dowry", and the wealth of the concubine is "the capital of buying a concubine", so it is said that the wife and the concubine must not be trespassed, even if it is a concubine who is favored by the male master, it is impossible to casually ascend to the throne and replace the wife.
Even if you buy a concubine, the ancients will also change concubines, like the above-mentioned "love concubines for horses" thing, it is not uncommon, there is such an anecdote of Su Shi in history.
Although he was a great literary hero of a generation, Su Shi also lived in the feudal era, surrounded by many women, widely known, with two wives Wang Fu and Wang Yanzhi, as well as a concubine named Wang Chaoyun, of course, his concubines are more than this one.
In history, there is a widespread story of Su Shi exchanging concubines for horses, that is, he once had a concubine named Chunniang, who was taken by Su Shi to change horses (and said that she was pregnant), and as a result, Chunniang was unwilling, so she touched the locust and died.
Many people listened to this story and lamented that the literati were shameless and shameless, saying that Su Shi was really late and insecure, although Su Shi's affair had a lot of affair, but this matter was really not Su Shi's doing.
It is recorded that Su Shi exchanged concubines for horses in the Ming Dynasty, zhong yu was first proposed in the "Mingyuan Shigui", and then Feng Menglong also quoted this matter in the "Love History Sketch", writing the story of "Spring Niang Yi Ma", which is also a so-called certificate that many people take from Hei Su Shi:
Po Gong also has the name of Chun Niang. Gong who Huangzhou, before leaving, there was Jiang Yun's emissary Rao Gong. Gong ordered Chunniang to persuade the wine. Jiang asked, "Is Chunniang going?" "I want to return to my mother's house." Jiang Yue: "Can I use the white horse Yi Chunniang?" "Promise.
Jiang Weishi said: "Do not hesitate to frost and rain snow hooves, wait for idle distribution to redeem moth eyebrows." Although there is no Jin Le hissing bright moon, there are beautiful people holding jade. Gong replied to the poem: "Chunniang is too hurried to go here, and she does not dare to cry out in chagrin." Only for the mountain line to be dangerous, so the red powder will be exchanged for chasing the wind. ”
Chun Niang said: "Concubines smell Jing Gong beheading officials, and Yan Zi advises them; the master stables burn without asking the horses, and all the nobles and unworthy animals." Bachelors exchange people for horses, then noble animals are cheap! Suikou Zhanyi gave a word of thanks, saying: "For a man, do not be a woman's body, and a hundred years of bitterness and happiness are by others." Today I know that people are mean animals, and in this life they complain about who is angry. "The lower steps touch the locust and die." It is a pity.
The dialogue scenes are written particularly realistically, as if the author has really seen it in person, but in fact, before the Ming Dynasty, there was no relevant record of Su Shi, Zhong Yu was the first person to say this, and it is worth playing that the "Outline of the General Catalogue of the Four Libraries" commented that Zhong Yu's "Mingyuan Shigui" was "a mixture of authenticity and falsity, especially enough to show off the aftermath".
As for Feng Menglong, people write novels and operas, and their contributions are very large, but the authenticity of his stories is really difficult to convince. It is said that he wrote chunniang in the story that "for a person should not be a woman's body, a hundred years of bitterness is by others", the source of which is a poem in Bai Juyi's "Taihang Road", not written by Chunniang.
If Su Shi could meet Feng Menglong and Zhong Yu, he would definitely ask: What vendetta do I have with you?
Some people think that the prototype of Su Shi's incident is the content of the legendary novel "The Book of Strangeness" written by Li Mei in the Tang Dynasty, which has a "Wei Baosheng Prostitute", which is said to be an alcoholic Bao Sheng, who has a lot of concubines in the family, and once Bao Sheng went out with two concubines, met his cousin Wei Sheng, and the two drank together.
During the period, Wei Sheng talked about a horse somewhere, which made Bao Sheng itch very much, and then Wei Sheng also gave him an idea: "You can exchange people for people, choose from any one" - use people to change, you can choose.
Later, the Ming Dynasty literati put this matter on Su Shi's head, after all, Su Shi's fame is so great, such a quote, the article will definitely attract more attention.
Although Su Shi's story of exchanging concubines for horses is a fiction of posterity, there are many such incidents of "noble horses and untouchables" in ancient times, and a considerable number of literati rioters do not feel that there is anything wrong with this kind of thing, and often write it into articles as a graceful thing.
Bai Juyi wrote "An Shi is helpless and wants to exchange Chi Ji for Qing'e", Li Bai said "a thousand gold horses for concubines, laughing and sitting on the carved saddle song falling plum", Zhang Hu has "a side of the demon peach thousands of miles crying, delicate posture Jun bone price should be Qi"... The love of concubines and horses has simply become a fashion and literary scene, and it is constantly quoted.
This kind of transaction of people as goods was the embodiment of male superiority and female inferiority in ancient times. Ancient etiquette is strict, two thousand years of Chinese moral tradition are centered on men, the way of survival of concubines is to be careful, low three or four, their physical freedom is not in their own hands, but all depend on men's mood preferences.
In the Huiyuan, it is said: "Concubines, receive also, words must receive gentlemen and not two couples." That is to say, concubines in the family are only for the transfer of men, can not be counted as legal spouses, and the status is quite low.
In the eyes of the ancients, concubines have no personality at all, nor can they enjoy the treatment of "wives", "Tang Law Neglect" clearly stipulates that "concubines are untouchables" and "concubines and guest women as wives, apprentices for one and a half years", which are written into the law, it is simply a concubine for a day, a concubine for life, you can go down, but you must not rush upwards. They are male appendages, or the tradable ones.
This concept is the entire mainstream society to agree, living in such a society, everyone's concept will naturally be affected, and finally think that this is correct, natural, so even if there is a concubine for the horse, it is not a big deal for the ancients, even if this is the wind, after all, "heroes love BMW", where can concubines compare to the heroism that the big husbands want to embody?
But on the other hand, there is another very interesting phenomenon, that is, many male authors like to use the female perspective to create, those so-called grievance poems, do not think that it is really written by women, but almost all are created by men.
They like to stand in the perspective of women, use a kind of abandoned woman psychology to express their political unhappiness, and how sad they write, which makes people sad. However, from another point of view, aren't these men who write feminine because they know what kind of miserable life women live? They can write such truly mournful works precisely because they understand the situation of women and their sad inner world.
Although we always say that we cannot look at the ancients from the perspective of today's people and take today's values, the act of exchanging concubines and horses is definitely a pathological and inhumane phenomenon, and it is a sad thing for women and society, they are living people, but they are regarded as men's property and become a hedonistic culture for them.
Or Lu Xun hit the nail on the head: "In ancient society, women were mostly used as men's objects. It is not necessary to kill or eat; after a man dies, he is buried with his favorite treasures and daily weapons. Later, the atmosphere of martyrdom gradually changed, and the observance of festivals gradually occurred..."