The modern historian Cai Dongfan said: "Zhang Lihua is a special thing in Jiangnan, similar to Feng Xiaopi of Yixia, Xiao Pi died in Qi, Lihua died in Chen, and he is a country that knows the misfortune of special things, and there is no ancient and modern Chinese and foreign one." The Book of Sui also says: "Zhang Guifei and Kong Guifei, and have a national color, are called demons." ”
There is a strange phenomenon in ancient history: whenever a dynasty declines and falls, there is always a charming woman who is a disaster. For example, Yu Xi at the end of the Xia Dynasty, Dai Ji at the end of the Shang Dynasty, Qiu Ji in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Xi Shi in the Spring and Autumn Yue Kingdom, Zhao Feiyan in the Western Han Dynasty, Feng Xiaopi in the last year of Northern Qi, Zhang Lihua in the last year of Southern Chen, Yang Yuhuan in the Tang Dynasty, Chen Yuanyuan in the Ming Dynasty... They are often accused of "bringing misfortune to the country" and are scolded by posterity. In fact, the so-called "red face and bad water" is just a shameful statement that the male rulers throw the blame for the subjugation of the country to women.
(Ancient Beauty)
So, what kind of woman is this Jiangnan special object Zhang Lihua, who is said to be "the disaster of the country and the death of Chen"?
First, a beautiful person from a humble origin
Zhang Lihua was the concubine of Chen Shubao, the lord of Chen Hou. Legend has it that Zhang Lihua has a unique beauty of the country, graceful appearance, beautiful beauty, and rich rhyme. She has thick black as lacquer, bright as a mirror of long hair; she has eyes like autumn water, charming eyes to seduce the soul, whenever Gu Pan gazes, the brilliance overflows in the eyes, reflecting the people around, making people ripple; she often combs the clouds and the moon, elaborately dressed, ascends to the pavilion Linxuan, the wind blows the skirt, looks far away, behaves like a fairy...
"Zhang Guifei's hair is seven feet long, her hair is as black as lacquer, and its light can be discerned. Intelligent and radiant, leisurely, beautiful. Every time you look forward to it, the brilliance is overflowing, reflecting the left and right. Often in the cabinet on the beautiful makeup, Linxuan sills, the palace from afar, floating like a god. (The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei)
Zhang Lihua was born in a family of soldiers, the family is poor, in order to live, her father and brother are weaving mats as a profession. In 568, Zhang Lihua, who was then ten years old, was elected to the palace. At that time, Chen Shubao was still the crown prince, and Zhang Lihua was chosen as an ordinary maid by the side of his crown concubine Gong Shi.
(Zhang Lihua, played by Qu Ni Tsering)
Soon, Chen Shubao met Zhang Lihua by chance, fell in love with her at first sight, and recruited her to his side and let her sleep. Zhang Lihua was favored by Linxing and gave birth to the crown prince Chen Shen in 575. In 582, Chen Shubao ascended the throne, and Zhang Lihua was made a noble concubine.
The Nanshi Liechuan, Book XII, records:
Zhang Guifei's name is Lihua, and the daughter of the bing family is also. His father and brother worked as mat weavers. The lord was elected crown prince to be elected to the palace. When Gong Gui's concubine was Liangdi, the noble concubine was ten years old, and she was envoyed for it. After the lord saw it and was pleased, because he was fortunate, he had a wife, and gave birth to a prince deeply. After the Lord ascended the throne, he worshipped as a noble concubine. Sexually intelligent, very pampered.
Zhang Lihua is not only beautiful, but also intelligent and clever, good at observing words and colors, and good at attracting people's hearts. Chen Shubao was doubly fond of her.
Second, Zhang Lihua's Introduction to Nanchen
Zhang Lihua's "Chen" dynasty was the last regime of the Southern Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the capital city of Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), which enjoyed 33 years of the country, was known as "Southern Chen" in history.
In 548, the "Hou Jing Rebellion" occurred within the Southern Dynasty Liang, and the Liangwu Emperor Xiao Yan was imprisoned by the rebels and starved to death. Chen Baxian rose rapidly in this rebellion and gradually took control of the Southern Liang dynasty. In 557, Chen Baxian replaced Emperor Jing of Liang and established himself as emperor, establishing Southern Chen.
In 559, Chen Baxian died and was succeeded by his nephew Chen Xuan. After Chen Xuan's death, he passed the throne to his son Chen Bozong. Only three years later, in 568, Chen Huan mutinied and seized the throne from his nephew Chen Bozong in favor of Emperor Xuan of Chen and made his son Chen Shubao crown prince. In 582, Chen Huan died of illness, and Chen Shubao succeeded to the throne, and was known as The Lord of Chen Hou in history. In 589, Emperor Yang Jian of Sui attacked Southern Chen.
Third, Chen Hou lord Chen Shubao and his people
Lord Chen Hou was a famous king of the fallen kingdom in history. He abandoned the government, enjoyed extravagant pleasures, and indulged in beautiful songs such as "Flowers in the Backyard of the Jade Tree". He was cowardly and unashamed, had no ambition, and could not extricate himself from the love of men and women. All this is due to his character and related to his experience.
(1) Childhood hostage-taking
In 553, Chen Shubao was born in Jiangling, during the reign of Southern Liang. Due to the success of the suppression of Hou Jing's rebellion and the growing power of Chen Baxian, Emperor Yuan of Liang, in order to contain Chen Baxian, had all of his sons and nephews live in Jiangling, including Chen Huan and his wives and concubines, as well as the newborn Chen Shubao.
The following year, Western Wei invaded the south and captured Jiangling. Chen Huan was taken captive by the Wei army to Chang'an, and while still in his infancy, Chen Shubao, together with his mother Liu Shi and his brother Chen Shuling, were taken hostage and held in Yongcheng (穰城, in modern Deng County, Henan).
In 557, Chen Ba's ancestor Liang Jianchen. Until after Chen Xuan ascended the throne, he ordered people to send envoys to the Northern Dynasty, and in 562 they welcomed back Chen Huan, Chen Shubao, and his mother and brother. After 10 years of hostage life, Chen Shubao was able to return to the Southern Dynasty and end his childhood experience of wandering in a foreign land.
As a hostage, he stayed in the Northern Dynasty for ten years, although he did not suffer in life, his personal freedom was restricted, and he lived all day under the supervision of others in a situation of fear and fear, so Chen Shubao was cowardly and timid since childhood. Coupled with the separation from his father since childhood, it was his mother who raised him single-handedly, and he lacked fatherly love, so that he became an adult and became too dependent on women and lost the initiative of independent decision-making.
(2) Become a prince and indulge in poetry and wine singing and harmony
Since the return of the North to the South, Chen Hao gradually grasped the power of Southern Chen, and Chen Shubao became an important member of the imperial family. In 566, at the age of fourteen, Chen Shubao, the official general of Ningyuan, officially began his career.
In 568, Chen Yu deposed his nephew Chen Bozong and established himself as emperor, changing his name to Yuan Taijian. In 569, Chen Shubao was made crown prince. In 577, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace was completed, and Chen Shubao officially entered the Eastern Palace.
The unfortunate encounter of childhood caused Chen Shubao's cowardly character, and after returning to Southern Chen, he lived a life of pampering and pampering, which made Chen Shubao develop a bad habit of arrogance and lasciviousness. His father, Chen Yan, was worried about whether he would be able to take on great responsibilities in the future, so he invited Da Ru to teach Confucian classics.
However, Confucianism did not make Chen Shubao change his face, but instead made him acquainted with a large number of literary people who would only beat the horse. This group of Donggong literati gathered around Chen Shubao and became subordinates of the Eastern Palace. The main members of Chen Shubao's literati group included Jiang Zong, Yao Cha, Gu Yewang, Chu Jiu, Lu Yu, Xie Shen, and Chen Shuda, the King of Yiyang.
They held literary banquets all day long, and Chen Shubao was immersed in poetry and singing, and was intoxicated with drinking and frolicking.
(Chen Houzhuo and Zhang Lihua)
In this regard, his father Chen Yan was very angry, but Chen Shubao, who was extremely talented in literature, wrote a good article to flatter him every three to five minutes. In desperation, Chen Yan no longer interfered in their activities.
(3) He was assassinated by his brother and ascended the throne as emperor
Although Chen Shubao was the crown prince, he almost lost his life, and the throne was not easy to come by. His second brother, Chen Shuling, had a preconceived view of the throne and had long had the intention of usurping the throne, so he plotted to assassinate Chen Shubao.
In 582, The Chen Xuan Emperor Chen Huan became seriously ill, and the crown prince Chen Shubao served chen huan together with Chen Shuling the Prince of Sixing and Chen Shujian the King of Changsha. Chen Shuling secretly ordered the official in charge of decoction to prepare a sword and wait for the opportunity to assassinate Chen Shubao. After Chen Hao's death, when he was in a hurry, Chen Shuling ordered his attendants to go outside to get the sword, but the attendant did not understand his meaning, and took the wooden sword from the previous dynasty to Chen Shuling, and Chen Shuling was furious.
At this time, the crown prince Chen Shubao was crying in front of his father's coffin, and Chen Shuling took the opportunity to go forward and slash Chen Shubao with a file knife, hitting Chen Shubao's neck. People around them were horrified and rushed to the rescue. With the help of Empress Liu and her nursing mother Wu Shi, Chen Shubao escaped. Chen Shubao sent troops to attack Chen Shuling. Chen Shuling was defeated and killed, and his sons were given death. Chen Shubao succeeded to the throne as the lord of Chen Hou.
(Portrait of Chen Hou)
Fourth, the extravagant and mercurial life of Chen Hou lord and Zhang Lihua
Since Chen Shubao met Zhang Lihua, he has indulged in the gentle dreams of beautiful people, spending all day drinking, filling in spring lyrics and songs, and singing the sound of the subjugation of the country.
(1) Exclusive pet Zhang Lihua
Because he was injured by his second brother Chen Shuling, Chen Shubao recuperated at the Chengxiang Hall. At that time, no other concubines were allowed to enter, and only Zhang Lihua was alone in serving. Chen Shubao's mother, Empress Dowager Liu Jingyan, still lived in the Bailiang Hall (empress dowager). Empress Shen Wuhua never received the favor of Chen Shubao, and did not serve by the side, but only lived in the Qiuxian Hall.
The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei records:
After the Lord began to rebel against the Tomb of King Sixing, he was injured and lay down in the Chengxiang Hall. Shi Zhuji was not allowed to enter, but the noble concubines were servants. And Empress Liu lived in the Bailiang Hall, that is, the empress's main hall. And the empress is not favored by the queen lord, is not allowed to serve the sick, and does not live in the hall of meritocracy.
In the face of the stunning Zhang Lihua, Chen Shubao had no ability to resist at all. He favored Zhang Lihua alone, and not only ruthlessly alienated the upright and courageous wife Shen Wuhua, but also abandoned the government and forgot about Jiangshan Sheji. Nan Chen's mesmerizing voice and Zhang Lihua's charm occupied Chen Shubao's mind.
(2) Large-scale civil engineering, luxury play
After Chen Shubao ascended the throne, he felt that his residence was simple, so in front of the Guangzhao Hall, he built a large number of civil engineering and built the three pavilions of Linchun, Jieqi and Wangxian. The pavilion is tens of meters high, stretching dozens of rooms, tall and magnificent, the decoration is gorgeous and luxurious, the grandeur of poor civil engineering, and the kitsch of extreme artificiality. Window walls, walls, railings and the like are all made of sandalwood and decorated with gold and jade beads. Separated by a pearl curtain, there is a treasure bed tent inside. The costumes are rare and the utensils are magnificent, all of which have never been seen in ancient times. Your Excellency's stones are mountains, water diversion is ponds, and strange trees and flowers are planted. Whenever the breeze blows, the incense smells for tens of miles.
(Luxury Pavilion)
Chen Shubao lived in Linchun Pavilion, Zhang Guifei lived in Jieqi Pavilion, and Gong and Kong Ergui's concubines lived in Wangxian Pavilion, which had a complex road connection. There were also seven people, including Wang and Ji Ermei, Zhang and Xue Ershuyuan, Yuan Zhaoyi, He Jieyu, and Jiang Xiurong, all of whom were fortunate in their talents, took turns to summon luck, and played all day long.
In the second year of Zhide, in front of the Guangzhao Hall, the three pavilions of Linchun, Jieqi and Wangxian were raised, with dozens of high and dozens of rooms. Its window wall with overhanging railing sills and the like, all of which are made of heavy sandalwood, and are decorated with gold and jade, with pearls in between, beaded curtains on the outside, and treasure beds and treasure tents inside. Every breeze temporarily arrives, the incense smells for miles, the sun shines at the beginning, the light reflects the backyard... "The Biography of Chen Shu Zhang Guifei"
After recovering from his injuries, Chen Shubao coveted wine-colored pleasures, disregarded the simple customs of Southern Chen, and spent huge sums of money to build pavilions, not only to work for the people and hurt their wealth, but also to enjoy pleasure.
(3) Drinking and singing, drunkenly singing songs
Chen Shubao indulged in poetry and singing, and took the palace people who were familiar with literature as female bachelors, often summoned guests, feasted with concubines, and let concubines, female bachelors and foxes compose new poems and give each other answers. Then select the Chinese words are particularly gorgeous, as the lyrics, compose new music, and then select the beautiful palace women thousands of people, teach them to learn, and sing according to the music part group. Among them, the songs "Yushu Backyard Flower" and "Linchun Music" mostly praise the beauty of Zhang Lihua and Kong Guifei.
Later, whenever the Lord invited guests and noble concubines to feast, he made the nobles and female scholars and the foxes give new poems to each other, and gave each other answers, and took the tune of the particularly beautiful one and was given a new voice. The women who choose the palace women have the color of the thousands, teach the song, and the divisions are repeated. Its songs include "Yushu Backyard Flower", "Linchun Music" and so on... The big finger belongs to the beauty of Zhang Guifei and Kong Guifei. (The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei)
This "Yushu Backyard Flower" was originally a kind of love song in the folk song, Chen Shubao filled in new words, let the palace women sing, and the palace of the Chen Dynasty was full of melancholy sounds all day long. Yanqu flourished, while the Chen Dynasty declined.
(4) Beautiful people sit on their laps and decide on important matters together
Zhang Lihua not only looks like a heavenly immortal, but also has a very eloquent and strong memory. Beauty and talent. She was good at observing and co-opting people's hearts, and she could also have good relations with other concubines, and the people in the harem competed to talk about her benefits. Therefore, Lord Chen Hou was even more fond of Zhang Lihua.
Zhang Lihua is also proficient in witchcraft, and uses ghosts and gods to confuse Chen Shubao. In the palace, various absurd sacrifices were often carried out, and many witches were gathered to dance, so that Chen Shubao was slack in political affairs.
Chen Shubao ignored the government and politics, and for the officials' initiation, they had to submit instructions through the eunuchs Cai Lin'er and Li Shandu. Chen Shubao often sat on his back and let Zhang Lihua sit on his lap, and the two of them jointly decided on major events in the DPRK and China. What Cai Lin'er and Li Shandu could not remember, Zhang Lihua could remember and write into terms, leaving nothing out. Because of her participation in the investigation of affairs outside the palace, Zhang Lihua must have known and told Chen Shubao first, which was even more favored and crowned the harem.
The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei records:
Only to argue strongly, good to the main color, recommend the palace women, harem Xiandezhi. He also worked on the art of charm, and the false ghosts and gods deceived the Queen Lord, and placed obscenities in the palace, and gathered the witches to encourage them, so that the Queen Lord would be sluggish in political affairs.
Bai Si qi played, and because the eunuchs Cai Lin'er and Li Shandu entered the lords, leaned on the hidden bag, put Zhang Guifei on his lap, and decided on it. Li Cai could not be a reporter, and the noble concubines were sparse and left nothing behind. For when he visits foreign affairs, he will be a prophet. By being favored by Yi Jia, the crown is not in the backyard.
Lord Chen Hou was lazy to deal with political affairs and the people's sufferings, and even asked the ministers to submit the country to Zhang Lihua for review in advance, and after she read it, she would then tell herself. At that time, there was a rumor: "The small imperial court in Jiangdong did not know Chen Shubao, but knew that there was Zhang Lihua." ”
With Chen Shubao's acquiescence, Zhang Lihua's relatives and friends began to enter the imperial court to hold important positions, and the officials who raised objections were either deposed or deposed, and the imperial court became a miasma.
(5) Snubbing Empress Shen
Although Zhang Lihua was not an empress, she favored the harem and became the actual owner of the harem. For the sake of Zhang Lihua, Empress Dowager Chen later deposed Empress Shen's adopted son Chen Yin as crown prince and made Zhang Lihua's son Chen Shen crown prince instead.
Empress Shen was born into a famous family, was the daughter of Shen Junli, the marquis of Wangcai, and the granddaughter of Chen Baxian, the founding emperor of the Chen Dynasty.
Empress Chen favored Zhang Lihua and snubbed Empress Shen, rarely staying at Empress Shen's place.
Once, When Lord Chen Hou went to Empress Shen and sat for a while, he was ready to get up and leave, and when he saw that Empress Shen did not say anything to keep him, he made a poem about oil:
Leave no one behind, leave no one to go. There are no people left here, there is a place for people to stay.
After Empress Shen read it, she immediately replied:
Whoever does not remember each other's words will be ashamed to see it. Knowing that he would not live, he would teach the concubine to stay.
Empress Shen complained darkly about The Ruthlessness of Lord Chen Hou in the poem. Lord Chen Hou listened, ignored it, and whisked his sleeve away.
Lord Chen Hou's sentence "There is no one left here, there is a place to keep people" has become a popular saying in later generations, and even extended to "there is no grandfather here, there is a place to stay in the grandfather".
(6) Failure to comply with the law, impunity of rewards and punishments, or disorder of discipline
The family members of the harem, who have violated the law and discipline and violated the law and reason, as long as they ask Zhang Lihua to be gracious, Zhang Lihua will intercede with Chen Shubao. If the ministers did not obey, Zhang Lihua took the opportunity to frame them, so Zhang Lihua was full of power, internal and external clans, many people were appointed, and the ministers and rulers were also invincible. Eunuchs and flatterers colluded inside and outside, introduced each other, openly bribed, rewarded and punished impermanently, and the court law and discipline were all in disarray.
The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei records:
The harem house does not respect the law, and there are those who are reasonable, but they ask for sorrow for the noble concubines. The noble concubine ordered Li Cai to start his matter first, and then calmly speak up. There are ministers who do not obey, so they sneak in, and they listen to everything they say, so Zhang Zhi, smoke in all directions, internal and external clans, are often quoted, the ministers are in power, they are also popular, eunuchs are disciples, internal and external knots, turn to introduce, bribe public deeds, rewards and punishments are impermanent, and Discipline Gang is chaotic.
Obsessed with wine, drunk on beautiful songs, indulging in pleasure, not hearing about political affairs, discipline disorder, Nan Chen's life has come to an end.
5. Zhang Lihua was killed after the death of the state, and Chen Hou was captured and placed under house arrest
In 589, the year after Chen Shubao made Chen Shen crown prince, the Sui Dynasty army attacked Taicheng and directly guided the Chen capital Jiankang. Lord Chen Hou, who usually indulged in pleasure and did whatever he wanted, actually hid in the attic and cried in fright.
The capital was quickly breached, and the servant Yuan Xian said to Lord Chen Hou: "As a king, Your Majesty should sort out his clothes and go to the main hall to face the Sui army." In this way, even if you die, you have dignity. ”
How could the cowardly and timid Chen Shubao be willing to do this! He actually rushed to hide in the well with Zhang Lihua and Kong Guifei in an attempt to hide from the Sui army.
Soon, Sui Dynasty soldiers found them. Sui Jun peeked into the well and shouted loudly, but Chen Shubao and the others were too frightened to speak out. The Sui army threatened to fall into the well, and only then did they hear someone begging for forgiveness. So the Sui army threw down the rope to pull people up, and the Sui army felt very heavy and very surprised, and laboriously pulled the people up, only to see Chen Shubao, Zhang Guifei and Kong Guifei lying on a rope together.
(Rouge well where Chen Houzhuo and Zhang Lihua are hiding)
Zhang Lihua's beauty of the country and the city made Yang Guang, the king of Jin, see the color and prepare to be accepted as a concubine, and Chang Shi Gaojian advised: "In the past, the king of Wu destroyed the merchants and killed Daji, but now he has pacified Southern Chen, and Zhang Lihua cannot stay." Yang Guang had to order Zhang Lihua to be beheaded.
and the Sui army Ketai City, the noble concubines and the queen lord, all entered the well. The Sui army came out, and the King of Jin ordered the concubines to be beheaded and listed at the Qingxi Middle Bridge. "The Biography of Chen Shu and Zhang Guifei"
Southern Chen perished, and Chen Shubao became the king of the fallen country. Yang Guang sent him to Chang'an overnight.
Chen Shubao was placed under house arrest by emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty in Chang'an, and he sighed all day long. Yang Jian asked the reason, Chen Shubao actually replied: "The national destruction is not regretted, and the only beautiful person Lihua is in his arms." This means that as long as Zhang Lihua is there, it doesn't matter if the country is destroyed."
Because of her stunning beauty, Zhang Lihua became the "disaster water" of the subjugation of the country, in fact, it was Chen Shubao who destroyed the country. The beloved woman was beheaded, but Chen Shubao lived another 16 years in the Sui Dynasty. History has always been so harsh on women.
Chen Shubao grew up in the deep palace since childhood, did not know the difficulties of the harvest, indulged in luxury and pleasure, indulged in poetry, indulged in wine, trusted villains, abandoned the government, and deceived each other from top to bottom, resulting in disorder of discipline and rebellion. As Wei Zheng commented on Chen Hou lord, he said:
Only the love of literature and wine, nicknames near the group small, are entrusted to the axis of balance... The political punishment is chaotic, the corpses are in full swing, the famine is the drink of the long night, the sins of the same wife are spoiled, the perilous and the dead are sympathetic, the people are confused, the people are rebellious and separated, they are not lonely, they throw themselves into the well, they hope to survive, they regard it as a way to seek perfection, or they are "minsi".
When the crisis came, the king hid in the well with his concubines, hoping to sneak up on life, that is, ordinary people, such a cowardly act, I am afraid that it will also be laughed at, right?
Zhang Lihua is just a woman from an ordinary family, she does not have any concept of Jiangshan Sheji, she just wants to live a good life, get the favor of glory and wealth and Chen Shubao. She also has no right to decide and change anything. Therefore, she pleased Chen Shubao everywhere and helped her relatives and friends to a high position. The guilt of the subjugation of the country was borne on her, and it was too harsh.