Speaking of ancient classic novels, the most unique is "Liaozhai Zhiyi", which is the heirloom of Mr. Pu Songling in the Qing Dynasty.
The so-called "Liaozhai" refers to the bookhouse where Mr. Pu Songling lived when he wrote, "Zhi" is an ancient style, and "different" refers to various bizarre stories. "Liaozhai Zhiyi" covers a very wide range, the content is very rich, and there are extraordinary artistic achievements. We know that there are many touching and profound love stories in "Chatting with Zhiyi".
But what is less known is that this work is actually a "love letter" given to his lover by Mr. Pu Songling. So, who is Mr. Pu Songling's lover? Why is this love affair so little known?
In fact, what made him fall in love was Gu Qingxia, a concubine of his friend's family. However, after all, Gu was already married as a wife, and as a reader, how could Pu Songling risk the world's great disobedience and have any thoughts about his friend's concubine? In fact, in the historical data, there is hidden this poignant love that is not known.
Sun Hui is both Pu Songling's friend and Pu Songling's fellow countryman. In the tenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Sun Hui was serving as a county magistrate in Baoying County, and Pu Songling was invited to his friend's Yamen as a guest of honor. Sun Hui had a small concubine named Gu Qingxia. This woman is not only good at singing and dancing, but also proficient in poetry and painting. When Sun Hui socializes with friends, she often takes Care with her. It was also during this period that Gu Qingxia entered Pu Songling's heart.
In the year the two first met, Pu Songling wrote at least four poems for Gu Qingxia. From these four poems alone, we can see that Pu Songling has a deep affection. "For the selection of a hundred poems, each with a tone of musk orchid." In the verse, Pu Songling refers to his lover as "Ke'er". The word "Ke'er" refers to people who feel satisfied and satisfied. In "Listening to Qingxia's Poetry", Pu Songling directly expressed his love:
"Like a March willow, fight wine and listen to yellow orioles."
From these verses, we can see that Pu Songling has listened to his lover's poems many times, and he knows exactly which poems his lover likes. As the saying goes, "The meaning of a drunkard is not to drink", the reason why Pu Songling listens to Gu Yinshi is only because he likes Gu too much, but because of the face of his friends and the worldly etiquette, he can only approach Gu by listening to his lover's poetry.
As a party, what role did Sun Hui play in this deformed love?
Through the records of historical materials, it can be seen that this person is very charming, a typical playboy, surrounded by a group of large and small wives, but Sun Hui is still not satisfied, still often patronizes the place of the wind and moon, and drills into the pile of women every day. In fact, being Sun Hui's concubine is a very painful thing, just like Pu Songling said in "Rewarding Sun Shubai":
"The leaky board is still faintly at night, where is Tan Lang drunk Yao Sheng?"
In fact, this poem is to describe Gu's heart from the side. To put it bluntly, no matter how high Gu's heart is, she is only a little woman living in ancient times after all, she desperately hopes to get more love and more warmth from her husband, but unfortunately Sun Hui did not make any response.
In Sun Hui's heart, no matter how beautiful and different Gu is, her identity is only a nameless concubine after all. Sun Hui has too many warblers and swallows around her, and he can not only be in the brothel with a group of prostitutes, but also have a deep affection with other wives and concubines at home, and he can also talk to the maids at home.
Sun Hui has been affectionate all her life, staying around, and as a woman, Gu can only wait for her husband to return in an empty boudoir, which is tantamount to being a widow. There are too many women around Sun Hui, and they will inevitably fall over each other and compete for the wind and jealousy. In Pu Songling's poems, we can often see the situation of Sun Hui's family "fire in the backyard", "erection room, open bottle drink is not painful." As long as Sun Hui glanced at other women more, the female relatives in Sun Hui's family would compete for the wind and jealousy, making everyone in the family banquet sullen and unhappy. Gu, who is already sensitive in character, is in such a pile of women, so pitiful and helpless.
Looking at the love between ancient literati and talented women, there are many "spiritual loves" like Pu Songling and Gu, but it is rare for these two people to hide their hearts but show strong feelings. In "Lian Cheng", "Eunuch", "The Girl in Green", "Lian Zou", "Lin Si niang", "Bai Qiu Lian", "Fox Harmony" and other famous articles, we can see Gu's shadow. It can be seen that Gu has a very high status in Pu Songling's mind, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Gu Qingxia contributed to the publication of "Liaozhai Zhiyi".
Pu Songling watched as her beloved woman was not valued and was not loved by her husband. Pu Songling was extremely worried in his heart, but he couldn't directly stand up and take care of Gu, after all, "Luo Shi has his own husband." Gu Qingxia walked into Pu Songling's heart, but Pu Songling could only bury this relationship deeply. Sometimes, Pu Songling, who is deeply in love, cannot express his love and can only express this feeling in words.
In "Chatting with Zai Zhiyi", why are there so many love stories?
Perhaps only the love in the book can give Pu Songling spiritual sustenance, and "Lian Cheng" is a typical example. In this story, the love between the hero and heroine is exactly like the love between Pu Songling and Gu. The male protagonist Qiao Sheng wrote a love poem to Lian Cheng: "Stabbing the Mandarin Duck's soul is broken, and secretly stopping the needle and thread to break the double moth." This love poem can be said to play a role in matchmaking between the love story between the hero and heroine.
It is worth mentioning that this poem is not the first in the novel, but is quoted from Pu Songling's group poem "Girl's Love Presents To Sun Zhi". When Pu Songling quoted this poem, it was untouched, which is enough to show that the prototype of Lian Cheng in the novel is Gu Qingxia. In addition, the identity of the hero of the story is also very worthy of scrutiny. Qiao Sheng is not a dignitary official, let alone a prince, but a poor and sour student who is sloppy and depressed, and his identity is the same as That of Pu Songling.
Speaking of "Liaozhai Zhiyi", the most poetic story is "Eunuch". In this story, the female ghost falls in love with the human student, and the two fall in love and cannot extricate themselves, but they cannot stay together for life. In order to be together, the man and woman meet in the afterlife. Obviously, this story is exactly in response to Pu Songling's sentiment of "the leftover powder in the swallow building, the incense soul hanging under the peony pavilion", and it is also an extension of Pu Songling's feelings for his lover in the work.
In this novel, the "Words of Cherishing Yu Chun" written by the female ghost eunuch runs through the entire story. In fact, this poem is also copied from Pu Songling's original poem:
"Because of hatred, I turn my mind to thought, and every day I turn my feelings upside down."
Begonias are drunk, willows are hurting spring, and the same is the general embrace.
Even the old sorrows are like grass.
Parting from it, only in the day of the day, the degree will be dawned.
Today, I have broken the Spring Mountain, looking through the autumn water, and the road has been abandoned.
Fang Yu is jealous of dreams, jade leaks are terrified, how can you sleep well?
Talking about a long night is like a year, nong looks at a year, more than less.
After three years, it has been three years, and who is not old? ”
Now it seems that when writing this poem, Pu Songling's mentality is the same as that of the heroine in the story, they can't let go of their attachment to their lovers, and can only put all their feelings into ink, which leaves this touching and profound love poem.
Like the eunuchs, Lian Zhuo and Lin Siniang are outstanding female ghosts, and the woman in green in another story is also a female demon who is good at chanting poems. From these female characters, we can easily find Gu's shadow. When Pu Songling describes these women, he always thinks of Gu Qingxia's voice and smile involuntarily. Among all the heroines of "Liaozhai Zhiyi", the female ghost LianZhuo is probably the closest to Gu.
The lianzhu in the story uses Juanxiu's font to copy the palace words, and uses a gentle voice to whisper Tang poems, which is simply a copy of Gu Qingxia! What is even more ingenious is that in addition to the male protagonist Chen Baokey in "Lin Siniang" is a real historical figure, the objects of other female ghosts' favorites are all shabby scholars with four walls of family disciples without exception. Obviously, Pu Songling felt empathy when writing these books, and he wanted to write his life situation and emotional experience into the book in this way. It can be said that Mr. Pu Songling used one vivid story image after another to deform his lover in reality, so that he and Gu Qingxia eventually became dependents in the book.
In the story of "Fox Harmony", Pu Songling points the finger at his good friend, that is, the county commander Sun Hui, who makes Gu lifeless. In this story, there is such a bridge, that is, a sharp-toothed fox girl fights with several students, the fox girl's conversation is very humorous, and this dialogue is described by Pu Songling as interesting. The fox girl's lover is named Wanfu, and the novel villain Sun Deyan proposes an upper link at the end of the story: "The prostitute goes out to visit the lover, and when he comes, he is blessed when he goes." The fox girl moved her mind and casually chanted a wonderful link: "The Dragon King asks for direct advice, and the turtle must also speak to the turtle." From this story, we can see that Pu Songling must not only love the people who dare not love in reality in his works, but also scold the people who dare not scold in his works. Obviously, Gu Qingxia's life situation created "Liaozhai Zhiyi", and the widowed Sun Hui also indirectly influenced the direction of many stories.
After re-reading "Chatting with Zai Zhiyi", the author couldn't help but have such a question. What is true love? Is it the platonic love that the world reveres?
Indeed, this kind of love comes from the heart, which is the truest expression of human feelings. Pu Songling regards this spiritual love as a secret and buries it in his heart, but it is expressed through endless imagination and through the characters of the novel. Perhaps, "Liaozhai Zhiyi" is such a special love letter, which is Pu Songling's love for a talented girl in Jiangnan left by Pu Songling for a lifetime. From these bizarre passages, what we read is the alternative romance of the ancient literati.
Resources:
【"Liaozhai Zhiyi", "Pu Songling wrote Liaozhai Zhiyi New Solution"】