In 1909, during his travels to the mainland, Kokirov of Russia stumbled upon a woodblock engraving in an ancient pagoda in the ruins of the former Heishui City in Xixia in Heicheng Town, Ejina Banner, Gansu Province, and brought it back to Russia without permission. This picture, as the earliest woodblock New Year picture seen so far, is used to be posted in the halls of houses during the Spring Festival.
Judging from the words "Pingyang Jijia carving" on the engraving, this painting was printed in Pingyang (now Linfen) during the Song and Jin dynasties, and later spread to the Western Xia Kingdom at that time. And the most memorable thing is undoubtedly its name and content. This engraving is called "The Slender Faces of the Sui Dynasty", which depicts four fair ladies, so it is also called "Four Beauties". Scholars believe that these four women are the four beauties in the minds of people in the Song and Jin dynasties.
When it comes to the four beauties of ancient times, we usually think of Xi Shi, Diao Chan, Wang Zhaojun and Yang Guifei, which is a definitive theory formed during the Qing Dynasty. Hua Guangsheng of the Qing Dynasty in his book "The Last Voice of White Snow" selected four people: Shen Yu, Luo Geese, Closed Moon, and Shy Flowers, thus determining the status of the four beauties.
However, in ancient times, the version of the Four Beauties was not the only one. For example, Daji, the king of chaos, and the affectionate green bead, have all been selected. The four beauties depicted in this painting "The Grace of the Sui Dynasty Presents the Grace of the Country" are: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and Lu Zhu.
Needless to say, Wang Zhaojun has appeared in almost all versions of the four beauties and has been widely recognized.
And green beads may not be familiar to many people. She was the favorite concubine of the wealthy Shi Chong in the Western Jin Dynasty, and because of her beauty, the "Twenty-four Friends of the Golden Valley", who had a close relationship with Shi Chong, seemed to be lost every time they saw her. Through the promotion of the "Twenty-four Friends of the Golden Valley", a famous literati society, Luzhu became famous, but at the same time, it also brought her misfortune.
At that time, there was a person named Sun Xiu, who had long coveted the beauty of green beads, and of course he was rejected when he asked Shi Chong for it. As a result, Sun Xiu instigated Sima Lun, the king of Zhao, to kill Shi Chong in an attempt to possess the green pearl. When the soldiers came to arrest her, Lu Zhu jumped from the Chongqi Tower built for her by Shi Chong, showing her noble and unyielding heart.
Today, the painting is treasured in the Alexander III Museum in Russia, and Chinese experts can only enjoy it in other countries. When they saw the names of Zhao Feiyan and Ban Ji, experts couldn't help but joke: Emperor Cheng of Han, a mediocre and incompetent monarch, although he did nothing when he was in power, and his power was held by Wang's relatives, which laid the foundation for Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty, but his blessing was really not small, and two of the four beauties were his concubines.
Zhao Feiyan is very famous, and people often use "Huan Fei Yan Thin" to describe the unique beauty and charm of different women. Among them, "Huan" refers to Yang Yuhuan, and "Yan" refers to Zhao Feiyan. In ancient times, Yang Yuhuan's reputation was not even as good as Zhao Feiyan's. Legend has it that Zhao Feiyan can dance in the palm of her hand, and can even be blown away by the wind. Although these stories are legendary, they can also make people imagine what she was like back then.
However, because Zhao Feiyan and her sister Zhao Hede confused Emperor Han Cheng, which eventually led to the sudden death of Emperor Han Cheng and the decline of the Han Dynasty, the evaluation of Zhao Feiyan in the history books is not high. In fact, she is just a woman, but because of the prejudice of "red face and trouble", she was pushed to the forefront of public opinion by Confucian scholars.
As for Ban Ji, she also has a lot of fame. She is Ban Jieyu, the concubine of Emperor Liu Biao of the Han Dynasty, and was born in a scholarly family. Later, Ban Chao, Ban Gu, Ban Zhao and others had to call her grandaunt. Before Zhao Feiyan entered the palace, Ban Jieyu was the most favored concubine of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. She has good manners, can write poetry, and is a beautiful scenery in the Han Palace.
However, after Zhao Feiyan entered the palace, Ban Jieyu was almost framed to death. In order to avoid disaster, she had to choose to withdraw from the battle in the palace and expressed to Emperor Han Cheng that she was willing to retire to the palace of the Queen Mother to serve the Queen Mother.
This New Year's painting of the Song and Jin dynasties, with four graceful women on it, shows us the customs of the year. Among the four beauties, two of them are the concubines of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, no wonder experts laugh at him and call him really blessed.