A clear spring reflects the past and present - the troubled life of Li Qingzhao, the most talented woman of all time

History is sometimes so profound, tortuous, and repetitive. Even if we are separated by hundreds of years, we can still meet in a certain space and be connected by the same fate, as if we have been similar before.

Li Yu, a generation of Ci Emperor and later master of the Southern Tang Dynasty, enjoyed the blooming flowers and misty rain in Jinling, but left behind in Bianliang the eternal sorrow of "just like a river of spring water flowing eastward"; Li Qingzhao, after a generation of poets, was the most talented woman in the history. She was famous in Bianliang, and her talents were unparalleled in the world. However, in Jinling, she wrote the endless love story of "searching and searching, deserted and lonely, miserable and miserable".

Time is stagnant and space is condensed. Perhaps, in a corner of the vast sky, Ci Emperor Ci is admiring flowers and drinking tea, chanting to the wind to the moon. Or perhaps she is listening to the past, which is like smoke. Like chrysanthemum, like water's voice.

I often remember that the sun is setting in the creek pavilion, and I am so drunk that I don’t know my way back. Returning to the boat late after all the fun, I strayed into the depths of lotus flowers. Fighting for the crossing, fighting for the crossing, startling a pool of gulls and herons.

Many people got to know Li Qingzhao from this little poem full of rural life.

Li Qingzhao, named Yi'an Jushi, was born in 1084 in Mingshui Town, Zhangqiu, Shandong (now Jinan). His father, Li Gefei, served in the imperial court, and his mother, Wang, passed away half a year after Li Qingzhao was born with infinite reluctance and attachment to her. Soon after, Li Gefei married another Wang family, Wang Gongchen's granddaughter. Fortunately, his stepmother Wang also fulfilled her duty and loved Li Qingzhao very much. Under the care of his biological father and stepmother, Li Qingzhao grew up slowly, like a jade in the palm of his hand, crystal clear and exuding a warm luster.

Jinan is known as the City of Springs, with clear water, clear, soft and leisurely. For Li Qingzhao, Mingshui Town was a place for her to entertain herself. The water-like countryside has created a water-like softness and purity. Coupled with Li Gefei's intentional and unintentional cultivation and influence, Li Qingzhao in his childhood was beyond ordinary children and loved literature and poetry.

In 1089 AD, Li Qingzhao moved to Bianliang with his parents. The wealth, prosperity and bustle of the capital greatly broadened her horizons, and she absorbed the gift of time in a quiet place. A few years later, a child who was rowing a boat on the open water has grown into a girl as graceful as a spring flower. As the girl begins to grow up, the ripples in her heart begin to ripple. The pure playfulness of the past has turned into the spring flowers and autumn moon of a girl, with a trace of tenderness.

She (they) are destined to be in pairs. Marriage will happen to you inadvertently when you admire spring and autumn.

That year, she was eighteen, as tender as water, with the breeze blowing on her face, and as beautiful as the morning glow; that year, he was twenty-one, graceful, upright, and full of poems and books. Meeting the right person at the right time, at the right place, what more could you want in life. That night, the candlelight was swaying and the trees were heavily shadowed. The moment she lifted the hijab and their eyes met, she was sure that he was the person she had longed for, and he also saw clearly that she was the person he loved in his heart.

That day, Li Qingzhao married Zhao Mingcheng. At that time, she (they) were in the prime of their youth, and their union was as transparent and clear as rain and dew. Love, in the deepest part of their hearts, was lush and lush.

She (they) follow each other like a shadow. She (he) is sure that the other person is the beauty she has cultivated for a hundred years, the most beautiful flower and the brightest moon in the rest of her life.

The tranquility of the years is often short-lived, and the beautiful moment is often followed by the brewing of pain.

Song Huizong, an emperor with profound attainments in poetry, calligraphy and painting in the history of Chinese literature and art, was more than chaotic politically and lacked clarity, just like his thin gold body, as beautiful as a bamboo, but why The pride, courage and universal ambition of the emperor cannot be found.

The old and new parties compete for power in the government, influence the government, and are in conflict with each other. Li Qingzhao's father, Li Gefei, and Zhao Mingcheng's father, Zhao Tingzhi, both passed away amid the disputes between the government and the opposition.

At this time, the prosperity of the capital city is just noisy to them, and it is no longer the warm home. Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng, who had experienced the harshness of the world and the pain of separation, returned to their old home in Qingzhou.

Qingzhou is no better than the capital city, but it is more elegant and tranquil, indifferent and transcendent. The study is called "Gui Laitang" and the bedroom is called "Yi Anshi". Li Qingzhao and his wife returned to their previous leisurely life of drinking, gambling, writing poems, and collecting ancient and modern things. In the chat, you can find a pure land; in the fun, you can enjoy the nourishment of love.

The grass is so green, the flowers are endless red, the wine is the drunkenness of infatuation, and people are a different kind of red. The hearts are closer and the love is deeper. Li Qingzhao once again found the beauty and fragrance in his dream in Qingzhou. She thought: Living a life with him, with poetry, and with gold and stone, in such an ordinary way, is also the beauty of life.

From the age of twenty-four to thirty-eight, Li Qingzhao spent the best years of his life in Qingzhou. Qingzhou is the paradise in her heart, the most beautiful place in life. The manuscript of "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone" was also compiled here. It was their joint effort and a testimony of love.

As far as Li Qingzhao is concerned, everything is content with him. For Zhao Mingcheng, in his forties, he still wanted to display his talents in the court and obtain higher value. Qingzhou was too deserted after all.

Finally, with a transfer order, as he wished, Zhao Mingcheng took office in Laizhou. But he didn't know whether it was the long-term stay together or the coldness of Qingzhou that made him lose his original love. When he left, he didn't take Li Qingzhao, who regarded him as the only one, with him, and went to Laizhou without even a decent goodbye.

Li Qingzhao felt deeply sad. After he was gone, Qingzhou was no longer the same Qingzhou, leaving only helplessness and sorrow. A few months later, Li Qingzhao came to Laizhou, and what he saw and heard made him feel even more lonely. Zhao Mingcheng often appears in the land of singing and dancing birds, where he is full of romance and laughter.

He is no longer the person she thought about day and night, no longer the handsome and upright young man. There was an indescribable rift between hearts. Appreciating, reading, and amusing can only be an occasional beautiful picture, a luxury. Laizhou under the dim light of the green smoke is so desolate, lonely and chilly.

In 1124 AD, with another transfer order, Li Qingzhao followed Zhao Mingcheng to Zizhou again. Zizhou comforted Li Qingzhao's hurt heart a little, and they returned to focusing on the research and textual research of old books, ancient books, and epigraphy, but there was a lot less laughter. Perhaps, in Laizhou and Zizhou, Li Qingzhao would often think of her beloved Qingzhou, and tears would often blur her eyes.

After the flowers bloom, they will wither, and after the calm, there will be another period of ups and downs. In the turmoil and strife, beauty can only be a momentary fireworks, and after the brilliance, it is misty dust.

In 1125, the Jin soldiers’ cavalry destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty’s border defenses.

In 1126, the capital Bianliang fell.

In 1127, Emperors Hui and Qin were captured, which was known as the "Shame of Jingkang" in history.

It was the season when the grass was growing and the warblers were singing and the catkins were flying, but the air was filled with helpless cries and the clatter of cavalry. The spring flowers are no longer red, the spring rain is no longer soft, and that spring is even more sad and desolate than autumn. At that time, Zhao Mingcheng's mother died. Zhao Mingcheng, who had lost his soul, left alone again, leaving Li Qingzhao to handle his affairs.

Thick smoke billowed, loud hissing, ruins and withered walls everywhere. Along the way, Li Qingzhao saw too many tears and too many displacements, but she was also one of them, heading south to find a glimmer of hope.

In 1128, Li Qingzhao came to Jiangning with a large number of ancient books, calligraphy, paintings, and epigraphy. The moment they met, the couple burst into tears and were speechless. Li Qingming understood that he could never go back to Mingshui, Bianliang, and Qingzhou. He could only see the great rivers and mountains of his motherland in his dreams.

Jiangning became her new place of residence. In the south of the Yangtze River, there are small bridges, flowing water, and faint bluestones, but in Li Qingzhao's eyes at this moment, they are also colorless and have no poetic feeling. The streets and alleys were filled with victims who had fled their homes, and resentment and cries filled every corner of Jiangning.

At that time, Li Qingzhao must have thought of Empress Li in his heart. The encounter between Empress Ci and Empress Ci, in Jinling, where singing and dancing once flourished, did not have the poetic fragrance of flowers, and was all "the sadness of spring water in a river". ”, “Think deeply in the courtyard”.

The ups and downs of history continue. As Zhao Mingcheng, who was responsible for defending the city of Jiangning, he neither had the uprightness to take on the responsibility nor the courage to go down in history. When the rebels in Jiangning rebelled, he actually abandoned the city and fled. He violated the scholar's integrity and failed the people's expectations, which became an indelible stain in his thousands of years of history and a failure in his life that cannot be covered up.

As a poet and a woman, Li Qingzhao wrote ardently and shouted for the country and her family. However, she never expected that the man she loved all her life did not have the courage to straighten her spine and abandoned her. The city is confused and has lost its righteousness.

Li Qingzhao cared about the country and the people, and was the most talented in the world. However, at that time, there was no room for a woman to exert political power in the country. She could not go to court or participate in decision-making. She could only warn the world through her poems. She knew that Zhao Gou was not a wise king, but she could only place her hope in him, hoping that one day he would be able to work hard, march north, clean up the old mountains and rivers, and return to his old capital.

In 1129, Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng went west to Chiyang. On the way, they passed by the Wujiang River and left a cry of grief and indignation, "I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the east of the Yangtze River", which became an eternal masterpiece.

Life has been full of ups and downs. You have been riddled with wounds and your body and mind are haggard. But before one wave disappears, another, bigger wave pounces on you mercilessly. As soon as he arrived in Chiyang, another appointment from the imperial court came, ordering Zhao Mingcheng to serve in Huzhou. Zhao Mingcheng didn't even look back, and galloped towards the east. She understood that he wanted to wash away his shame and make contributions to the country.

It’s just that this walk was too hasty, and in Chizhou, only Li Qingzhao’s lonely back was left. Day after day, I finally waited for his letter. She eagerly opened Zhao Mingcheng's letter, but what she got was that he was infected and told her to go to Jiankang as soon as possible. When he saw the emaciated and dying Zhao Mingcheng in Jiankang, Li Qingzhao burst into tears and was heartbroken.

On August 18, Zhao Mingcheng passed away. He left, leaving her alone. The phoenix crown and beautiful woman in the past, the tall and handsome man, did not lead to a lifelong companionship. Even though Zhao Mingcheng had her sorrows and hatreds, he was her husband after all, the love of her life. From then on, no one held an umbrella for her to protect her from the sun, wind and rain. This departure is the time when the world and the underworld will never meet again; this farewell is too painful and too cruel; this passing, the rivers and mountains have not been recovered, and the soul cannot return to its hometown, as well as her (their) "Golden Stone" "Record", there is no final draft...

There are too many words that I haven't had time to say, and there are too many beautiful things in life that I haven't had time to savor... .

Jiankang, once a city of boundless splendor, was an extremely sad place for Li Qingzhao. Moreover, Jiankang was no longer healthy. She had no choice but to continue southward, dragging her scarred heart with her, to Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. After all, there is still an emperor there, and even if the light is dim, there is still a little bit of light.

The ruthlessness of reality does not stop there, the rustling autumn wind is still beating the dead branches and leaves.

In Lin'an, Li Qingzhao met Zhang Ruzhou. Zhang Ruzhou has low moral character and is extremely dirty. At the poetry conference in Bianliang that year, because he could not pursue Li Qingzhao, he humiliated Li Qingzhao by saying that "it is unethical for a woman to show up in public". Lin'an is a city far away from her hometown. At this time, Li Qingzhao really needs someone's company to resolve the pain in her heart. After all, she is just a weak woman.

Under Zhang Ruzhou's constant coaxing and his younger brother Li Hao's repeated persuasion, Li Qingzhao got on the red sedan chair and married Zhang Ruzhou. Not long after her marriage, Zhang Ruzhou not only robbed her of her money, cultural relics and ancient books, but also abused her many times and punched her. How could a talented woman, a poet, and a physically and mentally damaged Li Qingzhao endure such pain again? In desperation, he sued Zhang Ruzhou and won the lawsuit, but he himself was imprisoned for it.

This emotional dedication when she was scarred completely extinguished the last spark in Li Qingzhao's heart and ended her last thoughts about love.

She cried bitterly while holding the "Jinshilu" written by Zhao Mingcheng. Time is still passing, flowers are blooming and falling, spring is passing and autumn is coming, the trajectory of life is limited, and she does not have much time to lament and mourn. Li Qingzhao sorted out his chaotic mood, thinking about bits and pieces of the past, looking at the manuscript of "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone", and thinking of her Zhao Mingcheng, who still had unfulfilled wishes. She lit the lights at night again and worked day and night to check the manuscript of "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone". The fragrance of ink overflowed and the room was filled with fragrance.

In 1134 AD, Li Qingzhao exhausted her lifelong affection and wrote the follow-up to "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone", leaving another affectionate masterpiece for future generations, which will be praised by future generations and will be remembered forever.

In 1156 AD, Li Qingzhao, who was seventy-three years old, passed away with infinite longing for his relatives and homeland. A talented woman of a generation, Jushi Yi An, finally ended her tortuous, ups and downs, sad life that made people cry.

From then on, she was no longer sad or miserable. On the other side of the world, there was a garden full of spring and fragrant flowers. There was no sorrow, no smoke of war, no country broken. There was only clear water, bright moon, poetry, gold and stone, and the lingering mountains. Chrysanthemums in autumn, plum blossoms in proud snow, a group of startled gulls and herons.

Yang Shen's "Ci Pin" of the Ming Dynasty said, "Yi An is also known as Guan Jue among the people of the Song Dynasty. He should compete with Qin Qi (Qin Guan) and Huang Jiu (Huang Tingjian), not alone. He is more powerful than the boudoir."

Shen Qian of the Qing Dynasty once commented, "Li Houzhu among men, and Li Yian among women, are extremely worthy of their true qualities."

In 1987, the International Astronomical Union named a crater on Mercury after Li Qingzhao.

Looking back on Li Qingzhao’s life, I couldn’t calm down for a long time and was very sentimental. The innocence of childhood, the worries of girls, the clear love, and the feelings of the motherland. The world is impermanent, and love, hate, and separation have accompanied her throughout her life. He loves plum blossoms, which have a delicate fragrance and are indifferent. They stand proudly in the snow. They bloom in the cold winter and are fragrant alone. However, they have to experience the biting cold winter, and the plum blossoms have a delicate fragrance and are lonely.

In the early stage, Li Qingzhao's poems were clear, elegant, delicate and gentle, mostly about lamenting the spring and cherishing the autumn, and living in the boudoir. In the later period, he was desolate and sad, and mostly wrote about parting and thoughts about his homeland. A woman who thought deeply about the country's honor, disgrace, future and future. Her character was very noble. Her influence on later generations of Chinese literary scholars was huge. She was known as the "Queen of Ci", "The Master of Ci" and "the most talented woman throughout the ages". .

She is gone, but she is always there, just like the Mercury in the deep sky, eternal, bright and dazzling. The poems she left behind, with their fragrant literati feelings, are like a clear spring of bright water, clear and translucent, reflecting the ancient and modern you and me...