Chapter 2 Qinhuai Five Classical Poems
Seeing the beauty in ancient costume in front of him, Li Xiangping smiled.
"Hello."
Li Xiangping was chatting and socializing with the ancient costume beauty in front of him, while observing her with the eyes of an experienced driver. He was observing and sighing in his heart, thinking that it is really not easy to do any job these days, even the entertainment industry that does not require the most technical skills is like this. Look at the lady or mother in front of him, it is so hot in this hot day, and she is wearing an ancient costume, isn't it hot?
But it's true, hundreds of years ago, a senior veteran, when evaluating Gu Hengbo, who was said to be the most beautiful of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, called her "dignified, beautiful and elegant, with outstanding demeanor, hair like clouds, a face full of peach blossoms, a slim figure and a slender waist." If this is translated into modern Chinese, it clearly means a long-haired beauty with an angelic face and a devilish figure. To use a more vulgar description, this is called a woman with fair skin, long legs and a flirtatious personality. And the girl in front of him, in the eyes of an old veteran like Li Xiangping, obviously meets this standard.
Thinking of this, Li Xiangping glanced at Zhao Daokai and thought to himself, it's true, this childhood friend and best friend really put a lot of thought and money into entertaining him this time.
Thinking that today was not the ordinary routine of Heaven on Earth, Li Xiangping had to change his routine at this moment. He pretended to be gentle and elegant, and said to the ancient costume beauty in front of him in what he thought was the most polite voice:
"Excuse me, what's your name, beautiful lady?"
"Just ask me to embroider the zither, sir."
Li Xiangping was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Xiuqin? The beauty is actually called Xiuqin! Haha, what a coincidence, the legendary Qinhuai Five Wonders, since the beauty is called Xiuqin, then she must be able to play Go?"
The beautiful woman in ancient costume pretended to be surprised: "How did you know, sir?"
This game was arranged by Zhao Daokai. He actually knew that this beautiful woman knew a little bit of Go. At this time, he was only interested in another statement made by Li Xiangping:
"The Five Beauties of Qinhuai? I mean, Xiangping, I've only heard of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. When did the Five Beauties of Qinhuai appear?"
Since there was a beauty by his side, Li Xiangping certainly didn't want to miss the opportunity to show off. He talked to Zhao Daokai half showing off and half popularizing science:
"From the late Ming Dynasty to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the brothel culture on the banks of the Qinhuai River was quite developed. During this period, there were quite a lot of famous prostitutes. There are as many as 121 people whose names can be verified in the literature, which is more than the number of famous prostitutes in all dynasties. For example, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, who are familiar to everyone, are the leading ladies in this group of famous prostitutes. Now when we talk about the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, they seem to be very familiar to us, but Dao Kai, you may not know that this title did not originate from the late Ming Dynasty, but was born in the late Qing Dynasty. It was during the Xianfeng period that a Jinshi named Ye Yanlan wrote a book called "Illustrated Poems of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai", which accidentally made the IP of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai popular."
"Oh? So that's how it is. Then where did the Qinhuai Five Wonders that you mentioned come from?"
Li Xiangping pressed his hands and made a gesture to Zhao Daokai, saying, "Please be patient and listen to me first." Then he continued:
"If the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai is considered an IP, then the Five Wonders of Qinhuai is another IP. This IP was also born in the Qing Dynasty..." At this point, Li Xiangping smiled at Zhao Daokai:
"Speaking of which, this IP is related to your Zhao family. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, your Zhao family had a straight man named Zhao Nian. When he was young, he often lingered in the Qinhuai Waterside Pavilion and met countless women. In his later years, he wrote a book called "Miscellaneous Notes of the Later Banqiao". The title is very elegant, and most people think it was written by Zheng Banqiao. In fact, it is not. This book was actually written by the straight man in your Zhao family who recalled his experiences in the Qinhuai brothel in his early years. Well, if this book is translated into today's vernacular, it may be called "Memoirs of an Old Driver"."
When he said this, Li Xiangping himself laughed, and Zhao Daokai and the beautiful woman in ancient costume named Xiuqin also laughed.
Li Xiangping continued:
"It was in this book that the straight man from your Zhao family first proposed the IP of 'Qinhuai Five Beauties'. Although this IP is not as famous as the Qinhuai Eight Beauties, it is generally recognized as more authoritative. It's just that due to some other reasons, this IP is not well known."
"oh?"
Zhao Daokai became interested after hearing this: "Since you said it is more authoritative, then why don't so many people know about it? By the way, who are these 'Five Wonders of Qinhuai'?"
Li Xiangping smiled slightly: "Why do you say that the Five Wonders of Qinhuai are more authoritative than the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai? Well, we can only talk about who these 'Five Wonders' are. Let me tell you this, compared with the Eight Beauties, the Five Wonders have some overlaps and some differences. For example, among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai that everyone often talks about, Daokai, do you know who is the recognized leader of the Eight Beauties?"
Such a question certainly wouldn't stump a playboy like Zhao Daokai:
"Well, now everyone seems to be used to putting Ma Xianglan first."
Li Xiangping nodded:
"'Among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, Xianglan ranks first'. There should be no problem with this ranking. Although some people in later generations ranked Liu Rushi first, it seems that ranking Ma Xianglan first is more recognized by everyone."
The reason why Ma Xianglan ranks first is not because she is older. If we really talk about age, she should be considered the grandmother of Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan.
The reason why she ranks first is mainly because of her talent. In terms of talent, she is the well-deserved eldest sister among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. Ma Xianglan was a female poet and painter in the Ming Dynasty. According to "Qinhuai Guangji", her name was Shouzhen, her courtesy name was Xianglan, her nickname was Xuan'er, and her other courtesy name was Yuejiao. Because she was the fourth child in the family, she was called " Si Niang ". She was smart and talented, good at poetry and painting, especially at painting orchids and bamboos, so she was known as "Xianglan", just like the elegant orchid blooming on the banks of the Qinhuai River, open-minded, generous, and unparalleled in talent, maintaining her purity in the muddy world.
Needless to say, in modern times, the Palace Museum in Beijing has a collection of Ma Xianglan's orchid albums, and the Tokyo Museum in Japan has a collection of her "ink orchid painting", which is regarded as a treasure by the Japanese. Li Xiangping believes that based on this alone, Ma Xianglan deserves to be ranked first.
"Daokai, you know, although Ma Xianglan ranks first among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, she ranks last among the Five Beauties of Qinhuai."
"oh?!"
Hearing this, Zhao Daokai became more and more interested: "What about the others..."
"Ranked fourth is Liu Rushi."
"Ah!? You just said that Liu Rushi's talent might be slightly inferior to Ma Xianglan's, then why is she ranked higher?"
Li Xiangping smiled slightly: "That's because of the bonus of 'the water is too cold'."
Zhao Daokai was stunned at first, but he immediately understood:
"Haha, so that's how it is. Not bad, there's nothing wrong with this ranking."
There is naturally nothing much to say about the story of "The Water is Too Cold", as it was a trivial matter involving Liu Rushi's lover Qian Qianyi.
Think about the late Ming Dynasty, when the whole society was full of associations. Donglin Party, Fushe, and Jishe all formed groups to strengthen their morale and hoped to save the government from decline. The leaders of these groups, such as Qian Qianyi, Wu Meicun, Gong Dingzi, Hou Fangyu, Mao Pijiang, Chen Zhenhui, Fang Yizhi, and Chen Zilong, were all frequent visitors to brothels. After a few visits, they developed the famous prostitutes into revolutionary comrades.
However, when the men betrayed, these famous prostitutes remained loyal and became their spiritual mentors. With this bonus, it is reasonable to rank Liu Rushi before Ma Xianglan.
When talking about this, Zhao Daokai's interest became more and more intense:
"What about the other masters? Xiang Ping, please tell me who they are."
"The third of the five Qinhuai quatrains..."
At this point, Li Xiangping pretended to keep the secret for a while, then turned to the beautiful lady in ancient costume and said with a smile:
"Miss Xiuqin, do you know who this third master is?"
To Li Xiangping's surprise, the beautiful lady in ancient costume nodded:
"I heard that they ranked Xiuqin third, is that right?"
Li Xiangping laughed:
"Hahaha, that's right, the third of the Qinhuai Five Wonders is exactly Miss Xiuqin."
At this moment, Li Xiangping was laughing happily. Only Zhao Daokai was still confused. However, Zhao Daokai was not an ignorant fool after all. He soon came to his senses:
"Which Xiuqin? Could it be, could it be that...the one who played chess with Shi Xiangxia..."
Li Xiangping nodded: "Yes, it's Xiuqin. Because she played chess with Shi Xiangxia, Miss Xiuqin left a great name in the history of Chinese Go. She can be regarded as having a place in the Go world."
The person Li Xiangping was talking about was a famous prostitute on the banks of the Qinhuai River during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Nian highly praised her, saying that she was "naturally intelligent, beautiful, graceful, and romantic." He also ranked her third among the five quatrains of Qinhuai.
As a modern person, especially since Li Xiangping was once a young man who was trying to become a chess master, the most profound impression of this person is that she once played chess with the chess master Shi Xiangxia, and their chess records have been passed down to this day.
Among them, one game with nine handicap pieces and one game with eleven handicap pieces are particularly noteworthy, and they are even more hailed as famous games with handicap pieces. You should know that since the birth of Go, there have been countless famous game records left from ancient times to the present, and among all the famous game records, the number of games with handicap pieces is obviously greater than the number of games with handicap pieces.
Even among the handicap tables, although there are some famous tables like "Blood and Tears", if you pay a little attention you will find that the vast majority of the famous handicap tables handed down basically give two or three pieces, and at most no more than four pieces.
The two games played by Shi Xiangxia and Xiuqin may be considered the only games in the famous Go records of giving nine and eleven stones respectively. It can be said that it is precisely because of the significance of this "isolated game" that the two chess records and Xiuqin have a special status.
"No wonder."
Zhao Daokai first looked at Li Xiangping, then looked at the beautiful woman in ancient costume named Xiuqin, and finally he smiled at Li Xiangping. At this time, he finally understood why his best friend was so excited today.
Zhao Daokai said, "Haha, although Miss Xiuqin is outclassed by Shi Xiangxia, I heard that her level is actually quite good, Xiangping, is that right?"
Hearing what Zhao Daokai said, Li Xiangping smiled and nodded. He also glanced at the ancient costume beauty before answering:
"The level is pretty good. Let's put it this way. If Miss Xiuqin came to the modern era and played chess online, if she didn't have a very stable level of 1D or above, she might not be able to beat her."
Zhao Daokai was surprised and said, "Is it really that high? That's impossible. Doesn't that mean that even I may not be his match?"
Li Xiangping was amused when he heard this. As a good friend, he certainly knew what level Zhao Daokai was at. Zhao Daokai's several IDs on the Go website were basically between 2K and 2D, which meant that his real level was between amateur level 5 and amateur beginner. Li Xiangping looked at Zhao Daokai and smiled:
"From the two chess records, Miss Xiuqin should be at the amateur level 5 to amateur beginner level. There should be no doubt about that. So, you are such a bad chess player, you may not be Miss Xiuqin's opponent."
"Hahaha, I'm not my opponent, I'm not my opponent..."
Zhao Daokai didn't mind Li Xiangping's belittling of his chess skills at all. He was more interested in the "Five Wonders of Qinhuai":
"Oh, you just mentioned three of the Five Supremes, what about the remaining two?"
Li Xiangping smiled and said, "The second-ranked among the Five Great Masters. Although this person is not one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, she is somewhat related to them."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, everyone agrees that Gu Hengbo is the most beautiful. However, at that time, she was not as famous as another famous prostitute, Bian Yujing. Daokai, do you know why?"
"How would I know this? Do you know, Xiang Ping?"
"I'm not sure either, but after reading the memoirs left by your straight male predecessor from the Zhao family, I seem to have found a clue."
"What clue?"
"That's because Bian Yujing has a good sister."
Li Xiangping smiled at Zhao Daokai and said, "Bian Yujing has a sister named Bian Min. It is said that she is more beautiful than Gu Hengbo. Zhao Nian praised her as 'slender and white as jade, graceful and charming. When people see her, it is like standing on a crystal screen', so he ranked her second among the Qinhuai Five Quatrains."
"Well, just because she's pretty, she's ranked second? Not at that time..."
"Of course not. It is said that Bian Min is not only beautiful, but also has a good voice and is proficient in music. Her piano skills and flute... flute skills were unmatched along the Qinhuai River at the time. That's why your straight male senior from the Zhao family ranked her second."
Hearing this, Zhao Daokai showed a lewd smile, the kind of lewd smile that all men understand, and winked at Li Xiangping:
"So that's how it is. Haha, it's very well arranged. Now I think there's nothing wrong with the arrangement made by my senior. Don't you think so, Xiangping?"
"Hehe." Li Xiangping showed the same smile as Zhao Daokai.
"Pooh!"
The beautiful lady in ancient costume next to her blushed slightly, turned her head slightly and spat.
Although Li Xiangping and Zhao Daokai were playboys, they were not the kind of playboys who were very shameless. Seeing the ancient costume beauty named Xiuqin in this state, Zhao Daokai quickly spoke:
"Who is the leader of the Qinhuai Five Wonders? You are telling me so much, but I have never heard of this name. Oh, you love to talk nonsense, this is not something you made up, right?"
Li Xiangping chuckled:
"Of course not. The reason why the Qinhuai Five Wonders are not well-known is precisely because of this first of the Five Wonders."
"Ah?! Why is that?"
When Li Xiangping was about to explain, he looked up inadvertently and found that the ancient costume beauty named Xiuqin seemed to have a strange expression. He was moved:
"Well, I think Miss Xiuqin, the leader of the Five Wonders, should know this."
Li Xiangping suddenly turned his head and said to the ancient costume beauty named Xiuqin:
"Miss Xiuqin, do you know who is the leader of the Five Wonders?"
"The leader of the Qinhuai Five Wonders is called Ge Nen."
To Li Xiangping's surprise, the ancient costume beauty did not refuse. She actually began to explain to Zhao Daokai. What made Li Xiangping feel even more strange was that at this moment, he felt that the expression of the beauty named Xiuqin was a little strange. Li Xiangping felt that she was actually speaking in a nostalgic tone:
"This senior Ge Nen was not only extremely beautiful and talented, but she also led an army in Fujian with Sun Kexian to fight against the Qing army when the Qing army marched south. After the defeat, she was captured. When the Qing army general heard that she was a famous prostitute, he wanted to offend her, but Senior Ge Nen cursed and chewed her tongue, sprayed blood in his face, and then was killed. It was an extremely heroic death."
She paused for a moment, looking at Li Xiangping and then at Zhao Daokai:
"Now you know why she is ranked first among the Five Wonders, while the Qinhuai Five Wonders are not so famous, right?"
