How deep is the courtyard? The cloud window and the foggy pavilion are often exposed. The willow branches and plum calyces gradually become clearer. The moling trees return in spring, and the old people build a prosperous city.
Feeling the moon and singing in the wind, there are so many things, but now I am old and have no achievements. Who can pity me for being haggard and withered. There is no point in trying the lamp, and I am not in the mood to walk in the snow.
——"Linjiangxian·How Deep the Courtyard" Li Qingzhao
…
On March 21, the first year of Qianyuan, when Li Siye was stationed in Hanoi, Wang Weiliang, the Beiting military envoy, conspired to rebel. Li Siye and his general Li Fei Yuanli followed the order and defeated the rebels, killing the rebel general Wang Weiliang.
After An Qingxu learned that Li Siye was stationed in Hanoi, in April of the same year, he personally led his generals Cai Xide and Cui Gan, leading 20,000 infantry and cavalry, across the Qinshui River to attack Hanoi. Li Siye's army was brave, but the Yan army failed to capture Hanoi. They had to retreat and returned without success.
Bai Fu, who was far away in Chang'an, smiled when he saw this military report.
During this time, accompanied by Princess Qingluan, he was lingering in the Daming Palace all day long, admiring the beautiful scenery in the palace and appreciating the calligraphy and paintings collected in Daming Palace.
Bai Fu was filled with emotions every time he stepped into the Forbidden Garden of the Imperial Palace.
The Daming Palace is a place full of rules. The hierarchy is strict and anyone who violates the rules will be beheaded. When the emperor takes the royal road, the palace maids and eunuchs must not take a step.
There are strict regulations on which palaces the queen, concubines, concubines, etc. live in, and they live according to their rank.
All these complicated etiquette and rules were designed to ensure that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty could not abide by any rules, and only to highlight the emperor's supreme privileges.
From the Daxing Palace of the Sui Dynasty to the Taiji Palace, Daming Palace and Jiuzong Palace of the Tang Dynasty, we have witnessed that time flies, dynasties change, emperors come on stage in a hurry, and then leave sadly.
The imperial palace is the largest container of power and ambition, where human hearts are treacherous and the ultimate in impermanence. Desire and conquest are intertwined here, and conspiracies and lies alternate in turn.
This determines the longevity of the country and the fate of everyone in the world.
It is said that before Princess Huo was strangled by the rebel Sun Xiaozhe in Taiji Palace, Sun Xiaozhe asked her her last words. Princess Huo said bitterly: "All civil and military officials are the most unrighteous. Chen Xilie, the consort Zhang Bian and others will come to congratulate her tomorrow."
Before she died, Princess Huo's last words were: "Kill them for me."
…
From Linde Hall to the north, pass through the three main halls of Chang'an Hall, Xianju Hall, and Shicui Hall, and come to a wide Yuhe River. This Yuhe River is the waterway leading to Taiye Pool, which carries the running water of Yong'an Canal through Forbidden Garden introduces Taiye Pool.
Seeing Yuhe, Princess Qingluan burst into tears. Princess Qingluan cried: "I heard from the surviving maids that the rebels invaded the Daming Palace, and those concubines and maids who were unwilling to be humiliated fell into the river one after another and drowned themselves."
Bai Fu leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, as if he saw hundreds of corpses of palace maids floating on the river. Their dresses were bright and bright, like lotuses.
Very sad.
…
On this day, Princess Qingluan said she was going to Taiji Palace to visit a sick elder and asked Bai Fu to accompany her.
The two walked through the West Inner Garden and entered the Tai Chi Palace from the Anli Gate.
Facing the vast palace, Princess Qingluan also walked in the wrong direction and walked directly to a separate courtyard. Unlike the splendid palace in front, this place seemed to have been deserted for a long time.
There is a plaque in the other courtyard with the words "Hui Xin Yuan" written on the door.
Princess Qingluan sighed: "I'm afraid no man has come to this garden for a hundred years."
Bai Fu asked: "Where is this?"
Princess Qingluan sighed: "This is the cold palace where Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu were imprisoned."
Bai Fu's heart tightened. He was familiar with history and knew the tragic ending of these two people.
In order to bring down Queen Wang, Wu Zhao did not hesitate to kill his infant daughter, thereby framing the Queen Wang.
After Wu Zhao succeeded in taking the throne, he incited Gaozong to depose the Queen and Xiao Shu as common people on the grounds that they were plotting to commit poison.
Bai Fu looked around. The entire courtyard was empty and desolate, covered with cobwebs, cold and damp.
The grass grows wildly, almost knee-deep. Nameless wild flowers float on the grass, swaying in the wind. In the courtyard, half of the stone pavilion used for lighting at night is exposed from the grass, covered with moss and dull.
Some houses in the courtyard are dilapidated, and only some residual color on the window lattice allows people to get a glimpse of the prosperity of the courtyard with its carved beams and painted buildings.
Princess Qingluan lamented and said: "Our ancestor, Emperor Gaozong, once missed the Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu, so he came here quietly and saw that the doors and windows of the palace were extremely closed, and only a small hole was cut in the wall to deliver drinking water.
Emperor Gaozong felt sorry for her and called out: "Queen, is Concubine Shu safe?"
The Queen cried and replied: "I have offended you and become a palace maid, so why should I be called a palace servant with more respect? If the Supreme Being remembers the past and makes me see the sun and the moon again, I beg to name this courtyard as Hui Xin Yuan."
When Wu Zhao found out, he was furious and ordered people to beat Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu with a hundred sticks, cut off their hands and feet cruelly, and then threw them into a wine vat to soak them.
Within a few days, Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu were tortured to death. After their deaths, Wu Zhao still could not forgive his hatred, so he fished out their bodies and took out their heads. He issued an edict to change the surname of Queen Wang to Mang and Concubine Xiao Shu to Xiao.
Faced with torture and death, Empress Wang remained surprisingly calm and said: "Long live everyone. Zhaoyi is grateful, and I will take my share in death."
Concubine Xiao Shu strongly cursed: 'Ah Wu is so cunning and cunning! May he bear me as a cat and Ah Wu as a mouse, and strangle his throat for the rest of his life.'
It is said that from this day on, Wu Zhao banned cats in the palace. Xiao Shufei’s curse before her death was like a nightmare, and Wu Zhao could not sleep at night. In the dream, the queen and Xiao Shufei turned into ghosts, with disheveled hair, and blood from their hands and feet, as if they were dead.
At this time, he strangled Wu Zhao's neck again and again, seducing her and demanding her life.
Wu Zhao was so frightened that he had to move to the Daming Palace. But within two days of recovery, he still saw them in his dreams from time to time. Wu Zhao had trouble sleeping and eating, so he simply fled Chang'an and stayed in Luoyang, the eastern capital, as much as possible for the rest of his life."
…
Standing in the desolate and overgrown courtyard, Bai Fu imagined its former glory.
The withered pavilions and pavilions in front of us, the foundations and pillars seem to be restored bit by bit; the touching moments of the past seem to be replayed bit by bit; the entire courtyard recreates the grand scene of the blooming flowers:
The warm sun is shining high, the pear blossoms are in full bloom, and the flower lattice windows in the courtyard are all open. The spring breeze blows, and the fragrance of flowers is mixed with powder, floating in the early spring morning.
The thrush is chirping, and the beauty is leaning against the window.
The concubines and maids fluttered butterflies among the flowers, danced lightly, and flew paper kites. They held handfuls of well water, reflecting the moon in their hands, and inserted a bouquet of orchids, which filled their clothes with a faint fragrance.
The most prosperous is also the most miserable.
…
Leaving the Leng Palace, Bai Fu and Princess Qingluan hurried all the way, silently. Turning around the palace wall, they saw a begonia tree in full bloom, red walls and green trees, and a fragrant garden full of fragrance, which made the two of them stop suddenly.
There is a line of small words next to the tree: The imperial concubine planted the tree with her hands.
Bai Fu felt a twinge in his heart, as if he could see Yang Yuhuan wearing a ring, surrounded by people, her beautiful eyes looking forward to her, and her graceful appearance. But now there is an empty tree here, and in the fragrant wind of fallen flowers, only the shadow of the lonely moon is left.
The courtyard is as deep as it is, and the beauty is like a flower, blooming in loneliness and declining in loneliness. The floating beauty is as beautiful as the sixth palace, but it is not worthy of the emperor's unlucky fortune and his old age.
…
Princess Qingluan had a teardrop hanging on her long eyelashes, and she replied: "Isn't the imperial concubine a prisoner in the forbidden garden?
If such a day comes, I hope there is someone who can take me away. Galloping on the vast grassland, boating on the West Lake in the misty rainy south of the Yangtze River. Whether it is wandering around the world, eating and sleeping in the open air, smiling proudly in the world, happy with grudges, it is better than being like a canary.
, was kept in this gorgeous cage. He could not control his body, and he could not control his death."
1. References
1. "The Hidden Corner of the Forbidden City", Zhu Yong, People's Literature Publishing House, published in June 2020.
2. "History of Chinese Architectural Art", Liu Tuo, Life·Reading·New Knowledge Sanlian Bookstore, published in March 2021.
2. How deep is the courtyard? The cloud window and fog pavilion are often exposed. Willow branches and plum calyces gradually become clearer. Moling trees return in spring, and old people build healthy cities.
Feeling the moon and singing in the wind, there are so many things, but now I am old and have no achievements. Who can pity me for being haggard and withered. There is no point in trying the lamp, and I am not in the mood to walk in the snow.
——"Linjiangxian·How Deep the Courtyard" Li Qingzhao