The carriages are rolling, the horses are rustling, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors.
This was Zhu Ping'an's most intuitive feeling about the capital at this moment, with cars and horses constantly coming and going, and the spring breeze blowing on his face with a hint of coolness.
As tour guides, Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen wanted to take Zhu Pingan to Chongfu Zen Temple outside Xuanwu Gate, which is the modern Fayuan Temple. The distance is not too far. After leaving Xuanwu Gate, walk south along the street and
It doesn't take long to reach Chongfu Zen Temple.
As a rule, after the imperial examination, many candidates like to go to temples to find spiritual sustenance, make wishes, burn incense, etc.
In addition, it is the apricot blossom season at this time, and the apricot blossoms at Chongfu Temple are also famous for their beauty.
The three of them walked south along the street outside Xuanwumen. This street was very lively with many people and vendors. There were all kinds of shops on the street, including inns and clubs, shops and teahouses, but the most
It’s still a vegetable stall and vegetable shop. Although it’s early spring, all kinds of vegetables are starting to be sold on the street.
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen are competent tour guides. As they walked, they introduced the local customs and customs to Zhu Ping'an along the way.
"This is Vegetable Market Street. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the largest vegetable market in Ming Dynasty. Most of the people in the capital have come here to buy vegetables." Zhang Siwei introduced this street to Zhu Pingan as he walked.
Oh, this is the vegetable market street.
Zhu Pingan nodded when he heard this. It turns out that this is the very famous Caishikou in later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, this Caishikou was just the largest vegetable market. In the Qing Dynasty, this place became famous. The main reason why Caishikou became so famous.
, it was the Qing government that moved the execution ground for murder from the Xisi Archway in the Ming Dynasty to Caishikou outside Xuanwu Gate, and executed prisoners sentenced to be executed after the fall every winter solstice.
However, it is still the largest vegetable market.
"When we get here, there is a place we have to see." Wang Shizhen was still walking behind, but when she reached a place, she suddenly became energetic and told Zhu Pingan while leading the way in one direction.
Just a few steps away, I arrived in front of a drugstore called "Xiheniantang".
The pharmacy is grand and large. But what attracts Zhu Ping'an the most is the plaque of the pharmacy. The three characters "He Niantang" are engraved on the plaque. Among them, the character "Crane" has the most strokes, which is asymmetrical with the other two characters. However,
The three words put together have an excellent layout and look quite artistic.
"The characters in this plaque are as graceful as a giant, and have a strong character. There is such calligraphy in the market." Zhu Pingan raised his head and looked at the three characters He Niantang. This man's calligraphy seemed to be better than his own, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
"Zihou, you have good eyesight." Wang Shizhen originally wanted to point out this plaque to Zhu Pingan, but when he saw Zhu Pingan noticed the plaque at a glance, he praised it with a smile.
"Wensheng, Zihou, it's not appropriate to stay here for a long time." Zhang Siwei seemed a little disgusted with this Heniantang.
"Why?" Zhu Pingan was a little confused.
"That's right, Ziwei, why are you so anxious?" Wang Shizhen was also confused. He discovered this place not long ago. He happened to find this plaque when passing by this pharmacy. He was attracted by the fonts on the plaque at that time.
Because I was busy at the time, I just looked at it for a while and then left. When I passed by this time, I couldn't help but bring Zhu Ping'an and the others over to admire the plaque together. I wanted to take a good look at it this time, but I heard Zhang Siwei said that it is not suitable to stay here for a long time.
, Wang Shizhen is also difficult to understand.
Zhang Siwei did not answer on the spot, but waited until Wang Shizhen and Zhu Pingan left Heniantang after reading the plaque and were a little further away before telling Zhu Pingan and Wang Shizhen the reason.
It turns out that Henian Tang, located at the northwest corner of Caishi Street, was the back garden of the home of Yan Songyan's first assistant. This pharmacy was invested and opened by the old prime minister who was both harmful to people and cured diseases when he was not in politics. The name means "Songs and cranes prolong life."
Yan Song's reputation has been quite bad over the years. Although he is extremely powerful, in the eyes of some Qingliu people, he still keeps a distance from him.
"What. Does that mean the plaque is written strictly?" Wang Shizhen looked a little bad, as if he had swallowed a fly.
Zhang Siwei nodded. After receiving the confirmation, Wang Shizhen's expression became even more embarrassing, as if he had seen a pig chewing ginseng.
"Oh, what a pity." Wang Shizhen shook her head and sighed.
In the evaluation of calligraphy in the past dynasties, calligraphy quality and character are a flesh-and-blood whole. Character has always been higher than calligraphy quality. Calligraphy is the embodiment of a person's knowledge, talent and quality. For collectors of calligraphy works with low character,
It is tantamount to harboring evil spirits, which not only tarnishes the family tradition, but also damages one's own character.
That's why Wang Shizhen sighed.
"So that's how it is, no wonder, it's a pity"
After listening to Zhang Siwei's explanation, Zhu Ping'an nodded. It turned out to be written by Yan Song. No wonder, Yan Song was one of the three most traitorous calligraphers in history. There is an allusion about Yan Song's calligraphy in later generations: it is said to be the main hall of Gongyuan in Beijing.
The three big characters "Zhigongtang" on the plaque were written by Yan Song. During the Qing Dynasty, when Emperor Qianlong learned of this fact, he wanted to replace it and ordered those who could calligraphy in the Manchu Dynasty to write these three characters as his own preference.
The emperor, who was a master of writing and writing, also wrote several times. However, he found that his imperial pen and other people's writings were not as good as Yan Song, so he had to give up and still let the words "treacherous minister" hang high.
It can be seen that Yan Song's handwriting is indeed worthy of everyone's attention, but it is a pity that Yan Song's character is too poor, and his handwriting is often despised because of his bad character.
It can be seen from the reactions of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen that these two brothers do not have much favorable impressions of Yan Song. They can also see from the reactions of Zhu Pingan that Zhu Pingan does not have much favorable impressions of Yan Song either.
The three of them looked at each other, smiled, shook their heads, came to Caishi Street, and continued walking south.
After walking for a while, a lot of people gathered at the entrance of an alley connecting Caishi Street, mostly men. They gathered there in small groups, surrounding an open space, pointing at the open space, and whispering to each other.
There was a lot of discussion.
What happened?
The three of them walked forward curiously to see what happened.
The onlookers saw that the three people were well-dressed, and they seemed to be either rich or noble, or both rich and noble, so they moved out of the way to allow the three people to pass through the crowd and walk to the front.
When I got to the front, I realized the truth that everyone was watching:
In the venue, a young girl was wearing plain clothes, kneeling in front of everyone, with a straw stuck in her hair. Her black hair covered half of her face, and the exposed half of her face was covered with makeup, which was faintly...
Tears.
In this era, wearing a straw on your head is not cute. The word "grass" means cheap, which means that this thing is no longer "valuable" to me. If you put a straw mark on your head, it will be sold. In different historical periods of ancient Chinese society,
From daily necessities to poor families selling their children due to hunger and cold, grass mustard (grass mark) is used.
The young girl in front of her is holding a straw, which means she is selling herself.
This kind of plot is often seen in novels, but I didn't expect that I would see a real plot. I hope it won't be a bloody plot. Zhu Pingan shook his head slightly. (To be continued)