What kind of place is the old brothel? Why do scholars like to go there? The editor has brought a detailed article for your reference.
We often see in TV dramas that in ancient times, several brothels opened together, or a street was crowded with people, and many women stood at the door to solicit business. But I don’t know, was this really what brothels were like in ancient times? In addition, many ancient literati also left some prostitutes in their works, such as the famous Qinhuai Bayan. Why did these men of letters frequent brothels? What are they doing here, just to learn from those outstanding women?
Why are there such things as brothels? After all, this is a product of the man's world, and it is also a social fact since humans entered the patriarchal society. The original meaning of the word "brothel" is to paint a building with green paint. Originally, it referred not to a brothel but to a more ornate house, and was sometimes used as a surname for wealthy and powerful families. Many poems by Taiping Yulan, Jin Shu, and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties use brothels in this way. However, since gorgeous houses are closely associated with gorgeous and luxurious life, the meaning of brothels unconsciously deviated and began to be associated with prostitutes. After the Tang Dynasty, the meaning of partial reference appeared relatively late, and brothel became the specific reference to fireworks. Compare Pingkang, Beili, Xingyuan, Zhangtai and other words. More vivid and elegant.
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Any successful product promotion must be tested and sold on the right track. In ancient brothels, most people were educated and commonly known as "scholars". At that time, the status of "shi" was very high and their number was very small. The silverware and poetry collections in their pockets are the two best passes to the brothel compound. For brothel owners, being rich means being a grandfather and a living Buddha, so they are highly motivated. For prostitutes in brothels, most of them are lovers of literature, so when they face a talented man full of poems and poems, they often take a secret look and dream of becoming a talented man. The so-called "Wife loves money, sister loves beauty" is the eternal truth in brothels.
The old examination room is called Yuan Gong, especially Gong Yuan in Jiangnan, with a long history and numerous talents. It has been expanding through the ages. During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, there were 20,644 examinees, with a total area of ??more than 300,000 square meters, equivalent to three royal palaces in Beijing. It was the largest examination room in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the imperial examination era, there were more than 800 top scholars, more than half of whom came from this examination room. Tang Bohu, Zheng Banqiao, Li Hongzhang and many other historical celebrities came to the stage of history from Jiangnan Gongyuan.
In the eyes of the candidates, Hiram Hospital is their only way to become rich and famous. Therefore, it is natural that they attract scholars from all over the world every year when they start studying for their bachelor's degree. Because there are many candidates, someone needs to take care of their food, accommodation and games, which provides businessmen with opportunities to make a fortune. Many brothels, restaurants and teahouses emerged. The Qinhuai River located next to the palace is also charming because of these facilities, forming a prosperous scene of "oars, shadows, light and shadow running for ten miles, and women singing in flower boats and playing in the mud waves".
Since ancient times, the love between talented men and beautiful women has lasted forever. After the success of the Cross Middle School in the Tang Dynasty, it was a very elegant thing to write love poems and show off one's talents to prostitutes. Even if scientific research suffers setbacks, there is nothing the scholar can do and "endure changing his name and singing softly." At this time, the mellow wine and beautiful women became the placebo to ease the pain of disappearing from the list. The so-called "gold and white pearls buy songs and laugh, but drunk and tired princes become young princes" is also true!
Three major reasons why ancient literati opened brothels.
The reason why Qinhuai Fengyue flourished is of course related to the strong support of literati. Scholars support this for three reasons:
First of all, brothels provide a relaxed and open space for scholars to live a stressful exam-taking life. Ancient Chinese imperial examinations established a strict selection mechanism, some of which even smacked of personal insult. According to Yu's "One Hundred Thousand Jinshi" records, the imperial examination system reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. To prevent cheating, the candidates wore sheepskin robes and had sparkling eyes. The inspection in the examination room is very strict, and the body search is also very strict. Before entering the examination room, two teams of soldiers would search the streets and alleys, with their hair spread out and their clothes touched. Food, pen and ink stationery are evenly distributed in bamboo baskets in the examination room. Food should be cut into pieces smaller than one inch so that it cannot be brought into the examination room. If the offender is found to have been detained, he will be severely beaten and tied to a stone pillar in front of the examination room for a month, and will not be allowed to consult for life.
After entering the examination room, the examination room will be sealed and cannot be opened until three days later.
For three days, the candidates were not allowed to move. All food and drink were scattered in a room of about 2 square meters. Once the weather gets hot, the feces in Room 1 will flow out and give off a smell. In such an environment, it is difficult to complete the exam without amazing perseverance. Therefore, three days in the examination room is equivalent to three days of hell for scholars. They feel reassured when they publish the list. If they were reborn, they would have no choice but to go to a brothel.
Secondly, looking for love and close friends is another reason why they visit brothels. Because they are intellectuals, their spiritual needs are higher than those of ordinary people. So they come to brothels mainly to seek love and close friends, followed by physical pleasure. It should be noted that ancient literati went out for as little as six months and as many as several years, and had to endure the fragrance of green light, ink, and loneliness. So they especially hope to have a romantic encounter with "Night Reading Fragrance Tea". Their dreams can only come true in a brothel. Because you are far away from your family and have no "supervision" from your family, you don't have to worry about humiliating your ancestors, and you don't have to bear too much moral burden.
In addition, brothels also provided an excellent "dining and sightseeing place" for literati and poets to make friends and exchange poems. During the scholar examination, poetry, entertainment and making friends are also major life events. High school students can make more friends through difficulties and poetry, and those who fail can also find jobs through their connections with high school students. They can all gain something. why not? Although scholars are divided into rich and poor, a rich man can spend a huge sum of money, find a high-end wife to accompany him to study, and live in a luxurious suite. Those who have no money can only go to the Pearl, the guest house, or the basement, but this cannot stop their desire to become friends. Just like the dignitaries in "The Story of Flowers on the Sea" and the calligraphers of the shop group eating Hua San together. For scholars, articles are often the main symbol of their knowledge. If a rich man does not have ink on his chest, he will also become the object of ridicule by the brothel ladies. However, a poor scholar who owns five luxury cars can win the heart of a beautiful woman with his elegant conversation. Therefore, there is no absolute dividing line between rich and poor in Qinhuai brothel. Because wealthy young men wanted to learn a few lines of poetry to fool their lovers, they would deliberately make friends with poets, perhaps to gain some literary interest.
Those who indulge in the examination room and feel depressed are all those who enter the brothel. Their biggest wish is to have both an examination room and an examination room.
According to Yu Yue's "A Journey to the Immortal Tower in Taiwan", a literati from Shaoxing, Maoyi, Xianfeng, Zhejiang, wrote a seven-character poem on paper: "I have been looking for embroidered shoes several times, and we met by chance. Do you still remember the red color on the moonlit night? Did you steal a spring on the fence or on the building?" When others asked him why he wrote such "obscene words and colorful sentences," he just shook his head and said nothing. The scholar answered well in the other three exams, but he was not admitted because he wrote some obscene and colorful sentences in this exam, which violated the exam rules. The students felt sorry for him and thought he might have stayed in the gentle countryside for too long, so he had an erotic dream during the exam.
A brothel is indeed a place where people can dream. What's more, this is the best quality brothel among Qinhuai brothels? For readers, in front of these beauties, Pan Lang and Cao Lang shouted, hoping that they could fully enjoy the treatment of "the customer is God". Naturally, they sighed, "Today's happiness is no less than that of the prince."
As for the grand romantic scenery of Qinhuai, we can see it from a passage in Zhang Dai's "Tao An's Dream Reminiscences" in the Ming Dynasty: "The houses in Qinhuai River are very expensive for people to live, socialize and go to prostitutes. The houses are very expensive. The value is very high, and the people who live in it have no free days. The boat is pulled back and forth by a small drum and has experienced many twists and turns. Outside the river is the terrace of Zhu Shu's house, with bamboo curtains and gauze curtains, and a balcony for sitting. In the water buildings on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the jasmine breeze is very fragrant for children. The girls are light, slow, soft and charming. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, men and women in this city come to see the lantern boats. A small canopy was built, and the horn lamps were hung on the canopy like beads. There were even more than a dozen of them. It was like a mirage of candle dragons. It was curved, coiled, and twisted. Water and fire are invincible. The boat is full of cymbals, stars, and strings. The ladies and teachers are laughing loudly on the railings. At midnight, the music starts and the lights go out. , the stars dispersed. "This grand occasion is of course extremely exquisite and luxurious. However, if you don’t have enough money in your wallet, you may not be able to accumulate it just by writing poems.