Chapter 239: Monsters and Demons
I have spent some time searching and researching seven Song Dynasty documents that record Li Qingzhao's remarriage:
Of the seven Song Dynasty documents that record Li Qingzhao's remarriage, as mentioned in modern articles, only "Li Shi" refers to the time when the book was first published. The other six refer to the time when the author wrote the preface when the book was first written. In fact, after the book was initially written, the author would edit, add, and delete the original manuscript (mainly adding content). Even after the original author passed away, his disciples would edit, add, and delete the original manuscript (mainly adding content) until it was published and officially became a book.
In fact, the first published editions of these seven Song Dynasty texts have all been lost. Zhu Yu's own work, Pingzhou Ke Tan, actually does not record Li Qingzhao's remarriage. The text about Li Qingzhao's remarriage in the current edition of Pingzhou Ke Tan was not written by Zhu Yu but was added by later generations.
Therefore, there are only six Song Dynasty documents that may record Li Qingzhao's remarriage.
There are two books, "Li Shi" and "Jian Yan Yi Nian Ji Yao Lu". The first edition published in the Song Dynasty may not have recorded Li Qingzhao's remarriage. It is possible that when later generations sorted and published it, they mistakenly believed the notes of Wang Zhuo, Hu Zi and others and supplemented the record of Li Qingzhao's remarriage.
Therefore, there are actually only four Song Dynasty documents that record Li Qingzhao's remarriage more credibly: Wang Zhuo's "Bi Ji Man Zhi", Hu Zi's "Tiao Xi Yu Yin Cong Hua", Chao Gongwu's "Zhao De Xiansheng's County Study Reading Records", and Chen Zhensun's "Zhi Zhai Shu Lu Jie Ti".
Of the seven documents, Zhu Yu's Pingzhou Ke Tan was the earliest to be written. The preface was written in the first year of the Xuanhe reign, and the account ends with the Xuanhe period (1120-1125). No date has been found for the book's initial publication in the Song Dynasty. During the Xuanhe reign, Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao were still alive, with Li Qingzhao dying sometime after 1151. The original copy of Pingzhou Ke Tan is no longer extant. The current edition of Pingzhou Ke Tan is extracted from the Yongle Encyclopedia. The line about Li Qingzhao, "However, she did not live up to her integrity in her later years and died in exile," is most likely an addition by a later author, not the original author Zhu Yu.
As expected, it was found that none of the Ming Dynasty manuscripts and photocopied copies of Pingzhou Ke Tan found by scholars such as Chu Binjie contained this passage: "Among the women of this dynasty who were known for their literary talent, Li Yi'an was the most famous. Yi'an's given name was Qingzhao, and she was the daughter of Li Gefei, a famous Yuanyou poet. Her poetry was elegant and rich, worthy of the ancient authors, and her lyrics were particularly graceful... She wrote twelve volumes of Collected Works and one volume of Shuyu Collection. However, she did not live up to her integrity in her later years and died in exile." Wang Zhongwen's claim that a Ming Dynasty manuscript he saw contained this passage is not credible.
In summary:
The claim that Song Dynasty scholars Zhu Yu, Wang Zhuo, and Hu Zi publicly documented Li Qingzhao's remarriage in their books during her lifetime is a complete lie! Zhu Yu himself never recorded any such remarriage; it was later generations who tampered with his writings in Pingzhou Ke Tan. The book by Wang Zhuo and Hu Zi documenting Li Qingzhao's remarriage was actually published many years after her death.
Of the seven Song Dynasty documents that are said to record Li Qingzhao's remarriage, none of them records the "Li Qingzhao suing Zhang Ruzhou" in the main text; and one, namely, "The Important Records of the Years Since Jianyan", records the "Zhang Ruzhou's wife Li suing Zhang Ruzhou" in the main text, and its supplementary text: "Li, a daughter of Gefei... called herself Yi'an Jushi" is most likely inserted by later generations.
Su Shi's dissolute lifestyle is documented in his own writings. Objectively speaking, Su Shi wasn't considered a particularly corrupt person in ancient times, but he certainly wasn't considered a man of high moral standards. Wang Zhuo and Hu Zi, who worship Su Shi like cultists, falsely accuse Li Qingzhao of remarrying. This is completely unfounded and pure slander. While shamelessly praising Su Shi as a moral saint, Wang Zhuo and Hu Zi vehemently slander Li Qingzhao as "lacking moral integrity" and "having no moral integrity." Remarriage was considered normal for women in the Song Dynasty. But when Fan Zhongyan's mother remarried, did anyone in the Song Dynasty call her "lacking moral integrity" or "having no moral integrity"? Wang Zhuo and Hu Zi's accusation of Li Qingzhao's "remarriage" as "lacking moral integrity" is a malicious act.
Zhu Xi, the greatest defender of feudal ethics in Chinese history, praised Li Qingzhao's poetry. However, Wang Zhuo, a fervent admirer of Su Shi, described her poems as "the lewd language of the streets, written with impunity. Since ancient times, no woman of noble birth could write with such reckless abandon."
Su Shi himself recorded in black and white how many concubines he kept and how many he dismissed:
"My family had several concubines, and they left one after another four or five years later." (See "Chao Yun's Poems and Quotes")
Su Shi's own words in black and white are still there, but Tu Zhipi shamelessly said: You cannot prove that Su Shi kept many concubines, nor can you prove that Su Shi dismissed many concubines, and you cannot prove that Su Shi was proud of visiting prostitutes; Su Shi only married one wife, remarried one wife, and took one concubine. The woman who married Su Shi was the happiest in history.
Su Shi proudly wrote a poem about his pride in visiting prostitutes:
Butterfly Love Flower: A Gift to Pan Dalin
Author: Su Shi
I urge you to get drunk with my farewell wine. The gentle and refined Pan Lang is now He Lang's son-in-law. Remember the new hairpins from the market. Don't give them to your neighbor.
Looking back at the beautiful Chang'an, I was a handsome and charming man thirty years ago. I went to the brothel to search for old memories. My name is left in the missing branches.
Tu Zhipi said shamelessly: This only proves that Su Shi visited a brothel, but there is no fact that Su Shi visited prostitutes.
Su Shi wrote a lewd poem about taking off clothes and pants:
Zaoluo special hairpin·Picking water chestnuts and picking green jade
The Song Dynasty's Huiyaogao (Collection of Statutes of Emperors) records that "On May 3, the fifth year of the Shaoxing reign, an imperial edict was issued ordering Wuzhou to retrieve the "Veritable Records of Emperor Zhezong" from the home of Zhao Mingcheng, the former Zhilong Pavilion, and to hand it over." At the time, Li Qingzhao was fleeing the chaos in Wuzhou (now Jinhua), and it was Qingzhao who submitted the "Veritable Records of Emperor Zhezong" to the court. For example, when Li Qingzhao remarried in the second year of the Shaoxing reign and subsequently engaged in a sensational divorce lawsuit, the imperial edict of the fifth year of the Shaoxing reign referred to Li Qingzhao's residence as "the home of Zhao Mingcheng, the former Zhilong Pavilion." This is quite comical. It's important to note that Song Dynasty imperial edicts had very strict rules.
"Mingcheng was Li Yi'an's husband. His writing was of the highest order, and his 'Jinshilu' is a truly excellent work."—Zhu Xi, "Zhu Zi Yu Lei, Volume 130." If Zhu Xi, the greatest defender of feudal ethics in Chinese history, born in 1130, had been unaware of Li Qingzhao's sensational divorce case in 1132, how could he have been unaware of it? If Zhu Xi, the greatest defender of feudal ethics in Chinese history, had praised the literary style and ideas of Li Qingzhao's works, even writing that "Mingcheng was Li Yi'an's husband," even after the sensational divorce case in 1132, it would have been a disgrace to the Tang Dynasty!
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