The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

When talking about talented women in the Song Dynasty, most people immediately think of Li Qingzhao.

Few people mention Zhu Shuzhen, and her talent is underestimated by many people.

Compared with Zhu Shuzhen's talented and magnificent poems.

Zhu Shuzhen's death was extremely miserable, depressing and bleak.

The talented Zhu Shuzhen had a straightforward personality and acted in a carefree manner, but she was ultimately unable to break free from the shackles of society.

With every struggle, the confinement becomes deeper.

She is the embodiment of the tragic fate of talented women in ancient times and also a victim of the development of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty.

If she were born today, she would be able to join the ranks of outstanding female writers, display her talent, and no longer be heartbroken.

"During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a large garden located south of Qiantang City in Zhejiang Province."

"The garden is divided into two parts, the East and West Gardens. In the East and West Gardens, there are such scenic spots as Guitang, Shuige, Xilou, Xueji and Yilu Pavilion."

"This garden belongs to the Zhu family, who have been local officials for generations. Miss Zhu Shuzhen of the Zhu family jumps around in it all day long, leading a carefree life."

"At a young age, Zhu Shuzhen was already proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and music. She also helped her father Zhu Yanling collect antiques and collect collectibles."

"Zhu Shuzhen spent her childhood happily. She gradually became sensible and found her own lover."

"The warm sunshine and gentle spring breeze gently caress the willow trees."

"The garden is full of flowers, the paths are quiet, and the fragrance of flowers is wafting in the air."

"The spring scenery is so charming, but soon the lover leaves her."

"From then on, although she was at home, her heart was thousands of miles away."

"After Qingming, clouds and mist covered the gorgeous little building."

"Zhu Shuzhen in the building, looking back at the joy of the early days, can't stop thinking about it."

"Another year has passed, and Zhu Shuzhen's longing for me has become deeper and deeper."

"Thinking of the lover who left home and is far away."

"Everything she saw broke her heart, and she tried every possible means to escape from it."

"From one sorrow to a hundred sorrows to a thousand sorrows, Zhu Shuzhen's feelings towards her lover have gone from yearning to separation sorrow to resentment."

"When the wind and rain came again, Zhu Shuzhen drank to drown her sorrows."

"I was drinking alone in the garden, but I couldn't help thinking of the happy scenes in the past."

"She gradually became overwhelmed by the alcohol and fell asleep leaning against the table."

"Suddenly she saw her long-cherished lover at the place where the water and the clouds met, and the two met each other."

"Both of them were speechless, just as they were about to hug each other."

"She woke up helplessly, feeling frustrated and melancholy. By then, Zhu Shuzhen was already in her early twenties."

"Early marriage was popular in the past. If you were still unmarried after the age of 20, you were considered an old maid."

"His father was an official, and his mother was also very snobbish, forcing Zhu Shuzhen to marry a minor local official."

"Zhu Shuzhen was also disheartened at this time, and she hastily married a vulgar official."

"At first she had high hopes for her husband, hoping that he would have great ambitions, and she wrote poems to encourage him many times."

"It's a pity that her husband has no ambition and is only interested in personal gain and money."

Yan Rui: The talented Zhu Shuzhen went boating on the lake with her lover and wrote a poem about lovemaking that was so explicit that it made people blush.

The spacious and elegant pavilion faces east, keeping away from the hustle and bustle of the world.

The Kuang Xuan mentioned in the poem is the eastern neighbor of the Zhu family garden.

Because the family has been officials for generations, they have a lot of experience in power exchange and wealth accumulation.

All of these can make the Zhu Family Garden a vast and magnificent landscape that will make people linger.

After Zhu Shuzhen was born, this garden became an excellent place for her to cultivate her creative inspiration.

The Zhu family, which has been officials for generations, is also a prominent family of scholars in the Qiantang area.

Influenced by such a family, it was hard for Zhu Shuzhen not to be well-versed in poetry and books.

Because he was spoiled by his father since he was a child and was deliberately cultivated.

When she was a little older, Zhu Shuzhen was not only proficient in poetry and painting, but also had some understanding of rhythm.

My father likes antiques and paintings, and his collection needs to be taken care of and organized from time to time.

After seeing so much, Zhu Shuzhen was able to help with tasting and cleaning in a professional manner.

With her father's guidance, Zhu Shuzhen accumulated a solid foundation in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting at a young age.

Especially in writing poetry and lyrics, Zhu Shuzhen produced many excellent works and was very popular among local literati.

It was at this time that the son of her father's old friend entered her life.

In order to take part in the imperial examination and compete for the top spot, the young man moved into Kuangxuanli to prepare for the exam.

The two families have a deep connection, and the two children are not strangers to each other.

Therefore, the Zhu Family Garden, which was only separated by a wall, became a good place for the two children to compete in poetry and songs.

The boy came from a well-educated family, and Zhu Shuzhen was skilled in poetry and prose, so the two of them fell in love with each other and soon became lovers.

Zhu Shuzhen, who was deeply in love, had high expectations for her lover.

In the poem she expressed a little regret that she could not compare with the famous talented women in history who were so knowledgeable and talented, but you must believe it.

Zhu Shuzhen's parents were not confused either. They felt that they were old friends and knew each other well, and the boy was also a leader among people, so of course they sent their blessings to their daughter.

The imperial examination in Beijing is approaching, and the lovers are leaving for a long journey.

The one who saw him off with great enthusiasm was Zhu Shuzhen, and she couldn't help feeling reluctant to leave.

Time keeps flowing, the plum blossoms bloom next year, and the chrysanthemums that have bloomed for years have withered, and Zhu Shuzhen is waiting anxiously.

A few years later, one spring afternoon, Zhu Shuzhen was awakened from her nap by the murmur of swallows.

She opened the window and looked out, and saw a pair of colorful swallows building a nest under the eaves.

Watch them flying up and down, and listen to them chirping and flirting happily.

Zhu Shuzhen suddenly thought of her lover who was far away. It seemed like she hadn't received a letter from him for a long time and she wondered how he was doing.

The constant concern and the longing for deep love and everlasting companionship.

This was the reason why Zhu Shuzhen shed tears in front of the flowers and drowned her sorrows in wine.

Zhu Shuzhen burst into tears with a broken heart. Someone had sent a book thousands of miles away, but the boy was like a kite with a broken string, and would never come back.

A passionate love withered before it even bloomed.

Zhu Shuzhen was in great pain. She wanted so much to fall asleep, immersed in the dream of her first love and never wake up.

"At first, he was an official in Wu, Yue, Jing and Chu, and Zhu Shuzhen was always with him."

“But she had gradually shown signs of impatience, a feeling that was revealed in her “Spring Day Tears”.”

"The poem "Spring Day with Tears" says: "I am not free to go east or west as an official, and the river flows thousands of miles away from my bed;"

"There are no wild geese to bring home messages, and the cuckoos are sending away my sorrow."

"The moon sets, the birds sing, and the sky is full of beautiful scenery; the light of flowers and the shadows of willows fill the eyes;"

"I lean on the railing of the high building for a long time, feeling melancholy, my heart follows the white clouds and floats towards the sky."

"Zhu Shuzhen also blamed herself, thinking that it was not her true nature for a woman to spend her days writing poems and eulogizing the moon and the wind."

"You should take good care of the house and serve your husband."

"But her husband did make her sad. A kind of inertia had slowly crept into his skin during his time as an official, making him feel very comfortable with doing nothing."

"When he's not working, he spends all day in brothels."

"Prostitutes in the Song Dynasty can be roughly divided into four categories."

"The first is the official prostitutes directly controlled by the government, including the geishas in the Jiaofang during the Northern Song Dynasty and the military prostitutes managed by the prefectures and counties."

“Some focus on entertainment services, while others focus on new services.”

"The second type is the singing prostitutes privately owned by bureaucrats and wealthy people, who serve their masters and their friends with their skills or beauty."

“The third is the geisha in the cultural market, who mainly serve the audience with their skills.”

"Sometimes they also undertake official duties, and some geishas also provide sexual services."

"Fourth, there are purely commercial prostitutes, some of whom mainly serve as hostesses, and some of whom mainly engage in prostitution."

“But sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the two.”

"Zhu Shuzhen's husband was just a minor official. He mainly mixed with commercial prostitutes and sometimes even brought prostitutes home."

"One day, her husband came home drunk again and vomited all over the bedroom floor. He lay on the bed like a pig covered in mud."

"Later, her husband even beat her. She was so sad that she couldn't bear it, so she had to separate from her husband."

"Zhu Shuzhen was a famous talented woman. At that time, Wei Wan, the wife of Prime Minister Zeng Bu, was living in the capital Bianliang. She also led a lonely life and was also a woman who was good at writing lyrics."

"So he was willing to humble himself and travel thousands of miles to bring Zhu Shuzhen to Bianliang, where he recited poems and wrote lyrics."

"There were often feasts, laughter, singing and dancing to liven up the atmosphere."

"She became a guest of Zeng Bu's wife Wei Wan, and also dated some noble ladies."

Keshi: Zhu Shuzhen’s talent is as good as Li Qingzhao’s, and she is willing to challenge the entire era for love.

Zhu Shuzhen was in her early twenties when she suffered a broken heart.

Zhu Shuzhen missed the best opportunity to choose a good son-in-law.

The parents were anxious and sought help from a matchmaker to find a husband for their daughter.

Not bad, a minor official working in the county government came out to apply.

There is no intimacy under the moon and flowers, nor is there any sweet understanding.

Just because it was time for her to get married, Zhu Shuzhen transformed from a girl into a wife.

Even though Zhu Shuzhen was a talented woman, she could not escape the clichés. She truly desired her husband to be honored and respected.

After they really started living together, Zhu Shuzhen realized that they were simply not the same kind of people.

This young man has no ambition and is only good at taking advantage of others. He is a genuine mediocrity.

It would have been fine if he was just living a mediocre life, but he made his newlywed wife homeless and often had to wander around with him. The husband was even more fond of having affairs, often hanging out in brothels, drinking wine, and spending the night with prostitutes, leaving his wife alone at home.

In such a large courtyard, the new bride is often alone, leaning against the railing and complaining to the world to relieve her sorrow.

The loneliness of two people is more disheartening than the loneliness of one person.

Soon, an emotional rift appeared between Zhu Shuzhen and her husband.

Even so, the husband did not take his wife's feelings into consideration at all.

Once, the husband came back home in the middle of the night and brought a prostitute with him.

The two men and women, who were already extremely drunk, vomited all over the bedroom in their home, making it extremely dirty.

Zhu Shuzhen became furious and pointed at her husband's nose and scolded him.

Not only did the husband not repent, he also thought that his wife had embarrassed him in front of Yehua, so he rushed over and started beating and kicking her.

Zhu Shuzhen was extremely disappointed in marriage because of her helplessness as her anger turned into hatred towards her husband and her resentment towards her parents for not being responsible in matching their marriage.

She and her husband agreed to divorce and she left the house with nothing.

However, Zhu Shuzhen did not choose to go home, but went to Shengjing Bianliang at the invitation of her friend Wei Wan.

Although she was a woman, Wei Wan's talent was well-known in the court and the country at that time.

He was proficient in everything from playing the piano, chess, calligraphy to painting, especially in composing lyrics and fu, and was considered the leader in the contemporary literary world.

As the widow of an official, Wei Wan lived a rich and comfortable life.

Every day, he invited scholars and other elegant people to compete with him in writing and calligraphy, and he lived a carefree and happy life.

From people's rumors, she learned that there was a talented woman in Qiantang who was the most famous in Jiangnan. Wei Wan felt a little unconvinced.

So he asked someone to send a message to Zhu Shuzhen, asking her to stay in Bian Jing for a while so that they could compete with each other.

At that time, Zhu Shuzhen was already married and it was not convenient for her to go alone.

Since her husband didn't like women's poetry and songs, she had to postpone the trip to Bianliang again and again.

Now that she was divorced from her husband and was free, she accepted the invitation and came to Bian Jing alone.

After meeting Zhu Shuzhen and having an in-depth conversation, Wei Wan couldn't help but admire her.

This girl, who was a dozen years younger than me, was indeed very good at poetry and song, and her level was definitely better than mine.

She was so happy that she treated Zhu Shuzhen as a sister from a different family. She kept her in her house, reciting poems and writing couplets and drinking with friends every day.

Zhu Shuzhen was also very interested in the urban life in Bianliang.

Especially with Wei Wan's introduction, she got to know many noble ladies in the capital.

From them, I experienced the luxury and freedom that Qiantang could not match.

The daily life of singing and dancing, welcoming and seeing off guests broadened Zhu Shuzhen's horizons.

The colorful daily life at this time enabled her creation to make great progress.

Moreover, the style of pastoral farming and seeing swallows thinking of spring has been changed to become full of cheerfulness.

The days in Bian Jing brought joy to Zhu Shuzhen and also made her life a highlight.

Make friends through literature, drink wine and compete in poetry, and stroll on the streets with a few good friends.

Zhu Shuzhen's ideas flowed freely and her inspiration was overflowing.

The mood is cheerful and the emotions are high, which is reflected in the joy in the poem.

Even across the curtain of history, one can still feel the warm breeze blowing on one's face and feel excited and encouraged.

"Life is colorful, but I can't get rid of the feeling of loss."

"The best spring in Beijing, with beautiful songs and dances that are truly outstanding;"

"I am only worried that at dawn, the stars will disperse and turn into a cloud on Wushan Mountain."

"But the activities in Bianliang City did broaden her life horizons, and during this period of her life she met the person she wanted."

"Like a dead tree coming back to life, she has regained her vitality."

"In the misty and dewy plum season, she came to the lake to meet her lover and have fun together."

"In the misty drizzle, the two walked hand in hand and admired the lotus flowers in the lake."

"They came to a very secluded place, sat down, whispered, and loved each other."

"She was gentle and charming, and she could no longer suppress the fire of love in her heart. She threw herself into her lover's arms without hesitation, and silently enjoyed the happiness of a beautiful love in the world."

"At this time, she especially cherished the beautiful spring scenery. She hoped that the thousands of weeping willows outside the building could hold the spring scenery."

“Even if spring must go away and we cannot keep it, we should follow the wind and see where it will go.”

"But spring will surely leave, and when spring arrives, the mountains and rivers will be covered with green."

"In the drizzling rain, listen to the cuckoo's mournful cry."

"At this time, if you ask spring with wine, spring will not answer, leaving you with sadness."

"At the time, Zhu Shuzhen was immersed in a deep love affair and lamented the brevity of life and the fleeting youth."

"Only men have been allowed to visit prostitutes, although women do so in pursuit of pure love."

"As long as you don't act according to feudal ethics, someone will come out to curse you, and some people will belittle Zhu Shuzhen's life in Bianjing City."

"Zhu Shu was immersed in her late love, but the Jin soldiers broke through Bianjing and Song Huizong and Song Qinzong were captured."

"She and her lover were separated during the war, and she returned to her parents' home in Qiantang, Zhejiang alone."

"Her parents thought their daughter had brought shame to the family, so they burned all the poems she had written."

"Today, only one out of a hundred of them have survived. Someone compiled them and called them "The Heartbroken Anthology."

"After returning to her hometown, she still hoped that her lover would come to her."

"She grew older, and she increasingly felt the impermanence and emptiness of human affairs."

"In the end, she died in sadness and loneliness, and people didn't know exactly what year she died."

Liu Rushi: Zhu Shuzhen's talent is comparable to that of Li Qingzhao, but she was unfortunate in both her life and her death.

Through Wei Wan’s circle of friends, Zhu Shuzhen met her childhood friend Lan Yan.

One of her childhood fellow townsmen, her playmate when playing house, was now working in Bian Jing.

At first, the two of them just greeted each other and exchanged polite pleasantries.

As the relationship developed in depth, Zhu Shuzhen broke through the feudal and secular barriers and took a bold step forward.

What a pure girl! In pursuit of love, she broke free from the shackles of feudal world.

Completely disregarding the suspicion of others, he threw himself into his arms and enjoyed the human impulse like the drizzle of yellow plum rain.

But unfortunately, she grew up in an era where independent sentiments were lost.

It can bury a living love in a deep valley, never to see the light of day again.

As expected, when Zhu Shuzhen's parents learned of her bold behavior, they immediately sent people to Bian Jing to condemn and obstruct her.

Faced with her parents' reproach, Zhu Shuzhen tried to resist.

She even prayed to the power of nature to help her retain the love that was about to fade away.

But the pressure was not limited to her parents. The secular social opinion also regarded her bold behavior as a disaster.

However, Zhu Shuzhen, who had seen the prosperity of Kyoto and tasted the bitterness of life, no longer paid attention to the gossip of the pseudo-rationalists.

It is rare to be embraced by true love in life, and the joy of drinking wine and appreciating the moon with your loved one makes you feel happy.

Just get drunk and be drunk, why bother about other people's gossip, next year may not be the same as now.

Zhu Shuzhen let it go and no longer cared about what people said. She just enjoyed herself as she pleased.

But the good times did not last long. Just when the two were falling in love and flying together, the war broke out.

The Jin people had long coveted half of the Song Dynasty.

Finally, he could no longer suppress his ambition and turned his small-scale attacks into a large-scale attack.

Bianjing fell quickly and the king was taken captive.

The common people were like frightened birds, running everywhere.

Zhu Shuzhen and her lover were separated during the war.

Zhu Shuzhen, who was stranded in Bian Jing, was lonely and helpless.

The days of inviting friends and having fun together, singing and dancing are no longer there, and all that is left is the helplessness of drinking tears and drowning sorrows alone.

Thinking about my parents who are still at home far away in the south of the Yangtze River.

There might still be warmth at home, but Zhu Shuzhen was still too naive.

The legal marriage arranged by the parents was thrown out just like that. How can the parents keep their dignity?

The news that Zhu Shuzhen had met the wrong man in the capital and secretly married a man had already spread among her neighbors.

The furious parents did not warmly embrace their daughter who came back full of hope. Instead, they glared at her and scolded her coldly.

Things in this world are hard to go against, lovers have disappeared without a trace, and all that is left is tears and sorrow.

Zhu Shuzhen had nothing and she despaired of life.

When Zhu Shuzhen returned home, she did not receive the favor of her parents.

She could not face the slander and cold words from the common people, so she could only stay in her room.

I am alone at home, with no friends or family to care about me.

Zhu Shuzhen was ill, and although her parents sent someone to treat her, they could not cure her mind.

If the medicine does not cure the disease, the heart will die and the luck will end.

On a bleak autumn night, Zhu Shuzhen traveled alone to the west to get rid of her worldly troubles.

A talented woman of her generation, with her resistance to the world, disappeared quietly in the long river of history.

Zhu Shuzhen passed away. Her father, who had deep-rooted feudal ideas, felt that his daughter's behavior was too immoral and her death was not a pity.

In a rage, she threw all the poems and essays she had written throughout her life into the flames along with her daughter's burial.

Fortunately, there were people with discerning eyes who visited people with knowledge and tried their best to collect some of Zhu Shuzhen's poems, which allowed them to be preserved. (End of this chapter)