History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 947: Big and Small Zhou Hou
【Big and small weeks】

Zhou Zong, courtesy name Juntai (note, not Taijun), was born in Lianshui County (now Lianshui County, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province). He was half a fellow villager of Xu Zhigao, whose ancestral home was in Xuzhou. His background was quite similar to Xu Zhigao's, "living in chaos when young, lonely and poor". Xuzhou in the late Tang Dynasty was ravaged by wars, and there were many people like Zhou Zong and Xu Zhigao.

Zhou Zong won Xu Zhigao's trust due to their similar backgrounds and neighboring hometowns. Zhou Zong did not disappoint Xu Zhigao's trust and proved himself to Xu Zhigao in two major events:
First, after Xu Wen's death, he helped Xu Zhigao defeat Xu Zhixun, which eventually led to Xu Zhigao taking over Xu Wen's legacy.
The second was to help Xu Zhigao complete the abdication and usurp the throne of Wu and establish the Tang Dynasty.

After Xu Zhigao became emperor, he promoted Zhou Zong to be prime minister and privy councilor, making him one of the two people Xu Zhigao trusted most (the other was Ma Renyu).

During the reign of Li Jing, Zhou Zong retired as Si Tu and lived in Shengzhou. He died of illness during the "Three Expeditions to Huainan" at the age of over 70.

The eldest daughter of Emperor Zhouzong, nicknamed "Ehuang", was called "Zhou Ehuang". She was beautiful, well-versed in history, good at singing and dancing, and especially good at playing the pipa. At a banquet, Zhou Ehuang played a pipa for Li Jing, who appreciated her so much that he gave her a Shao-groove pipa. Later, he married her for his son Li Yu. That year, she was 19 years old.

Li Yu had a deep affection for her and wrote many poems for her, such as "Yulouchun: Evening Makeup, Bright Skin and Snow":
"After finishing her evening make-up, her skin is as white as snow. The concubines in the Spring Palace line up in a line. The sound of the flute cuts through the water and clouds. The song of the colorful dress is played again.

Who will scatter the fragrance in the wind? I am drunk and beat the railings, but my feelings are not deep. When I return home, don't light the red candles, wait for the clear moonlight under the horse's hooves. "

This is also one of Li Yu's representative works in his early years, depicting the extravagant and decadent court life of the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is in sharp contrast to his works after the fall of the country.

Zhou Ehuang was not only good at singing and dancing, but also proficient in rhythm, a composer, and had the talent of "composing a poem in seven steps". On a snowy night, Li Yu and her were "drinking and drinking", eating hot pot and singing songs. Suddenly, Zhou Ehuang had a brilliant idea and came up with a bold idea. She asked Li Yu to dance.

Li Yu said that it is not difficult to transform into the little prince of a nightclub, as long as you can compose a new song on the spot.

Just like Cao Zhi's composition of the seven-step poem, Zhou Ehuang waved her hand and the song "Inviting the Drunken Dance" came into being.

In addition to "Yao Zui Wu Po", "Han Lai Chi Po" was also written by Zhou Ehuang. In addition, Zhou Ehuang and Li Yu restored the famous Tang Dynasty song "Nichang Yuyi Qu" and created a second work based on it. However, this cover of "Nichang Yuyi Qu" is considered to be the sound of the country's demise.

According to records, Xu Xuan was also an expert in music. After hearing this piece, he was very surprised and asked the court musician Cao Sheng: "This piece should be soothing and gentle, why does it sound so hurried and aggressive to me?"

Cao Sheng shrugged helplessly, "It's just a secondary creation. The original version was a slow shake, and now it's a local and social shake. Alas, I'm afraid it's not a good sign!"

People only know that Li Yu is a talented person in literature and art, but in fact he is just an old-fashioned social person.

In 964 AD, Zhou Ehuang fell seriously ill. During her illness, Li Yu served Zhou Ehuang like his own mother, taking care of her without taking off his clothes. He would taste her food and medicine first and make sure there was nothing wrong before giving it to Zhou Ehuang. Just when Zhou Ehuang's condition improved, an accident happened in the palace. At that time, because Zhou Ehuang was ill, she temporarily fostered her second son Li Zhongxuan in another courtyard. Li Zhongxuan was lively, cute, and smart. At the age of three, he could recite the "Book of Filial Piety" word for word. One day in October 964, Li Zhongxuan was playing in front of a Buddha statue. A large glass lamp was knocked over by a cat, making a loud noise. Li Zhongxuan was seriously frightened, and then he fell ill and died at the age of 10, leaving us too early.

The death of Li Zhongxuan dealt a heavy blow to Zhou Ehuang. In the great pain of losing her son, her condition deteriorated rapidly. Looking at Li Yu who was guarding her bed, Zhou Ehuang confessed affectionately, saying, "I am lucky to marry into the palace and enjoy more than ten years of prosperity and wealth. This is the greatest honor for a woman. I am very satisfied. The only regret is that Zhongxuan died young, and I will also leave. I am afraid that I will never be able to repay your kindness!"

Li Yu cried bitterly.

A few days later, Zhou Ehuang dictated her will, explained her affairs, and requested a simple burial. Then she forced herself to take a bath, change her clothes, hold a jade cicada in her mouth, and close her eyes peacefully. She died in the west room of Yaoguang Palace at the age of 29, leaving us too early.

According to records, Li Yu was so grief-stricken that he called himself "Widow Yu." He was emaciated and weak, unable to stand on his own. "He stood there in agony, relying on a cane to get up." He wrote his own elegy, which contained thousands of words, "all of which were extremely sad." This is a very famous article in history to commemorate his deceased wife, and it is also the longest article of all Li Yu's works.

Three days before Zhou Ehuang passed away, she gave her most beloved pipa, which was given to her by Li Jing, to Li Yu. After Zhou Ehuang passed away, Li Yu was reminded of her by the sight of the pipa, and he wrote a poem of mourning, "Writing on the Back of the Pipa".

Both this long article and this poem pale in comparison to “Ten years of life and death.”

Zhou Ehuang's posthumous title was "Zhaohui", and she was known in history as "Queen Zhaohui".

Li Yu's feelings for Zhou Ehuang seem to be touching and sincere, and the plot of a youth idol drama is full, but... this sincere and touching love is not perfect, and it has a bit of a sense of losing its integrity. A few days before Zhou Ehuang's death, she suddenly learned a shocking truth and died in anger. Her posture of death was also very strange:

"Later, he was angry and never showed his face to others until his death."

It means that Zhou Ehuang was very angry and lay facing the wall when she died, as if she didn't want to see someone even after her death.

If the accidental death of her youngest son Li Zhongxuan aggravated Zhou Ehuang's illness, then this incident was the direct cause of her death. However, after in-depth analysis, the conclusion we came to directly subverted our three views. This was the first palace scandal of the Southern Tang Dynasty - the "Huatang Gate" incident.

Thanks to my old friend “江湖刘白” for the monthly ticket support!



(End of this chapter)