Discovering the New Capital —— The story of Huang E (poetess), the wife of Yang Shen, the top scholar in Ming Dynasty, and the top scholar's mansion in Xindu

　　(Photo: Portrait of Huang E)

　　Researcher Zhang Dequan, director of the Yang Shen Research Association of Sichuan Province, wrote in The Biography of Sichuan Historical Celebrities Series Yang Shen: "Huang E (1498-1569) was born in Suining, Sichuan Province in the Ming Dynasty, a poetess and the wife of Yang Shen. Huang E was smart and eager to learn, and he was good at poetry and ci, especially Sanqu. Jing Jing Shi Gongbi Za, the first well-known female writer in the history of China Sanqu, also known as Huang Anren. " Huang E is called "the daughter of Shangshu, the sister of Zhifu, the daughter-in-law of Prime Minister, and the wife of No.1 scholar." What is the relationship between Huang E, a talented woman, and the scholar's mansion in Xindu? There are many folk stories, but there are few records in the literature. We look for and find them in Yang Shen research expert Zhang Dequan's Biography of Yang Shen:

　　First, after Suining talented woman Huang E was born into a noble family,

　　In the 11th year of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty (1498), Huang E was born into an official family in Suining, Sichuan. Father Huang Ke, whose name is Mingyu, was a scholar in the 20th year of Ming Chenghua (1484). He served as a magistrate of a county, an imperial adviser to the right capital, a left assistant minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and a minister of Nanjing Ministry of Industry. I worked in Beijing because of my diligent management. Mother Nie, the daughter of Nie Xin, a Wei of Huangmei County, Hubei Province, knows books and etiquette, and is strict with family education. She is both Huang E's loving mother and the first teacher. Huang E has been clever since childhood. Under the guidance of her mother, she abides by the precepts of boudoir, is eager to learn and make progress, writes good words, plays the piano well, and is proficient in poetry and lyrics. She is called Ban Zhao by her elders as a talented woman. Huang E has a poem "Spring is Things":

　　"Golden hairpin laughs at red window paper and introduces a ray of plum blossom fragrance.

　　The worm also pities the early spring scenery and drags the petals upside down on the east wall. "

　　In the fourth year of Zhengde (1509), Huang Ke was promoted to the right capital, and the governor was Yan Sui (now Yulin, Shaanxi). In the spring of the sixth year of Zhengde (1511), the Tatar leader did not stab into the Hetao area. After Huang Ke led his troops to defeat the invaders in one fell swoop, he sent people back to Beijing to report the good news. At this time, Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, was the top scholar in the examination. Huang Ke and Yang Tinghe worked together in the DPRK for many years. The two families had already become a moral friend, and they also went to congratulate each other when they heard the news. At this time, Huang E was thirteen years old. When she heard that Yang Shen to be no.1 was the best, she admired him very much, so she studied harder. In the ninth year of Zhengde (in 1514), he was promoted to the imperial censor of the right capital of Nanjing, and soon became the minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. However, Huang Ke felt that the imperial court was corrupt and old, so he resigned and returned to his hometown of Suining with his family. When Huang E returned home, he didn't expect to have a marriage with Yang Shen a few years later. In Suining, Huang E recalled the past events in Beijing, so he mobilized the strings, expressed his feelings of nostalgia and played a new work, Wen Jun:

　　"Linqiong heavy guest Shu Xiangru, clothing Rongye people idle capital.

　　On the palace, Yane smiled and welcomed guests, embroidered six songs of red.

　　It's late for Yue Zhu to wear the curtain in the bridal chamber, and heptachord is half shy and lazy in singing.

　　It's cold and dusk, but you can't help it. You hang the crown tassel and jade hairpin obliquely. "

　　(Photo: No.1 Scholar and No.2 Scholar in Tang Dynasty in Meizhou)

　　(Photo: Tianfu Family Style Museum "Yang Shen High School Champion" picture)

　　Second, Yang Shen married a talented woman, Huang E, and Liu Ge wrote about it.

　　In 1511, Yang Shen was the first scholar in the sixth year of Zhengde since the reign of Emperor Wu of Ming Dynasty, and was awarded the official position of the Imperial Academy to compile and participate in the compilation of Records of Emperor Wu of Ming Dynasty. The new capital, Yang Shenzu's residence, was rebuilt as the Champion House. When Wu Zong went out of Juyongguan, he was reluctant to remonstrate. Emperor shizong of the Ming dynasty succeeded to the throne, and he was re-appointed as Hanlin's editor and official of the banquet. In the 13th year of Zhengde (1518), Yang Shen was originally married to Wang Anren and died in Xindu. In the 14th year of Zhengde (1519), Yang Shen married Huang E under the arrangement of his elders, and the two families got married. Huang E was one of the four talented women in Shu, and the process of their marriage was a much-told story. On a sunny autumn day in the fourteenth year of Zhengde, Yang Shen rode on a well-dressed black horse and was surrounded by people walking in front of the wedding procession, with colorful flags flying and the sound of suona, followed by dozens of people carrying boxes and loads, and left for Suining in a mighty way. In Suining, Yang Shen wrote the poem "Guo Xi ascended the mountain in Suining County on the 9th";

　　"Hazy Wan Li, swan goose a few lines.

　　The river is close to the bird country, and the mountain is high.

　　Frost is stained with travel clothes, and the shadow falls into the fairy cup.

　　Sit and cherish the good morning night, and the oblique spring is not planned to return. "

　　In fact, Yang Shen went to Suining to marry Huang E in such a big way. Yang's reputation is abroad, his father is a record, and he is a scholar. Huang E's father used to be a minister, ranking second, and his family and Yang's family are also suitable. Huang E proposed to go to Mount Emei again after marrying the scholar's mansion. The couple made a special trip to visit Meishan's aunt, and it was also a new wedding banquet. During this trip, Yang Shen wrote a poem "The Peak":

　　"The world of mortals is divided here, and the people are flying over the cliffs.

　　There was no sign of Mu Wang, and I never heard the sound of Wang Di cuckoo.

　　The snow has not disappeared in spring and summer, and a stream of clouds is common in rain or shine.

　　I would rather resign when I support the stone, and I am happy when I collect medicine. "

　　(Photo: Introduction of Liu Ge, Zhuangyuan House)

　　Because Huang E married in the Champion House of Xindu and planted pomegranate in the courtyard, pomegranate trees are flourishing, and this attic is called "Liuge". Huang E also recited the pomegranate tree in the poem "Ting Liu", describing that its spiritual roots are immortal, and new branches are sprouted, and the stems are coiled like a dragon dance, so it is called "Liu Long", which is full of flowers every year, making it a spectacle. Huang E is knowledgeable in classics and history, and his works are "elegant in purport, charming in style, lyrical and rhyming, and natural in harmony". Huang E's works are very rich. Sichuan Zongzhi records that "there are collections of works handed down to the world", and more poems, words and songs have been written in his life. Huang E left poems in his hometown Suining dressing table and Xindu Liuge. Huang E's poem Ting Liu:

　　"Moved to the western regions, when the flowers are hidden outside the sill.

　　Not because autumn can bear fruit, but because summer is half rotten.

　　I wonder how early peaches and plums bloom, but it is too late to grasp the root of the spirit.

　　Blossoming is like a bright glow, and it is relatively more appropriate to cool at night. "

　　Lingui Lake, the champion mansion of Xindu, has a quiet environment and is named after planting pomegranate trees in the courtyard. When they were happily married, the red pomegranate was in full bloom. I like to look at the branches, the flowers are hidden, and the flowers are like clouds, which arouses Huang E's poetic sentiment and writes the poem "Ting Liu" with lingering feelings. In ancient times, pomegranate seeds were numerous, symbolizing the reproduction of children after marriage. Huang E expresses her feelings by holding objects, comparing herself with the willow tree, and pouring passionate and pure love into the Sheng 'an with implicit language and clever metaphors. Huang E is a well-educated and insightful woman. She cherishes her time and pays attention to learning. She often sings poems and papers with Sheng 'an, plays the piano and paints, learns from each other and works tirelessly. She cares about state affairs, studies the people, and tries her best to encourage Sheng 'an to display her political ambitions.

　　The following autumn, when they watched the delicate osmanthus flowers in Gui Hu, Huang E accompanied Sheng 'an, bid farewell to his hometown and resumed his post in Beijing. In the "Huang E Pavilion" across the lake in Shengan Temple, Gui Hu, the new capital, there are statues, works and relics of Huang E holding a poem. Liang Zhenglin, a famous poet in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, wrote couplets on "Lady Huang's Temple";

　　"I can't look forward to the return of the guests, and the white elephant golden rooster lovesickness Wan Li.

　　Don't hurt people's lives, and red pomegranate and osmanthus have their own merits. "

　　(Photo: Map of Xindu Ancient City Site)

　　Third, the Yangtze River mournfully leaves Huang E to help the coffin return home.

　　In the third year of Jiajing (1524), Yang Shen was involved in the "Great Ceremony" incident, which angered Sejong, was dismissed by the staff, and was detained in Yongchang, Yunnan. When he was in southern Yunnan, he led domestic slaves to help quell the rebellion of Anquan in Xundian and Wudingfeng in Chaowen. Since then, although he traveled to and from Sichuan and Yunnan, he still died in Yu Yongchang. In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing (1559), he died in the garrison at the age of 72. Ming Muzong posthumously awarded Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, and Ming Xizong posthumously posthumously awarded "Wenxian".

　　Huang E and Yang Shen lived in prosperity for only five years, and suffered a great blow from Yang Shen's garrison in Yunnan. Since then, they have had a rough life and sent poems to express their feelings. In September of the third year of Jiajing (1524), in the bleak autumn wind, Huang E led his servants to escort Sheng 'an to Yongchang, Yunnan. They went south from the canal by boat and went to Dongting in Jiangxi. After going to Jiangling Post, which belongs to Jiangling, Hubei Province, Huang E will continue to go to Xiling to cross back to Sichuan by boat alone, while Yang Shen will land and go to the garrison alone. Yang Shen's poem titled Jiangling Bienei;

　　"With the pan-Dongting wave, I went to Xiling to cross alone.

　　Lonely back to the cold current, the end of the world will be dusk.

　　At this moment, if you leave your feelings, your heart will suddenly be surprised.

　　What is the moment? Don't hate it.

　　Depressed Yunnan Haiqu, acacia is separated from the cold.

　　The wind shakes the heart sadly, and the dew is full of sorrow.

　　The mountains are high and there are many boils, and the geese pass by less.

　　My hometown is thousands of miles away, and I dream of smoking every night. "

　　If in normal times, Sheng 'an writes poems and lyrics, Huang E always sings in harmony, and both sides are also "singing with the woman". But in the face of such parting, she was really unable to mention this "fateful pen" and had to send it with tears. Husband and wife were reluctant to part in Jiangling Post, and left sadly. After Huang E went by boat, Shengan stood by the river for a long time, looking at the returning sail. When they parted, they went to Yunnan, and Yang Shen felt very sad. He wrote the words "Linjiangxian Garrison in Jiangling, Yunnan":

　　"Chusai Bashan crossing, pedestrians don't go upstairs.

　　It's a long way to go. Look at the distant water and go on a lonely boat alone.

　　But I envy birds on the sand, flying together and staying in the river continent.

　　Who is the bright moon for tonight? It's good to have a clear picture, but don't leave your sorrow. "

　　Yang Shen and Huang E bid farewell to their youth in expectation and yearning. However, Emperor Jiajing refused to forgive Yang Shen until his death. As the reigning and long-lived emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his long life became the fate and tragedy of Yang Shen and his wife! Because Yang Shen and Huang E were separated from each other, Huang E was sickly and had no children, and Yang Youren, a late Nadeshiko. This situation brought great pain to Yang Shen in his later years. In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing (1559), Yang Shen was seriously ill and had a farewell poem "Feeling in June 14th":

　　"The rest of my life has been hoary for seventy years, and it is clear that the statutes allow me to retire.

　　Returning to Hugh has become a Bajiang barbary, and it is so heavy that it has been turned into a prisoner in Yunnan.

　　It's not a clear idea to move, but it's a clever trick to trap people.

　　My hometown is full of children, and I am sad and tearful under the spring. "

　　Yang Shen started from Luzhou this winter and returned to Yongchang the following year, during which he wrote more than 100 poems. At this time, he was unable to edit and go to press, so he had to write to Li Yuanyang, a disciple of Dali, asking for a preface and arrangement for this collection of poems. Li Yuanyang lived up to his old friends' trust, so he named the collection of poems "seventy lines of notes", wrote the preface, printed it, and wrote to Yang Shen. In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing (1559), at the end of June, Yang Shen's disciples, Li Yuanyang, Zhang Han and Tang Kun, the seven sons of Yangmen, received Yang Shen's farewell poem "Farewell in Illness, Li Zhang Tang San Gong (No June)":

　　"Demon royal guest eight thousand miles, the master of the western emperor for forty years.

　　Complaining that you don't learn from Li Sao, Zhengpa is still an elegant fairy.

　　Know that I am guilty of writing in the spring and autumn period, and now I am happy.

　　The middle stream is half-valley and the pool is south, which means it is not public or private. "

　　On July 6th, the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, Yang Shen died in Kunming at the age of seventy-two. On his deathbed, Yang Shen warned his descendants to value righteousness over profit, be brave and leave a legacy poem:

　　"In the interest, I dare not ancestors, and I dare not turn back.

　　Although it doesn't help, it's up to your relatives.

　　When it comes to peace, it is safe to live in peace, singing and hitting the soil, with the end of the year.

　　The care of heaven is thick, and it's embarrassing! My career is over, enough!

　　Trapped and prosperous, rushed and surplus, spoiled and humiliated, flat and blessed! "

　　You Jujing, the governor of Yunnan Province, reported Yang Shen's death and sent Yang Shen's body back to his hometown in Xindu, Sichuan for burial. Yang Shen's coffin went out from Yunnan to Luzhou, and Huang E went to Luzhou to welcome back to Yang Shen's coffin. Her husband was buried on the right side of Yang Tinghe's tomb. Huang E wrote a mourning chapter based on Liu Lingxian, a talented woman in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The words were sad and sorrowful, and all the listeners cried. Ten years later, in the third year of Qin Long (1569), Huang E died and was buried with Yang Sheng 'an's husband. Huang E realized the vow of "living with one heart and dying with the same point" with her husband.

　　(Photo: Xindu Yang Shen Champion Couple Buried Tomb)

　　Fourth, the husband and wife buried the champion grave Liuge as a cultural landmark.

　　The cemetery of Yang Zhuangyuan's clan ancestors is now preserved in Xindu City. In the fifteenth year of Zhengde (1515), after Yang Chun's death, Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty sent Zhu Luan, the director of the Ritual Department, to build a tomb and an Oracle sacrifice for him. In the third year of Jiajing (1524), Yang Tinghe resigned and returned to his hometown because of the great ceremony. Jiajing died in the eighth year and was buried at the left side of his father Yang Chun's tomb. In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, Yang Shen died in garrison, Yunnan, and his wife, Huang Ying, returned to the coffin and was buried on the right side of his father's tomb, Yang Tinghe. In the first month of eight years after the death of Sheng 'an (1567), he sent a letter to give a T-shirt to make suggestions to the late ministers. Shengan was restored to the original official, and was posthumously awarded as Shaoqing and Qiaozhuang Jie of Guanglu Temple. Huang E was also named pleasant by Anren. Huang E's "Liuge in the Champion House" has become a historical and cultural landmark of Xindu.

　　(Photo: Xindu Cultural Landmark "Liuge")

　　In 2017, Sichuan Province announced the first batch of top ten historical celebrities in Sichuan, such as Yang Shen (Sheng 'an), the champion of the Ming Dynasty in the new capital, and so on. The Yang family is "a scholar with seven scholars, and the prime minister is the champion". Yang Shen's father, Yang Tinghe, was a scholar of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, and was the official minister and records. Yang Shen, the only scholar in Sichuan in the sixth year of Zhengde (1511) in the Ming Dynasty, the scholar in Yang Shen and his ancestral home were converted into the scholar's mansion, where a scholar and seven scholars were born, with a bright human history. In the 19th year of Qing Daoguang, Zhang Fengshu of Xindu County was rebuilt. Xindu Zhuangyuan Mansion is located at No.31 West Street, Xindu District, Chengdu. In 1985, the Champion House in Xindu was announced as "Xindu County Cultural Relics Protection Unit" and later changed to "Xindu District Cultural Relics Protection Unit", which became a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

　　(Photo: Xindu Zhuangyuan House "Xindu District Cultural Relics Protection Unit")

　　(Photo: Xindu Cultural Landmark "Champion House in Ming Dynasty")

　　(Source of the article: Zhang Dequan's Biography of Sichuan Historical Celebrities Series in Yang Shen, Tiandi Publishing House, photo: Zhang Dequan, feng wenjiang, graphic editor: Tang Bianhu, Meizhou, Note: The above contents cannot be reproduced without permission! )