What made ancient Yangzhou beauties famous all over the world?

Indeed, Yangzhou has produced beautiful women since ancient times. In 2008, Yangzhou held the selection of "Twelve Women in Yangzhou". The selected beauties are Sara (Han nationality), Zhao (Han nationality), Zhao Hede (Han nationality), Wu Jiangxian (Sui), (Tang), (Southern Tang), (Southern Tang), Mao Xixi (Song) and Zhu (Yuan). However, Lin Daiyu, Du Shiniang, E Huang Nvying, Liu Yiyi, Qionghua Fairy and Peony Girl were not selected because of insufficient research on their identity and household registration, but they are also legendary Yangzhou people. Yangzhou beauty is really shining with stars!

First of all, Yangzhou is located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Canal, with dense water networks, pure water quality, mild climate, pleasant scenery, rich products and bleak diet. According to "Five Miscellanies", "Weiyang was born in the world, Sichuan is beautiful, so women are more beautiful." And "Customs" also said: "There are many men in the mountains and many women in the water, so there are many women on the land." As the saying goes, Yangzhou women have mushroomed. Most of the beautiful women in Yangzhou are delicate and pretty, full of red, graceful and light-footed, which is closely related to the good soil and water nourishment in Yangzhou.

Secondly, it can be traced back to the tyrant Yang Di, who was the "bamboo in the south mountain, endless". Before Yang Di became emperor, he served as the general manager of Yangzhou for ten years. Yangzhou's "beautiful scenery, bright flowers" made him forget it. After becoming emperor, he went to Yangzhou to see Qionghua three times. Every time I go to Yangzhou, Yang Di's harem beauty almost rushes out. Yangzhou has a jingle: "Emperor Yang Di went to Yangzhou, and three thousand beautiful women pulled the dragon boat." Li Shangyin once said that "the spring breeze cuts the palace brocade all over the country, and half the obstacles and half the sails." In the seven years since the Great Cause, farmers in various parts of the Sui Dynasty revolted constantly, and the emperor Yang Di was killed by the imperial general Yu Wenhuaji and others in Yangzhou. With it, thousands of stunning concubines and ladies-in-waiting went to Yangzhou to live and settle down in the local area. A large number of beautiful women have brought good genes to Yangzhou, making Yangzhou women more and more beautiful and enchanting, and getting better from generation to generation.

Thirdly, with the opening of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yangzhou, as a water transport hub, played an increasingly important role and became the most prosperous city at that time. Since the eighth century, Yangzhou has been called "the important town between Jianghuai and Guangling, which is rich in the world" for more than 1000 years. Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty has a good reputation of "prospering one and benefiting two" in the whole country, which means that Yangzhou was the first prosperous city at that time. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yangzhou salt merchants occupied a dominant position in the national salt transportation industry. Taking the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong as an example, Yangzhou salt merchants earned more than 50,000 yuan in silver150,000 yuan each year and paid more than 6 million yuan in salt tax, accounting for about 60% of the national salt courses. This year, China's total economic output was 32% of the world's, but the salt tax provided by Yangzhou salt merchants alone accounted for 8% of the world's total economic output. As a result, dignitaries and poets gathered in Yangzhou, feasting and laughing. This has also attracted a large number of artistic celebrities, prostitutes and other beautiful women. Yangzhou at that time was simply a city of gold and silver, talent and beauty.

In addition, Yangzhou women love beauty and are good at taking care of themselves and dressing up. Although there were no chemicals and synthetic materials at that time, it was even more amazing that the flowers and plants around us were just available at hand, or made into sachets and moved to far away places, or used for skin care. "Three points of beauty, seven points of beauty" plays an important role. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were three kinds of powder: Dai Chunlin powder shop, Xue Tianxi powder shop and Xie Fuchun powder shop, which were popular in society at that time. Many young women use powder as a symbol of beauty. In the end, Xie Fuchun became the first cosmetics store in China, and won the international silver award and honorary certificate of Panama Expo on 19 15, becoming an internationally famous cosmetics brand and the first cosmetics brand in China at that time.

Some people unilaterally think that the traditional beauties in Yangzhou are mostly "thin horses" and "brothels", which is actually a joke without historical basis. In my opinion, Yangzhou beauties are famous all over the world, not only because of their beautiful appearance, but also because of their profound connotation, because Yangzhou has a large number of beautiful women with healthy and positive images and superb skills such as playing chess, calligraphy and painting.

Take the well-known Lin Daiyu as an example. Born in Yangzhou, Daiyu is smart and handsome, and her parents love her like the apple of their eye. When she was five years old, she got a tutor. Early education laid a good foundation for Daiyu's study. Lin Daiyu in Cao Xueqin's chest is undoubtedly outstanding and a poetic talented woman; She is brilliant and poetic. She is versatile: she is well-read and knowledgeable. She loves books, not only reading four books, but also reading corner plays The West Chamber, Peony Pavilion and Peach Blossom Fan. He is not only familiar with the works of Li, Du, Wang, Meng, Li Shangyin and Lu You, but also has research experience. She is not only good at playing drums, but also knows music. Her talent touched everyone. At the Chrysanthemum Poetry Meeting, she won two awards in one fell swoop, and her "Funeral Poem" and "Autumn Window Storm" were unparalleled. Cao Xueqin's family background has a deep relationship with Yangzhou, and the Lin Daiyu he created is undoubtedly the beauty image of Yangzhou in his mind.

Princess Sara is the daughter of Liu Jian, the king of Hanshui River. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty married Wusunguo (now the upper reaches of the Ili River), named Xijun Princess Jiangdu, and married Wusunguo Wang Kunmo, who was the first "pro-princess" to leave the fortress before Zhaojun. She wrote "Elegy" in a foreign country: "My family married me, and I am far away in a foreign country, King Wusun. The vault is a room with a wall. Meat is food and cheese is pulp. I often have a lingering fear and wish to return to my hometown for Huang Wei. " She set several firsts in the history of China: the first person who was successful in ancient times, the first person who broke through the barrier of "expressing ambition with poetry" in ancient poetry, the first person who treated music with pipa, and the pioneer of "lip finger" in the history of makeup.

Perhaps Liu Xijun's outstanding talent in the Han Dynasty is not enough to prove the talent of Yangzhou women, because she lived in Jiangdu Palace and received a good education. However, Liu Caichun, a famous opera artist in the Tang Dynasty, not only sang "Join the Army", but also the lyrics of "Ai Ya" written by her were included in "All Tang Poems", which undoubtedly proved that even Yangzhou actresses with low status in the Tang Dynasty had received special education. The poet Yuan Zhen said in a poem to Liu Caichun that she was "gentle, charming and personable". This shows that Liu Caichun is not only a beautiful actress, but also a talented woman. Liu Caichun's daughter Zhou Dehua also received the same treatment as her mother. Zhou Dehua is not only good at singing, but also can make up his own words. Friends of the Cloud in the Tang Dynasty said that Zhou Dehua was "not as good as his mother, and the words in Liu Yang were hard to come by in spring".

Feng Xiaoqing, a beautiful woman in Yangzhou in Ming Dynasty, was also a representative of talented women in Yangzhou. Feng Xiaoqing, whose real name is Xuanxuan, lived in the Wanli period. "West Lake Dream" has her biography: "Xiaoqing, Guangling people. When I was ten years old, I met old ni and dictated the Heart Sutra and became a chanting. " As we all know, Feng Xiaoqing was literate before he met old ni. Old ni once said to Xiaoqing's mother, "This child is wise early and blessed thin. Please make her my apprentice. " But without permission. Later, Feng Xiaoqing was "good at reading, understanding melody and playing chess". Xiaoqing finally died miserably because she married a rich man in Hangzhou as a concubine. However, the poems she left behind, especially the sentence "Some people are crazy about me, and Xiaoqing is the only one who is sad", are told by later generations. Or Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions, with Feng Xiaoqing as the prototype. "A Dream of Red Mansions" did quote a famous sentence by Yangzhou Feng Xiaoqing: "Thin shadows shine on spring water, so you need to pity me."

Finally, Fang Wanyi, a female painter in Yangzhou in Qing Dynasty, was the wife of Luo Pin, one of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou. She can not only draw pictures, but also write poems, especially drawing plums. Children in Luo Pin and Fang Wanyi have the cultural and artistic qualities of playing chess, painting and calligraphy. Because this family likes painting plums, it is called "Luo Pai". Without the support of this talented woman, "Luo Pai" would be impossible.

Even the popular "Yangzhou Thin Horse" in Ming and Qing Dynasties, those girls all received systematic skills training from childhood. Generally, she began to raise it when she was seven or eight years old. She is smart and delicate, and has a special teacher to teach her to play the piano, play the flute, recite poems and draw pictures. After learning a certain degree, a special female teacher taught her to comb her hair, even wash her face, nod her cheeks and thrush; At the age of fourteen or fifteen, she was taught to practice all kinds of coquetry according to erotic pictures and so on. In order to keep slim and not get fat, her diet should be strictly controlled. At the same time, they have to be trained in various skills, such as flirting, coquetry, playing and singing. Until it reaches the standard, or it can be sold to rich people as maids or prostitutes. After such strict training, "Yangzhou Beauty" is naturally appreciated by bureaucrats, landlords and wealthy businessmen.

From ancient times to the present, it is impossible to verify the number of beautiful women in Yangzhou, but they are all talented and beautiful, integrating appearance, temperament, culture, accomplishment and skills, which is also the reason why Yangzhou beautiful women are famous all over the world.