Li Qingzhao studied epigraphy diligently
Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng of the Song Dynasty were examples of a studious couple in ancient China. The story of the two of them having the same interests, studying diligently, and carefully studying the art of epigraphy has always been passed down as a good story.
Li Qingzhao, also known as Yi'an Jushi, was born in Jinan, Shandong Province and was a famous female poet in the Song Dynasty. She was 18 years old when she married Zhao Mingcheng. At that time, Zhao Mingcheng was still studying in Taixue. His family was not well off, so the couple lived frugally and lived a frugal life.
Both of them love epigraphy and stone art, and often study with each other. On the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, when the Imperial College has a holiday, Zhao Mingcheng always takes some clothes to the pawn shop to pledge five or six hundred coins, and walks to At the bookstall in Xiangguo Temple, I bought a few books on epigraphy and stone inscriptions with research value, and went home to discuss them with Li Qingzhao.
Two years later, the two of them discovered the art of epigraphy and determined to "exhaust all the ancient Chinese characters in the world" and study them one by one. They diligently copied rare books and epigraphic rubbings that were rarely seen in the market. They lived diligently and frugally, and saved money to buy famous people's paintings, calligraphy, and antiques.
Once, an art dealer knew that Li Qingzhao and his wife liked to collect paintings and calligraphy, so he sold them a masterpiece "Peony Picture" by Xu Xi, a famous painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and asked for a price. 200,000 money. After seeing the painting, the couple felt as if they had found a treasure. They kept the painting first, and then rummaged through the boxes and cabinets to estimate all the clothes and other items at home that could be pawned.
However, after estimating for several nights, the money was still not enough, so I had to return the painting to the dealer. For this reason, the couple felt sorry for each other.
Later, Zhao Mingcheng passed the exam and served as the prefect for two consecutive terms in Qingzhou and Laizhou, and his life became more comfortable. Therefore, he collected a large number of calligraphy, painting and antiques, from which he studied the evolution of ancient characters and corrected the fallacies in ancient history.
After that, in order to speed up the research progress, the two of them no longer told one thing that was recorded in an ancient book as before, and the other person said that the thing was found in a certain book, a certain volume, Which page or line is it? Instead, study it separately. Late at night, one of the couple would often be persuaded to go back to bed, but the persuader would sit at the table again.
Because Li Qingzhao and his wife worked so hard, they achieved fruitful results. A few years later, their collection of epigraphic and stone inscriptions reached 2,000 volumes, and they conducted systematic research on each volume. In the end, the couple worked together, sorted it out separately, and wrote the book "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone", which has great reference value in archaeology.