Tang Bohu (1470-1524)
So, what is the real Tang Bohu in history?
It can be described in these words: family background is in decline, talented, ill-fated, and died in poverty.
Tang Yin, courtesy name Bohu, was born in 1470 in Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili (now a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). He was a famous painter, poet, and calligrapher in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zhishan, Wen Zhengming, and Xu Zhenqing (Xu Xiake's great-grandfather) are collectively known as the "Four Talents in Wuzhong" (also known as: "The Four Talents in Jiangnan").
Tang Bohu's greatest achievement is poetry and painting. The movie "Tang Bohu Spots Autumn Fragrance" said that he is "the best in poetry and painting". This statement is very appropriate, especially his paintings. Most of them are now preserved in the Taipei Museum and Scattered around the world, it has become a rare treasure and is priceless. As early as 2013, the auction for a vertical scroll "Viewing Waterfalls on Mount Lu" by Tang Bohu started at US$300 million. After 120 rounds of bidding, it was finally sold at a sky-high price of US$590 million (approximately RMB 3.6 billion). This is what the author knows The most valuable Chinese painter is enough to prove his attainments in the art of calligraphy and painting.
"Viewing Waterfalls on Mount Lu" by Tang Yin
In addition to "Viewing Waterfalls on Mount Lu", there are also "Pictures of Solitary Owl in the Setting Clouds", "Pictures of Apricot Blossom Thatch", "Picture of Companions on Spring Mountain", Many famous works such as "Autumn Wind Fan" have been handed down to the world.
"The Picture of the Solitary Duck in the Falling Clouds" by Tang Yin
Just like in the movie, Tang Bohu is also a poet, the most famous of which is "Song of Peach Blossom Temple":
Peach Blossom Temple in Taohuawu, Peach Blossom Fairy under Peach Blossom Temple;
The Peach Blossom Fairy grows peach trees and picks peach flowers in exchange for wine money.
When you are sober, you just sit in front of the flowers; when you are drunk, you come to sleep under the flowers;
Half awake and half drunk day after day, the flowers fall and bloom year after year.
I hope that I will die in old age among the flowers and wine, and do not want to bow in front of the chariot and horse;
The chariot and the horse are enough for the rich, and the wine-gold branch is for the poor.
If you compare the rich to the poor, one will be on the ground and the other will be in the sky;
If you compare the poor to the chariots and horses, he will have to drive and I will have nothing to do.
Others laugh at me for being crazy, but I laugh at others because they can’t see through it;
There are no tombs of heroes from the Five Tombs, and there are no flowers or wine to cultivate the fields.
Peach Blossom Temple (Impression Picture)
Tang Bohu was born in a family of officials. He was a local official for more than three generations. However, by his father's generation, the family had fallen into decline. His father was The owner of a local tavern can only be regarded as a wealthy family in Suzhou, not the previous local elite.
Tang Bohu has been smart since he was a child, and can read and recite. His father also hopes that he will study to gain fame. Coupled with his ancestral genes, Tang Bohu is not only a super academic master, but also took the first place in the Suzhou Fufu School Attachment School at the age of 15. He made rapid progress in painting, poetry, calligraphy, etc. Soon he became a local celebrity and made friends with many local celebrities, including Zhu Zhishan, Wen Zhengming, Xu Zhenqing and others. He was one of the four great talents in Jiangnan. The name spread from then on.
In the feudal era, the imperial examination was almost the only way to select officials. As long as you did well in the examination, your official career would be bright. According to Tang Bohu's intelligence and his subsequent achievements, it was easy to obtain fame.
However, there are unforeseen circumstances, and life will be unsatisfactory nine times out of ten. When Tang Bohu was 24 years old, a major change occurred in his family. In just one or two years, his father, mother, wife, and son died one after another. His sister committed suicide due to the family misfortune, leaving only him and his younger brother Tang Shen. personal.
Sudden changes in the family, and the death of five relatives, caused a huge physical and mental blow to Tang Bohu. He lost the backbone of the family, and Tang Bohu, who was bent on gaining fame, also lost his financial resources and became very negative for a time. It was only after repeated persuasion from his friend Zhu Zhishan that he once again mustered up the courage to continue living and focus on his studies.
A few years later, when Tang Bohu was 28 years old, he got the first place (Jie Yuan) in the Yingtianfu Township Examination, which is equivalent to the first place in several provinces now. Therefore, Tang Bohu was also called "Tang Jieyuan" ".
Since then, Tang Bohu has become more famous. According to this result, he will at least be a Jinshi in the joint examination. He is very likely to become a senior central official or a local official in the future. It can be said that his future is bright. Some local officials , celebrities have made friends with him.
"Picture of Prostitutes in the Palace of Wangshu" Tang Yin
What he didn't expect was that a bigger change was waiting for him ahead - a fraud case in the examination room.
The second year of the provincial examination was the general examination. At the age of 29, Tang Bohu went to Beijing to take part in the most important examination - the general examination. On the way to take the exam, he met Xu Jing, a rich man from Jiangyin who was also taking the exam. It happened that the examiner that year was named Cheng Minzheng. Cheng Minzheng was a magical power in the Ming Dynasty, as famous as Kong Rong, a prodigy in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Li Mi, a magical power in the Tang Dynasty. His father was the Minister of the Ministry of War. When he was 10 years old, he was specially recruited to study in the Hanlin Academy. He later passed the Jinshi examination and ranked second in the first class. Name, that is, "second place on the list", which means second place in the country, and he is the youngest among the 350 Jinshi in the same list.
In this year's general examination, the questions asked by Cheng Minzheng were quite unpopular. Among all the people who participated in the general examination, only two people, Tang Bohu and Xu Jing, got it right. This is almost unprecedented in the history science examination. In other words, if Tang Bohu had not cheated, he would probably be the number one pick that year, which means he would be number one in the country, and Xu Jing would probably be number two in the country.
However, this result was unacceptable to other students, and some of them reported it to the superiors, saying that there was fraud in the examination room. As a result, Cheng Minzheng, Tang Bohu, and Xu Jing were arrested. Under severe torture, Xu Jing confessed that he bribed Cheng Minzheng's servant to obtain the exam questions, and he and Tang Bohu made the answers in advance, so the two got the best results in the exam.
This is the famous "Xu Jing Examination Case".
"Autumn Wind Fan Picture" Tang Yin
However, there are different opinions on the specific circumstances of this examination fraud case, but it is a fact that Tang Bohu was implicated.
Tang Bohu was sentenced to never be employed as an official. He was only given a small official position in a remote area, which was not included in the official establishment of the system. For Tang Bohu, who had been studying hard for more than 20 years, all hopes were shattered.
The world has lost a mediocre civil servant and gained a great painter.
Tang Bohu had the aloofness of a scholar. He refused the organization's arrangements and chose to return to his hometown. From then on, he began the second half of his life in poverty, selling calligraphy and painting for a living.
After returning home, his second wife He left him, and his brother also proposed to separate from him.
The despairing Tang Bohu no longer had any worries!
He chose to drink, indulge in sex, recite poetry and paint to pass the time.
Tang Yin's calligraphy
Because of his reputation, Tang Bohu attracted the attention of King Ning. King Ning Zhu Chenhao was a member of the Ming Dynasty clan and attracted Tang Bohu to work for him. The depressed Tang Bohu rekindled hope. He left Suzhou and came to Jiangxi Province to work in the palace of Prince Ning. However, he soon discovered that Prince Ning wanted to rebel, so Tang Bohu pretended to be crazy and even took off his clothes and ran naked on the street to prove that he was A useless person.
Tang Bohu escaped from Prince Ning's Mansion by pretending to be crazy and acting stupid, returned to Suzhou, and continued his life of poverty.
During this period, he made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings.
He bought a small piece of land in Taohuawu, Suzhou, and built a Peach Blossom Nunnery. This became his last home, and he composed the famous "Song of Peach Blossom Nunnery" here.
Folk legend says that when Tang Bohu was 36 years old, he met the famous prostitute Shen Jiuniang on a romantic occasion, and this confidante accompanied him for the rest of his life.
In 1524, Tang Bohu, a talented man of his generation, passed away at the age of 54.
Before his death, Tang Bohu left his last poem:
If you are born in the world of the sun and have an end, why not return to the underworld after death?
The earth and the underworld are all similar, just like wandering in a foreign land.
When he died, his family was completely destitute, but his good friend Zhu Zhishan paid for his burial.