Ni Renji was born in Jizhou, Jiangxi on the 25th day of the first lunar month in 1607 (the last year of Wanli Ding in the Ming Dynasty). At this time, his father Ni Shangzhong was serving as Tongzhi of Jizhou, Jiangxi. Ni Shangzhong was born in 1551 (the Xinhai year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty), passed the imperial examination in 1588 (Wuzi year of Wanli reign of Ming Dynasty), and passed the imperial examination in 1598 (Wuxu year of Wanli reign of Ming Dynasty). His first wife died young. The stepmother Zhu gave birth to three more sons: the eldest son Ni Renhu, the second son Ni Ren, and the third son Ni Renzhen (Ni Renzhen is 10 years older than Ni Renji). At this time, Ni Shangzhong got a daughter in his later years (57 years old), and he cherished her especially. In order to commemorate Ni Renji's birthplace in Jizhou, and to hope that her daughter would have good luck in her life, she named her "Renji" according to her generation. It is a masculine and intellectual name, but it also seems to innately determine the direction of her life.
In the same year, Ni Shangzhong "returned from Jizhou." ①The reason for his dismissal is unknown, but it was probably because his loyalty and uprightness offended the powerful. And Ni Shangzhong has long wanted to retire, hoping to return to his hometown and live a free life for a few years. Ni Dacun (then known as Jinsheng Village in Longchi, Tonghua Township, Pujiang County) is a small mountain village at the junction of Pujiang and Lanxi counties. Ni Renji once wrote: "Between Yu's home in Lanpu, there are deep and beautiful streams and mountains, secluded trees and windows, where cars and horses can't be reached, and the villagers are mostly simple and wild, with nothing to do outside the self-governing fields. It can be called a small peach garden inside. cloud". ② After Ni Shangzhong returned to his hometown, he built a pavilion next to a small lake (commonly known as "Dragon Pond") "two miles away" from his residence, with flowers and trees growing there, and the sun lingering here, as if he were between six bridges and two peaks. , ③ There is also "Poetry on Eight Scenes of Xiaoxi Lake" handed down from generation to generation. At this time, Ni Shangzhong put all his love into cultivating his children, especially his young daughter Ni Renji. And because he was in a relatively relaxed environment, Ni Renji was able to grow freely both physically and mentally. She clearly recalled: "When Dr. Chengxian taught me the book, he was only ten years old, and he looked like a little boy." ④ "The Genealogy of the Ni Family" also records in detail: Ni Renji "was good at poetry, embroidery, calligraphy and painting. Every time the Duke (note: Ni Shangzhong) held it to show others, his talent and reputation were greatly enhanced." ⑤This kind of "appreciation" education provides very favorable conditions for Ni Renji's healthy growth and talent development. His third brother Ni Renzhen, who was only ten years older than him (the eldest brother Ni Renhu and the second brother Ni Renxi both died prematurely when Ni Renji was nine or ten years old, so Ni Renji and Ni Renzhen had the deepest relationship) was a master of calligraphy and personally taught her calligraphy. According to the memory of Ni Renzhen's son Ni Yiying, after Ni Renzhen's training and Ni Renji's own efforts, her calligraphy "has superior roundness and rhyme, which is comparable to that of regular script. She is both sensitive and knowledgeable, and can form her own style of calligraphy." ⑥
Of course, in this scholarly family, Ni Renji also received systematic Confucian ideological education since childhood, "receiving the Classic of Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius, the Four Poems, and the Two Rites"⑦. But the remote and simple mountain village, a relatively enlightened father, a loving family, and an encouraging education all made it possible for Ni Renji to get rid of the shackles of Neo-Confucianism that "a woman's lack of talent is a virtue" to a certain extent, and allow her nature to develop freely. Let her artistic cells germinate, thus laying an indispensable and solid foundation for her lifelong creation.
In her "Ningxiang Pavilion Poetry Manuscript", she rarely left three poems that recorded the girl's life, showing her extraordinary talent and innocence of "forcing herself to express her sorrows in order to compose new poems". The full text is reproduced below.
"Flower Dynasty":
"There is no good time to repay the spring, and the eyes are full of new gardens and beautiful scenery. The flowers are poor and sad, and the flowers are in the moon, and they accompany the flower watchers year after year."
"The play with Mrs. Fu about the tiger running around":
"The beautiful spring jade is piled on the shoulders, and the bamboo steps are dancing in the wind. Turn around and look towards the head of the pool to take a photo, the water surface is newly opened. "Like lotus."
"Returning to the Boat and Saying Goodbye":
"The spring river is so dim that it is difficult to dream about it, and the smoke and willow silk threads easily bring me sadness. Recalling the joyful things in Xiling makes me return full of regrets. Boat".
Because of this, Ni Renji always recalled his hometown and the life of a girl throughout his life, and drew inexhaustible artistic inspiration from it.
A happy but unhappy marriage
When Ni Renji was fourteen years old, her biological mother unfortunately passed away. Ni Shangzhong shouldered the heavy responsibilities of his father and mother. Ni Renji once recalled: "On the 14th day of the lunar month, unfortunately, I lost my first child, so the father also became the mother." ⑧The enlightened father, in order to fulfill the responsibilities of father and mother, under the conditions at that time, adopted the " The extremely rare criterion for selecting a son-in-law is "Wenchilang".
The truthfully recorded "Genealogy of the Ni Family" left a precious record of "getting a gentleman by writing". There are also vivid stories about this in the folklore of Dayuan Village, but the Qing Jiaqing Edition of "Yiwu County Chronicles" with a strong feudal color deleted this go.
The result of the choice was that at the age of seventeen, Ni Renji married Wu Zhiyi, a talented scholar from Dayuan Village, Qingkou, Yiwu, 40 miles away. The two have similar interests and are naturally very affectionate. Wu Zhiyi also came from a scholarly family for generations. His great-grandfather Wu Baipeng was also an upright official. He saved the people from danger during the anti-Japanese struggle. He strongly supported the honest actions of Hai Rui (then the county magistrate), and finally became the Minister of Punishment. But in the two generations of Wu Zhiyi's grandfather Wu Dazuan and father Wu Cunzhong, there were no high officials. Wu Zhiyi ranked fourth. The eldest brother Wu Zhiqi, the second brother Wu Zhishi, and the third brother Wu Zhiwen were all talented, but they were all just scholars who studied hard and did not get official positions. In the year Ni Renji got married, Wu Zhiyi's father Wu Cunzhong had passed away. The widowed mother, Gong, was too eager to see her son become a successful man, and her lessons were too strict, which put too much pressure on Wu Zhiyi. According to the "Genealogy of the Ni Family": "Wu Zhiyi is the son of a famous family, and he is proud of his talent. Fortunately, he met his widowed aunt Gong, who had a harmonious style of teaching, so he only inherited it and kept it in the family. Endeavor". ⑨ However, Wu Zhiyi's mental burden has not been relieved. The original weak body was overwhelmed, and unfortunately he encountered the blow of "Xiadi". This is accurately recorded in "The Genealogy of the Ni Family". Ni Renji included two seven-line poems titled "Sending Abroad" in "Ningxiang Pavilion Poetry Draft", which also revealed that Wu Zhiyi had an experience of traveling away from home after marriage.
"New poems and poems are sent to distant people, and the scenery after farewell is as light as autumn. The fragrant grass is ruthless and wanders, and the cuckoo hates to swallow the branches. It is only because of the playing cylindrical pity that the guest is restrained, not the weeping poplar regretting the search for the marquis. Don't go to the end of the world to work hard. The spring boudoir is always worried."
"The sunset is plain and the birds are tired. Why are the wanderers still in the flood? Every time I wonder if the bamboo curtain is pushing the pillow, I am afraid of returning home by mistake. Floor. The wind blows away the elm trees, and the willows are green, which makes me sad. No. 1 had no face to return to his hometown, so he "stayed" and did not return. From spring to autumn, Ni Renji waited patiently, and his affectionate expression was deeply touching.
Wu Zhiyi finally came back, but brought with him a heavy burden of thought and an even weaker body. At this time, the whole family encountered the complicated event of burying their father Wu Cunzhong. Then he suddenly became seriously ill. This is the true record in "The Genealogy of the Ni Family" that "when he reached the next generation, his elder brother was buried in the grave and his father became ill". However, the Qing Jiaqing edition of "Yiwu County Chronicle" only recorded: "Zhi Yi was injured due to the burial of his father", which covered up the truth and made the unfortunate side of Ni Renji's happy marriage an eternal mystery. It's time for this mystery to be completely solved.
When Wu Zhiyi was seriously ill, Ni Renji "took decoction and tears every day", showing the deep affection of a loving couple. At that time, they had not yet had children. When Wu Zhiyi died, the 20-year-old Ni Renji was so sad that he did not even want to live alone and wanted to "die himself." But Wu Zhiyi, who deeply loved Ni Renji, understood his wife. He "knew about it, tried his best to stop her, and asked her to establish an heir to honor her." Ni Renji used the principle of "establishing an heir to serve his aunt", moved him with emotion, and understood it with reason, so that Ni Renji had the courage to continue to survive. So "Renji wept and accepted." It was Tianqi Bingyin (1626 AD).
"I only know that a single thought holds true to the first promise, and we keep our righteousness rather than our friendship, and we only keep our love." Ni Renji's loyalty and affection for his lover are reflected in his subsequent actions to fulfill his promise.
The hardships of young widows and their "lessons to become talents"
Losing a loved one at the age of twenty is desolate for young women of any era. Especially from 1626 (Qi Bingyin tomorrow) to 1643 (Chongzhen Guiwei in the Ming Dynasty) between the ages of 20 and 38, the grief of losing her husband has not disappeared. There is nowhere to express the pain and sorrow in the heart, and at the same time, rumors must be prevented from all aspects. , had to restrain his actions everywhere, and his deeply suppressed pain was vividly expressed in the poem. It is obvious like "Mourning": "The lonely hall is silent as if it is forbidden, and there is a record in the empty curtain for who? The fragments are all left, and the dust of the abandoned shoes is still left." "Qingming": "The rain in the south and north of the mountain is rustling, and tears are shed on the cuckoo branches. The blood is not gone. Returning to the lonely lamp is silent, and the light cold still remembers the falling flowers." "Tomb Sweeping at the Qingming Festival": "A continuous night of miserable rain marks the Qingming Festival, which is a pity that the slightly cold day has turned sunny. The azaleas on the sleeves should be stained with blood, and the watering of the vines always hurts.
In what year did Huang Longmeng wake up, the white stone tomb began to be completed. "I want to sigh to Shu Min in the deep mountains, but I am afraid that the apes and birds will swallow their voices". No matter whether he is embroidering, playing the piano, composing poems or reading, it is difficult to leave the word "bitter". "It is difficult to embroider in the first day of the year", "The courtyard of the silent falling flowers is quiet" ". ("Spring Boudoir") "The heart of a piece of withered tung tree has not died, and it still makes the sound of heartbreak". ("Playing the Qin") "The wind in the pines and the sound of boiling tea", "There is nothing in the secluded person for a long time" ("Ji Shi" 》). "Wandering around the old curtains, I plan to show my love for Xiang." ("Bu Yue")
At this time, she followed her husband's dying instructions and placed her spirit on serving her mother-in-law. and the training of stepsons. After Wu Zhiyi's death, his three brothers adopted their second sons Wu Yunjiang, Wu Yunting and Wu Yunjin as their sons. She set up a family academy in Yangzhitang and taught students in accordance with their aptitude. The book "The Story of Ni Renji" records many stories about "good teaching" and "Yiwu County Chronicle" also records: "The third son Yunjiang and Yunting were the queens. "Everyone eats glutinous rice, and the sound of Yunjin is high and the order is high." Although Bi and Zhenni did not win the official position, they all have a certain degree of knowledge and the ability to support themselves. Perhaps Ni Renji learned the lesson of her husband studying hard to death, and can educate him from a practical point of view. At the same time, , she "worked like a mother, and when she had time, she talked about ancient legends and sang happily" for "thirteen years" to support her family, "taking needlework as a course".
After the erosion of time, Ni Renji gradually regained his composure. For example, in "Residence in Seclusion" he wrote: "The small building is close to the mountains and far away from the splendor of the world, and the secluded building was designed to be the home of the Qing Dynasty. When I only carry a bottle of water, I water chrysanthemums, and I pick up dead branches and make tea. Sit alone and enjoy yourself in the luxuriant trees, and enjoy a full meal with a refreshing taste and bright clouds. When autumn comes, the wild conditions are like those of elk, and we spend our time on the beach outside our villa. "So this period of life also left some relaxing poems.
For example, "After the Rain on a Summer Night": "After the rain, the wind leaves bamboos behind, and the coolness returns to the moon and spits out the mountains. There are deep valleys in the secluded habitat, and there is no bay in the summer."
Of course, for a healthy young woman, the widowed life is always very sad. According to folklore in the Dayuan village, sometimes at night, Ni Renji She always scatters copper coins all over the floor and then picks them up one by one until dawn. This way can pass the difficult night, as she said in the poem "Guanlian Enlightenment". : "I once saw Tingting's water makeup, and her eyes were as desolate as the dry reeds. The red clothes and green flowers are all falling apart, leaving only empty rooms and proud Xiaoshuang." "The Night of the Zhongyuan Dynasty" written in 1642 (when he was 35 years old) is the most representative: "The ice plate holds the helpless sky, and the lovely Qingguang is pitiful. There is no such victory in thirty-five nights, and I have been alone for hundreds of millions of years. The shadow of Xiao Shu's temples is shining in the sky, and the beauty of looking down is conveyed. I was even more driven by sorrow, and my tears trickled down from the dew in the courtyard. ”
Returning to his hometown to avoid the turmoil - an opportunity for his relationship to return to normal
Ni Renji lived in the late Ming Dynasty. This decadent feudal dynasty was irreversibly collapsing. At this time, political The instability of rule also caused a certain relaxation of ideological restrictions. For Ni Renji, this was undoubtedly a good thing. In 1643-1644, Li Zicheng's rebel army occupied Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Meishan; There was great chaos. Since Dayuan Village was located in a hilly area at the junction of Dongyang and Yiwu, and on the south bank of the Yiwu River, it was naturally affected by the turmoil. So Ni Renji decided to return to his hometown of Pujiang to take refuge for a while. "At the age of Weishen (Yinwei, Guiwei, that is 1643 AD; Shen and Jiashen, that is 1644 AD), the beacon police followed each other, and the disaster was another major turning point in her life.
In Dayuan Village, although her husband and parents-in-law have passed away, her stepson has grown up, and she has passed the right and wrong stage of being a young widow, after all, there are still many restrictions and freedom of movement. She felt much freer in her hometown where she was haunted by dreams. Firstly, this place was "out of reach of carriages and horses" and "the villagers were many simple and wild people". Secondly, although her father Ni Shangzhong had passed away in 1630. (Ming Chongzhen Gengwu) died, and his third brother Ni Renzhen also died in 1645 (Qing Shunzhi Yiyou), but his sister-in-law and niece could be his companions. Ni Renzhen's original wife, Yan, died earlier than 1634 (Chongzhen Jiaxu). The Wu family in this city was born in 1617 (Dingsi, Wanli). He was 10 years younger than Ni Renji and shared more languages.
Ni Renji once happily recalled that after returning to his hometown, "I, my sister-in-law and two or three female companions spent the whole day wandering around the mountain path, where the lingering snow was lingering on the mountains, the plum blossoms were blooming, the bamboos were chirping, and the stream was flowing. Playing the harp, the wild scene is sultry, and it is refreshing to think clearly." Her emotional life and artistic abilities were all resurrected.
What’s even more rare is that Ni Yizi, her beloved niece who became a comrade, also returned to her hometown to visit her. "My niece Yizi is exceptionally gifted, alert and dexterous, and knows everything from chess, chess, and flute to poetry, painting, and needlepoint." Zha Zhapi has indeed become her close friend. When she was widowed in Dayuan Village a few years ago, she expressed her feelings in the poem "Getting a Reply from My Niece Yizi": "I have spent a long time throwing away painted and dyed scraps of chanting paper, and I am filled with deep anger and self-sacrifice. Splashing water and sand is like this." , Feiyun colorfully recalls the past. The osmanthus is burned and the beauty is hard to change. Looking back to the west of the city, the mountains are full of meaning. "Now, she has returned to her hometown in the "west of the city" in Yiwu. How comfortable it is to travel around the mountains and rivers with your brother, sister-in-law, niece, and girlfriend as your companions. Ni Renji wrote in the poem "Huaijia Mountain in the City": "Forty miles to the west through the mountains, there is the old thatched cottage of the master. The path is surrounded by thousands of apricot and peach trees, and the valleys grow hundreds of orchids and cypresses. The quietness is deep in the clouds, I frequently go to the rocks to collect herbs and am intoxicated by the countryside. I look back and think about this moment, the ancient trees hanging on the sea are covered by the setting sun." "Lonely and quiet, I can reminisce about old travels. The yellow flowers and red trees are decorated in late autumn. The water light is reflected in the glass mirror, and the mountains are piled up into emerald towers. Every time a dangerous sentence comes from the sky, the picture can only be collected in the gaze. It is difficult to reach the tobacco field in a leisurely way. "The sky is half hooked against the moon in the quiet window." It is precisely the emotion that arises from the scenery, and the poetry that comes from the emotion. "Every dangerous sentence comes from the sky, and the picture only comes from the hope." Therefore, many excellent embroidery, paintings, and poetry works are here. time was born. Ni Renji recalled the scene at that time: "Yi Zi said, it is possible to figure it out. So he cut the plains and asked Yu to make dozens of frames of ladies, thinking that it is difficult to create true colors, but pictures are easy to write. And I also imagined real people in the sky." In addition to painting, he also writes poems. "While I have lingering thoughts, I will re-draft the scene and subtitle it to create a better portrayal of the landscape." Although He Fenhui could not be written at that time for some reason, more than 140 "Five Jue" poems (generally titled "Miscellaneous Ode in the Mountains") written more than ten years later (1658 AD) were conceived here. completed. This group of poems has novel themes, is fresh and simple, artistically moving, and has many good lines. It can be called a representative work of Ni Renji's poetry. In her hometown, she also accepted Zhang Ximeng, her niece-in-law, as her disciple. His great-nephew Ni Jin (born in 1636) married Zhang Ximeng (born in 1639) from his hometown. Ximeng "loved to write scales, landscapes and ink paintings of Guanyin, all of which were taught by the master of Ningxiang (according to Ni Renji)." "The Genealogy of the Ni Family" also records: Ni Renji's "unparalleled embroidery skills, surpassing those of heaven and earth. His face is said to be fragrant, and all the famous people in the embroidery genealogy are diligent in describing it." It can be seen that the impact was already huge at that time.