Tang Bohu was a famous poet, painter and calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty. He is known as "one of the four great talents in Jiangnan". In film and television dramas, we often see Tang Bohu outwitting a traitor and winning a beautiful woman's return. A poem "Peach Blossom Temple", which reads "Others laugh at me for being too crazy, but I laugh at others for not being able to see through it, and I can't see the tomb of a hero in the Five Tombs, and there is no flower, no wine and no hoe for farming", has spread to this day and is deeply loved by people.
However, the real Tang Bohu in history is not as charming as in the film and television dramas, and it is well-proportioned and natural and unrestrained. However, his fate was ill-fated, especially his political career was not smooth. After he failed in the examination in Beijing, he returned to his hometown, often facing the ridicule of his relatives and friends, and even his wife was cynical about him. So Tang Bohu began to lead a life of lead a drunken life after suffering endless discrimination and insults, and often wandered around major brothels. Because of his brilliant talent, he often sells calligraphy and painting for a living. People rushed to ask him to write poems and paintings.
On one occasion, the magistrate of Suzhou in his hometown of Nanzhili built two new toilets in his yard, and the magistrate had a whim to put red couplets in front of the two toilets to show the unique characteristics of his toilet covers. So he asked his touts and literati to think about what the connection was just right. The men shook their heads frequently, and they had never heard of anything new about toilet couplets. The magistrate was not content, and posted a notice: if you can make a good connection, you will be rewarded with twelve taels of silver.
A few days later, no one came. At this time, the housekeeper suggested to the magistrate to try Tang Bohu, a famous talented person. When the magistrate heard this, he suddenly thought of this talented person, so he sent someone to invite him at once. Tang Bohu was worried about having no money to buy wine at that time. When he heard this, he immediately went to the magistrate's residence with the housekeeper.
The magistrate knew that Tang Bohu was a famous genius, so he was warmly treated with a banquet. After three rounds of drinking, Tang Bohu started to write two couplets:
A hero from all over the world came here to bow down, and
a woman from all over the world came to take off your coat to untie her skirt.
Second
And it seems that the guest is affectionate, and he will never regret taking off his clothes;
don't say that this thing is useless. It will protect the flowers more when turned into spring mud.
When the magistrate saw it, he laughed, nodded and praised it frequently, and ordered someone to reward Tang Bohu Yinliang, inviting Tang Bohu to be the staff of the government. Tang Bohu declined politely, but he still liked a free life. He wanted to tell his life with poetry and calligraphy.