Original text:
34. Charming eyes: Those who read slaves have good looks, are good at singing, and are not often seen (the text here is different from the version circulated on the Internet) and leave the emperor in one day about. Every time he held the banquet and looked at Xiao, the emperor said to his concubine: "This succubus is beautiful and her eyes are charming." Every time she sang with a singing voice, her voice came out above the morning glow. Although the bells, drums, sheng and yu are noisy, they cannot be stopped. The palace prostitutes are also the emperor's favorite.
Translation: There was a singing prostitute named Nian Nu in the palace. She was beautiful and good at singing. She never left the emperor's side. When Nian Nu was holding a singing board and looking around on his seat, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty said to Concubine Yang: "This girl's voice is fascinating, and her eyes are also charming." Whenever Nian Nu raised his singing voice, he sang a melodious song. When singing, the singing must be exciting and clear, as if it can pass through the morning glow in the sky - even if there is strong interference from bells, drums, sheng, yu and other musical instruments, it cannot stop it. Among the many singing prostitutes in the palace, Nian Nu was the most beloved by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
Comments: In Song poetry, there is a word brand called "Niannujiao", which is to commemorate Niannu in this article. In his long narrative poem "Lianchang Palace Ci", Yuan Zhen, a senior official of the Tang Dynasty, used the following verses to describe the life and work of Nian Nu: .
After a while, I found him again and again, and ordered candles to be lit in the street.
Chunjiao's eyes are covered with red gauze from sleep, and she is trimming her cloud servant girl's attire.
Fly up to the sky and sing a song, twenty-five men blow the pipe to chase.
The translation of this verse is as follows:
Gao Lishi summoned everywhere to find the famous female singer Niannu.
Niannu was secretly having sex with the noble sons. ***Have a good night!
After a moment of pursuit, she was found and urged again and again.
On the emperor's special order, candles were lit on the streets of Chang'an.
Sleeping in the red gauze tent, her eyes were filled with spring and beauty.
She quickly combed her hair neatly and got dressed.
After Nian Nu arrived at the palace, she just raised her beautiful singing voice.
King Bin Li Chengning immediately played the pipe and flute to accompany the singing.
Here, Yuan Zhen has the following annotation: Niannu, a famous prostitute in Tianbao. Good song. Every year there is a feast of wine and wine downstairs. After a long day, the crowd becomes noisy. Yan Anzhi and Wei Huangshang are unable to restrain themselves from making changes, and everyone stops enjoying themselves. Emperor Ming sent Gao Lishi to call upstairs: If you want to send Nian Nu to sing, he will have twenty-five men play small pipes to see if they can listen. "I did not obey the edict quietly. This was the most important thing at that time. However, Xuanzong did not want to seize the glory of chivalry, so he did not put it in the palace. Or he was lucky enough to have a hot spring when he was old, and he visited Dongluo sometimes, and he was sent by the commander to follow him."
Translate this annotation into vernacular, it is:
Niannu was a famous singing girl during the Tianbao period and was good at singing. Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty held a grand banquet every year at the downstairs of Hua Calyx Xianghui in Chang'an. After a few days, due to the large number of people and the lack of space, the guests became noisy. Even Yan Anzhi and Wei Huangshang were helpless and unable to stop them. Each person who played music Artists have stopped working. Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty sent Gao Lishi to announce loudly upstairs: "The emperor plans to ask Nian Nu to come over to sing, and also asks King Bing Li Chengning to play the pipe and flute to accompany him. Is anyone willing to listen?" There was no guest who did not silently obey the emperor's order. At that time, the attention Nian Nu received was as mentioned above. However, Tang Xuanzong did not want to take away the love of the knights, so he never placed Niannu in the palace. Only when he went to Huaqing Hot Spring every year, or when he visited Luoyang, the eastern capital, would he occasionally ask officials from relevant departments to notify Nian Nu and ask her to accompany him.
The Yan Anzhi mentioned above was mentioned in the "Old Tang Book of Curious Officials". During the Kaiyuan period, he served as the Prime Minister of Henan. When beating criminals, he was afraid that the criminals would not die. Therefore, between tortures, the swollen and ulcerated parts of the criminal's body were specially selected, and then they continued to beat these areas vigorously. It wasn't until the man was bleeding all over the floor and in agony that he couldn't bear to die, did Yan Anzhi smile. According to the records in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty held a banquet at the Wufeng Tower in Luoyang on the 18th day of the first lunar month in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (735). The people watching also made a lot of noise, and the guards waved sticks like The rain couldn't be stopped, so Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to invite Yan Anzhi. Yan Anzhi used the wat board in his hand to draw a warning line at the scene and said: "Anyone who crosses this line must be executed!" This solved the problem. Wei Huangshang once served as the county captain of Wannian County (Fuguo County of the capital Chang'an), and was later promoted to the Jiedushi of Zhejiang West Road in the first year of Qianyuan (758) of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty. From this point of view, Wei Huangshang is also a very energetic official.
Although there are some discrepancies between Yuan Zhen’s record of Nian Nu and the content in this book, both sides’ praise of Nian Nu is similar - across thousands of years of history, we can still feel The charming charm of Niannu.