Yuan Mei pioneered the recruitment of female disciples, and published a book "Poetry in the Garden" under her door, which selected a large number of excellent works and aphorisms of talented women. Although attacked by some feudal guards, he remained unmoved. This is rare in a society where "a woman without talent is a virtue" and "only a woman is difficult to support". Among the many female disciples accompanying the garden, Xi Lanpei won the appreciation of Yuan Mei and was known as one of the "three confidants in the boudoir".
Xi Lanpei, formerly known as Jolie, has the word "Le Jin", which rhymes with Fen, Daoism and Huan Yun. She especially likes orchids, which are her favorite flowers. Taking "Lampe" as the number, Xi Lampe became her most commonly used name.
Xi Lampe has been very clever since he was a child. She likes reading, especially poetry and painting. She doesn't want to sew like an ordinary girl, and she doesn't want to be a good wife and mother when she grows up. She hopes to have the opportunity to go outside and see the world, study and be a talented and knowledgeable woman. Her husband Sun Yuanxiang also likes to write poems. He is a student of Yuan Mei, and an important member of the school of soul poetry. The husband and wife share the same interests and like each other. They often recite poems under the window lamp and learn from each other. "Lai has a boudoir as a school room, and one is placed horizontally for two people to see." These two poems by Sun Yuanxiang are vivid portrayal of husband and wife, classmates and harmony. Perhaps influenced by her husband, Perrin worships Yuan Mei very much and wants to be a female disciple of Yuan Mei. Encouraged by her husband, she resolutely wrote a poem for the old man in Suiyuan: "You read a public poem in the name of Mu Gong, and everyone in the sea will see it later. ..... I am willing to buy five-color Hangzhou silk, and I want to embroider Si Yuan myself. " After receiving Xi Lanpei's poems, Yuan Mei didn't believe her talent at first, and even suspected that her husband wrote her poems. One spring, Yuan Mei personally visited Sun Yuanxiang in Changshu and met Xi Lanpei. Perrin was very happy to see the old man come to the garden, so she took out a picture and asked Yuan Mei to write a poem. Yuan Mei put the photo in his sleeve and immediately took Sun Yuanxiang to drink elsewhere. Two poets here were drinking happily, while Perrin was grinding ink, and immediately wrote three poems for Yuan Mei. One of them wrote:
A boudoir learns painting, and Mr. Zhong He borrows his teeth.
Knowing about China, I directly pushed Xu Shusheng and Qin Jia.
If you want to clear the obstacles, you dare to set up a green silk barrier and hold a far-reaching crimson yarn.
The price of sound is determined by the pen, and flowers are also born on the eyebrow pencil. "
Yuan Mei saw these poems "exquisite landscapes" and "knew that the fruit of Xu Shu was better than Qin Jia". He saw a small photo of Perrin again, which was very nice. By contrast, he couldn't help feeling dead. He didn't dare to start writing rashly, so he took this small photo to Hangzhou and showed it to Yuru Wang, an old friend of Sun Chunyan. Sun's two daughters, Yunfeng and Yunhe, also write poems. Among them, Sun Yunfeng's "A Small Photo of Xi Lampe's Women's History" wrote:
"I'm going to take care of the lotus stand and watch the smallpox fall and open again.
The poetic realm is suddenly realized from the Zen realm, but it comes from no teaching. "
Another song wrote:
"Natural figurines write abundant gods, and the national color is unparalleled in the spring.
Disciples who laugh at West Lake poems at night will never swim as well as the people in the painting. "
It can be seen that in the eyes of Sun Yunfeng and other female poets of the same age, Xi Lanpei is also regarded as the first female disciple in Suiyuan, which is very impressive.
Moved by Perrin's sincerity, Yuan Mei readily accepted this female disciple with outstanding poetic talent and forged a profound friendship between teachers and students. He visited Sun Yuanxiang and Xi Lanpei in Changshu many times. One year, on the third day of the third lunar month, it happened to be Shangsi Festival, which was one of the most lively folk festivals in Changshu. The old man came to Changshu by boat and visited the scenery of Yushan accompanied by Sun He. Xi Lampe was in high spirits and wrote two seven-character poems for his teacher. There are such sentences in the poem: "Flowers laugh beside the fairy boat, and the mountains bow down to meet talents", "Flowers advocate all the way, and the moon is the fairy companion". Expressed her excitement and joy to the teacher.
One winter, Lao Mei came to Changshu again and brought the most precious gift to female disciples, that is, the newly printed Selected Poems of Female Disciples in Suiyuan. When Xi Lanpei opened her collection of poems, she saw that her poems were impressively ranked first. She was so excited that she immediately wrote two poems for her teacher, one of which read:
Climbing the ponytail is a blessing, and being crowned Emei is a curse.
Just when the spring breeze spooked the snake, Qingqing won the championship.
I expressed my appreciation to the teacher and my shame to stand out.
Yuan Mei's theory on the subject of poetic power. Soul or temperament is to have true feelings, pay attention to expressing feelings, show personality, and emphasize that feelings should be true and not false; To "write your arms straight", don't be charming and artificial; Be devoted to love, not indifferent. On poetry, Sun Yuanxiang also said: "temperament is the master of poetry, and temperament is the fur of poetry." This poetic theory has a great influence on Xi Lampe. Her works are natural in style and touching in emotion. Almost every poem is a natural expression of true feelings, which can be said to be a specimen that advocates Yuan and Sun's poems. Yuan Mei praised her poem "Every word comes from the natural spirit, and it can be clever and clear without taking the wisdom of the ancients", and she loved his female disciple very much. "Addendum to Poems with the Garden" said: "Although there are more than twenty female disciples, such as (Yan), Jin Xian's understanding and respect, they are all three confidants in the boudoir."
Xi Lampe's poetry collection is called "Long Pillow Pavilion Collection". When she finished compiling this book of poems, she wanted to ask the old man in Youyuan for a preface, when the news of his death came. Perrin couldn't help crying and was sad for losing her confidant and mentor. She put an article written by her teacher at the beginning of her poetry collection as a preface to express her admiration and reverence for the elderly.
Xi Lanpei, a poetess in Qing Dynasty, attached a poem "Mr. Shou Jianzhai" in Volume III of Innocent Pavilion Collection: "Wan Li Bridge is in the wild west, and Wuliu Slaughterhouse is the official residence. Green clothes hold inkstones to urge papers, and black tea adds fragrance to accompany reading. I hope that one of the 23 rooms will be relocated for one year. "