Chen Yuanyuan (1623–1689 or 1695)[1][2]was a Chinese Gējì and drama actress who later became the concubine of military leader Wu Sangui.In the last years of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Yuanyuan was captured by Tian Hongyu and transferred to Wu Sangui as his concubine. According to legend, after Li Zicheng captured Beijing,him and his subordinates Liu Zongmin kidnapped Chen Yuanyuan, and Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the pass.[3]She became known as one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, along with the other seven Gējìs, Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Gu Mei, Kou Baimen, and Liu Rushi.[4]
| Chen Yuanyuan | |
|---|---|
 A 17th-century portrait of Chen Yuanyuan | |
| Born | Xing Yuan 1623 Jiangsu, Ming Empire |
| Died | 1689 or 1695 Qing Empire |
| Spouse | Wu Sangui |
| Occupation | Gējì,drama actress |
| Chen Yuanyuan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳圓圓 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈圆圆 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Xing Yuan (birth name) | |||||||||
| Chinese | 邢沅 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Wanfen (courtesy name) | |||||||||
| Chinese | 畹芬 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Biography edit
Chen Yuanyuan's original surname was Xing(邢) and she was born in Jiangnan. She was born into a family of a salesman and her family was poor. Her parents died when she was young and she was adopted by her aunt. Her uncle's surname was Chen, so she changed her surname to Chen. Life at her aunt's family was also very difficult. When Chen Yuanyuan was ten years old, her uncle sent her to Liyuan to learn singing, dancing, opera and music.Chen Yuanyuan was an drama actress and Gējì in Liyuan,she later became a well-known entertainer in Wuzhong.[5][6][7]The dramatist You Xitang(尤西堂) also praised her.[8]
Chen Yuanyuan studied Kunqu(昆曲) and was good at performing Yiyang opera.She liked to wear her hair in a aiduo bun(倭堕髻).[9]For the first time on the singing stage, Yuanyuan played the Hongniang in "The Romance of the West Chamber", and all the spectators in the audience held their breath and were mesmerized. Chen Yuanyuan was both talented and beautiful,had the demeanor of a famous scholar. Every time she performs on stage, she is brilliant and outstanding, and the audience applauds her.[10][11]Chen Yuanyuan initially liked the literati Zou Shu(邹枢). She often acted at Zou Shu's house and was unwilling to leave.[12]Official Gong Ruofu met Chen Yuanyuan and paid to marry her as a concubine. After returning home, Gong Ruofu(贡若甫)'s father said: "Chen Yuanyuan is a distinguished person. Let her leave and give her a free identity. Don't worry about the money spent on her".After Chen Yuanyuan left the Gong family, she still made a living by performing arts.[13]In 1641,scholar Maoxiang(冒襄) saw Chen Yuanyuan acting at a banquet.Maoxiang was amazed by her Yiyangqiang drama and planned to marry her as a concubine.[14][15]Maoxiang returned home and told his mother about the incident.Later, he decided to marry Chen Yuanyuan as his concubine, but learned that Chen Yuanyuan had been snatched away by Tian Hongyu ten days ago.[16][17]
Chen Yuanyuan was kidnapped and taken into Beijing by the powerful minister Tian Hongyu(田弘遇).[18][19]There are three theories about the time when she entered Beijing: 1641[20], 1642 and 1643.[21]According to Maoxiang's own article "Reminiscences of Yingmei'an", he mentioned that the marriage promise to Chen Yuanyuan was made in the autumn of 1641.He planned to marry Chen Yuanyuan the next year. When he finished handling family affairs, he went to see Chen Yuanyuan again in the spring of 1642. At this time, Chen Yuanyuan had just been kidnapped by Tian Hongyu. It is generally believed that Chen Yuanyuan entered Beijing in 1642.[22]Tian Hongyu was the father of Tian Xiuying, the concubine of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. He was worried that his daughter would fall out of favor with the emperor, so he went to the south of the Yangtze River to look for beautiful women to win over the emperor. When Tian Hongyu met Chen Yuanyuan, who was both talented and beautiful, he took her to Beijing and adopted her as an adopted daughter. Tian Xiuying introduced her to the palace. At this time, the Ming Empire was on the verge of collapse, and Chongzhen Emperor, who was physically and mentally exhausted, had no intention of paying attention to this. Three months after Chen Yuanyuan entered the palace, she still failed to gain the emperor's favor, so she had to return to the Tian family.[23]
Chen Yuanyuan continues to work as a Geji in the Tian family,Wu Weiye(吴伟业) described Chen Yuanyuan as a Geji who played the konghou(箜篌). [24]Tian Hongyu was losing power day by day. In order to consolidate his position and find a backer, he deliberately made friends with Wu Sangui, who had a high reputation at the time and had a lot of troops. Tian Hongyu invited Wu Sangui to a family banquet, and Chen Yuanyuan sang at the banquet. Wu Sangui was surprised by Chen Yuanyuan's beauty and liked her very much.Tian Hongyu married Chen Yuanyuan to Wu Sangui as his concubine. The two bid farewell to Tian Hongyu and returned to the Wu family.[25]After Li Zicheng's peasant army captured Beijing, Chen Yuanyuan was captured by Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin(刘宗敏). It is said that Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin occupied Chen Yuanyuan, and Chen Yuanyuan was taken as a concubine.[26] Wu Sangui wanted to surrender to the peasant army, but when he learned that Chen Yuanyuan was captured, he became furious and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.[27]Under the attack of Wu Sangui's army and the Qing army, Li Zicheng's peasant army suffered heavy losses and fled Beijing in a hurry, abandoning all the looted items and women on the road. Wu Sangui found Chen Yuanyuan in the fire of war, and the military camp was reunited. After that, Chen Yuanyuan followed Wu Sangui on various campaigns. After Wu Sangui pacified Yunnan, Chen Yuanyuan entered Wu Sangui's Pingxi Palace and was favored by Wu Sangui.Chen Yuanyuan lost her beauty due to her old age, and she was not in harmony with Wu Sangui's first wife. Wu Sangui had several other concubines that he loved, so Chen Yuanyuan began to lose favor. Chen Yuanyuan had the idea of quitting. She proposed to Wu Sangui to build a nunnery in a secluded part of the palace so that she could eat fast and chant Buddha,Wu Sangui readily agreed. Chen Yuanyuan left the palace to pay homage to the Buddha, and from then on lived in the nunnery living in civilian clothes and eating vegetarian food. She no longer interfered with the affairs of the palace, but paid attention to the changes in the current situation.[28]
One of Wu Sangui's sons, Wu Qihua(吴启华), also named Wu Yingqi(吴应麒), was raised by Wu Sangui's brother Wu Sanfeng(吴三凤) since he was a child. Wu Yingqi has called Wu Sanfeng his father since he was a child, so he has never been in the sight of the Qing court. When Wu Yingqi was nine years old, he was taken to Wu Sangui's palace and raised by Chen Yuanyuan. The two were like mother and son and had a very good relationship.Wu Sangui's rebellion attempt had made Chen Yuanyuan very disgusted, and the issue of Chen Yuanyuan's hiding place had been raised before Wu Sangui launched his army. Chen Yuanyuan said that her own safety did not matter, but she would definitely protect the safety of Wu Sangui's son Wu Yingqi. After Wu Sangui's death, Chen Yuanyuan was very disappointed with the small court, so she discussed with Wu Yingqi and General Ma Bao(马宝) to find a safe place to protect Wu Yingqi.Chen Yuanyuan and others secretly left Yunnan and sneaked into a dense forest cave in Cengong County. Before Chen Yuanyuan left, she secretly confided in her confidants. When the Qing soldiers came to attack, they threw her clothes and headdress into the lotus pond and announced her suicide.Chen Yuanyuan was escorted by Ma Bao, and first went to Long'ao River to build a cave, where the terrain was dangerous. Later, due to the large number of wild animals on the mountain, food could not be harvested. Chen Yuanyuan and his family lived in Qianwuchangtian, Laowuchang and other places. During her lifetime, Chen Yuanyuan missed Wu Sangui to the point of physical and mental exhaustion, and she often worried about the safety of her family. As a result, she suffered from a headache. When the pain was severe, she would faint and become unconscious. As the illness progressed, attacks became more frequent. Finally, Chen Yuanyuan fell to the ground while reciting Buddhist scriptures and never woke up.[29][30]
In fiction edit
In April 1644, the rebel army of Li Zicheng captured the Ming capital of Beijing, and the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian committed suicide. Knowing that Wu Sangui's formidable army at Ningyuan posed a serious threat, Li immediately made overtures to gain Wu's allegiance. Li sent two letters to Wu, including one in the name of Wu's father, then held captive in Beijing. Before Wu Sangui could respond, he received word that his entire household had been slaughtered.[31] Wu then wrote to the Qing regent, Dorgon, indicating his willingness to combine forces to oust the rebels from Beijing, thus setting the stage for the Qing conquest of Ming.[32]
In popular lore, however, Chen Yuanyuan takes a more dramatic and romanticized role in these pivotal events. According to stories that emerged in the Kangxi era, Wu Sangui's motivation for joining forces with the Qing to attack Li Zicheng was that Li had abducted and (by some accounts) occupied Chen, Wu's beloved concubine. This version of the tale was made famous by Wu Weiye's qu, the Song of Yuanyuan:[33]
In that time when the emperor abandoned the human world,
Wu crushed the enemy and captured the capital, bearing down from Jade Pass.
The six armies, wailing and grieving, were uniformly clad in the white of mourning,
One wave of headgear-lifting anger propelled him, all for the sake of the fair-faced one.
The fair-faced one, drifting, and fallen, was not what I longed for.
The offending bandits, smote by heaven, wallowed in wanton pleasures.
Lightning swept the Yellow Turbans, the Black Mountain troops were quelled.
Having wailed for ruler and kin, I met her again.
Although such stories tying the downfall of the dynasty to the relationship between Wu and Chen proved popular, some historians regard them as products of popular fiction.[35][36][37][38] By some accounts, Chen Yuanyuan was raped and killed in the fall of Beijing. But, by other accounts, it is believed that she was subsequently reunited with Wu Sangui. One story claims that later in life, she changed her name and became a nun in Kunming after Wu Sangui's failed rebellion against the Qing.[39] This story may also be a later fabrication, or popular folklore.[40][41]
References edit
- ^ "秘传人口述:陈圆圆生前思念吴三桂形神交瘁".
- ^ "明朝灭亡后，陈圆圆怎样度过后半生？被吴三桂嫌弃，在深山中终老".
- ^ "声甲天下之声，色甲天下之色：秦淮八艳之陈圆圆".
- ^ Xie & Shi (2014), p. 181.
- ^ Lee & Stephanowska 1998
- ^ "How to look at generation Geji Chen Yuanyuan objectively".
- ^ 《乾隆武进县志·卷十四·摭遗》:圆圆，金牛里人。姓陈氏，父曰惊闺，俗呼陈货郎。崇正初为田戚畹歌妓，后以赠吴逆三桂。甲申之变，圆圆留京师，贼遣人招三桂。三桂意犹与。既而知圆圆为贼所得，遂决意请讨。梅村圆圆曲谓“冲冠一怒为红颜者”，此也。
- ^ "The love history of the famous Geji Chen Yuanyuan".
- ^ 《十美词纪》(清)吴江邹枢贯衡：“陈圆者，女优也。少聪慧，色娟秀，好梳倭堕髻，纤柔婉转，就之如啼。演《西厢》，扮贴旦红娘脚色，体态倾靡，说白便巧，曲尽萧寺当年情绪。”
- ^ Lee, Wai-yee. "Women as Emblems of Dynastic Fall in Qing Literature". In Wang, David Der-wei; Wei, Shang (eds.). Dynastic Crisis and Cultural Innovation: From the Late Ming to the Late Qing and Beyond. Brill. p. 95.
- ^ "Sun Huichang: Chen Yuanyuan".
- ^ 清·邹枢《十美词纪》:“陈圆者，女优也。少聪慧，色娟秀，好梳倭堕髻:纤柔婉转，就这如啼。演西厢，扮贴旦红娘脚色。体态倾靡，说白便巧，曲尽萧寺当年情绪。常在予家演剧，留连不去。后为田皇亲以二千金酬其母，挈去京师，闻又属之某王，宠冠后宫，入滇南终焉。”
- ^ "Light up the lamp and read Chen Yuanyuan".
- ^ "The Chinese village that kept a courtesan's secret for centuries". South China Morning Post. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
- ^ Lee & Stephanowska 1998
- ^ 明·冒襄《影梅庵忆语》:偶一日，赴饮归，谓余曰：“此中有陈姬某，擅梨园之胜，不可不见。”余佐忠节治舟数往返，始得之。其人淡而韵，盈盈冉冉，衣椒茧时背顾湘裙。真如孤鸾之在烟雾。是日燕弋腔红梅。以燕俗之剧，咿呀啁哳之调，乃出之陈姬身口，如云出岫，如珠在盘，令人欲仙欲死。漏下四鼓，风雨忽作，必欲驾小舟去。余牵衣订再晤。答云：“光福梅花如冷云万顷，子能越旦偕我游否？则有半月淹也。”余迫省觐，告以不敢迟留，故复?南岳归棹，当迟子于虎??丛桂间，盖计其期，八月返也。余别去，恰以观涛日奉母回。至西湖，因家君调已破之襄阳，心绪如焚。便讯陈姬，则已为窦霍豪家掠去。闻之惨然。
- ^ 明·冒襄《影梅庵忆语》:因便过吴门，慰陈姬。盖残冬屡趣余，皆未及答。至则十日前复为窦霍门下客，以势逼去。先吴门有?匿之者，集千人哗劫之。势家复为大言挟诈，又不惜数千金为贿，地方恐贻伊戚，劫出复纳入。余至怅惘无极，然以急严亲患难，负一女子无憾也。
- ^ Lee & Stephanowska 1998
- ^ Peterson 2000
- ^ 清·胡介祉《茨村咏史新乐府》:“崇祯辛巳年，田贵妃父宏遇进香普陀，道过金阊，渔猎声妓，遂挟沅以归。”
- ^ 清·叶梦珠《阅世编》：“十六年春，戚畹田宏遇南游吴阊，闻歌妓陈沅、顾寿。名震一时，宏遇使人购得顾寿，而沅尤靓丽绝世，客有私于宏遇者，以八百金市沅进之，宏遇载以还京。”
- ^ "Romance and Myth in Water Painting Garden".
- ^ "How to look at generation Geji Chen Yuanyuan objectively".
- ^ 明末清初·吴伟业《圆圆曲》:相见初经田窦家，侯门歌舞出如花。许将戚里箜篌伎，等取将军油壁车。家本姑苏浣花里，圆圆小字娇罗绮。梦向夫差苑里游，宫娥拥入君王起。前身合是采莲人，门前一片横塘水。
- ^ 清·陆次云《圆圆传》:声甲天下之声，色甲天下之色。崇祯癸未岁，总兵吴三桂慕其名，赍千金往聘之，已先为田畹所得。时圆圆以不得事吴，快怏也。而吴更甚。田畹者，怀宗妃之父也，年耄矣。圆圆度流水高山之曲以歌之，畹每击节，不知其悼知音之希也。甲申春，流贼大炽，怀宗宵旰忧之，废寝食。妃谋所以解帝忧者于父。畹进圆圆，圆圆扫眉而入，冀邀一顾，帝穆然也。旋命之归畹第，时闯师将迫畿辅矣。帝急召三桂对平台，锡蟒玉，赐上方，托重寄，命守山海关。三桂亦慷慨受命，以忠贞自许也。而寇深矣，长安富贵家胥畹忧甚，语圆圆，圆圆曰:「当世乱，而公无所依，祸必至。曷不缔交于吴将军，庶缓急有借乎?」畹曰:「斯何时，吾欲与之缱吴欲之而故却也，强而可，至则戎服临筵，俨然有不可犯之色。畹陈列益盛，礼益恭。酒甫行，吴即欲去。畹屡易席，至邃室一淡妆者，统诸美而先众音，情艳意娇。三桂不觉其神移心荡也，遽命解戎服，易轻裘,顾谓畹曰:「此非所谓圆圆耶?洵足倾人城矣!公宁勿畏而拥此耶?」畹不知所答，命圆圆行酒。圆圆至席，吴语曰:「卿乐甚?」圆圆小语曰:红拂尚不乐越公，矧吴颔之。酣饮间，警报踵至，吴似不欲行者，而不得不行。畹前席曰:「设寇至，将奈何?」吴遽曰:「能以圆圆见赠，吾当保公家，先于保国也。」畹勉许之。吴即命圆圆拜辞畹，择细马驮之去。畹爽然，无如何也。
- ^ "The most unjust beauty in Chinese history: the tragedy and fate of Chen Yuanyuan".
- ^ 《明史·流寇》：“初，三桂奉诏入援至山海关，京师陷，犹豫不进。自成劫其父襄，作书招之，三桂欲降，至滦州，闻爱姬陈沅被刘宗敏掠去，愤甚，疾归山海，袭破贼将。自成怒，亲部贼十余万，执吴襄于军，东攻山海关，以别将从一片石越关外。三桂惧，乞降于我。”
- ^ "The history of red makeup photos of a generation - parallel traces of the famous Geji Chen Yuanyuan".
- ^ "The oral account of the secret successor: Chen Yuanyuan missed Wu Sangui during his lifetime and was physically and mentally exhausted".
- ^ "Chen Yuanyuan was buried in Majiazhai, Guizhou".
- ^ Wakeman 1986, pp. 291, 295
- ^ Wakeman 1986, p. 300
- ^ Wakeman 1986, pp. 292–294
- ^ Chang & Owen 2010, p. 179
- ^ Wakeman 1986, pp. 292–294
- ^ Spence 1990, p. 33
- ^ Huang 1997, p. 205
- ^ Lovell 2006, p. 252
- ^ Peterson 2000
- ^ Lee & Stephanowska 1998, p. 25
- ^ Wakeman 2009, p. 123
Bibliography edit
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- Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Stephanowska, A.D. (1998), Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: The Qing Period, 1644-1911, East Gate, pp. 21–26, ISBN 0-7656-0043-9, retrieved 2015-05-14
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- Xie 谢, Yongfang 永芳; Shi 施, Qin 琴 (2014). "像传题咏与经典重构———以《秦淮八艳图咏》为中心" [Acclaim for portraits and classical reconstruction: 'Qinhuai bayan tuyong' as the centre]. Zhongguo Wenhua Yanjiu (2): 180–188.
See also edit
- The Deer and the Cauldron, a wuxia novel by Jin Yong in which Chen appears.
- The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang, a historical novel by Alice Poon in which Chen has a minor role.
- Tales of Ming Courtesans, a historical novel by Alice Poon in which Chen is one of the three protagonists, the other two being Liu Rushi and Li Xiangjun.