Recently, the popularity of the costume drama "Meng Hua Lu" has brought the audience's attention back to the Song Dynasty again. Halfway through the plot, there are praises and comments, but the queen who has been the thread of the story from the beginning has not yet appeared.

Beijing Evening News · Five Colors Earth | Author Xiao Yifei

Recently, the popularity of the costume drama " Meng Hua Lu " has brought the audience's attention back to Song Dynasty . Halfway through the plot, there are praises and comments, but the queen who has been the thread of the story from the beginning has not yet appeared. According to plot speculation, the queen's prototype is likely to be Empress Liu of Zhang Xianmingsu of Song Zhenzong. Because her name is unknown, folklore says her name is Liu E.

Seated Statue of Liu Hou, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty

For a long time, when talking about Liu E, people only knew that she was the protagonist of "The Civet Cat for the Crown Prince", but they did not know that historians praised her quite a lot, saying that she "has the talent of Lu Wu but not the evil of Lu Wu" ". In recent years, many film and television works have also used official historical accounts in an attempt to restore Liu E's true image. And how did the "Song Dynasty Strange Case" of "a civet cat exchange for a prince" spread and become popular?

Liu E in the TV series "Qing Ping Le"

Legend and novel

The popularity of the legend of "a raccoon cat for a prince" mainly comes from a novel, namely "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" which was written in the late Qing Dynasty. This novel is regarded as a classic of Chinese public case novels and the originator of martial arts novels. It is also an important resource for storytelling folk art in later generations. The first chapter at the beginning of the novel, "Set up a conspiracy to exchange for the crown prince before giving birth, and fight chivalrously to save the emperor's wife from death." This is the legend of "the civet cat exchanges for the crown prince."

It is said that during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, both Concubine Liu and Concubine Li were pregnant. Concubine Liu and the palace manager Dutang Guo Huai planned to take advantage of the fact that Concubine Li was unconscious due to a haemorrhage during childbirth, and peeled off the fur of a civet cat to replace the newly born prince. Concubine Liu ordered the palace maid to strangle the prince to death. The palace lady couldn't bear it and secretly handed the prince over to the eunuch Chen Lin and transferred him to the Eight Sages to raise him. Besides, Song Zhenzong thought that Concubine Li had given birth to a skinned civet cat as a "monster", so he demoted her to the cold palace. Soon, Concubine Liu gave birth to a son and was made the prince. Concubine Liu was also named queen. Unexpectedly, not long after, Empress Liu's son died of illness, and Song Zhenzong had no heirs, so he adopted the son of the emperor's brother Baxian Wang (actually the son of Concubine Li who had been replaced that year) as his stepson and established him as the crown prince. After the death of Song Zhenzong, Concubine Li's son succeeded to the throne, namely Song Renzong .

"The civet cat exchanges for the prince", paper-cutting in Yantai, Shandong.

The legend of "a civet cat exchanged for a prince" is completely made up by folk artists. It was not originally written as a chapter in the novel "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses". It was just an oral story by storytellers, and it was a legend passed down orally in the true sense. Its specific plot design first appeared in the Qing Dynasty novel "The Romance of Wanhua Tower". Shi Yukun, a storyteller who was active in the Jiaqing-Daoguang period, based his storytelling on the Ming Dynasty koan novel "Longtu Gongan" and followed the plot setting of "a civet cat exchanges for a prince" to form a rap version of "Longtu Erlu". By the end of the Qing Dynasty, in the fifth year of Guangxu's reign (1879), it was revised and polished, and the final draft was renamed "The Legend of Zhonglie Chivalry", also known as "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses", and was handed over to Beijing Juzhentang for printing with movable type.

The popular model of "singing" and "novel" has truly made the story of "the civet cat exchanges for the prince" into a familiar "legend" suitable for all ages.

It should be said that the legend of "civet cat for prince" was the earliest top-notch production that performed "palace fighting drama" to its peak. As for whether it is true and credible, and whether it can stand the test of history, it is not what ordinary people care about. Promoting karma and the cycle of heaven is the main purpose and appeal of such legends, and it is also the fundamental reason why they cater to the public psychology and are so popular.

Rewriting and Adaptation

Of course, there are also some who don’t believe in this legend and have indeed done some historical research on it. For example, the great-grandfather of the famous scholar Yu Pingbo, Yu Yue (1821-1907), believed that the first chapter of the book, "The raccoon cat exchanges for the prince", was "unexpected", so he "referenced historical records" , Revise the Popular Sayings", rewrite the first chapter. Ten years after the first edition of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses", in the fifteenth year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1889), a new version of "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" was revised according to Yu's work and printed by Guangbai Songzhai in Shanghai. It was also popular for a while.But such a change, after all, has wiped out the most legendary part of the beginning of the novel, making it less popular. Even Mr. Lu Xun, who always calls for "revolutionary literature" and always "breaks the old and establishes the new." Not happy anymore.

Lu Xun said that he "not only loves to make up stories, but also does not forget the practice of textual research". The implication is to ridicule Mr. Yu. Since Mr. Yu loves to read popular novels, he should know that most of these novels contain some fabricated plots. Why bother to do any serious academic research on the novels?

On August 21, 1921, Lu Xun once again mentioned the original version of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" and the revised version of "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" in a letter to Hu Shi, and clearly pointed out that Yu's revision of the original was actually "unnecessary." .

On December 28, 1923, Lu Xun also wrote a letter to Hu Shi, in which he stated his personal opinions on reprinting classical novels. He once again made it clear, "I think there are still a few books that can be reprinted. 1 This is "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses", the original version must be used, and the first chapters modified by Yu Quyuan are appended." What Lu Xun meant was that the unmodified and previously popular "original" must be used for proofreading and publication. Mr. Yu's modifications can also be added, but only as "appendices" to be printed with the "original".

Sure enough, in 1925, "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" edited by Yu Pingbo and published by Yadong Library chose the original version instead of "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness" adapted by his great-grandfather. Hu Shi, who recommended this book to readers and facilitated the proofreading and publication of it, wrote a long preface, which is at the beginning of the volume. Hu Xuzhong also expressed basically the same opinion as Lu Xun, that is, he believed that Yu Yue's original revision of the novel was not successful, especially the legendary story of "the civet cat exchanges for the prince" in the first chapter of the novel should not be erased. Hu Xuzhong wrote:

"Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" originally had some advantages over Mr. Qu Yuan. Even the first episode that Mr. Qu Yuan was most dissatisfied with was far better than the revised version. A new play of "The Civet Cat for the Prince" was compiled in the Shanghai theater, and the first one used the first chapter of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" as the basis. This shows that the actors in the Beijing troupe have not forgotten the influence of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", and it also shows that the influence of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" has been changed. The first chapter of the book has deleted the vivid and vivid description part, and it loses the interest of literature and does not suit the performance of a drama.

Due to Lu Xun and Hu Shi's original unanimous praise of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses", coupled with the full explanation and special emphasis of the preface written by Hu Shi, and Yu Pingbo's profound literary knowledge and accurate proofreading, the "Yadong Edition" of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" Once "Yi" was published, it was quickly accepted and welcomed by readers all over the north and south. The legend of "a civet cat exchanges for a prince" has started a new round of popularity.

Review and newly compiled

Almost at the same time as Lu Xun, Hu Shi and other masters of the "New Literature Movement" published "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", it seems to be some kind of implicit connection and understanding between the northern and southern cultural circles, and all walks of life in Shanghai Publishers and booksellers also took action and launched various versions of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" one after another.

At that time, in order to ensure marketability and sales, Shanghai Charity Bookstore, Xiaojing Shanfang, Datong Bookstore and other book industry institutions directly mentioned "The civet cat exchanges for the prince" as the title of the book, and even included the "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" The relevant storylines have been expanded and newly compiled to write this legendary story in a larger space and with more pen and ink. At the same time, major bookstores also drew a large number of illustrations for the novel, almost reaching the form of a "comic book".

"Three Episodes of Drawing a Civet Cat for a Prince", drum lyrics songbook, Shanghai Jiangdong Maoji Bookstore, published in 1922.

Strictly speaking, the above-mentioned revised new editions of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" will naturally not be compiled and printed strictly according to the "original" diligently pursued by Lu Xun, Hu Shi and others, but will intentionally change the concept of "the civet cat exchanges for the prince". The legendary story is set as the core background of the entire novel. It is precisely the emergence of these new editions that the legend of "civet cat for prince" has become popular for the second time since the late Qing Dynasty. Compared with the previous popularization that originated in Beijing and spread to the south, it has become even more popular. Moreover, during this pandemic, the structure and content of the story of "The civet cat exchanges for the prince" itself have also developed unprecedentedly, expanding a larger text space for the adaptation of folk art and rap during the Republic of China.

For example, the first three chapters of the first volume of "Facts of the Song Dynasty: The Story of a Civet Cat for a Prince" published by Datong Book Company are:

Chapter 1: Song Zhenzong delivers the imperial edict before leaving, and Concubine Li Chen gives birth to a civet cat

Chapter 2: Manager Guo sets up Ceyi Allah, the Kou palace people are suspected of being beaten

The third chapter: Kou Zhu Concubine Li is rescued, Zhenzong returns to the dynasty Bao Gong is born

Looking back at this novel, it is no longer the same as "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness". In the same way, it seems that the proportion of the legendary story of "a civet cat exchanged for a prince" is to be increased, and a "romantic story" is to be made.

Furthermore, the new editor has a preface at the beginning of the volume, clearly expressing the basic concept that "official history" and "legends" should be mutually reinforcing rather than contradicting each other, and believes that "the civet cat exchange is recorded in historical records, although there is no such statement". The legendary story of "Prince" can be inferred from various historical facts. "From this inference, the matter of the prince is like the shadow of a candle shaking red, which is suspicious." We cannot say whether it is true or false. Because "the ups and downs of cause and effect in the affairs of the world must never be simple," the new editor volunteered to "cover the last thoughts of the original sages, record the events, and tell the truth, so as to verify the facts for thousands of years."

This preface can well explain the fundamental reason why the legend of "civet cat for prince" became popular for the second time and reached its peak during the Republic of China - the impact of the coexistence and interaction of legends and novels on social culture (especially popular culture at the popular level) , cannot be replaced by pure literary and historical research and cultural advocacy.

When a large number of new editions of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" are emerging, they put aside the original novel of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" and "start from scratch", completely based on the legendary story of "The civet cat exchanges for the prince", and compiled it into a new chapter volume. Novel writers also began to take advantage of the situation.

"The Strange Case of the Song Dynasty: The Civet Cat Exchanges the Prince" published by Shanghai Daguan Bookstore is one of the chapter novels that directly interprets this legendary story, with as many as 56 chapters. In other words, the legendary story of "The civet cat exchanges for the prince", in addition to becoming the "signature" of the adaptation of "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", can also "stand on its own" and become a new novel work independently.

"The Strange Case of the Song Dynasty: The Civet Cat Replaces the Prince", published by Shanghai Daguan Bookstore.

Penetration and Archaeology

html From 0 to 1945, the legend of "a raccoon cat for a prince" not only continued to be popular, but also penetrated into the cultural relics and archaeological circles, and was almost confirmed as "faithful history". It turns out that in 1945, on the occasion of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in Chongqing, an inspection team formed by scholars such as Yang Jialuo and Gu Jiegang found a large number of stone sculptures from the Song Dynasty in Dazu County, Chongqing, which shocked the academic world at home and abroad. At that time, in three four stone niches (grottoes) in Dazu Beishan, Shuchengyan (also known as Yuncongyan) and Shizhuan Mountain , some scholars claimed to have discovered Song Dynasty stone sculptures based on the legend of "a civet cat for a prince". .

The legend of "a civet cat exchanged for a prince" was actually vividly carved in the stone niches (grottoes) in the mountainous countryside of Dazu County, Chongqing, in the far southwest corner. Once discovered, there were as many as three and four niches (grottoes). In fact, they were all carved in the late Northern Song Dynasty and the early Southern Song Dynasty (according to research, the Beishan and Shizhuanshan statues are from the late Northern Song Dynasty, and the Shu Chengyan statues are from the early Southern Song Dynasty). Such archaeological and academic discoveries can be described as "earth-shattering".

The reason why such stone statues exist is that scholars more than 70 years ago believed that one of the heroines in the legend of "civet cat for prince", Liu E, who was later titled "Queen Mingsu", was originally " Shu" At that time, Dazu in Chongqing was also under the jurisdiction of Sichuan. Perhaps because of the fact that they were both under the jurisdiction of Sichuan, the donors and craftsmen of the stone carvings in the Dazu area were very fond of the legend of "civet cat for prince" planned by Liu E, a native of Sichuan. I was interested, so I carved a stone to record it. As for Shu Chengyan's "Queen Shuming's Niche", it may be that the villagers in the southwest were not well educated and the word "Suming" was reversed, and because the pronunciations of "Su" and "Shu" are similar, so "The sound is close and inverted, causing mistakes."

Niche No. 122 in Dazu Beishan. The main statue in the niche was once recognized by scholars as the "Queen Su of the Ming Dynasty". This statue holds a baby statue (with a broken head) in its hands.

The author has visited Dazu, Chongqing many times to inspect the stone carving art of the Song Dynasty, and has also visited niches No. 122 and 289 in Beishan, as well as niches in Shuchengyan and Shizhuanshan. The plot meaning reflected in the statue seems to be able to be inferred and deduced based on the legendary story of "a civet cat exchanges for a prince". They are all still well preserved. Readers who are interested in this may wish to go to Dazu, Chongqing to "check in" one by one.

However, before you intend to go to Dazu, Chongqing to see it in person, it is necessary to explain the subsequent academic "conclusive conclusions" about the statues in the three places and four niches (grottoes).

It turns out that the academic rumor that a Song Dynasty stone niche (grotto) carved based on the legend of "a civet cat for a prince" was found in the Dazu Rock Carvings was "overturned" as early as 1984. The contents of these stone carvings are actually "Chinese" statues based on the goddess of fertility, Hari Dimu, as the main prototype. However, why did the discoverers of these statues first think of the legend of "a civet cat for a prince" after seeing the statues of women and children decorated by ancient concubines? Why did no scholar explicitly question or object to this discovery for many years after it was announced?

I'm afraid there can only be one more convincing reason, and that is the legend of "a raccoon cat for a prince". It is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and too popular. Even for experts and scholars, it cannot be "exempt from vulgarity".