The next day.
Li Zexuan had breakfast and arrived at Yunshan Mountain early, but unexpectedly met an unexpected person.
"Hey~? Wen Hao~? When did you come~? Aren't you supposed to be at Hu Ji Liang Shop~?"
Arriving at Yan Shaoning's temporary "office", Li Zexuan saw Meng Wenhao who had disappeared for a long time. He couldn't help but ask.
The last time he came to Yunshan, when Li Zexuan invited a group of students from the Mathematical School to have dinner, he heard several students talk about Meng Wenhao, saying that he worked as a cashier in a grain store to earn money to support his family, so he did not come with them. In Yunshan, Li Zexuan understood this quite well at the time. In his previous life, he had worked during holidays, so he didn't blame Meng Wenhao for this.
"Sir~! You are here~! The student just came here the day before yesterday~! He came a little late, sir, please don't blame me~!"
When Meng Wenhao saw Li Zexuan come in, he stood up excitedly and said hello.
Yan Shaoning interjected angrily: "Look at your students, all of them are more active than you. A few days ago, someone was sitting on a fairy lantern swinging around Chang'an City. He was so carefree~!"
Li Zexuan said speechlessly: "I am here to prove to everyone that I am not bragging, okay~? It's not for my personal enjoyment~? To a certain extent, I am also doing it for the future development of Yanhuang Academy~!"
Yan Shaoning curled his lips and said: "Okay, okay~! You are the only one who has a lot of lies~! But you are really good as a student~! Not only are you a good at settling accounts, but you are also very charming~!"
Li Zexuan was confused and asked: "What do you mean~?"
But Meng Wenhao said with a blushing face: "It's nothing, Commander Yan, don't say anything~!"
"This is a glorious thing, what are you embarrassed to say~?"
Yan Shaoning patted Meng Wenhao on the shoulder, laughed, and then said to Li Zexuan: "Xiaoxuan, you don't know yet~? After you went to Hu Ji Liang Shop, you, a student, not only defeated their original four in arithmetic, but Mr. Accountant, and when he left, he almost abducted the eldest lady~! Tsk tsk~!"
Li Zexuan was stunned and asked with great interest: "Oh~? Is there such a thing~? Shaoning, tell me~!"
After saying that, this guy quickly moved a stool and sat in front of Yan Shaoning, looking as if he was eager to hear the gossip. He didn't look like a gentleman at all~!
Meng Wenhao's eyelids jumped when he saw it, and he was quite speechless.
Yan Shaoning was used to Li Zexuan's irresponsible temperament. He also sat down and began to tell Li Zexuan about Meng Wenhao's "love affair".
So, two grown men in the room sat together and started chatting and gossiping, while a half-grown young man was fidgeting awkwardly next to them.
Half a quarter of an hour later, after learning the whole story, Li Zexuan stood up and laughed loudly: "Wen Hao, you can do it~! You haven't even graduated yet, and you have learned how to flirt with girls~! Haha~! Not bad, not bad~!"
Meng Wenhao was embarrassed. Although he didn't know what "picking up girls" meant, he could guess a rough idea. He said: "Sir, the student just wants to use what he has learned to earn some change, and he has no intention of provoking anyone." People~!”
Li Zexuan waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Haha~! You don't need to explain to me, I still believe in your character. But why don't you accept the wishes of the eldest daughter of the Hu family~?"
"Uh~! This..."
Meng Wenhao scratched his head in embarrassment, but didn't know how to answer.
Li Zexuan looked at Yan Shaoning and asked, "Is it a matter of appearance? Shaoning, what does the eldest daughter of the Hu family look like?"
Yan Shaoning suppressed a smile and said: "The facial features are okay, just... I'm just a little plump, there's nothing wrong with it~!"
"Oh~!"
Li Zexuan said "Oh" meaningfully, and Meng Wenhao said quickly: "Sir, it's not about appearance. It's just that the student is still young and hasn't considered marriage yet~!"
Yan Shaoning curled his lips and said: "Oh, pretend~! If it weren't for his appearance, he's a ghost~!"
"That's right~!"
Li Zexuan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Don't you Shaoning like plump women~?"
He remembered that many books in his previous life had written that people in the Tang Dynasty considered fatness to be beautiful~! It stands to reason that since Ms. Hu's facial features are not bad, but her figure is slightly plump, such a woman should be more popular with people nowadays, but looking at them now, it is obviously not the case~!
Yan Shaoning heard this and said with disgust: "Go~! Who said I like plump women~? I didn't see you like this~! Why do we have to like this~? Wenhao, do you like this~? "
Meng Wenhao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
Li Zexuan was sweating for a while and thought to himself: Did he remember it wrong again~?
He didn't remember wrongly, he was just misled.
In previous lives, people in the Tang Dynasty viewed women as "beautiful by being fat", which has been around for a long time and has been widely circulated.
After some research, some experts asserted that people in the Tang Dynasty did regard obesity as beautiful in aesthetics, and pointed out several reasons why people in the Tang Dynasty regarded obesity as beautiful: the economy of the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, and people had the conditions to eat and clothe themselves, and maintain a healthy and plump physique; The culture of the Tang Dynasty was open, inclusive, broad-minded and fat; the royal family of the Tang Dynasty had Xianbei blood, which made them naturally like women with strong bodies... they were clear-cut and conclusive.
In fact, this statement is wrong, or at least inaccurate.
The reason why people think that women in the Tang Dynasty considered obesity beautiful is mainly based on the figure of Concubine Yang and the images of women in the palace paintings and ladies paintings of the Tang Dynasty.
In fact, if you take a closer look at the "Stepping Chariot" and Zhou Fang's "Ladies with Hairpins" by the famous Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben, it is not difficult to find that the maids and ladies in the paintings are not obese at all. The nine maids in "The Picture of the Chariot" walk slowly surrounded by Li Shimin. Some are carrying the chariot, some are holding umbrellas, and some are holding up fans. She looks like she has a lot of strength, and she is definitely not a weak and morbid beauty.
However, looking at their figures, they are actually quite slim. The woman in "Lady with Hairpin Flowers" is probably because she is of higher status and is slightly older. She has a slightly plump figure, but her standing posture is all graceful and graceful, as light as a willow blowing in the spring breeze. There is no doubt that their figure can be described as "slim".
Regarding Concubine Yang, there are records in the literature that she was afraid of heat due to obesity. For example, "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" says that she "had a physical body and suffered from bitter heat in the summer." However, Concubine Yang's "physical body" was by no means the level of obesity that people today call her. At most, it's just a little bit of muscle, which is what "Yang Taizhen's Biography" calls "slightly muscular."
A person who is good at dancing ("Dancing in Feather Clothes" is her masterpiece) must be physically active, and it is normal to have some muscles. Concubine Yang's fear of heat is actually not because she is fat, but because of her physical constitution. "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" records that Concubine Yang "suffered from lung heat every time she stayed drunk for the first time." She often went to the back garden alone in the early morning to suck flower dew to moisten her throat. In order to moisten her lungs, Yang Guifei would hold a piece of cool jade fish in her mouth every day in summer.
Moreover, there are no historical documents to show that Concubine Yang was favored by Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty because of her obesity or plumpness. Both the old and new "Book of Tang" biographies of Concubine Yang record that the main reason why Concubine Yang was favored was because of her "talented talents." Specifically, they include: "Good at singing and dancing, proficient in music, and wise in calculating and vigilant, and able to realize things whenever they want" (the original biography of "New Book of Tang"), that is, having literary and artistic talents, being smart and understanding.
Coupled with the description of the poet Du Fu in the poem "Beautiful People Walking", "the appearance is strong, the meaning is distant and true, the texture is fine and the bones are even", that is, it is gorgeous, dignified, temperamental, and has delicate skin. The actual situation is that Tang Minghuang did not appreciate Concubine Yang's muscles.
"Yang Taizhen's Biography" says that one time Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty was reading "Internal Biography of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty" in the public hall of Baihuayuan. After seeing it, Concubine Yang asked him what book he was reading. Tang Minghuang smiled and said: "Don't ask. You will feel uncomfortable if you find out."
Concubine Yang snatched the book and saw that it read: "Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty captured a flying swallow and was so light that he could not stand up to the wind. Fearing that it would float away, the emperor made a crystal plate and ordered the palace people to sing and dance with it in their hands...". At this time, Emperor Tang Ming made fun of her and said: "You can withstand the wind better than her." Concubine Yang refused to accept it and said with great confidence that her "Dance of Colorful Clothes and Feathers" surpassed that of Zhao Feiyan.
When Li Bai was serving in the Imperial Academy, he wrote three poems called "Qing Ping Diao Ci", praising the beauty of Concubine Yang and the life in the palace at that time. The second one is dedicated to the beauty of Concubine Yang. The poem says:
A branch of red dew is fragrant, and the clouds and rain in Wushan are heartbreaking.
May I ask who is similar to the Han Palace? Poor Feiyan relies on her new makeup.
In the poem, Concubine Yang is compared to a peony and to Zhao Feiyan. If Concubine Yang is really obese, and she and Zhao Feiyan can form a sharp contrast between fat and thin, then this comparison is ridicule and disobedient. It is very likely that Concubine Yang herself admires Zhao Feiyan and is willing to be compared to Zhao Feiyan. It is said that Concubine Yang was nicknamed "Fat Maid", which was probably a curse given to her by people who were jealous and hated her (such as Concubine Mei). It can be seen that people at that time did not regard obesity as beautiful.
The most interesting ones are two lines from Bai Juyi's poem, "The horse is fat and can walk quickly, and the prostitute can sing and dance" ("Three Reflections"). Horses are beautiful because they are fat (the six horses in Zhaoling are all fat and strong), but singing and dancing prostitutes are beautiful because they are thin and tall. Prostitutes are obese, which is an unforgivable shortcoming. The famous poet Du Mu met a relatively plump prostitute in Shaanxi who was trying to persuade her to drink. She was a bar girl. He immediately wrote a poem that was extremely satirical and vilifying. Please see:
Pangu had a distant grandson at that time, and still ordered him to carry on his family's duties today.
A cart of white earth covered the mud neck, and ten red flags mended the torn robes.
I saw traces of my journey in Waguan Temple, and traces of my palms in front of Mount Huayue.
There is no need to be melancholy and worried about the difficulty of getting married. I will ask the general about the letter to Lekun.
All signs indicate that the view that people in the Tang Dynasty regarded obesity as beautiful lacks empirical evidence. Moreover, this was still the first year of Zhenguan, and the Tang Dynasty had just been established for less than ten years. Even if there was a culture of treating obesity as beautiful in the Tang Dynasty, it is definitely still there now. It has not been completely formed. At least Queen Changsun and Princess Changle are not obese people, and they are both very slim.
"Wocao, there's something wrong here~!"
Li Zexuan murmured to himself, and he also suddenly thought of the Empress Changsun he had met, and then realized that people at this time did not regard obesity as beautiful, otherwise Empress Changsun would not be so thin~!
………………………
