History in Novel 20: "Flying General" Li Shishi
Stills of Li Shishi in "Water Margin"
In "Water Margin", Li Shishi certainly counts Not a major character, but her role cannot be underestimated. She played a crucial role in the recruitment issue in Liangshan. It was she who prompted Song Huizong to understand the true situation in Liangshan, paving the way for the final recruitment. No wonder "Jingkang Unofficial History" says that "Hou Meng wrote a letter without Ruo Li Shishi's comment." So who is this extremely beautiful, considerate and kind-hearted courtesan? What is her last name? It is still a mystery to this day. .
In ancient society, due to various reasons, many prostitutes did not use their real names, and Li Shishi was no exception. There are several theories about her surname and origin:
"Bianliang Fengchen Lu" written by the Southern Song Dynasty records: Li Shishi's surname was Su, and she was from Gusu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). She followed her aunt Li as a singer and entered Tokyo (today's Kaifeng, Henan Province). Due to her talent in both sex and art, she was promoted as the "Flower Moon Queen" and became a famous prostitute in the capital.
The "Feng Yue Ou Ji" written by the same people of the Southern Song Dynasty said that Li Shishi was a descendant of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. After Wu Zetian usurped the throne, she hunted down the Tang Dynasty clan. The clan members fled among the people one after another. Li Shishi should be a descendant of the Tang Dynasty royal family who fell to the common people. The book also swore that Li Shishi also kept a jade seal from the Tang Dynasty as an ancestral treasure. This statement is more legendary, and it is even more helpless and unreliable.
In addition, there are some scattered records about her in books such as "Tokyo Menghualu" and "Longchuan Farewell". The author has sorted it out. The general situation is as follows:
Li Shishi is a native of Tokyo. His surname is Wang and his father's name is Wang Yin. He is a craftsman in the government-run dyeing bureau. He works hard all year round but lives in poverty. He can only barely support the life of the couple. Due to the poverty of life, her mother was malnourished and overworked when she was pregnant, resulting in malposition of the fetus and difficult labor. When Li Shishi was born, her mother left her some clothes made from old clothes, and then she died of hemorrhage. His father worked very hard and used soy milk instead of breast milk to raise him.
Li Shishi's urine was different from that of ordinary children since she was a child. She almost never cried. This made her father very scared, thinking that she would not be able to raise her. In order to seek the blessing of the Bodhisattva, her father went to Huangkai Temple to worship a monk as her master. When the apprentice was "ordained", the old host stared at her with a strange look for a long time, and suddenly said: "Where is this place, and you are here too!" As soon as she said this, Master Li burst into tears. The cry dispelled her father's worries, but also brought her a new sense of mystery. Because she worshiped the monk as her teacher, Buddhist disciples called her "Shi" in the slang, so she was named "Shishi".
Master Li has suffered many disasters since he was a child. The dyeing shop where his father worked was jointly sued to the government for long-term arrears of wages to the craftsmen. Unexpectedly, not only was the lawsuit unsuccessful, Wang Yinfan was falsely accused of being the mastermind and thrown into prison on the charge of "conspiracy to do evil". He died in prison soon after. At this time, Master Li was only four years old. When the madam of a brothel in Qianqian Lane, Tokyo, saw that Mr. Li was smart, cute and outstanding in appearance, she said happily: "This is really a rich man!" So she took her as her adopted daughter and changed her surname to Li. From then on, Li Shishi, who was still unfamiliar with the world, fell into the brothel.
Li Shishi received a good cultural education since she was a child, and she was also willing to deal with literati. People compared her to Xue Tao, a famous prostitute and poetess in the Tang Dynasty, so they gave her the nickname "Li Xiaoshu". ". Later, "school book" became a synonym for prostitute. In addition to "Li Xiaoshu", Master Li also has a more famous name - "Flying General".
Why is Master Li called the "Flying General"? People have different opinions on this. According to Xiao Xiangbo's "Notes": "Master Li heard that the Jin people were approaching the capital, so he recruited brave soldiers to practice martial arts in response to emergencies. Master Li called himself 'Flying General' and tried to modify the Tang Dynasty poem Wang Changling's "Crossing the Fortress". A poem about the bright moon of the Qin Dynasty and the Pass of the Han Dynasty is: "But the flying generals in Fengcheng are here, and they don't teach Hu Ma to cross Yanshan." In this way, Li Shishi is still a heroine. When the country is in crisis, he spends all his money and recruits warriors. , to share the worries of the country, she is truly a hero among women of her generation! But this is just a novelist's statement and not enough evidence.
"Flying General" was originally the title of the famous Western Han Dynasty general Li Guang, but it became the nickname of Li Shishi
Zhang Bangji's "Biandu Pingkang Ji" said that Song Huizong fell in love with Li Shishi Later, he gave her the fine wine that was paid tribute by Annan Kingdom (now Vietnam). Li Shishi gave the vat of wine rewarded by the emperor to the border guards, and asked the coach Liang Shicheng to imitate the famous Western Han Dynasty general Li Guang and pour the wine into the spring well so that every soldier could taste it. At that time, someone wrote a poem in a bad way: "The Nine Heavens Jade exposed the forbidden garden, and Loulan was not given the hook fence. Fortunately, Fengcheng Feijiang was there, and Ganquan Palace wine was poured into Jiuquan." From then on, Li Shishi got the nickname "Flying General".
However, Li Shishi's good intentions were not realized. Liang Shicheng got the jar of wine, but instead of giving it to all the soldiers, he drank it privately. Li Shishi also contributed 3,000 taels of silver to Liang Shicheng and asked him to buy 100,000 bottles of fine wine to comfort the soldiers on the expedition. But Liang Shicheng embezzled the three thousand taels of silver. Master Li was furious when he heard the news, so he paid a lot of money to bribe an assassin to kill Liang Shicheng. Unexpectedly, the assassin was killed again by Liang Shicheng.
Although the assassination failed, the incident still brought her a lot of reputation. From then on, she became famous in the capital as a "xia". The book also said: "Master Li is generous and has a husband." Qi, with the name of chivalry, he was known as "Flying General". Every time the guest left, he burned incense and sipped tea, calm and relaxed, and people could take a look at it. , which refers to the feat of stabbing Liang."
It is said that Liang Shicheng did not know that the assassin was sent by Li Shishi. The assassin refused to admit that she was the one who sent him out of respect for Li Shishi. There is someone else. Later, Liang Shicheng found out that he was sent by Li Shishi. It is also said that Master Liang knew that the assassin was sent by her at that time. Although Liang Shishi was very angry, he was helpless because Li Shishi was deeply favored by Song Huizong.
The first generation of Quan eunuch Liang Shicheng
The author believes that such a statement is probably not a belief in history, but a rumor in unofficial history. But this also shows from another aspect that the people are very fond of Li Shishi, and they have shaped her into a strange woman of a generation who understands justice, is generous, and is forthright and heroic!