Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Of course Li Qinglu is not called Li Qinglu, her Chinese name is Li Miaoyin.

Similar to Xiao Guanyin, both originated from Buddhism.

Miaoyin is the goddess of eloquence, also known as the mother of Miaoyin Buddha. The prototype is the wife of the Hindu god Brahma. In Mahayana Buddhism, it is also regarded as the incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

After the Five Dynasties, the mainstream trend in Tubo was to reject Buddhism, and a large number of Tubo monks were driven to Xixia.

While absorbing Tubo Buddhism, Xixia also went to the Song Dynasty many times to obtain Buddhist scriptures, thus incorporating Mahayana Buddhist thought. The names or nicknames of Xixia nobles are more or less related to Buddhism, and even come from transliterations of Sanskrit.

In fact, the Zhenla envoy named Jiumo Sengge also belongs to the Buddhist name.

Jiuma, the abbreviation of Jumara Buddha, originally means the place of innocence, and is extended to mean Bodhisattvas above the eighth level and the prince of Yun Dharma.

Brother Seng, that is, Singh, originally means lion.

A good Buddhist name was changed by Prince Zhu to Li Qinglu, and the real master felt really resentful.

She put on a green wedding dress, held a ceremony during the day, and was then welcomed into the East Palace by the ceremony officials and palace attendants. As for the Xixia envoys, officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple accompanied them to a wedding banquet at Daxiangguo Temple.

The Northern Song Dynasty court often received foreign guests at Daxiangguo Temple. Of course, wine and meat were not prohibited here.

Not only was it unavoidable, Daxiangguo Temple also sold pork and had a special "Shao Zhu Yuan". Changing "pig" to "zhu" is worthy of the Buddha.

Of course, on the day Prince Zhu led his troops into the city, the Daxiangguo Temple quickly removed the sign, and now it has become a "Pig Roasting Yard" again.

Rather than paying homage to the Buddha, it is more important to avoid the royal family!

Caifeng, the dowry maid, was looking in the corridor. Seeing that it was already dark, she returned to her room and said anxiously: "Second sister, why doesn't the prince come?"

Li Qinglu said angrily: "I'm not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?"

"This slave is just not worth it for the princess. She traveled thousands of miles to get married, and Prince Zhu didn't even show up for the wedding." Caifeng said with a pout.

Li Qinglu said: "Since ancient times, ancestral daughters who have been married have always been at the mercy of others."

Caifeng saw that the princess was frowning, so she said something else: "Second sister, this Tokyo is very prosperous, but it's a pity that His Highness King Shu (Li Renli) doesn't let you go shopping. Second sister is so beautiful, she will definitely win the favor of Prince Zhu. I like it. Once the prince agrees, I will have a great time wandering around Tokyo."

Li Qinglu waited and waited for her lover, so she simply took out a copy of "The Sutra Said by Vimalakīrti" and chanted it in a low voice while holding the Buddhist sutra.

"The prince has arrived!"

The shout of arrival is not for show, but to remind people in the courtyard to avoid being rude to each other by rushing around.

Li Qinglu quickly put down her Buddhist scriptures and went out to greet her with her wedding maid. The palace maids arranged for her by the Ming Dynasty also came forward to pay their respects.

"No need to be formal, just go in and talk." Zhu Ming said with a smile.

Li Qinglu followed Ju Ming, and the maid helped her pull up her long dress.

Seeing that she had difficulty moving, Zhu Ming stopped and helped her right arm. This move made Li Qinglu feel good about her.

"Are you hungry?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Qinglu replied: "Before I came out of Daxiangguo Temple, I had eaten some food to fill my stomach."

"I've been busy all afternoon and I haven't had dinner yet. Let's eat some together here." Ju Ming said.

"Yes." Li Qinglu said.

The two of them went into the house together, and the maid stayed outside to listen to orders, and closed the door thoughtfully.

Ju Ming saw the Buddhist scriptures on the table, picked them up and looked at them: "Historical script?"

Li Qinglu said: "Reporting to Your Highness, it is the Chinese characters of Daxia."

This little thought made Ju Ming laugh, and he said: "There is no need to argue about Xixia or Daxia. From now on, we will just call it Xia."

"Your Highness is wise." Li Qinglu breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Prince Zhu would be angry because of this.

Ju Ming said: "You can call me Xianggong, Husband, or even Da Lang. Don't call me Your Highness anymore. There is too much separation between husband and wife."

Li Qinglu quickly saluted: "I have met my husband."

Still tightly restrained, Ju Ming could understand and asked: "How can I identify the Xia characters?"

Li Qinglu pointed to the cover and said: "This is the word "dimensional", the dimension of the four dimensions. This is the word "Mo", which means "Mo Cliff". This is..."

"Buddhist scriptures?" Zhu Ming raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Li Qinglu obviously didn't know how to read people's words, and she didn't notice that Prince Zhu was displeased at all.

There was no need for Ju Ming to vent his anger on a woman. He smiled and asked, "Do you believe in Buddhism?"

Li Qinglu said: "Great... all the people in our Xia Kingdom believe in Buddhism. My real name is Miaoyin, which is also taken from Bodhisattva."

Compared with all kinds of Buddhist teachings, Ju Ming was more interested in Xixia characters. He looked at the cover and read it again and again, and then opened the book: "What is this Buddhist book about?"

Li Qinglu concluded: "It is not necessary to become a monk for liberation. As long as you practice hard, even if you live in the world of mortals, you can have wealth without being greedy, have wives and concubines, and stay away from the five desires. Entering the world and leaving the world, having form and without form, knowing and ignorance, life and death, and Nirvana are generally equal. Through this non-dual method, one can obtain the endurance of the non-birth Dharma, stay away from all delusions, and enter the realm of Nirvana."

Ju Ming smiled and commented: "This Buddhist scripture is tailor-made for the rich and powerful."

You can practice medicine without becoming a monk, and you can even continue to enjoy wealth, power and beautiful women. This kind of practice method perfectly caters to certain groups of people.

"Husband, don't you believe in Buddhism?" Li Qinglu asked.

Ju Ming replied: "Buddhas are the kind of ghosts and gods. The Master said, respect ghosts and gods and keep away from them."

Li Qinglu had a diplomatic mission, that is, to please Prince Zhu as much as possible and say a few good words for Xixia at critical moments. She was afraid that Prince Zhu would be unhappy: "Can I still worship Buddha and recite sutras from now on?"

Ju Ming said: "Just don't be too obsessed, and don't induce others to believe in Buddhism. You can do whatever else you want."

"Yes!" Li Qinglu felt that Prince Zhu was very tolerant.

Then, Prince Zhu began to learn foreign languages ​​and seriously asked about the basic structure and radicals of Xixia characters.

After getting a general understanding, Zhu Ming lost interest.

It’s so cumbersome!

A very simple character "大" has fifteen strokes in Tangut. Most of the numbers such as "two", "three" and "four" have more than ten strokes.

The palace maid brought dinner, three dishes, one soup, and two vegetarian dishes.

Li Qinglu didn't know how to flatter, but she remembered that she should flatter, so she praised: "The meals of the Ming Dynasty royal family are really simple. Your Majesty and your husband are both wise kings."

"Sit down and eat." Ju Ming said amusedly.

Li Qinglu sat down obediently, and the maid Caifeng quickly helped serve the rice.

Ju Ming asked: "Besides worshiping Buddha, what else do you like to do?"

Li Qinglu said: "I also read Han poetry. The poems of Li Taibai and Su Dongpo are the most widely circulated in Da...our country of Xia. I have also read my husband's poems and articles with great concentration, and they are not inferior to ancient and modern famous works."

"What musical instrument can you play?" Zhu Ming asked again.

Li Qinglu said: “I only know how to play string instruments such as pipa, harp, and harp.”

Zhu Ming became interested: "You can also play the konghou?"

This thing also existed in the Song Dynasty, but it was not as popular as it was in the Tang Dynasty, and most of them were large vertical harp seals over one meter long.

The sleeping harp is even rarer. This object looks like a guqin, but it only has five strings - the ancestor of the Korean xuanqin.

"I brought the konghou here." Li Qinglu said and put down her chopsticks to get it.

Ju Ming said: "Let's talk after dinner."

After the dinner was finished and we chatted for a while, the maid brought out the small vertical bamboo basket.

It looks similar to the Western harp, both originating from the Mesopotamia.

This is a small and portable one. She held the piano in her left hand and plucked the strings in her right hand. Li Qinglu sang "Shui Tiao Ge Tou": "When will the bright moon come? Let me ask the wine to the sky..."

Su Shi is worthy of being a national idol, and his fans are all over the Song, Liao and Xia Kingdoms.

Ju Ming was not completely musically blind. Over the years, he had learned a little knowledge of ancient music. He picked up his chopsticks and tapped the wine pot to beat the time for Li Qinglu.

Close your eyes and listen, it's quite enjoyable.

Li Qinglu finished singing Su Shi's lyrics, and then sang Prince Zhu's lyrics. The music made her feel much more relaxed, and she was no longer as rigid as before. The life of marrying a distant relative seemed to be less difficult than she imagined.

After singing a few songs, Ju Ming asked about Xixia costumes and customs.

I heard that Li Qinglu also brought exotic costumes, so I was excited to see what happened.

These clothes come in two types: round collar and cross-collar, and the cross-collar clothing has the same right gusset as the Han people. There are also decorations such as cloud shoulders, which are also obviously derived from the Han people. Many styles of clothing are no different from Hanfu.

Ju Ming pointed to a round-neck double-breasted dress: "Is this unique to the Xia Kingdom?"

Li Qinglu said: "But they are Uighur clothes. In addition to Han people's uniforms, Xia nobles also like to wear Uighur clothes."

Well, it’s a gathering of talents, and all nationalities can be absorbed.

Seeing that Prince Zhu was very interested, Li Qinglu asked, "How about I change into this one?"

"Excellent." Ju Ming smiled.

Li Qinglu was shy and avoided people, so she ran to the back room to change clothes and rustled around for more than ten minutes.

It is very similar to the national costumes of Xinjiang in later generations, characterized by large lapels and narrow sleeves. However, there is no cap, but a pointed round gold crown with several flower hairpins inserted on the right side.

The maid Caifeng clapped her hands and sang Western Xia ballads. Although there was no musical accompaniment, Li Qinglu still danced, and it had a bit of a Hu Xuan dance flavor.

The only difference is that she doesn't look like Hu Ji, and everything else matches her.

Ju Ming enjoyed watching it very much, and he felt the same for the debauched kings of all ages. It is too easy for people to fall into corruption when they hold the power of the world.

"Is this a Xia or Uighur dance?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Qinglu slowed down and said, "I don't know, I just learned it from others."

Ju Ming walked over and asked, "How can a man dance?"

Li Qinglu then taught the prince step by step how to dance and how to dance.

After struggling for a long time, Zhu Ming was able to dance with clumsy hands and feet, and the two of them began to dance interactively and wink.

Zhu Ming regards Li Shimin as his idol, so he naturally wants to learn everything. Li Shimin often dances himself.

Well...it's just for fun and can relax your mind.

The two danced more and more ambiguously, and the atmosphere was almost heightened. Prince Zhu picked up Princess Xixia by the waist, spun her around and walked towards the bedroom.

"Slow down, slow down, I'm going to fall!" Li Qinglu wrapped her arms around the back of Ju Ming's neck, for fear of being thrown out of the air by him.

The maid giggled and quickly closed the door.