Chapter 19 Street Life of Common People in Chang’an

Author: Jin Xifeng

Translator: Fanglin Louis

Introduction of the novel "The Great Khan" from the author:

A modern Chinese soul-travels to the Tang Dynasty 1300 years ago and merges into the body of Xue Chongxun, the eldest son of Princess Taiping of the Tang Dynasty of China. He tragically discovers that he and his families will be killed by the then Crown Prince Li Longji in a coup within the forthcoming two year later according to the original historical development. Therefore, Li Longji becomes his destined mortal enemy since he soul-travelled back to the world. So, as the protagonist of this novel, how can he sort out to avoid that disaster? In order to survive, is he qualified to be the opponent of Li Longji, the original great man in Chinese history? How should he reinterpret the prosperous Tang poetry in this time and space he traveled to? ……

Message from the transaltor:All contents posted here is my Enlgish transaltion of the Chinese novel ,which was oringinally posted in the website as https://www.xiguasuwu.com/bookread/3704055759/405854.html

(Continued)

The case of Feng Yuanjun's death did cause Xue Chongxun some troubles, although they were all minor troubles for him- as a royal noble, it is impossible for him to pay with his life for killing a minor official like Feng Yuanjun because there were so many high-rank official in the court to exonerate Xue Chongxun - it was not a big deal for those who were in power: as a group of high-rank officials who were well-read in classics and poetry, they can find a lot of reasons for clearing the suspicion against Xue Chongxun in such a case-whether it was talking about national laws or morality to officials like Li Shouyi, they always had something to say. In short, the same principle applies to ancient and modern times: whoever has more power has the right to explain the rules/laws! According to Xue Chongxun's memory of his previous life, in another era, there would be no one like Li Shouyi, because the Confucian righteousness had become the dregs of the old feudal culture at that time, and no one believed it at all.

"Life is what I want; righteousness is what I want, but I cannot have both..." Xue Chongxun began to read Mencius' words again. This passage, which he heard from the children's loud reading, was simple and make sense for him, and he had already memorized it in his heart. But every time he read it again, it still brought him different feelings.

In this life, he has a modern soul, which of course brings him not only some benefits, but also some disadvantages: this modern soul makes him have no faith and his spiritual life is somewhat empty and boring. In addition, the very limited knowledge in this soul's memory is not enough for him to build guns, cannons, warships and aircraft carriers in this world-in other words, let alone in ancient times, even in modern times, he can't make them by himself. Besides, even if he can have the formula for gunpowder, can the gunpowder he makes be used as military use? Moreover, gunpowder was already used in the military during the Tang Dynasty, so he didn't need to do anything extra.

……

In Xue Chongxun's opinion, the criminal case involving him was not a big deal. What really made him feel uneasy and worried was the political competition between Princess Taiping and Li Longji. He now didn't know whether his mother agreed with his views and whether she could make up her mind to get rid of their common enemy Prince Li Longji. In Xue Chongxun's opinion, killing Li Longji by any means was the only way out for the mother and son.

At this time, Xue Chongxun, like an eyas with wings far from being full, does not have the strength/capability to participate in political struggles. Therefore, the person who really had the strength to deal with Prince Li Longji was his mother, Princess Taiping, and only she was qualified to compete with Li Longji. So his mother's decision was crucial.

This feeling was similar to when he practiced boxing in his previous life and found that the sandbags for practice were filled with cotton, which gave him a helpless feeling of having strength but nowhere to use it.

This morning he went to Daming Palace to attend the court meeting held every other day. After paying homage to the emperor, he returned. He did not even go to the Taichang Temple, which he was in charge of, for routine work. Because that government office was not an important place at all during extraordinary times, and it would not play a big role at a critical moment in the political struggle with the current prince, so Xue Chongxun was not in the mood to care about what was going on there. When he came back in the morning, he stayed in the room alone, reading and thinking hard about the alternative solution for the survival crisis his mother and he are facing in the coming years.

”

He thought about it , sorted out his thoughts several times, and found that only that method was feasible because there was no other choice... The problem his mother are thinking is how to successfully get rid of the prince, whereas the one for Xue Chongxun is how to make his mother determined to go all out to kill the prince.

Some birds outside the door chirped non-stop. The rain a few days ago had stopped, and now the sun was shining, and it was really birdsong and flowers. Xue Chongxun looked at the sun outside the door, and suddenly had an idea to go out for a walk to relax. He put down the books in his hand, changed into boots, clothes, whips and hats, and went out to call the servant Pang Er to prepare the carriage.

Then he took a few followers and drove out of the mansion. Pang Er asked: "Where are you going, my lord?"

Xue Chongxun thought about it, and suddenly remembered the singing girl he met in Daqin Temple that day. What was her name...? He vaguely remembered that it was drizzling that day. Oh, he remembered that her name was Meng Xiaoyu. So he said, "Let's go to Shuiyunjian (a brothel)."

Pang Er responded without saying much. It was obvious that he knew that his master went to Shuiyunjian for pleasure. It was not surprising that scholars and officials went in and out of such places. The government also used the national finances to support many singing girls for officials to enjoy. Of course, when officials wanted to change their tastes and have different sexual experiences, they would often go to private brothels or wine shops, where they can have foreign women very popular by the officials and scholars.

The carriage went west along the North Street of Chang'an City. After passing a memorial archway, it came to a street extending from north to south. The further north you go along this street, the more lively it is, because the starting point of the North Street is the Entrance of Anyifang(note 1). From the entrance of Anyifang, you can see the East Market of Chang'an City, which is full of merchants and goods from all over the country and even all over the world. The daily trading volume is immeasurable. Usually, there is a trend: At where is closer to the market, the denser the population would be, and there should be more hidden business opportunities there.

The streets of Chang'an were very lively during this period. You could see all kinds of new things, even camels, except for elephants. There were also many foreigners with strange clothes and abstract appearances. In fact, there were estimated to be tens of thousands of foreigners in Chang'an, including foreign envoys, merchants, and people who came to learn about laws and regulations... It is said that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, once said that even if knowledge is far away in China, he should be willing to go there to seek it.

When the whole world was struggling in the Dark Ages of civilization in the early eighth century, the Tang Empire was the beacon of human civilization, the center of the world, and the golden kingdom that all mankind yearned for. Since Emperor Taizong of Tang, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was called the Great Khan authorized by the God in the heaven, who commanded countless neighboring countries at the same time. If the emperor of the Tang Dynasty wanted to conquer a country that committed an unjust crime, the armies of all countries in the Great Khan Alliance Union had to obey the call. The influence of the Beiting Protectorate (note 1) of the Tang Dynasty reached as far as the Caspian Sea and even to the Eastern Roman Empire; many foreign kings also had official titles conferred by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The ideal pursued by Confucianism, "All under heaven is the king's land", was realized to the greatest extent possible in the Tang Dynasty.

……

Shuiyunjian, a brothel in Anyifang, was located near the East Market. As a place where brothels and other entertainment venues in Chang'an gathered, it was extremely prosperous. When Xue Chongxun arrived at the door of Shuiyunjian, he saw a stage at the door of the brothel, on which a drama named “Canjunxi”(note 3) was being performed. This also attracted many passers-by, regardless of gender, age or age, to stop and watch in front of the brothel. It was crowded.

At this time, there were two people performing on the wooden stage. One of the actors wore a futou and green clothes. He was called a “Canjun”(literally means “ military officer “in Chinese). He looked dumb and stupid, with a face full of teasing; the other eloquent actor a white robe is called “Canghu”. He laughed and scolded the "Canjun" lively. The man in white robes also held a "kekegua" in his hand, a kind of hammer wrapped in cloth, specially used for hitting the head of Canjun. It makes a loud sound but doesn't hurt. From time to time, he would use this kakegua to hit the Canjun on the head. The latter who was hit stood there crying stupidly, not angry but with an embarrassed look on his face, which made the audience laugh again.

Xue Chongxun couldn't help but smile knowingly when he saw the military officer play, and thought of the two servants Pang Er and Jixiang in the mansion. When they usually quarreled and laughed, weren't they just like playing the military officer play?

People are always affected by the environment. The cheerful atmosphere here made Xue Chongxun more cheerful and get relaxed a little bit. He turned around and saw Fang Yuzhong, who always had a square face, standing beside him. Xue Chongxun made a joke: "What kind of women do you like to play with in bed?"

Fang Yuzhong said "Ah?" and looked up to see Xue Chongxun looking at him. After he came to his senses, his face turned red and he stammered and couldn't say anything. Jixiang, who was eloquent, took over and said: "Master, I like women with a lot of flesh. The women too thin will make me uncomfortable."

"Haha..." The guards and servants laughed immediately.

Jixiang was just trying to attract attention. Being laughed at by others does make him feeling his significant existence in this world. His voice became louder: "I just like women with a lot of flesh, a lot of water spilling, and a lot of sluttiness, hehehe!"

Xue Chongxun was also amused and in a good mood, so he said: "If you want to play, go in and choose, and ask the procuress to come to me to settle the bill later."

The servants immediately ran in happily. Seeing Fang Yuzhong standing still, Xue Chongxun smiled and said: "As a man, what's there to be embarrassed about? I remind you not to miss this good opportunity, otherwise you will slap your thigh and say you regret not going in later."

Fang Yuzhong lowered his head and said: "The safety of the master is the most important, I'd better not go."

"I'm such a big person, and this place is not far from our Xue Mansion and is very safe here. So there is nothing to worry about. If you want to go, go in quickly." Xue Chongxun said.

Seeing Fang Yuzhong was not going, Xue Chongxun did not force him, but he still half-jokingly said: "You have been a servant in the my Duke Mansion for only a few years less than Pang Er, and Pang Er has married a wife, so I can't treat you badly, so you can think about what kind of woman you like as a wife, and then I will help you get married and start a family." Fang Yuzhong blushed and said: "I... I'll think about it first." At this time, Xue Chongxun thought mischievously: This guy is not still a virgin, right?

After entering the building, a brothel owner with crow's feet came up to greet him. Xue Chongxun asked casually, "What should I call you?"

"Oh, is this your first time here? If you think highly of me, just call me Sister Du." Sister Du swung her handkerchief in an exaggerated manner and said with a rich expression, "You will be wasted if you don't enjoy life in your youth. You must seize the good time."

Xue Chongxun was wearing ordinary clothes, and ordinary people didn't recognize him, which saved a lot of trouble. He clasped his fists and said slowly: "Sister Du... Is there a singer here called Meng Xiaoyu?"

Sister Du said happily: "Ha! Look at your handsome appearance and extraordinary manners, you really have good taste. Meng Xiaoyu is a celebrity in our building. She has insisted to choose her customers when singing. She is reluctant to sing for unrefined and rough people."

Xue Chongxun smiled and said: "Then is she willing to sing for me?"

"Yes, yes, why would she not want to? Just seeing your handsome appearance, she should be 100% willing..."

Xue Chongxun said, "I suddenly want to listen to the song "Changxiangsi"(literally means “Missing You” in Chinese) today, so please let Meng Xiaoyu come out and sing for me."

The procuress's face changed, and she said embarrassedly, "This... she has guests in her room now, why don't you let Yuxing sing for you? Yuxing is the best at singing such songs."

Xue Chongxun was a little disappointed after hearing this, but he didn't need to use his status to bully others in such a place. After thinking about it, he said, "If it takes a long time, I will drink some tea and wait; if she is not free today, I will pay the deposit first and book a date to come."

The procuress heard that he was a wealthy man, and her face became very friendly, but at this moment, a woman's voice suddenly screamed upstairs, and then shouted, "Mommy, it's bad, someone is killing , ah!"

The people in the hall were suddenly in an uproar. Many of the guests who were sitting stood up and stretched their necks to look upstairs. Most of them were looking for fun. The procuress immediately frowned and said to Xue Chongxun, “Excuse me. I have to go upstairs to see what happened. Please wait for a moment. "

The discussions around him became a little noisy. Seeing the chaos, Fang Yuzhong also raised his caution and coldly observed the movements of everyone who approached his master.

At this moment, Xue Chongxun suddenly heard the panicked woman upstairs saying "... Sister Meng..." Whatever, he didn't hear the whole sentence clearly, but he heard the word Sister Meng, and couldn't help thinking: Could it be Meng Xiaoyu?

Thinking of this, Xue Chongxun hurriedly followed the procuress upstairs.

(To be continued)

Note:

1.?????? Anyifang(安邑坊in Chinese), one of the outer city blocks of Chang'an, was located east of the fourth street ,east of Zhuquemen Street in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty (from Youyi East Road to Jitai Village in the southeast suburbs of Xi'an today). Anyifang is adjacent to East Market(Dongshi) in the north, Qinrenfang in the west, Jinggongfang in the east, and Xuanpingfang in the south. It is 350 steps long from north to south (about 514.5 meters) and 650 steps wide from east to west (about 955.5 meters). According to archaeological measurements, it is 540 meters long from north to south and 1,032 meters wide from east to west, with an area of 557,280 square meters.(Data Source : https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%89%E9%82%91%E5%9D%8A/23377257)

2.?????? Beiting Protectorate(北庭都护府in Chinese), was a Chinese protectorate established by the Tang dynasty in 702 to control the Beiting region north of Gaochang in contemporary Xinjiang. The Empress Wu Zetian set up the Beiting Protectorate in Ting Prefecture (Jimsar County) and granted it governorship over Yi Prefecture (Hami) and Xi Prefecture (Gaochang). The Beiting Protectorate ended in 790 when Tingzhou was conquered by the Tibetan Empire. The ruins, along with other sites along the Silk Road, were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site.(Data Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beiting_Protectorate)?

3.?????? Canjunxi(参军戏in Chinese), one military drama popular performing art during the Tang and Song dynasties in China. After the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Zhao Shile, a warlord in northern China, ordered an artist to dress up as a military officer because of corruption in his army, and another artist to tease him. This gradually became a drama art performance form later. While it is performed there are two actors to perform on the stage: the one being teased was called "Canjun" and the one teasing him was called "Canghu". The two characters had funny dialogues and performances. In the late Tang Dynasty, it developed into a multi-person performance, and female characters also appeared.(Data Source: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8F%82%E5%86%9B%E6%88%8F/1579255)

4.??????