Gu Hengbo
Gu Mei (Chinese: 顧媚; Wade–Giles: Ku Mei; 1619–1664), better known by her art name Gu Hengbo (Chinese: 顧橫波; Wade–Giles: Ku Heng-po), also known as Xu Mei and Xu Zhizhu after her marriage, was a Chinese Yiji, poet and painter.[1] She received the title "Lady (furen)" from the early Qing court, and often addressed as "Lady Hengbo" in Qing writings.[2]
Gu Hengbo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gu Mei 1619 |
| Died | 1664 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Other names | Xu Mei Xu Zhizhu |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, painter, Yiji |
| Title | Lady Hengbo |
| Partner | Gong Dingzi |
Gu was famous for her beauty and talent within painting and poetry and counted among the elite of courtesans alongside Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing and Liu Rushi. She was admired for her paintings of orchids, and published a collection of poems which was given good critics, although few of her works have survived.[1]
Life
Gu Mei was born near Nanjing in 1619.[3] At the beginning of the Chongzhen reign, Gu Mei became a Yiji in the Qinhuai River district of Nanjing.[1] In her Tower Meilou in Qinhuai district in Nanjing, she hosted a famous literary salon, which counted Chen Liang, Qian Lucan and Mao Xiang among its guests.[1] Yu Huai described Meilou (literally house of bewitchment) as lavish and extravagant.[4]
Gu Mei also acted in kunqu as a male (sheng) impersonator. One of her roles was Zhou Yu (周羽) in Disciplining the Son (教子). The writer Yu Huai (余懷) recounted how after he had helped her when she ran afoul of the law, she offered to perform a stage drama for him on his birthday.[5]
She fell in love with one of her patrons, Liu Fang (劉芳), promised to marry him and to end her career as a Yiji. When she later changed her mind, Liu Fang committed suicide.[1]
One of her patrons, the career official Gong Dingzi, paid 1,000 ounces of silver for her services.[6] In 1643, she left her profession to become a concubine to Gong Dingzi[7] and settled with him in the capital.[1] His openly demonstrated love for her attracted much attention during their time,[8] as it offended the norms of Confucian ideals, and her influence over him became legendary. She is known to have saved the Yan Ermei from execution, and to have been the benefactor of the artist Zhu Yizun.[1]
In 1659 Gu Mei gave birth to a daughter. Anxious to have a son, Gong Dingzi built a private Buddhist temple where the couple could pray for a son.[1]
She was one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai described by late Qing officials.[9] The other famed Yijis of this group are Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Liu Rushi, Kou Baimen, and Chen Yuanyuan.[10]
References
- Lee, Lau & Stefanowska 2015.
- Xu, Sufeng (February 2007). "Lotus Flowers Rising from the Dark Mud: Late Ming Yijis and Their Poetry" (PDF). core.ac.uk. McGill University. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "Panel from Orchids and Rocks, Gu Mei, ca. 1644" (PDF). www.smithsonianofi.com. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- Berg 2013, p. 89.
- Wang Ning (王宁). "晚明金陵名妓度曲考" [A Study on Late-Ming Jinling Courtesans and Qu] (PDF) (in Chinese).
- Mann 1997, p. 260.
- Berg 2013, p. 117.
- Berg & Starr 2007.
- Wang & Shang 2005, p. 94.
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- Xie 谢, Yongfang 永芳; Shi 施, Qin 琴 (2014). "像传题咏与经典重构———以《秦淮八艳图咏》为中心" [Acclaim for portraits and classical reconstruction: 'Qinhuai bayan tuyong' as the centre]. Zhongguo Wenhua Yanjiu (2): 180–188.
Bibliography
- Berg, Daria (2013). Women and the Literary World in Early Modern China, 1580-1700. Routledge. ISBN 9781136290220.
- Berg, Daria; Starr, Chloe (2007). The Quest for Gentility in China: Negotiations Beyond Gender and Class. Routledge. ISBN 9781134077045.
- Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Lau, Clara; Stefanowska, A. D. (2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Routledge. ISBN 9781317475873.
- Mann, Susan (1997). Precious Records: Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804727440.
- Wang, Dewei; Shang, Wei (2005). Dynastic Crisis and Cultural Innovation: From the Late Ming to the Late Qing and Beyond. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674017818.
- Zhang, Hongsheng [張宏生] (2002). "Gong Dingzi and the Courtesan Gu Mei: Their Romance and the Revival of the Song Lyric in the Ming-Qing Transition", in Hsiang Lectures on Chinese Poetry, Volume 2, Grace S. Fong, editor. (Montreal: Center for East Asian Research, McGill University).