Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

A few days later, Li Renxiao was taken to Kaifeng.

The house given to him by the court is located south of Longjin Bridge on the central axis of Kaifeng City.

It was originally the house of Deng Xunwu, who was a member of Cai Jing's party and became a privy envoy during the reign of Emperor Huizong.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the house was converted into shops on both sides facing the street because of its good location. Some shops were awarded to meritorious officials, and some shops were auctioned to merchants.

The remaining area was rebuilt with walls and awarded to founding nobles as private houses. After the capital was moved, many private houses of meritorious officials were awarded again in Luoyang, and the house in Kaifeng was taken back by the court.

It can be seen from this that the father and son of the Zhu family were really stingy. They did not give the whole house, but cut out two rows to make shops.

The main reason was that the house was too large and the architectural details were seriously violated!

Li Renxiao liked this house very much. Although the area was changed to be very small, other aspects were superior.

Go out from the front door of the house, and you will see the Wu Temple across the street. The back door opens to the Cai River, and this room has a river view.

Across the river used to be the Xijiaofangsi, half of which was converted into a shop and the other half into a printing factory. The printing factory belonged to the Ministry of Rites before the capital was moved, and was auctioned off to a private bookseller after the capital was moved. You can smell the ink across the river.

Across the street to the southeast of the house is even more interesting. It used to be the site of the Imperial Academy and the old campus of the Imperial College. Now it belongs to the Kaifeng campus of the Daming Imperial College. Some students from the outer dormitory study here, and then go to Luoyang to study after further studies. Next to the Imperial College, there is a whole street of bookstores.

To the south of the Imperial College is the expanded Kaifeng Medical College, which is attached to the Kaifeng Cooked Medicine Huimin Bureau.

Cooked medicine in traditional Chinese medicine refers to processed medicinal materials.

But the cooked medicine that emerged in the Northern Song Dynasty specifically refers to Chinese patent medicines such as pills, pastes, powders, and tablets. This thing was officially operated in the Song Dynasty, and with the words "Benefiting the People", it can be roughly understood as an official affordable Chinese patent medicine store.

In the Ming Dynasty, it became half official and half commercial.

Pharmacies and pharmacies must be operated by the Ming Dynasty government, and the price of medicine is strictly regulated so that ordinary people can afford it.

Pharmacies are licensed private enterprises and are subject to official supervision at any time, and the price of medicine is relatively high. This kind of private pharmacy is often opened in more remote neighborhoods or outside the city, which is a supplement to official pharmacies.

Under the guidance of Zhu Guoxiang, pharmacies and pharmacies all over the country have gradually become public hospitals.

Moreover, large pharmacies located in provincial capitals often have a medical school next to them.

Many outstanding graduates of medical schools are assigned to pharmacies and pharmacies, where they work as public doctors with a regular salary but average salary.

This kind of public doctor is also commonly known as "crown and belt doctor", because if you reach a high level, you will have an official status and can wear official uniforms to walk around.

After living for a few days, the servants in Li Renxiao's house were in place.

The government said that they hired them from the market, but Li Renxiao always felt that one or two of those servants must be here to monitor him. Therefore, he was polite to the servants, fearing that he would offend the monitor.

There was a clever servant named Li Huo, who could recognize many daily words.

Li Renxiao thought that this person must be a monitor, so he put Li Huo by his side as an attendant to show the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that he had no second thoughts.

With his wife Wang and his attendant Li Huo, Li Renxiao went out to visit Kaifeng City for the first time.

First go to the Wu Temple across the street, which is the closest.

Unfortunately, the core area is not open to the public, and it is usually opened only when there are official sacrifices. Ordinary tourists can only visit the outer area, where the monuments are engraved with the achievements of famous generals.

Li Renxiao read the inscriptions with interest and found that the titles of the famous generals were particularly interesting.

It was not a long posthumous title or title, but a very short two words.

The protagonist is naturally Jiang Ziya, who is titled "Ancestor of Soldiers". Zhang Liang is the "Saint of Strategy", Sun Wu is the "Saint of War", Han Xin is the "God of War", Xiang Yu is the "Saint of Martial Arts", and Li Jing is the "God of War"...

Li Huo introduced: "My dear, since these military monuments were erected, their stories have been widely circulated. Folk dramas and novels also like to make up their deeds. In recent years, a kind of storytelling has emerged, which is about Li Jing and the Red Buddhist Girl."

The term "storytelling" has existed at least since the Yuan Dynasty.

But it really rose after the Song Dynasty moved south. It was originally used to comment on Buddhist scriptures and stories, telling some stories about cause and effect, and persuading people to be good.

"What is storytelling?" Li Renxiao asked curiously.

Li Huo explained: "It is to comment on the stories of people in the past dynasties, mainly stories in novels and operas. Now movable type printing is very convenient, and the price of paper is much lower, so novels are written longer and longer. Even the ministers in the court like to read novels. Many people in the market are illiterate, so storytellers tell stories to the people, which is called Pingshu."

The great Xixia Emperor Li Renxiao has never read a novel, let alone what a novel is.

He asked Li Huo carefully, and the more he listened, the more curious he became, and soon he went straight to the bookstore.

When he came to the bookstore street, Li Huo narrated:

"There are two book markets in Kaifeng, one next to Daxiangguo Temple. The bookstore there was originally the property of Daxiangguo Temple, and some Buddhist scriptures were sold in the early Song Dynasty. Later, it became a book market, selling all kinds of books. When the Ming Dynasty was founded, the Daxiangguo Temple book market was confiscated, separated and sold to private booksellers."

"Another book market is here, next to the Imperial College's school building. The Imperial College and the Imperial College used to be here. The students and princes wanted to buy books to read, so it naturally became a book market. It also sold the Four Treasures of the Study and some paints for painting. "

Li Renxiao was quite happy: "This Taixue Book Market is very close to my home. From now on, it will only take a few hundred steps to buy books."

Li Huo took him into a bookstore and went straight to the novel bookshelf: "Lang Jun, these are all novels."

Li Renxiao saw a tome at a glance.

It is too conspicuous, with the largest number of pages and the thickest cover, and it is also bound with yellow paper.

"What novel is this?" Li Renxiao reached for it.

Li Huo quickly shouted: "Lang Jun, this novel must be invited with both hands. It was written by the current official when he was a boy."

Li Renxiao was taken aback, and quickly replaced one hand with both hands, and respectfully took down "Journey to the West".

The final printed version of "Journey to the West" was released only four years ago and has undergone an official overhaul.

Mainly modify the gods in it, for example, Erlang Shen should not be called Yang Jian, firstly, because there is no such name for the god yet, and secondly, because Yang Jian is the evil eunuch beside Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty.

There are many similar gods, all of which emerged during the Southern Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. They are very different from today's gods.

Li Huo said: "This book tells the story of Tang Sanzang's journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures."

"That's a good thing to read." Li Renxiao believed in Buddhism and suddenly became more interested.

Little did he know that "Journey to the West" has never been liked by monks. Instead, Taoist priests regard this book as a classic. There are a lot of Taoist terminology and Taoist poems in it. How would the monks react when they read it?

In addition to giving him a house and land, Ju Ming also gave some silver coins and daily necessities. Li Renxiao immediately paid for a copy of "Journey to the West".

Li Renxiao glanced at the lower row of bookshelf, where there were many booklets.

The whole series of books is called "The Records of Chivalrous Persons in Ancient and Modern Times", which selects and expands the stories of chivalrous people from the Tang, Song and Five Dynasties. It is similar to the Ming Dynasty's "Thirty-Three Swordsmen", but it lacks the knights of the Southern Song Dynasty.

There are a total of six volumes in the set. There are discounts for buying them together, or you can buy just one volume.

There are Nie Yinniang, Kunlun Nu, Fengchen Three Heroes and so on.

Zhang Yong, the ancestor of Zhang Bor, has a story in a single volume called "Guaiya Sword Collection", with a total of more than 30,000 words. The first half tells the story of Zhang Yong's sword-fighting in Shandong and Hebei before becoming an official; the second half turns into a case-solving story, describing Zhang Yong's trial of various unjust cases after becoming an official.

Lee In-hyo randomly pulled out a volume, which contained eight stories including "The Old Man Transformed into an Ape" and "The King of Buyeo".

Jin Yong's "Yue Nu Sword" is an expansion of "The Aged Ape"!

Li Renxiao read the two stories and found them very interesting. He planned to buy the entire set of "Ancient and Modern Heroes".

Soon, he saw another copy of "Arabian Nights".

Li Huo introduced: "This "Arabian Nights", also known as "One Thousand and One Nights", was compiled by today's officials by convening scholars from the Ming Dynasty, as well as scholars from overseas countries. The final version was edited and edited. It's by the famous Li Bangyan. It's full of overseas stories, and there are many foreign countries. It was reprinted in Kaifeng at the beginning of this year, and it sold very well. Storytellers also love to tell it."

Li Renxiao opened it to read again and found that he also liked this book.

The bookstore owner was very happy. An hour later, he sent Li Renxiao away with great enthusiasm, because this guy bought six sets of novels.

There were actually more than a dozen sets of novels that Li Renxiao liked, and he gradually realized that something was wrong. If he followed his preferences, he could buy up the entire bookshelf of novels.

When he came out of the bookstore, he couldn't help but sigh: "In the past, I only knew that the Ming Dynasty was a powerful military force, but I didn't know that there were so many novels telling stories. The nobles of the Ming Dynasty... Xixia were rich in clothing and food, but how could they have ever been lucky enough to read them? Ming Dynasty novel?"

Li Huo laughed and said: "A lot of people copy each other. Some people copy novels into plays, and some people copy playbooks into novels. They often get into lawsuits because of plagiarism. In the end, it is often found that everyone copied, but they copied from Tang Chuanqiu. Or a folk tale.”

"It's indeed interesting." Li Renxiao also laughed.

While the master and servant were talking, a man came quickly and shouted: "Borrowed it, borrowed it..."

Li Renxiao asked: "Is he carrying a food box?"

Li Huo explained: "Those are the idle men (takeaway boys) who deliver orders. They existed in the Song Dynasty. Now that people are getting richer, more and more people ask for orders. They just order food in restaurants and restaurants. Send it over when the time comes.”

Li Renxiao clicked his tongue and exclaimed: "My Ming Dynasty is really rich. You can't see beggars along the street. Even food is delivered to your home."

Not long after I finished speaking, I saw an unkempt man begging on the street.

There is only one beggar in the whole street, and the patrolman doesn't care about him.

Li Renxiao said: "Give him a few copper coins. His clothes are not shabby, but he is reduced to begging on the street. He must be a sad and frustrated person."

Li Huo smiled and said: "Mr. Lang, don't worry about him. This man is the former prince of the Song Dynasty. He lived a very prosperous life in the past few years. He is in this state all because of himself. And he is not begging. If he really gives charity, He also yells at people who don’t have money.”

"Prince of the former Song Dynasty?" Li Renxiao was greatly surprised.