Why was Fan Tower so famous during the Northern Song Dynasty?

Gao Yanei fell in love with Mrs. Lin, and after the first attempt at teasing her failed, he decided to try again. In order to make Gao Yanei happy and protect his own future, Lu Qian abandoned his long-standing friendship with Lin Chong. He set up a scheme to trick Lin Chong into going to Fanlou for a drink. In fact, he wanted to divert Lin Chong away; Song Jiang took Chai Jin with him in order to recruit him. After Yan Qing, Yan Qing and others went to Tokyo to find Li Shishi, they also went to Fanlou to have a drink, and saw Shi Jin and Mu Hong who were drunk and acting recklessly next door. In fact, as the most famous prostitute in the world at that time, Li Shishi also had a fierce fight with Emperor Daojun in Fanlou.

Whether it was Lu Qian who invited Lin Chong, or Song Jiang, Chai Jin and others, they all chose Fan Lou for dinner. Why choose Fanlou? Does Fan Tower exist? What is its origin? Let’s talk about this issue today.

1. The past life of Fan Tower

The Fan Tower in Water Margin did exist in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it was located in Bianliang City, Tokyo. It was the most prosperous and top-level entertainment venue at that time. Because of this, Lu Qian invited Lin Chong to have a drink at Fan Tower to show his respect; Song Jiang and others chose Fan Tower for the same reason. After all, it was rare to go to Tokyo once, and it would be a pity not to enjoy it in Fan Tower.

1. When was Fan Tower built?

The current data is inconclusive, but at least during the time of Song Taizu, Fan Tower had already appeared and became a lively place at that time. In the seventh year of Kaibao (AD 974), Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, was on a tour during the Shangyuan Festival. He once passed by Fan Tower and enjoyed the acrobatic operas performed in Fan Tower.

First, the emperor went out from Zuoye Gate and took a Xiaoyao chariot to the front of Dengshan Mountain outside Mingde Gate. He passed the wine shop Sun Shoubin Tower and stopped in the chariot. He also went to Baifan Tower to watch a variety show, and then stayed at the Donghua Gate. ?"Song Hui Yao Collection"

The "Emperor" here refers to Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and "Baifanlou" refers to Fanlou. Because Fan Tower is also known as Fan Tower, Bai Fan Tower, Bai Fan Tower and Fengle Tower. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the origin of the name Fan Lou.

2. The origin of the name Fan Lou

At first glance, Fan Lou seems to be a restaurant opened by a boss named Fan, but in fact it is not. Fan Lou was originally a place where merchants in the Song Dynasty sold alum, so it was called "Alum Tower" at first. Later, because more people gathered, it was transformed into a restaurant. The restaurant is not actually the same restaurant, but people mistakenly thought that the owner’s surname was Fan, so it was rumored that it was called Fan House. From Baifan Tower to Baifan Tower, when we look at the name of Fan Tower, it is actually such a change process.

Because it is a rumor, the stories circulated are different. In some Song Dynasty storybooks, it is believed that the boss of Fanlou was named "Fan". In the Song Dynasty, Wu Zeng also conducted research on the name of Fanlou in "Neng Gaizhai Man Lu".

There is a restaurant in Jingmingfang outside the Donghua Gate of the Capital. People call it Fanlou, or they think it's the surname of the owner of the building, but that's not the case. This businessman loves this. Later it was a restaurant. The real name is Baifanlou. ?"Neng Gai Zhai Man Lu"

It can be seen that Fan Lou is the rumored name, not because the restaurant owner's surname is Fan. It was originally a place where alum was sold. Wu Zeng lived during the Song Dynasty, and his words are very credible. Wu Zeng also mentioned by the way that the location of Fan Tower is in Jingmingfang outside Donghua Gate. This is consistent with the "Emperor Donghua Gate" mentioned in "Song Huiyao Collection" and is also credible.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Fan Tower was expanded and renamed "Fengle Tower". However, the name Fan Tower has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts, so many people are still accustomed to calling it Fan Tower.

3. What does Fan Tower look like?

What exactly does Fan Tower look like? Before Song Huizong, it could be said that the scale was not large, not much different from ordinary restaurants. However, after the expansion by Song Huizong, Fanlou suddenly underwent earth-shaking changes.

First of all, Fan Tower is three stories high. Three-story buildings are not surprising today. Many ordinary people’s homes are three-story buildings. However, the ancients were limited by technology and financial resources and basically did not build high-rise buildings. It can be found from famous paintings such as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", "Fanhui in the Southern Capital" and "Kangxi's Southern Inspection". At that time, buildings were generally one or two stories.

Not to mention ordinary people, even the imperial palace does not have three floors. So as long as you are on the third floor of the west tower of Fan Tower, you can see the palace. For this reason, the emperor also stipulated that no one is allowed to go to the West Tower to climb up and look out. How can the royal garden be allowed for ordinary people to peek at it at will? However, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty later built the Imperial Garden of Genyue, and once specially asked people to go to the west tower to look at it to see what the scenery was like.

Secondly, the fifth floor of Fan Tower stands next to each other.

Fan Tower was expanded by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and became a building complex. The five floors in the east, west, south, north, and middle towers are arranged in different heights. There are flying bridges between each building for people to come and go. Not to mention the interior of the building, in short, every building It is connected to the outside and guests can pass inside.

Below the Fan Tower is the hall, and above is the private room called "Ge'er". In Water Margin, when Lu Qian lured Lin Chong to Fanlou, the two of them also occupied a pavilion. This design, like many hotels today, has a reasonable layout and can best meet the needs of different guests. Some folklore books also say that Song Renzong went to the second floor of Fan Tower incognito, but dropped his fan and was picked up by Zhao Xu, a failed talent. Zhao Xu also met Song Renzong because of this, and was later promoted to an official position as an exception.

Finally, Fan Tower is beautifully decorated. "Tokyo Menghualu" once said: "The sill of the flying bridge is connected with light and dark, the bead curtain is embroidered on the forehead, and the lights are shining". In just sixteen words, you can imagine that the Fan Tower at that time must have been gorgeous and magnificent. The lights were brilliant, no wonder the emperor also wanted to go inside and enjoy it.

Such an environment was like "heaven and earth" at that time. In fact, after the expansion by Song Huizong, Fanlou has become the largest restaurant in Kaifeng. No matter in terms of size, gorgeousness or the geishas inside, it is the best in the world.

2. Food and wine in Fanlou

Since Fanlou has changed from selling alum to a restaurant, we must talk about food and wine. As we all know, hotels in the Song Dynasty were divided into main stores, foot stores, etc. The main store is the largest hotel and can make and sell wine by itself, while the foot store is small and can only buy wine from the main store and sell it, without the right to make wine.

At that time, there were 72 main stores in Tokyo, and Fanlou was the first. According to statistics, there are as many as 3,000 taverns and restaurants going to Fanlou to buy wine every day. In fact, these foot shops to buy liquor were all done by the government at that time. Because Fan Lou's business was good, the daily tax was 2,000, which made it difficult for some people to operate. The emperor lowered the tax standard and allowed the designated 3,000 foot shops to If you go to the store to buy wine, the first guest to arrive will be rewarded with a gold flag.

Among the wines brewed by Fan Lou, the most famous ones are called "Mei Shou" and "Zhi". The former means health and longevity, while the latter means the wine is sweet and delicious. Just because there are famous wines and famous people, there are many legendary stories about Fan Lou.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, an official named Liu Boxou was invited to Fanlou by an old man. After a drink, the old man taught Liu Boxou the art of immortality. Later, when Liu Boxou was 74 years old, he still walked as fast as flying and climbed Mount Song like walking on flat ground. He was even better than young people. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, several imperial students met an expert in Fanlou. This man was proficient in poetry and had a strong legacy from Taibai. Before he left, he told his family that the Northern Song Dynasty would soon perish, and the emperor would? The Beishou Emperor was captured. euphemism for. Facts have proved that this expert is really right.

Obviously, it is unlikely that there will be such a powerful master in the world. It should be created by later generations, but it can be seen that Fan Lou is famous. Because it is famous, masters often hang out there.

Due to the developed economy and abundant delicacies in the Northern Song Dynasty, people not only changed China’s thousands-year-old habit of two meals a day and gradually popularized three meals a day, but the curfew was lifted in the Song Dynasty, and late-night snacks and night markets became popular. stand up. Although the cooking method of stir-fry appeared in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it began to shine in the Song Dynasty. As a large restaurant at that time, Fanlou naturally had no shortage of delicious food. According to records such as "Shan Qing Jia Gong", the delicacies in Fanlou include cherry pancakes, beautified soup cakes, two-color and two-flavor fish, peach-shaped steamed buns, etc., which can still be seen in Fanlou in Kaifeng today.

3. Geisha in Fanlou

Li Shishi, Song Huizong was indeed as mentioned in the Water Margin. He fell in love with the famous prostitute Li Shishi and dug a tunnel from the palace to the geisha in Fanlou. Master Li's residence. Yes, as the number one restaurant in the world at that time, Fanlou also had geisha service similar to some nightclubs today. This is why it is famous all over the world.

Master Li lives in the inner west building. This house is very elegant, with beautiful bead curtains, a red bed and rusty quilt, famous landscape paintings hanging on the walls, and green silk curtains. She plays a zither in red silk on the side of the house, and dances in green clothes in the atrium. ?"New Issue of the Legacy of Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty"

Huizong of the Song Dynasty was a great artist in calligraphy and painting, and Master Li was also a beautiful woman in both talent and talent. The combination of such people is so fascinating. Just imagine: the beautiful teacher girl, with white teeth, bright eyes, and half-open red lips, sings lyrics written by the emperor, and dances gracefully at the same time, with an outstanding figure, how can we not make people attracted? Therefore, at that time, Fan Tower attracted countless literati.

Of course, they cannot contact Master Li, but there are other beautiful girls in Fanlou.

These girls can accompany you to drink, sing and dance. If you are very interested and not short of money, you can also have a romantic relationship with them. At that time, in addition to Li Shishi, there were also female stars such as Xu Poxi, Zhao Yuannu, and Sun Sansi, who often performed at Fanlou.

Because Fanlouli was a place for beauties and the emperor’s hiding place, some robbers even became elegant. During Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, the city's drainage ditches and other ditches were particularly large. Some desperadoes robbed women and hid in them. They often called themselves "Ghost Fanlou".

4. Today’s Fan Tower

Fan Tower was destroyed by war in the late Northern Song Dynasty and has not been rebuilt since. Since then, Fan Lou has only existed in literati's notes, storybooks, operas, novels or poems. Until the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi saw the ruins of Fan Tower and recalled the grand scene of Fan Tower. He couldn't help but write a song "Man Jiang Hong". As for Fan Lou mentioned in literary works during the Southern Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, there are even more.

It should be noted that the Fan Tower in Kaifeng City today is a group of imitation Song Dynasty buildings rebuilt based on "Tokyo Menghualu" and other materials. It was built in the early 1980s in the previous world. It can be called Get a business card from Kaifeng City. From its figure, people can vaguely see the scenery of the Song Dynasty thousands of years ago.