At the end of the Ming, the banks of the Qinhuai were the liveliest part of Nanjing.
Tips
culture
Du Mu's (杜牧) quatrain 《泊秦淮》 ends 隔江犹唱后庭花: across the water the singing girls still sing 'Flowers of the Rear Court', the song of a ruler who lost his kingdom to pleasure.
history
The courtesans of its pleasure quarter at the end of the Ming, the 秦淮八艳, were famed for poetry, painting and loyalty to the fallen dynasty.
