Mirror-Maze Journey Through Strange Countries

Author: Zhong Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The era reflected in A Journey to the West in Search of Immortality is not the Qing Dynasty in which the author lived, but is instead a fictional period during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty. Although the author employs romanticism to depict a series of strange and supernatural stories in a fantastical overseas world, this extraordinary fictional world actually reflects the real social reality of the time. The entire book follows a simple yet clear narrative thread. In terms of structure, the book can be divided into two parts. The first fifty-four chapters describe the protagonist Tang Ao failing the imperial examination and feeling disheartened and melancholic. He then accompanies his sister-in-law Lin Zhiyang on a journey overseas, guided by the shipmaster Duo Jiugong, observing the strange and wondrous customs of over forty countries. Later, he seeks immortality on the small island of Xiaopengla and does not return. The chief of the flower spirits, the Flower Immortal, is reborn as Tang Ao's daughter, Xiaoshan. Deeply longing for her father, Xiaoshan sets sail to search for him and unexpectedly discovers a "Heavenly Book" on Xiaopengla. The second fifty-four chapters describe Empress Wu Zetian holding the first women's imperial examination, with the disgraced Flower Immortals all passing the exam and reuniting in the mortal world. Later, Xiaoshan returns to the immortal realm. The conclusion depicts Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian restoring the throne, and Empress Wu Zetian issues a decree to hold the women's imperial examination again the following year.