Urban Folk Customs ("The Two Captures" and Folk Culture)

Author: Liu Liangming, Liu Fang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: The novel narrates the story of a merchant named Ruo Ruoxu who travels on land to trade but fails in every venture, earning him the nickname "unlucky man." Later, he boards a ship and buys over a hundred pounds of Dongting red tangerines with only a few taels of silver borrowed from others. To his surprise, these tangerines sell for over eight hundred taels of silver in foreign lands, bringing great joy to Ruo Ruoxu. On the return journey, he discovers a giant turtle shell on a deserted island, which, after being identified by a Persian merchant as a turtle shell of the "tuo dragon," fetches him an even higher price of fifty thousand taels of silver. These descriptions vividly portray the opportunistic mindset and of merchants seeking wealth. The trading process between the Persian merchant Mabohua and Ruo Ruoxu and others in the novel further highlights the crucial role of commercial information and specialized knowledge in business operations. These portrayals also supplement historical records, serving as concrete visual materials of commercial activities at the time.
The works on love and marriage in "The Two Captures" also reflect a strong anti-traditional ideology. In Volume 29 of "The First Capture," "Tong Guo Da Jian Xin Diao Jie Liang Qian's Flag Bell," Zhang Youqian and Luo Xixi persist in free love and even risk their lives to defend their marital happiness, leaving readers deeply moved. In Volume 17 of "The Second Capture," "Tong Zhang You You Ren Jia Zhen Nü Xiu Zai Yi Hua Jie," a story similar to "The Butterfly Lovers" is narrated.