Pearl Record South West Chamber of Courtesans

Author: (Ming) Lu Cai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-11-01
Features: The Pearl Record is a work by Lu Cai of the Ming Dynasty. It tells the story of Wang Xianke, who loses his father in his youth and lives with his mother in his uncle Liu Zhen's household. Liu Zhen's daughter, Wu Shuang, falls in love with Xianke. After his mother's death, Xianke returns to his hometown to bury her. Later, he goes to the capital for the imperial examination and asks his uncle to arrange a marriage for him, but Liu Zhen refuses. During this time, the general Yao Lingyan of the Jingyuan Military Command mutinies, and Liu Zhen agrees to the marriage proposal, giving Xianke a pearl as a token. Liu Zhen's family is trapped within the city, while Xianke returns to his hometown. After the turmoil, Xianke learns that Liu Zhen has been falsely imprisoned and that his wife and daughter have been taken into the palace as slaves. The maid Cai Ping falls into the household of Wang Sui, who betroths her to Xianke as a concubine and recommends him as the magistrate of Gaoping County. The emperor orders palace maids to clean the mausoleums, and Wu Shuang is also among those assigned. They stop at the Chang'an Inn on their way. At the time, Xianke is working at the inn and is helped by the book boy Sai Hong and the loyalist Gu Yaoya to meet Wu Shuang. The two escape Chengdu and reunite with Liu Zhen and his wife on their way to freedom. The existing version is a photocopied edition of the Jiguange text from the first collection of the Ancient Drama Anthology.