Mirror Flowers (Upper and Lower) (Illustrated Text)

Author: Li Ruzhen (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book is part of the "Classical Popular Fiction Illustration Series." It selects and incorporates exquisite original "full illustrations" and "embroidered portraits" from several ancient vernacular popular novels with a wide readership, using modern techniques to recreate them in the new edition, making the book more refined. A Journey to the West is a famous work of ancient vernacular fiction in China. The entire book has 100 chapters. The first half depicts the travels of Tang Ao, Lin Zhiyang, and the Elder Brother of Many Years through dozens of countries, describing their encounters with local customs, gods, demons, and strange plants, birds, animals, and rain. The author's playful descriptions are engaging. The second half records the various cultural activities of one hundred talented women, including Tang Guichen and others, after passing the female imperial examination under Empress Wu Zetian. These activities include playing the qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, astronomy, phonology, arithmetic, lantern riddles, and drinking games, all described in detail. In this edition of the illustrated A Journey to the West, the text is based on the stone-printed edition of Shanghai Dianshi Zhai from the 14th year of the Guangxu reign (1888 AD) for collation and editing. It is supplemented by referencing the reprinted edition from the 12th year of the Daoguang reign (1832 AD) based on the Jieziyuan plates, as well as other popular versions. The illustrations are selected from the base text used in this edition and the Jieziyuan reprinted edition. There are 100 full illustrations, each paired with a chapter of the novel. Only a few of the one hundred talented women appear in the first fifty chapters, while most appear in groups in the latter half. Each woman has an accompanying embroidered portrait and a matching verse, which we have inserted in order of their test rankings in each chapter.