Classical Chinese masterpiece novel - Mirrored Flowers and Origin

Author: Li Ruzhen (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-06-01
Features: The Mirror of Flowers and Dreams reflects not the Qing Dynasty in which the author lived, but a period feigned under the rule of the Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Zetian. Although the author employs romanticism to depict a series of bizarre 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 examinations, 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 tales of over forty countries. Later, he seeks immortality on Little and does not return. The chief of the Flower Gods, the Hundred-Flower Immortal, is reborn as Tang Ao's daughter, named Tang Xiaoshan. Deeply longing for her father, Tang Xiaoshan sets sail to search for him and unexpectedly discovers a "Heavenly Book" on Little. The second fifty-four chapters depict Empress Wu Zetian pioneering female imperial examinations, with the disgraced Flower Gods all passing the exams and reuniting in the mortal world. Eventually, Tang Xiaoshan returns to the immortal mountain. The conclusion shows Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian restoring the throne, and Empress Wu Zetian issues a decree to reopen the female imperial examinations the following year.