Notes on the "Dream of Splendor in the East" (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Meng Yuanlao (Song Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Dream of Splendor in East Capital was published in the 17th year of the Shaoxing era (1147) of the Southern Song Dynasty. From the preface of the book, it is known that the author was Meng Yuanlao, but little is known about his life. During the Qing Dynasty, the elderly scholar Chang Maolei proposed that Meng Yuanlao was actually Meng Kui, the Minister of Revenue who supervised the construction of the Geng Prison. This theory was criticized by Mr. Deng Zhicheng as lacking sufficient research. In 1980, Mr. Kong Xianyi followed Chang Maolei's line of reasoning and researched that Meng Yuanlao was Meng Jue, who served in Kaifeng during the late Northern Song Dynasty. Kong's evidence contains more speculation and is more difficult to establish. I believe it is unnecessary to identify Meng Yuanlao as Meng Jue. It is suspected that Yuanlao took a common name from the Song people as a pseudonym. The person might have been a nobleman of the Meng surname or a wandering scholar in the capital who frequented literary gatherings, recording customs to evoke the joy of the old capital, and then had the book printed and distributed. Shortly after the Dream of Splendor in East Capital was published, many scholars in the Southern Song Dynasty imitated its style to continue similar works, such as The Splendor of the Capital by Niande'ong, The Prosperity of West Lake by the Old Man of West Lake, The Dream of Liang by Wu Zimou, and The Old Tales of Lin'an by Zhou Mi. After that, in the Yuan Dynasty, there were works such as The Records of the Yuan Family's Harem by Tao Zongyi, The Splendor of the Imperial Court by Fei Zuo, and The Reminiscences of Qiantang by Liu Yiqing.