Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Chu Renhuo [Qing Dynasty]
Publisher:
Publishing Date: June 1, 2003
Features: Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties originally came from Luo Guanzhong of the Song Dynasty. During the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty, Sanlin Shushi Hengda added revisions and published it, which had been in circulation for a long time, yet the market still considered it incomplete. Recently, I came across Yishi which recorded the reunion of the Sui Emperor, the Tang Emperor, and the concubines Guier and A'huai across two lifetimes. The story was quite novel and, so I included it. I also selected extraordinary, amusing, and refined tales from official histories and folk records of the Sui and Tang periods, compiling them into this collection, which is quite enjoyable. It is not intended to surpass the past, but rather to fill in the gaps. The title Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties seems appropriate to cover the entire span of both dynasties. However, this compilation focuses on the reunion of the two emperors and the two concubines as the central plot, so it details the Sui Emperor Yangdi and concludes with the Tang Emperor Minghuang. After the Shaozong Emperor, there are still fourteen more generations, and the extraordinary and delightful events among them should be compiled into a separate Late Tang Chronicles. This is not elaborated upon here.
The ancients said, "left with illustrations, right with history." The tradition of illustrations has long existed. However, many illustrations in modern unofficial histories are either obscene or crude. Obscenity is enough to offend the eyes, while crudeness fails to please them, making them quite worthless. This collection includes fifty illustrations, drawn by Zhao Zitongwen, with elegant and refined scenes. They were engraved by Wang Zixiang and Zheng Ziyuwen, with exquisite craftsmanship, and should be appreciated by connoisseurs.
This manuscript had been completed long ago, with half of it printed. However, due to the occasional loss of the last two or three chapters, it was left unfinished. Fortunately, I found it in a friend's collection and completed the corrections, preparing it for publication to share with fellow enthusiasts. If anyone reproduces this work, they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law!