Pearl Chronicle. South West Chamber Chronicle

Author: Lu Cai (Ming), Li Rihua
Publisher:
Publication Date: Not available
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 house. Liu's daughter Wu Shuang falls in love with Xianke. After his mother's death, Xianke returns to his hometown for burial. Later, he goes to the capital for the imperial examination and asks his uncle to marry him, but Liu Zhen refuses. During the time when the Jiyuan Military Commissioner Yao Lingyan rebelled, Liu Zhen agrees to the marriage, and Wu Shuang gives Xianke a pearl as a token. Liu Zhen's family is trapped inside the city, while Xianke escapes back to his hometown. After the chaos, 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 Suizhong, 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 included in the list. On the way, they stop at the Chang'an Inn. At that time, Xianke is working at the inn and is helped by the book boy Sai Hong and the loyalist Gu Yasya, allowing Xianke and Wu Shuang to meet. The two escape from Chengdu and reunite with Liu Zhen and his wife on the way, who have been released from prison. The existing version is a photolithographic copy of the Jiguang Pavilion edition in the first collection of the Ancient Drama Anthology.