Flowers in the Mirror (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Li Ruzhen (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book is part of the "Classical Popular Fiction Illustration Series." It selects and incorporates the finest 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 even more exquisite. A Journey to the West is a renowned work of ancient vernacular fiction in China. The full book has 100 chapters. The first half depicts the travels of Tang Ao, Lin Zhiyang, and the Elder Brother of Many Years across dozens of countries, describing the local customs, deities, 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, divination, astrology, phonology, arithmetic, lantern riddles, and drinking games, all described in detail. For this published illustrated edition of 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 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 of 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 a unique embroidered portrait and accompanying praise, which we have arranged in order of their test rankings and inserted into each chapter.