Ancient Chinese Banned Romantic Novels: Yuanyang Shadow,, Mirage Chronicle (Volume 7)

Author: Qiu Yun Shanren
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This book is written in simple classical Chinese, often interspersed with poetry, ci poems, and qu tunes, making the prose quite elegant. The portrayals of the beautiful and talented women in the book are vivid and lifelike, and the tone of the writing about romantic relationships between men and women is fresh and healthy. The book is influenced in structure, style, and genre by earlier tales and storytelling novels. Because the actions and deeds of the women depicted in The Book of Beauties often deviate from feudal ethics and morality, the book was banned during the Qing Dynasty. The Tower of a Thousand Flowers tells the story of Di Qing, Bao Gong, and Yang Zongbao from the Song Dynasty, with Di Qing as the main character. The book describes how Di Qing, from a young age, endures hardships, masters martial arts, and later gains recognition from Bao Gong, serves the court as a soldier, fights on the frontier, and achieves numerous remarkable feats, finally achieving fame and success. The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock is the seventh volume of the Library of Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China, including the Qing Dynasty vernacular chaptered novel The Shadow of Love, The Tale of the Humiliated Tower, and the collection of novels The Alarm Clock. The Shadow of Love is also known as The Fragrant Dreams of Flying Flowers, The Dreams of Blooming Flowers, and Spring in Illusion. Due to the many versions of The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock, changes in printing led to variations in the title. There are Qing Dynasty Daoguang-era editions with the title "compiled and edited by Qiu Yun Shanren," and at the beginning of the volume, there is a preface signed by Liu Zhang. Therefore, it is generally believed that Qiu Yun Shanren is Liu Zhang from Taiyuan, Shanxi. According to some research, Liu Zhang's courtesy name is Yu Tang, his sobriquet is Jiefu, and his other aliases are Yanxia Sanren and Qiu Yun Shanren. He passed the provincial examination during the Kangxi era and served as the magistrate of Shenze County. His other novels include The Tale of Slashing Demons, The Phoenix Pool, and The Skillful Connection of Pearls, but this claim still awaits further verification. The Shadow of Love is a famous talent-and-beauty novel that tells a love story of a dreamlike encounter. The language is relatively simple and fluent. As a representative of talent-and-beauty novels, The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock holds certain value in both thought and art. Reading it will give a deeper understanding of talent-and-beauty novels from the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, the reason The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock was banned was not because it involved obscenity, but because it expressed rebellious views against feudal rituals. Tracing the textual history of The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock, it first appeared under the title The Fragrant Dreams of Flying Flowers, but was later changed to The Shadow of Love for publication. However, during the Qing Dynasty, all banned novels were listed under The Shadow of Love, and The Fragrant Dreams of Flying Flowers was not included, likely because the latter had already circulated less at the time. The Alarm Clock is a Qing Dynasty collection of novels, with four volumes and sixteen chapters. Titled "compiled and edited by Yunyang Chichi Daoren and reviewed by Guangling Zhuoyue Shanren." It survives in editions such as the Cao Xian Tang and Wan Juan Lou. Each volume covers four chapters, with each volume presenting a separate story. Each volume has a general outline that highlights the main theme of the story. The four volumes discuss benevolence, loyalty, filial piety, and chastity, aiming to warn people and encourage them to do good. The language is fluent, but some of the plot is fantastical, and the book is tinged with superstition, which weakens its realistic significance. The Tale of the Humiliated Tower is a Qing Dynasty novel with twenty-four chapters. It is also known as The Complete Tale of the Humiliated Tower and The Strange Love in the Heart. The author is Yu Ling Lao Ren, whose real name is unknown. It survives in editions from the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Chengfeng eras, including those from Lou Wai Lou, San Yu Tang, Shen De Tang, Wei Jing Tang, and Ju Wen Tang. The Forbidden Love Stories of Ancient China - The Shadow of Love and the Alarm Clock centers on the central character Su Jishi, the son of Su WanKui, a merchant from the Thirteen Factories in Guangdong, depicting the human relationships, social politics, and economic conditions of the coastal areas centered around Guangzhou at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. At the same time, it vividly portrays the tragic love story between Su Jishi and Wen Suixin. The entire work has a complete structure and clear logic, with some novelty. Due to excessive emphasis on romantic relationships between men and women, in the seventh year of the Tongzhi era, Governor Ding Richang of Jiangsu Province listed it as "obscene literature" for prohibition.