天花才子

Tianhua Caizi is an author of popular fiction whose dates and true identity remain unknown; public information is very limited, and the available clues come mainly from the subjects and editions of works bearing this name. The five works in the collection fall into two broad categories: Qing-dynasty novels and supernatural tales. Kuaixin Bian survives in several forms, including the first, second and third collections and a dramatic first collection; it is a long work with detailed plotting and the moralizing flavor common to Qing chapter novels. Hou Xiyou Ji continues the imaginative tradition of supernatural fiction, using fantasy as a vehicle for satire. The coexistence of these two strands suggests an author or compiler at home in both domestic and fantastic narrative, attentive to readability and to instruction through storytelling. The works circulated through later editions and serve as a sample for studying the transmission of Qing popular fiction, while the author's life, birthplace and career still await further research.