The Plum Blossom Blooms Twice (1)

惜阴堂主人Jun 2024

3.2

Word count: 36K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

The Complete Tale of the Twice-Blooming Plum is a Qing dynasty vernacular novel in six volumes and forty chapters, roughly ten thousand characters, by Master Xiyintang. Its full titles are The Complete Tale of Loyalty, Filial Piety, Chastity, Righteousness, and the Twice-Blooming Plum and The Strange Tale of the Twice-Blooming Plum. Compiled by Master Xiyintang, it was later adapted and performed in Peking opera, Yue opera, and Ping opera. Although this book is a scholar-beauty romance, the author does not write merely of romantic love between men and women; rather, he devotes considerable space to political struggles within the ruling group. Though it does not depart from the traditional theme of loyalty versus villainy, the plot is intricate, and despite its many threads, it is orderly.

Editor's review

This book is the first volume of the Qing dynasty vernacular novel The Complete Tale of the Twice-Blooming Plum, modest in length yet dense in plotlines. Its readability lies not in a simple scholar-beauty romance but in its interweaving of loyalty-versus-villainy conflict, political intrigue, and family fate: romantic love serves merely as a thread, while what truly drives the plot is the collision of court politics and personal allegiances. The author, Master Xiyintang, handles multiple narrative lines with considerable skill; the threads are many, yet the reading experience is clear and well-layered, making it suitable for readers who want to understand how Qing dynasty serialized novels blended social manners with political themes. As the source of a story widely adapted and circulated, it can also help readers understand the basic character relationships and plot skeleton of later stage versions in Peking opera, Yue opera, and Ping opera. It is best read as a classical vernacular work that is "small in scale, strong in plot," focusing on characters' choices and costs under the concepts of loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness, without demanding its pacing meet the standards of modern genre fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want an initial understanding of the narrative features of Qing dynasty vernacular serialized novels
Those interested in the crossover of loyalty-versus-villainy and scholar-beauty themes
Researchers who need to understand the story source of The Twice-Blooming Plum and the basis for its operatic adaptations
Readers of traditional fiction who enjoy intricate plots and clear character relationships

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern fast-paced, strongly suspenseful, or heavily twist-driven narratives
Those who want to read only pure love stories and dislike political-struggle plotlines
Beginning readers not yet comfortable with classical vernacular expression and serialized structure

Reading tips

First clarify the main character relationships and the loyal-versus-villain camps, then follow the plot forward.
After each chapter, briefly note the key conflicts to help grasp the threads of the multi-line narrative.
Read alongside summaries of the Peking opera, Yue opera, or Ping opera adaptations to observe thematic changes.
If the language feels distant, read a plot summary first and then return to the original to lower the barrier to entry.

版权信息
第一回老忠良衙斋自叹圣天子钦召梅公
第二回闻王命忠臣训子为升迁诰命劝夫
第三回众黎民哭留青天贤县主慰劳赤子
第四回梅公路途逢头接见奢华规戒来人
第五回谒东阁险遭不测拜都院误触良朋
第六回天子命朝臣庆寿卢杞着黄嵩陪宾
第七回奸臣暗施诡巧计忠良反受行刑罪
第八回传假旨捉拿全家透真情放脱母子
第九回假钦差唬诈财宝陈府尹受惊嘱托
第十回梅公子仪征投岳父侯知县罪加假东床
第十一回哭穷途公子捐生救颠危禅僧仗义
第十二回扮书童暂时服役识年伯暗里徨伤

FAQ

What is the relationship between this book and the Peking opera and Yue opera versions of The Twice-Blooming Plum?

This book is the Qing dynasty vernacular novel text of The Complete Tale of the Twice-Blooming Plum, an early written narrative form of the story. Later Peking opera, Yue opera, and Ping opera adaptations all relate to this story system, but stage versions vary according to genre and compilation. Reading this book helps understand the basic character relationships and plot framework on which the adaptations rely, but it cannot be simply equated with any specific stage production.

Does the book contain only a love story?

No. According to the source material, although this book belongs to the scholar-beauty romance genre, the author does not write merely of romantic love between men and women but devotes considerable space to political struggles within the ruling group, continuing the traditional theme of loyalty versus villainy. When reading, pay attention both to the emotional thread and to court politics and shifts in characters' allegiances; together they drive the plot.

It is not long, so why say it has many threads?

The book is roughly ten thousand characters in scale yet involves many characters and multiple plotlines, with political struggle and family fate interwoven, so it appears to have many threads. The source material specifically notes that its plot is intricate yet orderly, indicating that the author exercises considerable control over structure. As long as readers grasp the main characters and the loyal-versus-villain opposition, they will not easily be confused by subplots.

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About the author

惜阴堂主人 Author

Xiyintang Zhuren is an authorial name taken from a studio hall (tanghao) in the field of Ming and Qing vernacular fiction; the writer's real name, native place, and dates of birth and death are not clearly recorded, and publicly available information is limited. Judging from the ten works held in the collection, the author's output centers on the compilation of classical literature and the writing of vernacular fiction. Representative works include Er Du Mei (The Second Plum Blossom) together with its full-length sequel and various divided and Qing-dynasty vernacular editions, as well as a forty-volume collection of classical literary works. These titles are generally classified under classical literature, classic works, and social fiction, with tags also touching on Eastern philosophy and time-travel alternate history, suggesting a diverse range of subjects. Er Du Mei, which traces the joys and sorrows of a talented scholar and a beautiful maiden, features a twisting plot and plain, accessible language; it was one of the more widely circulated Qing vernacular novels, and it is through this work that the name Xiyintang Zhuren is known to later readers.