Phoenix Pond

Name: Phoenix Pond
ISBN: 9787513602877

烟霞散人China Economic Publishing House2011

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Word count: 150K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787513602877

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Summary

Phoenix Pond is a Qing dynasty vernacular full-length scholar-beauty novel in sixteen chapters, formally titled Phoenix Pond: A Sequel to the Four Talents, also known as Sequel to the Four Talents and Romance of Talents. Old editions may attribute it to "compiled by Yanxia Sanren," and later scholars have identified Yanxia Sanren as Liu Zhang, a native of Taiyuan during the Kangxi–Yongzheng period; it was probably completed in the mid-to-late Kangxi era. The book tells of the Ming dynasty talented scholar Yun Jian, whose father, a former Vice Minister of War, was dismissed and retired to seclusion after offending powerful figures; Yun Jian is handsome and talented, skilled in calligraphy and painting. While admiring plum blossoms and practicing swordplay in Su Garden, Yun Jian attracts the attention of the rogue Bai Wenwu and is falsely accused by him of colluding with bandits; he changes his name and flees to Suzhou for refuge, making a living by selling poetry and paintings. There he meets Wen Ruoxia, daughter of a retired general, through a poem inscribed on a fan; they fall in love through poetry, exchange feelings, and become engaged. Soon afterward the Wen family is framed by a powerful minister; Wen Ruoxia disguises herself as a man and, under Yun Jian's name, seeks shelter with the Imperial Equerry Zhang, who, unaware of the truth, takes her as his son-in-law, leading to various impersonation misunderstandings involving the Zhang family's daughter, Xianglan. Yun Jian and his friend Shui Mei go to the capital for the examinations and place first and second respectively, but are then recommended by the scheming Minister Zhan and Censor Bai to campaign against the "Shu bandits." The novel interweaves romantic entanglements with court intrigue, unfolding layer upon layer of misunderstandings and coincidences until the truth is finally revealed and the two pairs of talented scholars and beauties are each happily united. The book was once banned in the Qing dynasty for its plot involving "bandits rebelling," but its style remains on the elegant side of scholar-beauty fiction.

Editor's review

《凤凰池》常被书商冠以“明清十大禁书”的名头来招徕读者，这多少有点委屈它：真正通读全书，你会发现它其实是才子佳人小说里相当“干净”的一种——没有艳情描写，有的是诗酒唱和、男扮女装的错位喜剧和层层剥开的误会。全书十六回、十五万字，篇幅不长，节奏明快：一场题扇诗的相遇、一次冒名顶替的姻缘、两位新科状元的牵连，把江湖风波、朝堂倾轧和后宅情事串成一条线。刘璋本是康熙年间的县令，熟悉世情与官场，写起奸臣构陷、小人使诈来有理有据，因此书中的爱情并非悬空，而与政治斗争彼此咬合。这个中国经济出版社的整理本隶属“红颜蓝颜古典言情书系”，回目完整、字句通畅，适合当作认识“才子佳人”这一小说类型的入门书。若你想知道《平山冷燕》之后这类小说怎么写、又怎样借名“第四才子书”的续集销售，本书是很有意思的样本。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢中国古典章回小说、想看才子佳人类型的读者
研究明清白话小说与出版文化的高校师生
喜欢轻松错位喜剧、女扮男装设定的小说读者
想用较短时间通读一部清代长篇的普通读者

Not a good fit for

偏好现代叙事节奏与心理描写的读者
希望读到艳情“禁书”内容的读者（本书并无此类内容）
对文言句式与诗词唱和感到困难的低龄读者

Reading tips

先读“校点说明”或前言，了解底本、作者考证与“续四才子书”的来由。
留意回目中“假”“冒”“误”等字眼，梳理两条冒名线索，误会的铺展会更清楚。
书中诗词唱和与回前回后的评语可单独摘出细读，是理解才子佳人小说趣味的关键。
若有余力，可与《平山冷燕》《玉娇梨》对读，比较同类小说的结构套路。

About the publisher

China Economic Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

Founded in 1985, China Economic Publishing House focuses on economics, finance and education titles, and also covers personal finance, management, business and history. Its library currently contains 29 titles, including John Bogle's The Little Book of Common Sense Investing (10th Anniversary Fully Updated Edition), Pat Dorsey's The Little Book That Builds Wealth, Qiu Guolu's The Most Important Thing in Investing (Updated Edition), as well as Absolute Sales: A One-Page Marketing Plan, Financial Freedom Notes, Who: The A Method for Hiring, The Psychology of Contrarian Investing and A Practical Course in Financial Freedom for Salaried Workers. These titles span investment philosophy, personal finance, marketing practice and recruitment management. Authors represented include John Bogle, Pat Dorsey, Qiu Guolu, Liu Yinlong, Qiao Mingbang, Allan Dib, Cao Ye and Gao Jinghao. The house emphasizes both translated and original practical finance and business books, balancing theoretical introduction with hands-on guidance. Due to limited public information, other details are omitted.

Chapter 1: Admiring Plum Blossoms, Chivalric Spirit and Poetic Talent Appear Together; Dancing with a Treasured Sword, a Wicked Plot Approaches
Chapter 2: A Bed Left in the Monastery, Who Pities the Exiled as a Genius; Matching Verses on White Silk, She Resorts to Disguise to Seek a Worthy Scholar
Chapter 3: A Remarkable Woman Meets a Remarkable Fate Through a Remarkable Dream; A Proud Scholar Meets a Proud Talent and Loses All His Pride
Chapter 4: Where Comes the Drunken Young Lord, Startling All Beneath the Moon; Remembering the Lovely One, Only Because of a Broken Line in the Tower
Chapter 5: A Loyal Minister Falls into a Tiger's Pit, Willing to Be a Ghost at the Blade's Edge; A Virtuous Lady Enters the Censor's Office, Briefly a Guest of the Commandery
Chapter 6: A Heartfelt Glance at First Sight Turns the Real into the False; Having Seen the Face, How Could She Recognize Him—Old Encounters Become New
Chapter 7: Lying Open-Bellied on the Eastern Bed, She Wishes Heaven Would Quickly Make Her a Man; Talking Heart-to-Heart in the Western Pavilion, Facing the Moon, They Should Become Sisters
Chapter 8: The False Meets the False, One Poem Sees Through the Scheme; The Foolish Meets the Foolish, Three Cups of Wine at Once Become a Wicked Plot
Chapter 9: Gold and Jade Poured Out for a Good Friend Who Meets a Sage Ruler; The Pipa Embraced Elsewhere, Resenting a Treacherous Friend Who Suddenly Pursues a Beauty
Chapter 10: Under a False Name the Winsome Guest Meets the Substitute Graduate; the Faithless Master Happens to Encounter the Talkative Silver Deer
Chapter 11: Meeting Face to Face Yet Not Recognizing, Secretly Passing News; Laughing and Talking, Eavesdropping, Clearly Stating the Cause
Chapter 12: The Illiterate Young Lord in the Dog Hole Dreams of Eating Swan; the Discerning Father-in-Law Before the Dragon Throne Seeks a Phoenix in Marriage
Chapter 13: Carrying Water and Selling People, the Treacherous Minister of War Is Disgraced on the Spot; Setting a Topic and Fixing Rhymes, the Son of Heaven Deigns to Act as Matchmaker
Chapter 14: The Three Armies Triumph, Only Then Showing She Is a Man; One Memorial to the Throne, At Last Becoming a Chivalrous Hero
Chapter 15: Right and Wrong, the Two Young Ladies Have a Thousand Clever Schemes; Topsy-Turvy, the Two Top Graduates Are Full of Doubt
Chapter 16: Breaking the Knot of Doubt, Old Friends and New Friends Are Reunited as One Family; Comprehending the Wondrous Thought, the Elder Brother-in-Law and Younger Brother-in-Law Form a Bond Between Two Clans

FAQ

《凤凰池》的作者到底是谁？

旧刻本或题“烟霞散人编”。据今人考证，烟霞散人很可能就是康雍年间的太原人刘璋，他著有《斩鬼传》《飞花艳想》等小说；成书时间大致在康熙中后期。学界对作者归属仍有讨论，通行读物多用“烟霞散人（刘璋）”的写法。

这本书是“禁书”吗？为什么被禁？

它在清代确曾被列入禁书，原因主要是书中写到了“贼人造反”的情节，而非内容淫秽。今人常把它归入“明清十大禁书”，这更多是书商宣传；全书其实属于才子佳人小说中清雅一路，并无露骨描写。

书名叫《凤凰池》，和《续四才子书》是什么关系？

《凤凰池》全称《凤凰池续四才子书》，又名《续四才子书》《才子奇缘》。它刊行于《平山冷燕》之后，借“第四才子书”的名声自称续集，是古代出版中常见的搭便车营销手法。

这个版本有多少回、多少字？

全书十六回，中国经济出版社2011年版标注约150千字、188页，属“红颜蓝颜古典言情书系”。不同电子版本因校点与排版差异，统计字数会有所不同。

没读过古典小说，能读懂吗？

可以。本书是白话小说，句式比文言浅近，故事主线清晰，主要难点在诗词唱和与古代官职称谓，遇到可略读或查注。建议对照回目阅读，抓住云剑、文若霞、水湄三条线索。

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About the author

烟霞散人 Author

Yanxia Sanren is a pseudonymous author in the tradition of classical Chinese popular fiction, whose real name, courtesy name, native place, and dates of birth and death are all unknown; available public information is very limited. Judging from the extant works, two versions of The Complete Biography of Zhong Kui are attributed to this name, both belonging to classical literature and telling the wondrous tales of Zhong Kui, a figure from folk legend, with a strong flavor of the strange and the supernatural. The works are often classed under otherworld fiction, with extraordinary imagination and plots unfolding between the human realm and the underworld; the language is accessible and aimed at a popular readership, reflecting the common approach of Ming and Qing popular fiction, which used gods and ghosts to convey worldly concerns. Owing to the lack of historical sources, the author's life is difficult to verify, and the editions and attributions of the works should be treated with caution. Overall, Yanxia Sanren may be regarded as a pseudonymous writer of classical fiction known for Zhong Kui stories, whose works offer useful texts for studying Zhong Kui belief and the evolution of supernatural fiction.