The Bond in a Dream

李修行Qunyan Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.0

Word count: 93K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Dream of Destiny (Meng Zhong Yuan), in four volumes and fifteen chapters, is by Li Xiuxing. According to the Sanyi Tang, Wencheng Tang and other editions, the title page in each names "Mr. Li Ziqi of Wudi" as the author. Wudi is a county in Shandong, once including Yangxin County. Li Xiuxing lived in the Kangxi–Qianlong period. For more than a century during his lifetime and after his death the novel appears to have had no printed edition, until the eleventh year of Guangxu, when editions with a preface by Lianxi Shi appeared from Chongde Tang, Youyi Tang, Sanyi Tang, Wencheng Tang and others. The novel takes as its main thread the "partings, reunions, joys and sorrows of a lifetime" of Wu Ruisheng, narrating his polygamous marriages to five beauties of Jiangnan symbolizing the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire and earth—interwoven with the struggle between the loyal and the treacherous, waged by him and his father Wu Jue against the faction of Yan Song. It ends with loyalty triumphing over treachery: after untold hardships, Wu Ruisheng marries the five beauties, three wives and two concubines, exactly fulfilling a dream once dreamt by Wu Jue. The opening tells how Wu Jue in a dream sees an old man bestow a poem, which becomes the prophecy overshadowing the whole book: "The fairy maid is born in the southern land (your daughters-in-law are born in Jiangnan); the plum-blossom maid is of your kin (the plum blossom has five petals—there are five daughters-in-law); three bright and two dark (three surnamed Jin, Mu and Shui, two surnamed Zhu and Tan, hinting at fire and earth); all are people of the five elements." Yan Song, his son Yan Shifan and their faction, the Wu family's enemy, Prefect He Ao and He's henchman Wang Xueyi are all sentenced to death in the novel. Wu Ruisheng, still in his prime, with distinguished achievements and a clean official reputation, pleads illness and retires, returning home to enjoy a quiet life with the "five beauties." Written by a jinshi, the novel, though mediocre in thought, is fluent and elegant in style.

Editor's review

Dream of Destiny, in four volumes and fifteen chapters, is by Li Xiuxing of Wudi, Shandong, who lived in the Kangxi–Qianlong period. Written by a jinshi, it is fluent and elegant in style and belongs to the more disciplined strain of the scholar-and-beauty (caizi jiaren) novel. The book's main thread is the "partings, reunions, joys and sorrows of a lifetime" of Wu Ruisheng, telling of his polygamous marriages to five beauties symbolizing the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire and earth—while interweaving the struggle between the loyal and the treacherous waged by his father Wu Jue against the faction of Yan Song; loyalty triumphs over treachery, and the ending fulfills the prophecy in the dream at the opening. Structurally, a dream prophecy overshadows the whole book, with opening and closing echoing each other—a complete practice of a device common to the scholar-and-beauty novel. Its thought is rather mediocre: the polygamous marriage arrangement and the simplistic handling of the loyal-versus-treacherous struggle both bear clear limitations of the age. Yet its style is elegant and its plot complete, giving it reference value for studying the narrative modes of the Qing scholar-and-beauty novel, the popular writing of examination-success scholars, and the printing and circulation of novels in the Kangxi–Qianlong period. General readers may take it as a specimen of the ancient popular novel and need not expect profound intellectual illumination.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students studying the narrative modes of the Qing scholar-and-beauty novel
Readers interested in the dream-prophecy structure of ancient fiction
Scholars of editions concerned with the printing and circulation of popular fiction in the Kangxi–Qianlong period

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking modern values and a sense of gender equality
Readers of popular fiction who prefer tight plotting and strong conflict
Readers weary of polygamous setups and the loyal-versus-treacherous formula

Reading tips

Read first the poem seen in Wu Jue's dream at the opening to grasp the prophecy structure of the whole book, then read the main text to see it fulfilled.
While reading, note the correspondence between the names of the five beauties and the five elements, and appreciate the author's structural design.
Read it against other scholar-and-beauty novels, comparing the marriage patterns and the loyal-versus-treacherous threads.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
序
第一回得奇梦遣子游南国重诗才开馆请西宾
第二回九里松吴郎刮目十锦塘荡子留心
第三回好姻缘翠娟心许恶风波郑子私谋
第四回吴瑞生月下订良缘金御史夜中失爱女
第五回木客商设谋图凤侣花夜叉开笼救雪衣
第六回渡清江舟中遇盗走穷途庵内逢嫂
第七回水小姐还愿祈母寿王老妪索诗探才情
第八回真相思情怀一首诗假还愿密订三生约
第九回遭流离兰英失母买针指翠娟认妹
第十回明说破姊妹拜姊妹暗铺排情人送情人
第十一回易姓字盛世际风云赴新任亭遇骨肉
第十二回寻甥女并得亲生女救人祸贻累当身祸
第十三回谒抚院却逢故东主择佳婿又配旧西宾
第十四回金抚院为国除奸李知县替友报仇
第十五回联二乔各说心间事聚五美得遂梦中缘

FAQ

What does the title Dream of Destiny mean?

According to the sources, the opening tells how Wu Jue in a dream sees an old man bestow a poem prophesying his daughters-in-law; the whole plot unfolds around this dream prophecy, and the ending fulfills the words of the dream—hence the title Dream of Destiny.

Why are the five beauties arranged according to the five elements?

The sources show that the five beauties respectively symbolize metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and the dream poem's "three bright and two dark" hints at the five elements. This is the author's device for structuring the book's marriage threads, a symbolic arrangement common to scholar-and-beauty novels.

What is the edition history of this book?

According to the sources, for more than a century during the author's lifetime and after his death the book appears to have had no printed edition, until the eleventh year of Guangxu, when editions with a preface by Lianxi Shi appeared from Chongde Tang, Youyi Tang, Sanyi Tang, Wencheng Tang and others.

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About the author

李修行 Author

Li Xiuxing is an author about whom limited public information is available. Three works can currently be confirmed: Dream Destinies, Dream Destinies (Part Two), and Such a Capital. Judging from the common categories assigned to these works, his writing touches on otherworldly continents, classical literature, and literary appreciation, combining imaginative narrative with an engagement with traditional literary resources. Dream Destinies, published in two parts, is relatively long, suggesting a substantial investment in storytelling and in developing relationships among characters; Such a Capital, by contrast, appears closer in title and subject to realistic social portraiture, indicating that his range is not confined to a single genre. As no clear record of his birth and death dates, nationality, or life experience has been found, no speculation is offered here; this note merely outlines the thematic range and writing orientation visible in his extant works for readers' reference.