Dream of Blooming Flowers 2

古吴娥川Beijing Mingtianyuanhang Cultural Transmission Co., Ltd. · ChinaJul 2024

3.2

Word count: 48K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

The full title of this book is Xinshuo Shenghua Meng Qizhuan (Newly Told Strange Tale of the Dream of Flowers); no author is named, only "compiled by E'chuan Zhuren of Ancient Wu," who is also the author of the novels Wushi Pi and Yanliang An. It opens with a preface signed "occasionally inscribed in early winter of the guichou year by Shicang, Qingmen Yishi of Ancient Wu." The book has twelve chapters in four parts, Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen. Chapter One contains a ruhua prologue telling of the marriages of Wei Er and Xu Shiyi-guan to Yin Shengjie and Gu Yijie in Geng Village, Wujiang County, Suzhou, in the ninth year of Kangxi (1670), calling them "the most recent news," from which it can be known that the guichou date in the preface must be the twelfth year of Kangxi (1673). The preface says the book's "brushwork is marvelous, twisting and turning, ever changing," and "almost makes the pen bloom with flowers in a dream." "What flower is not a dream, what dream is not a flower? Please entitle it Shenghua Meng (Dream of Flowers)." This is the origin of the title.

Editor's review

Like Shenghua Meng, this work belongs to the Xinshuo Shenghua Meng Qizhuan tradition: twelve chapters in four sections named Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen, attributed to 'Edited by E'chuan Zhuren of Ancient Wu.' Sources indicate that E'chuan Zhuren also wrote such novels as Wushi Pi and Yanliang An, showing that this was not an isolated work and offering a reference point for understanding the book's thematic orientation and narrative style. The preface's self-assessment—'the writing is wondrous, twisting and transforming' and 'almost as if a dream brushed flowers into bloom'—prompts readers to attend to the turns of plot and the crafting of structure, while the opening anecdote of Chapter One, drawn from 'the most immediate news' from Wujiang County in the ninth year of Kangxi, creates an intriguing intertextual interplay between fiction and real news. Readers who have already read Shenghua Meng can read the two together to examine the same author's narrative techniques and concerns across different works; for newcomers, this book can serve as a window into the world of early Qing vernacular fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have finished The Flower-Born Dream and want to continue with another work by the same author
Literary scholars interested in the narrative techniques of early Qing vernacular fiction
Lovers of classical Chinese fiction who enjoy tales of social life and crime and can read literary Chinese
Readers of Ming-Qing literature who want to understand Echuan Zhuren's work

Not a good fit for

Beginners unused to classical vernacular Chinese who read slowly
Readers seeking an edition with detailed annotations and an introduction
Readers interested only in famous classics who are put off by lesser-known works

Reading tips

Read alongside The Flower-Born Dream to compare how the same author varies narrative arrangement across works.
Begin with the preface to grasp the title's allusion to "dreaming that one's brush blooms with flowers," then proceed through the four collections in order.
Note the echoes between the current-events news in the opening passage and the main plot.
Pause after each collection to review its role in the overall structure.

About the publisher

Beijing Mingtianyuanhang Cultural Transmission Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2009

Mingtianyuanhang (Beijing Mingtianyuanhang Cultural Transmission Co., Ltd.) focuses on the humanities, social sciences and classical texts, while also covering popular science, Eastern philosophy and science fiction. Among its 97 titles in the library are Ming and Qing prose and fiction such as Zhang Dai's Dream Seeking by West Lake and Liu E's The Travels of Lao Can, alongside Song Yingxing's The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, Liu An's Huainanzi and Sun Yirang's Mozi Jian Gu, as well as Wei Zheng's Qunshu Zhiyao, the collected literary works of Li Jieren and a collection of Jules Verne's classics, showing a catalogue that pairs collated ancient texts with foreign classics. Its authors include the above-named figures, and most titles are issued as e-books. Owing to limited public information, its overall publishing scale and plans remain to be further understood.

版权信息
序
第七回神君里怒斩白蛇精王屋山大破黄衣寨
第八回东园赓雅调自许同心南国有佳人再谐连理
第九回白公堤青天遭霹雳昆陵道黑夜走佳人
第十回虎头寨一女子屈服众英雄
第十一回非奸细计赚白衣军是夫妻误认绿林妇
第十二回解重围偷儿报恩兼成伟绩

FAQ

What is the relationship between this book and The Flower-Born Dream?

Both belong to the New Tale of the Flower-Born Dream system, both are attributed to "edited by Echuan Zhuren of Gusu," and both run to twelve chapters divided into the four collections Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen. Sources indicate the author also wrote Wu Shi Pi and Yan Liang An; this book and The Flower-Born Dream can be read together as the work of one novelist.

Did the author, "Echuan Zhuren of Gusu," write anything else?

According to the sources, Echuan Zhuren also wrote the novels Wu Shi Pi and Yan Liang An. This shows the book is not an isolated work; readers interested in the author's style can follow this lead to learn more about his output.

Which year does guichou in the preface refer to?

The preface is dated "early winter of a guichou year," while the opening passage of chapter one recounts events in Wujiang County in the ninth year of Kangxi and calls them "the most recent news." On this basis guichou should be the twelfth year of Kangxi (1673), which may be taken as a reference for dating the book's completion.

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About the author

古吴娥川 Author

Gu Wu Echuan is the name under which the author of works in the field of classical Chinese literature is published. Publicly available information about this author is very limited: neither the dates of birth and death, nor the place of origin, nor biographical details have been clearly recorded. The element "Gu Wu" in the name generally refers to the ancient Wu region and may indicate the author's native place or place of residence. The available records show that two works are attributed to this name, namely Sheng Hua Meng 1 and Sheng Hua Meng 2, commonly classified under classical literature. Judging from the title, Sheng Hua Meng carries the flavor of a traditional novel title, and the phrase "sheng hua" often evokes the idea of literary inspiration and a gifted pen, suggesting that the work belongs broadly to the tradition of premodern narrative literature. Because verifiable information is so scarce, it is difficult to assess the author's writing style and literary influence with any certainty; readers and researchers seeking to learn more would need to consult additional editions, prefaces, and other primary sources.