Minister Li

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.0

Word count: 858 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

I lived next door to him and helped plan the garden when it was being built. From the garden gate to the rear courtyard one could walk along covered galleries, so rain could not stop one. Rockeries, pavilions, ponds, springs, towers, and terraces were arranged with the greatest care. The theater hall was originally the main hall of my own house; later it passed to the Minister, and I arranged it so that it could seat four or five hundred people. At that time opium smoking was widespread, and couches were set on both sides, where one could lie and feast on the smoke while quietly listening to songs. The boy actors were like jade, the girl actors like flowers, taking turns to wait on the guests. When a play had passages that were unrefined or inconsistent with the story, I corrected them, and everyone called me "Guqu Zhou Lang." Whenever grandees came, in early winter they all wore chicken-heart outer jackets, and in deep winter they all wore sable coats. The ladies of the princely household came with pearls and jade covering their heads. Two young eunuchs supported them as they came, and they greeted one another with the gesture of smoothing the hair at the temples. The fragrance of rouge and powder filled the room. Seasonal flowers were set out on tables, their buds opening. In spring there were peonies, crabapple, and flowering peach, called "forced flowers." In summer, orchids, angelica, and mock orange; in autumn, osmanthus filled the courtyard. There were also fine flowers from Shanghai, brought by sea-going ships. Under the carved eaves, parrots, mynas, and cockatoos hung on brass stands, chattering human words and answering the songs. When the wine was deep and the lamps sputtered, it was already the fourth watch; the guests dispersed, the plays ended, and the actors each drove fast carriages out of the city. This could be called splendor. Before long the Boxer chaos broke out, and those with red cloth wrapped around their heads filled the capital. Merchants closed their shops, and the theaters burned.

Editor's review

This note centers on the building of a garden and the staging of plays there, laying out the splendor of late Qing official social life in the capital. The author tells how he planned the garden paths for the neighboring Minister, linking the galleries so that rain would not hinder passage, and arranged seating for four or five hundred in the theater hall; opium couches were set on both sides, boy and girl actors took turns attending the guests, and the author corrected unrefined passages in play scripts, earning the name "Guqu Zhou Lang." The dress colors of visiting dignitaries, the pearls and jade of the princely ladies, the young eunuchs supporting them and the temple-smoothing salute, the seasonal forced flowers and fine blooms brought by sea, the parrots and mynas under the eaves learning human speech—all are sketched in fine detail, and the piece ends abruptly with the Boxer chaos and the burning of the theaters, a sudden contrast of splendor and decline. One sees both the extravagance and refinement of banqueting life at the time and the narrator's melancholy after the splendor has faded.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late Qing official life in the capital and garden furnishings
Lovers of literature and history studying theatrical venues and banquet-hall customs
Readers of essays who enjoy detailed, note-style descriptions of scenery and objects
Teachers and writers needing material on late Qing social and cultural life

Not a good fit for

Readers of fiction who prefer tight plots and character destinies
Those who dislike opium and banquet-hall content and would rather not read it
Researchers expecting systematic treatises on architecture or theater history

Reading tips

On the first reading, follow the spatial order: the garden gate, galleries, rockeries and pavilions, theater hall, and then see how people and events fill the space.
List details such as dress colors, plants, and birds on a separate sheet to appreciate how the author uses objects to depict splendor, then compare with the burning at the end.
Read alongside background on late Qing banquet-hall opera and Peking opera, and note what the line about correcting play scripts reveals of the author's status and tastes.
Slow down at the last passage, comparing the buildup of the first half with the force of the turn marked by the two words "before long."

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
立尚书

FAQ

What exactly did the author arrange in the garden?

He planned the route from the garden gate to the rear courtyard so that one could walk along galleries and rain would not hinder passage, arranged rockeries, pavilions, ponds, springs, towers, and terraces, and set up seating for four or five hundred in the theater hall, with opium couches on both sides for lying and feasting on the smoke while quietly listening to songs.

How did the name "Guqu Zhou Lang" come about?

The author had corrected play scripts that were unrefined or inconsistent with the story, and people therefore called him "Guqu Zhou Lang." The name shows both that he understood opera and took part in staging, and that he was no ordinary guest in the Minister's garden but someone who contributed to its planning.

What is the significance of the princely ladies' visit?

Pearls and jade covering their heads, young eunuchs supporting them, the temple-smoothing salute, and the room filled with the fragrance of rouge and powder—these descriptions bring the garden's banqueting to its height and show how wide the host's connections were. They form a sharp contrast with the Boxer chaos and the burning of the theaters at the end.

Does "the theaters burned" at the end refer to this garden?

The ending says the Boxer chaos broke out, red cloth filled the capital, merchants closed their shops, and the theaters burned—a closing picture of the capital's situation, not necessarily naming the garden's theater hall. But the narrative of splendor breaks off here, and the reader naturally connects the earlier prosperity with this upheaval.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.