Ballad of Music and Song

古语楼Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. · ChinaNov 2017

Rating 3.6
Word count
158K words
Chapters
54
ISBN
9787550296589

Tags

Time Travel Fantasy Love EntanglementsJianghu FeudNobilityAngst RomanceTender SentimentTurbulent Era

Summary

Set against the backdrop of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, this is a purely beautiful and romantic ancient romance novel. After the Wei and Jin dynasties, the three kingdoms of Zhou, Qi, and Chen stood in a tripartite balance. Yuwen Feng, Prince of Wuyang of Zhou, goes on a mission to Chen in the south. By chance, he meets Luo Qingqiu, a painting-obsessed woman, within Wulingyuan, and at the same time is attacked by Qi assassins. Later, the involvement of Gao Changgong, Prince of Lanling, sets off a story of grudges and passions. Set in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the novel tells of the grudges between Yuwen Feng and Luo Qingqiu, who meet three times and part three times, portraying a pure, beautiful, romantic, and dramatically turbulent love story amid the chaos of the era.

Editor's review

Shengge Yao sets its story in the chaotic Northern and Southern Dynasties, when Zhou, Qi, and Chen stood as three rival kingdoms. Its main thread follows Yuwen Feng, Prince of Wuyang, on a mission to Chen, where he encounters the painting-obsessed Luo Qingqiu; an assassination attempt and the involvement of Gao Changgong, Prince of Lanling, weave together a tale of gratitude and grievance, of three meetings and three partings. The book’s readability comes mainly from two things: the turbulent era gives natural tension to romance, as duty to state and personal feeling pull against each other, so meetings and separations are more than private melodrama; and the “painting obsession” gives the heroine concrete interests and temperament, adding details worth savoring rather than relying only on formulaic push-and-pull. The overall tone is purely beautiful and romantic, with pronounced ups and downs—suitable as relaxing leisure reading. Note that the book emphasizes emotion and atmosphere, with limited historical research or depth on the Northern and Southern Dynasties itself; it should not be read as a historical novel.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. First clarify the relationships among Zhou, Qi, Chen and the main characters; the emotional mainline will then read more smoothly
  2. Treat Yuwen Feng’s mission and the assassination as plot nodes, and note how relationships change after each encounter
  3. Slow down at emotional conflicts to feel the helplessness and weight of characters’ choices in a chaotic era
  4. If interested in the Northern and Southern Dynasties background, read alongside a popular history book, though this is not required

About the publisher

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1993

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一卷 心悦君兮君不知
  3. 01 武陵源
  4. 02 桃花劫
  5. 03 将相杀
  6. 04 瑕无猜
  7. 05 画中趣
  8. 06 璇玑图
  9. 07 笑清谈
  10. 08 华流彩
  11. 09 巧设陷
  12. 10 趣品茗
  13. 11 钟山夜
  14. 12 倾华年
  15. 13 解连环
  16. 第二卷 唯恐倾城更迷君
  17. 14 七夜雪
  18. 15 更迷君
  19. 16 师徒缘
  20. 17 错盛宠
  21. 18 信空函
  22. 19 帝星归
  23. 20 绿绮赋
  24. 21 错相逢
  25. 22 情中情
  26. 23 如是观
  27. 24 贪狼星
  28. 25 兰陵王
  29. 26 琵琶殇
  30. 27 红颜殁
  31. 28 步步谋
  32. 29 孤无援
  33. 30 心之间
  34. 31 秋偈语
  35. 第三卷 倾尽天下与谁同
  36. 32 围洛阳
  37. 33 忧心悄
  38. 34 折戟殇
  39. 35 关风月
  40. 36 剑无情
  41. 37 平生恨
  42. 38 忧于怖
  43. 39 局中局
  44. 40 喜中悲
  45. 41 尘世安
  46. 42 温柔乡
  47. 43 佳期误
  48. 44 英雄冢
  49. 45 风云变
  50. 46 千般错
  51. 47 醉生梦
  52. 48 潜龙起
  53. 49 负天下
  54. 50 番 外

FAQ

Can I understand this book without having read Northern and Southern Dynasties history? Yes. The novel’s core is the emotional entanglement between Yuwen Feng and Luo Qingqiu; the tripartite division is only a background frame, and the author naturally introduces necessary character relationships in the narrative. Just pay a little attention where kingdom and identity are involved; no prior historical study is needed, and it does not affect understanding the mainline.
What role does Gao Changgong, Prince of Lanling, play in the book? According to the synopsis, while Yuwen Feng meets Luo Qingqiu in Wulingyuan he is attacked by Qi assassins, and Gao Changgong’s involvement sets off the ensuing grudges and passions. He functions more as a key figure driving plot turns, linking the protagonists’ relationship to larger conflicts beyond a private encounter.
Is this book suitable for reading in one sitting? Its length and pace suit concentrated reading, with ups and downs that make you want to keep going. But the emotional line repeatedly moves through three meetings and three partings, so continuous reading may feel tiring; advancing chapter by chapter and pausing at each reunion-and-separation turn makes for a more comfortable experience.

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About the author

古语楼 Author · Chinese

Gu Yulou, originally named Liu Tingting, is a Chinese author of romance novels born in the 1990s. Public information about her is limited: neither her dates of birth and death nor an English name has been recorded, and two of her works are currently included in the collection. She commonly writes in the time-travel and alternate-history category, and her representative works include Sheng Ge Yao and Half a Life of Vanity, Half a Life of Leisure. In terms of style, Gu Yulou's writing is gentle and delicate, rich in poetic and pictorial charm, and she skillfully blends classical sensibilities into her narratives, for which readers have called her style “ci-fu style.” This label summarizes her distinctive way with words and reflects readers' recognition of the temperament of her prose. In her existing works, she mainly writes romance, using time-travel and alternate-history settings to build atmosphere, so that emotional portrayals and classical charm complement each other. Although information about the author's life is very limited, these two representative works show that she pays attention to the texture of language and the creation of atmosphere, forming a relatively distinct personal style within her genre.