Embroidered screen edge

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

The preface to

the twenty-chapter edition of *Xiu Ping Yuan* is from an early Qing dynasty publication. The main text is titled "Newly Engraved and Annotated Edition of the Novel *Xiu Ping Yuan*"

, edited by Su'an Master. The first preface ends with the inscription "Written by Nongxiang Master at Jiyan Hall in Congfang Xiaopu on the full moon of the first month of the Gengxu year of the Kangxi reign (1670)

". Next are seven general rules, signed "Su'an's Random Notes". Following these are "Su'an's Miscellaneous Poems" and "Lü

Qu from the South of Jiuyi Mountain". There are commentaries in each chapter, and the book consists of twenty chapters. The nineteenth chapter actually only contains eight poems, and a copy of it exists and is treasured

in the Dutch Chinese Academy.

"The Embroidered Screen" is a novel with a strong narrative, yet it is extremely mediocre and vulgar. It tells a convoluted

story:

During the reign of Emperor Yuan Shun, in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, there lived a wealthy man named Zhao, who had only one son named Zhao Qingxin, also known as Yunke. He

was as handsome as Pan An and as talented

as Cao Zhi, claiming to be the most romantic and talented man in the world. By the age of eighteen, he was well-read and knowledgeable about all things, especially matters of the heart. One day, while playing in the wealthy man's back room, he saw a screen,

which he obtained and hung in his study. This was a very old and precious screen, carved with the figures of beauties from a previous era

, its furnishings and clothing inlaid with precious stones, exquisitely crafted. Yunke read books while admiring the beauties on the screen. One day, as he slept, he saw

beautiful women standing around his bed on a screen, like clusters of brocade. They took turns rolling dice, and the winner became intimate with Yunke. It was a dream. Little did he know that his life's greatest encounter would be found there. One day, as he stroked the screen, a piece of silk fell down, on which was written a poem and the four characters "Yu Huan's Private Seal." Yunke lit incense and swore an oath, saying that he was a true lover, and if he met a beautiful woman, he would overcome all difficulties to be with her until death. 　　One day, Yunke wanted to visit West Lake, partly to make friends and partly to find a beautiful woman. He went to the lake with two scholar friends, composing poems and lyrics, feeling quite pleased with himself. A large boat was moored nearby, belonging to a local gentry named Wang, whose daughter, Yu Huan, was beautiful and virtuous. Upon seeing this, Yunke was flustered and couldn't sleep all night. The next day, he sent his family back and secretly followed Wang's boat to Yangzhou. Yunke planned to pretend to be a servant and seek refuge with the Wang family. The Wang family was busy, so he had to stay at an inn. The old man selling wine was named Sun Aiquan. His son was a servant nicknamed Sun Feihu, and his daughter, Sun Huiniang, was beautiful and extraordinary. Yunke wanted to get close to her and often sent gifts to the two elders. Huiniang also fell in love with Yunke. 　　The wealthy man was very worried when his son didn't return for many days. He found the two scholars who were in the brothel and saw bloodstains (from prostitutes) on the shop that his son had entrusted to them . He suspected that his son had been murdered and reported it to the prefect. The prefect imprisoned the two scholars. Yunke left without saying goodbye, leaving him with no way to defend himself. 　　Yunke told Huiniang that he had taken a liking to Miss Wang, and Huiniang said, "Now that I've met you, whether you marry me or not , I will be with you for life." So the two made a solemn vow and secretly began their affair. 　　Yunke was assigned to guard the garden at the Wang family's residence. The Wang family's rules were very strict, making it difficult for Yunke to reach the young lady. One day, in the dim light of , Yunke suddenly saw a young lady and her maid arrive at the Peony Terrace. He went up to inquire and learned that they were from his household, there to meet Yunke privately. Yunke invited the young lady into his room, and they embraced and made love. The young lady wore a precious stone that emitted an unusual light, and the two became deeply intoxicated. From then on, she came every night. 　　One day, Madam Wang was hosting a gathering in the garden. Yunke, wanting to see what the young lady looked like during the day, hid in the bushes . Unexpectedly, he was discovered, and as she pulled him away, a silk scroll with a poem on it fell out. The young lady was puzzled; how could her nickname be imprinted on it? That night, she dreamt of the poem, and from the dream, she fell in love. Yuhuan told her cousin, Wu Jiangying, about this. Jiangying suggested they ask him to come and inquire, and she told Yuhuan to prepare a brocade screen for Yunke to write on. The three met, and Yuhuan sensed Yunke's extraordinary nature . Learning that he had come for her, she conceived the idea of becoming Wenjun. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiangying pushed Yuhuan into the pavilion where Yunke lived. 　　The two confessed their longing for each other, and Yuhuan asked him to return home to arrange a marriage. That evening, the beautiful woman and her maid entered and congratulated Yunke on his marriage to Yuhuan. Yunke was startled, thinking the two must be mountain spirits, and immediately got the woman drunk. Upon closer inspection, she didn't resemble a woman, and a jewel shone brightly around her. Yunke inhaled the jewel's light , and after absorbing it all, the jewel disappeared. When the woman awoke, she cried out, "I've spent years repairing this chain, only to have it all destroyed tonight!" It turned out she was a fox spirit, not meant to harm, but simply seeking to balance yin and yang. She begged Yunke not to treat her heartlessly because she was of a different kind . Yunke felt a pang of sorrow and gently persuaded her to leave. 　　Yu Huan sent Jiang Ying to give Yun Ke money as a bribe. Jiang Ying, who also had feelings for Yun Ke, secretly wrote him a letter inviting him to meet on the boat. Yun Ke, thinking it was Yu Huan, but seeing it was Jiang Ying, and wanting to enjoy the arrangement, agreed to sleep with her on the boat. The next morning, their boat collided with another, and the men from the other boat rushed over. It turned out to be Jiang Ying's brother, Wu Da , who thought she was a robber. Jiang Ying said it was consensual, but Wu Da, believing it was an elopement, became even angrier. Seeing the money again, he became suspicious. To save face, he first imprisoned Yun Ke, then gave the guards some money to starve him. 　　Jiang Ying returned to the palace and told Yu Huan the truth, and Yu Huan was very worried about Yun Ke. 　　While in prison, Yunke met a jailer named Qin Hengshi, who protected him at home. Qin had a daughter named Suqing, who was beautiful and passionate. Seeing Yunke's extraordinary qualities, she fell in love with him and entrusted her heart to him. Through Qin's intercession, Yunke was exiled to Yanshan, escorted by Sun Feihu. Huiniang was devastated upon learning this. She tried to send a message to the Prince's mansion to avoid trouble at home. Yuhuan was close to her and, through Jiangying's name, asked Huiniang to deliver a letter to Yunke to ease his longing. 　　In Yanshan, Yunke received the letter and was moved by the sentiments of the three beauties. One day, after burning incense and praying, he wrote a poem on the wall to express his homesickness. He happened to meet an official, who turned out to be Yuhuan's father, Imperial Censor Wang. Wang pardoned Yunke's crime and allowed him to study in the yamen to prepare for the examination. 　　Jiangying was preoccupied at home, and Wu Da urged her to marry quickly. She believed the man was Yunke's. On her wedding day, she escaped through the back door and went straight to the river where she had met Yunke, intending to end her life. A small official boat passed by, and the people on board pulled her back. It turned out to be Prisoner Qin and Suqing. Suqing, upon hearing Jiangying say that Yunke was her husband, also confessed her feelings, and the two were of one mind, without any jealousy. 　　In the capital, Yunke encountered two friends who had become prisoners. Imperial Censor Wang also took them in. Prisoner Qin found Yunke and married his daughter to him. Yunke also married Jiangying, now having two wives. 　　After the imperial examination, Yunke became the top scholar. Two of his friends also passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). They told Imperial Censor Wang that Yunke could marry the prince's daughter. The daughter of the prince consort in the capital, Ji Qiao, also took a liking to Yunke. With the approval of the Ministry of Rites, Yunke married the prince consort's family. Yunke then had his parents send a matchmaker to the prince's residence to propose marriage. As a result, he had five wives. 　　Yunke devised a way to arrange the order of his five wives: Yu Huan, Ji Qiao, Su Qing, Jiang Ying, and Hui Niang. He had someone...

In the Five-Flower Pavilion, a screen was embroidered, depicting himself and his five wives. Yunke played chess, played music, and engaged in

intimate acts with the five women, indulging in unrestrained revelry and neglecting state affairs.

The fox spirit who had previously been Yunke's lover transformed into a leperous Taoist priest, who took Yunke on

a trip to an overseas archipelago. One day, news arrived that a wealthy family's property had been confiscated, including Yunke's. The Taoist priest sailed down the river, taking Yunke's family to

the island. Then, the Taoist priest vanished.

In terms of plot, *The Embroidered Screen* is commendable, particularly for its ingenious storytelling and subtle character

relationships .

The story's ingenuity lies primarily in its "winding" or "curved" nature. The winding path leading to a secluded spot, the subtle and ingenious, is

a characteristic of Chinese art. *The Embroidered Screen* employs two techniques in this regard. First, the plot is unexpectedly arranged. For example, Zhao Yunke

followed the Wang family's boat to Yangzhou, hoping to get close to Yu Huan by becoming her servant, but failed. He then stayed temporarily at Hui Niang's place, unexpectedly

developing a love affair with her. His later encounters with Jiang Ying and Su Qing, among other things, were somewhat unexpected, yet also

logical . Secondly, the story unfolds with numerous twists and turns. The novel pays considerable attention to the intricate arrangement of both major and minor plot points. Major

plot points, such as Yunke and Jiang Ying's experiences after their secret rendezvous—being beaten, imprisoned, then bailed out, being taken to the capital, being taken in, being selected for the imperial examination, and being

forced into marriage and minor plot points, such as the fates of Yunke's two scholar friends and the matchmaker's two visits to the Wang family's residence to propose

marriage to the Zhao family, are not straightforward or predictable.

The relationships between the characters are all woven together by fate. The novel begins with

portraits of beauties from various dynasties on the Zhao family's embroidered screen, leading to Yunke's dream of meeting beauties, followed by the appearance of five beauties in reality. The relationships between these five beauties

and their entanglements with Yunke can be described as a kind of predestined connection, each link in turn. Among them,

Yunke meets a young lady at night in the royal palace, and meets Yu Huan during the day. The real and fake young ladies, the true feelings and illusions,

are combined in a hazy, ambiguous way, which is quite artistic and charming.

The five beauties, with their different identities, experiences, and homophobic views, are brought together by the word "fate"

and their different characteristics are revealed by the word "love," playing different roles. In this sense,

the comments make some sense: "Yu Huan's feelings are upright, Ji Tiao's feelings are compliant, Su Qing's feelings are chivalrous, Jiang Ying's feelings are

virtuous, and Hui Niang's feelings are wise."

The words Yun Ke spoke after marrying the five beauties can be seen as a summary of the book's content and the principle of character

arrangement I met them in my dreams, and they were all beauties of past dynasties." " I never imagined we would meet like this; could it be a miracle?

Now that my paintings have been passed down for thousands of generations, I know that those who are both talented and beautiful naturally have feelings; those who have feelings naturally

have fate; those who have fate naturally meet; and those who meet naturally unite."

The work adheres to this principle, making the story coherent and the plot tight, but at the same time, it also suffers from

the drawbacks of being overly contrived and lacking in emotional depth.

The artificiality of the plot is particularly evident in the latter half of the novel. After Yunke is escorted to the capital, he burns incense and inscribes

a poem on a whitewashed wall, where he encounters an official who happens to be Wang Yuhuan's father, Imperial Censor Wang; Jiangying attempts suicide by drowning,

and a passing boat carries Qin, the prison official who just saved Yunke, and his daughter; Yunke's two scholar

friends, being escorted to the capital, also happen to encounter Yunke, who has just been pardoned by Imperial Censor Wang;

Yunke again becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination... and so on. Acquaintances always meet acquaintances or related acquaintances, and talented people always become officials. The plot

is contrived and clichéd, lacking in real-life logic, making it unbelievable.

These are merely superficial flaws in the novel's external structure. In terms of content, the novel

neglects the revelation and exploration of the characters' emotions. Throughout the story, the preface, the opening, the ending, and the inserted

poems, this book repeatedly emphasizes the theme of "emotion, emotion, emotion." But what is the actual situation and effect?

For a novel, an art form that portrays social life and character, capturing emotion is indeed crucial; the Chinese

literary of "creating literature for the sake of emotion" reveals the essence. However, *The Embroidered Screen* falls into

the trap of "creating emotion for the sake of literature." This is because the entire novel either doesn't depict emotion at all, or it portrays a very shallow or vulgar kind of emotion. The love affairs between the traveler and the five beauties described in

the novel are, in reality, nothing more than sexual intercourse. Aside from Hui Niang and Su Qing,

whose relationship progresses from initial attraction to love and marriage,

the novel primarily focuses on the superficial courtship of the other beauties (including Hui Niang and Su Qing) – those who are both beautiful and talented, naturally attracting each other. The attraction is mainly

based on mutual physical attraction. All five beauties are described as having

stunning looks and captivating charm , which is what Yun Ke is attracted to; conversely, they are attracted to Yun Ke

because of his handsome appearance, resembling Pan An. After their initial attraction, there is little focus on their

deeper emotional connection; at most, there are expressions of concern for each other's lives. The main focus is on sexual attraction and explicit

sexual activity. Take, for example, Ji Qiao, the daughter of the imperial son-in-law. Her relationship with Yun Ke was devoid of

genuine affection. She had only ever aspired to marry a top scholar, and since the previous scholar was an old man,

she saw Yun Ke's appearance as he paraded through the streets after becoming the top scholar. Therefore, regardless of whether he was already engaged to his two wives and Yu Huan

, she was determined to marry him to avoid missing another opportunity. This is both pathetic and laughable.

The most uncomfortable aspect of *The Embroidered Screen* is its affirmation and praise of the feudal polygamous system.

Zhao Yunke was merely a scholar with some talent and good looks; he possessed no other outstanding qualities or

character. Upon seeing a beautiful woman, he was solely focused on possessing her. Infatuated and filled with vows of eternal love, he simultaneously had relationships with

more than women (as the book describes it, "destined love"). Most perplexing is

that all five women devoted themselves to Yunke alone, showing no jealousy, conflict, or tension among themselves. They even helped,

supported, comforted, and united with each other, all adoring Yunke. Yunke, in turn, handled these relationships with ease, maintaining

a balanced and appropriate relationship without favoritism. What kind of affection is this? It's puzzling.

It is likely because the novel promoted this male-centric, polygamous feudal ethics that there is no

evidence the book was ever banned, despite its mediocre and vulgar content.

In fact, in terms of obscene descriptions, the book is not inferior. Although there are not many explicit lewd

descriptions , two points are worth noting: First, it

treats male promiscuity not as a bad thing, but as a necessity for growth as a major principle. When introducing Yun Ke in the first chapter, the novel says: "Because Master Zhao's family is wealthy and

has many concubines, he knows all about the pleasures of love. As the saying goes, even a small penis, after being exposed to vaginal fluids, often..."

Soak it, and it will grow naturally. Every maid in the Zhao family knows how to raise this kind of creature. Seeing that Zhao Yunke was born handsome,

which one of them wouldn't want to get close to him? So, although they are not very old, they are used to this kind of thing. Therefore, in

the subsequent relationships Yunke had with so many women, the author subconsciously harbored this

sexual cultural concept of absorbing yin to replenish yang and enhance male potency; secondly, it was purely a description and appreciation of sex, detached from plot and emotion. The most concentrated and

prominent example is the section in chapters seventeen and eighteen, where Yunke indulges in sensual pleasure with five beauties, filling almost an entire

chapter. It merely describes how powerful Yunke is, how he is incredibly strong and enduring after taking aphrodisiacs, how the five

beauties are happy, and how they change their methods, etc., which has little significance and could easily be shortened.

This book has neither outstanding artistic achievements nor innovative ideas that led to its banning, so both the work and its author, Su An, are virtually unknown in

literary and novelistic history. During the Kangxi era, Wang Nongxiang wrote a preface for this book,

praising the author as "possessing extraordinary talent and broad knowledge, far surpassing ordinary people," and saying that "all the most romantic figures of the past and present are gathered on one screen, and only a talented person could be worthy of it."

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