Floating in the Flowerbed

One of the Newly Engraved Novels: A Collection of Flowers
Suzhou Lover's Pen
Preface to "The Flower Garden"
The novel "Nao Hua Cong" consists of four volumes and twelve chapters. One extant version is held in the library of Peking University and is titled "Newly Engraved Novel Nao Hua Cong". It is signed "by a passionate lover from Suzhou". The book does not include a postscript by the lover, in which he also refers to the book as "The Story of Pang Liu". The author's name and birth date are unknown. It is speculated that the book was written by a bookseller from Suzhou in the early Qing Dynasty.
The story recounts the life of Pang Guojun and Yuwen Ying, sons of officials in Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, during the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty. Pang Guojun was intelligent, talented, and handsome, and his father was a prefect. At the age of fourteen, Yuwen Ying achieved first place in the imperial examinations. Confident in his good looks and talent, he desired to marry a woman of exceptional beauty, but disliked those who were too beautiful or too plain, refusing to agree to marry her. He remained unmarried until the age of seventeen.
Pang Wenying dreamt that a divine being told her her auspicious marriage would take place on the day the imperial examination results were announced. On the day the results were released, Wenying, remembering her Mid-Autumn Festival dream, invited two close friends to the street to see the list. There, she met Yu Rong, the daughter of Liu, the top scholar of the Wuwu year examination, and fell in love at first sight. Yu Rong gave her a jade mandarin duck, promising to meet again in mid-September. After returning home, Wenying was consumed by longing, unable to eat or sleep. When the appointed time arrived, Wenying went to Liu's residence, and the two became engaged. Wenying agreed to have a matchmaker arrange things for her daughter and also secretly began an affair with Yu Rong's maid, Qiu Xiang.
Yu Rong's maid, Chunmei, secretly met with Antong in Furong Pavilion. Qiuxiang witnessed the meeting and informed the young lady and madam, exposing the affair. Wenying and the young lady were unable to see each other. Yu Rong, missing Wenying terribly, fell ill from grief.
On the occasion of Wenying's mother Li's sixtieth birthday, Li invited her niece, Gui'e, who was also Wenying's cousin, to her home. Gui'e was young, beautiful, and widowed. Upon seeing Wenying, she was captivated, and Wenying, in turn, clung to Gui'e with tender affection. After Gui'e returned home, she sent someone to fetch Wenying's younger sister, Jiaolian, to play. However, Jiaolian was ill and unable to go. Wenying, who looked remarkably like Jiaolian, begged his mother to allow him to disguise himself as a woman and go to Gui'e's house to have an affair with her. This was discovered by Gui'e's aunt, Qiong'e, and her maid, Shengnu. Wenying was having an affair with Shengnu and also intended to have an affair with Qiong'e. Although Qiong'e was already married to the Chen family, she saw Wenying's beauty and youth and thus arranged for them to consummate their relationship.
Qiong'e married Chen Cixiang, but Chen noticed her infidelity and revealed the truth. Cixiang, who had homosexual tendencies, instructed Qiong'e to devise a plan to lure Wenying to his home. Qiong'e, under the pretense of missing him and caring for her son, lured Wenying there. Cixiang prepared wine to entertain her, and then, while she was drunk, he raped her. Afterward, Wenying, under the guise of caring for her son, lived in Chen's house, and the three often indulged in illicit sexual relations. The scoundrel Wu'er, who had a grudge against Cixiang, plotted to frame him and imprison him. Qiong'e and Wenying both returned home.
Upon returning home, Wenying learned of Yurong's serious illness and disguised himself as a doctor to visit her. Yurong, seeing Wenying, quickly recovered, and Madam Liu took Wenying into her household, treating him like family. However, Wenying and Yurong's secret affair was discovered by Yurong's uncle, Liu Tianbiao. Tianbiao, who already disliked Wenying, filed a lawsuit against him, sending him to the authorities. The imperial examiner, taking pity on the talented couple, not only spared their lives but also decreed that Wenying and Yurong be husband and wife, and they married that very night. In the imperial examination, Wenying achieved first place, while Tianbiao was disqualified by the examiner. Disappointed by his failure in both the lawsuit and the examination, Tianbiao harbored resentment and gathered fifty or sixty villagers to beat Wenying. Wenying sought help from Wang, a local official, who devised a plan to rescue Wenying from Liu's residence in a sedan chair and encouraged him to study diligently. From then on, Wenying and two close friends lived in an ancient temple, studying hard to prepare for the examination.
In the provincial examination, Wenying came in second place. Tianbiao then flattered his wife and Miss Yurong, only to be scolded and ridiculed by them. Later, Wenying achieved a series of successes, becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination and being selected as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. The prime minister, Fang Zhijie, wanted to marry his beloved daughter to Wenying, but Wenying refused in every way and instead took the incomparably beautiful Meiniang as his concubine.
Wenying returned home in glory to visit his family and pay respects to his ancestors, and then took Gui'e as a concubine. Later, upon learning that Cixiang had been imprisoned, Wenying rescued him. Cixiang then gave Qiong'e and his family property to Wenying to repay his life-saving grace. Wenying married three concubines in a row, which inevitably made Yurong jealous. After Wenying vowed to marry Qiuxiang, he would be satisfied. Yurong had no choice but to agree. From then on, Wenying had one wife and four concubines, living a happy and fulfilling life.
After Wenying returned to the capital, he was appointed to preside over the imperial examinations in Shengjing. He selected all the outstanding young talents, which pleased the emperor. He later rose to the position of Minister of War. Finally, Chen Cixiang, who had become a monk and attained enlightenment, was ordered by the Taoist Chisong to enlighten Wenying. Wenying suddenly realized the truth and, along with his two elderly wives, one wife, and four concubines, feigned illness and returned to his hometown. They all entered the immortal realm and became earth immortals.
The entire novel *Nao Hua Cong* (闹花丛) revolves around Pang Wenying's love affairs, marriages, and romantic escapades with five women. His relationships with one wife and four concubines are all based on physical attraction and a combination of beauty and talent, not deviating from the traditional formula of scholar-beauty novels. Pang Wenying's infatuation with his wife and four concubines is similar to Zhang Sheng's love for Yingying in *The Story of Yingying*; it wasn't because she could recite "Waiting for the Moon in the West Chamber," but because he was captivated by her "extraordinary beauty and radiant charm." Some might say that Wenying's "love" for Yu Rong was based on both her beauty and talent, as he greatly praised and admired her abilities. However, Wenying only appreciated her talent; he didn't include it in his criteria for choosing a wife. He simply wanted to marry a stunningly beautiful wife, without making any demands regarding her talent.
The phrase "feelings arising from appearance" here doesn't refer to romantic love, but rather to sexual attraction. Some have said that sexual attraction arises from "physical beauty, intimate interaction, and harmonious interests," leading to desire between opposite sexes. In this book, sexual attraction is primarily driven by physical beauty, with "intimate interaction and harmonious interests" being less prominent. The novel affirms human instincts, and this natural law undoubtedly represents a silent resistance against feudalistic concepts and systems that shackle the soul and suppress instinctive desires. However, the novel's specific descriptions of male-female interaction and sexual activity contain excessive vulgar and obscene language, failing to provide aesthetic enjoyment and rendering the sexual activities of the men and women in the novel largely erotic.
In the novel, Wenying and Miss Gui'e meet by chance, secretly pledge their love, and their marriage is arranged. Seeing Gui'e's beauty and charm, Wenying, in front of her mother and Gui'e, says, "I'm going to sleep now, sister, you can sleep with me." She then cries and begs her mother to let her pretend to be her sister and go to Gui'e's house. She has an affair with Gui'e, as well as with her maid, Shengnu, and her aunt, Qiong'e. These women all readily agree, without any fear or apprehension. Their contact, interaction, and love between men and women are completely free, even to the point of being licentious. The modesty of young girls and the chastity of virgins seem to have ceased to exist in the eyes of these women.
It's important to understand that this was an era of strict feudal patriarchal systems and strong ethical and moral values. For so many beautiful women to flock to the protagonist's arms is truly inconceivable. Moreover, the protagonist wasn't wealthy or powerful; he was merely a scholar. The reason for such a beautiful scene was, frankly, just a daydream, a form of catharsis for a literary man. These impoverished scholars rarely achieved material or spiritual fulfillment in real life, let alone attracted the attention of young and beautiful women. In their minds, they never forgot the ancient saying, "In books, there are houses of gold; in books, there are beauties like jade." Over time, this wish, which only a very few managed to achieve by chance, became a popular "maxim," evolving into the inevitable fate of scholars and exaggerated into a universal truth. Pang Wenying's romantic encounter is a concrete manifestation of this kind of impoverished scholar's nighttime pursuit.
Interestingly, the number of women a scholar successfully seduces is often a fixed number. The most numerous is Mei Suxian in *Lang Shi*, who has twenty beauties. Feng Yuesheng in *Xinghua Tian* comes in second with twelve wives and concubines. Qi Yudi in *Tian Yuan Qi Yu* and Hua Chunmeng in *Kong Kong Huan* both have ten beauties. However, the most common seems to be "five beauties." Not to mention *Wu Mei Yuan* and *Wu Feng Yin*, which directly use the number "five," even Zhao Yanke in *Xiu Ping Yuan* builds a five-flowered pavilion to house Wang Mei; Wu Ziyu in *Meng Zhong Yuan* gathers five beauties to fulfill a dream omen; Ximen Qing in *Jin Ping Mei* and Wei Yuqing in *Tao Hua Ying* both have one wife and five concubines—the wife is merely for show, the real ones they manipulate are the "five beauties."
Having many wives and concubines, surrounded by beauties, is arguably a natural desire and a beautiful fantasy for men, especially for impoverished scholars who find even one beautiful woman a rare treat in real life, thus satisfying their cravings through fiction. Since it's just scribbling and writing, a way to quench thirst with imagined beauty, the more the merrier, to fully release long-suppressed desires. However, the fact that "five beauties" has become such a common number must have its reasons. In traditional Chinese culture, the number "five" generally represents all directions—east, west, south, north, and center—thus becoming a synonym for "complete." Whenever "complete" is mentioned, "five" is frequently used, such as in the Five Elements, Five Directions, Five Qi, Five Poisons, Five Flavors, Five Spices, Five Colors, Five Species, Five Tones, Five Domestic Animals, Five Horses, Five Grains, Five Instruments, Five Virtues, Five Sacred Mountains, Five Bodies, and Five Internal Organs. "Five Beauties" essentially also implies "completeness," at least vaguely giving people a sense of "completeness." Therefore, it is not surprising that many erotic novels, including the "Five Beauties" in this book, exist.
While this book contains many vulgar passages, it also boasts humorous and vivid scenes. In one story, Miss Yu Rong falls ill from lovesickness, consults numerous doctors without success, and finally summons a blind man to invoke a deity to cure her. The description of the scene of invoking and sending off the deity is particularly vivid and amusing. "The blind man knelt before the deity in a frivolous manner, gathered a crowd to play music, and later, during the ten offerings, he recited them quite fluently, all of them frivolous words," the author humorously depicts the entire scene of invoking the deity. "This pair of scissors is like a young thug, quick-witted and sharp-tongued, a double-edged sword," "This jade crab is like a theatrical performer, made up to be eight-legged as a sign of respect, with two bulging eyes, ready to swagger when burned or watered," "This paper flower is like an old lecher..." The author's frivolous recitation of the ten offerings is utterly comical and laughable. What was originally a solemn and awe-inspiring scene of inviting and sending off the gods is transformed by the author's succinct writing. Instead of feeling tense or heavy, it feels humorous and lighthearted. The author seems to be using a contemptuous and mocking tone to describe the awe-inspiring customs and traditions of feudal society, giving readers a sense of ease and pleasure.
The novel centers on the love, marriage, and hardships of Wenying and Miss Wang Rong, while subplots focus on Wenying's relationships with Gui'e, Qiong'e, and others. The two storylines intersect and progress simultaneously, making the entire story both complete and clearly structured.
Structurally, the novel follows the basic pattern of the classic romance novel: love – setbacks – happy ending. It begins with Wenying and the young lady's secret engagement, followed by Liu Tianbiao and others interfering in their love and marriage, culminating in Wenying's success in the imperial examinations, becoming the top scholar, and the family reunion. Although the novel ends with Pang Wenying and eight others achieving immortality, it doesn't deviate from this basic formula. This typical idealistic structure is also a product of its idealistic theme.
However, the artistry of *Nao Hua Cong* is weak. In his postscript, the author states, "This autumn, a friend asked me to write a biography about Pang Wenying and Liu Yurong. I hastily picked up my pen and began to compose a short piece." While this seems factual, it is actually a plagiarism of the story framework from *Gu Zhang Jue Chen*, discarding its refined sentiments and adding instead some intimate scenes. The book merely changes the original protagonists, Wen Jingqing and Li Ruolan, to Pang Wenying and Liu Yurong, and adds Gui'e, Qiong'e, and Meiniang, along with their later ascension to immortality. The location is changed from Suzhou and Hangzhou to Shangyuan County in Yingtian Prefecture. Due to this plagiarism and patchwork, it is riddled with flaws. Furthermore, the section on Wenying's disguise is derived from *Qiao Taishou Luan Dian Yuan Yang Pu*; the relationship between Wenying and Cixiang and Qiong'e is clearly influenced by characters from novels such as *Tao Hua Ying* and *Lang Shi*. The overall patchwork nature of the book is also quite evident.
Because of its many obscene descriptions, the book was repeatedly banned and destroyed during the Qing Dynasty. In the 18th and 24th years of the Daoguang Emperor's reign and the 7th year of the Tongzhi Emperor's reign, the book "Nao Hua Cong" was listed in the banned book lists of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
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The first time I saw the list of winners, a match made in heaven, I abandoned my friends and entered a wonderful world.
The poem says:
Liu Lang slowly entered Tiantai, where peach blossoms were planted around the caves everywhere.
The fragrance of Jiawu's incense can be stolen from the high walls, and the apricot blossoms of Wushan seem to appear in my dreams.
Poetry expresses feelings and conveys the heart's true thoughts; the door awaits the moon's opening in search of pleasure.
There are too many romantic tales to tell, so let us not doubt or speculate when we compose new verses.
During the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, in Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, there lived a young man from an official family named Pang Guojun, courtesy name Wenying. His father was a prefectural governor named Dong, styled Liangcai. His family had a long history of officialdom, originally from Suzhou Prefecture. He was already quite old and had only one son and one daughter. The son, Guojun, was fourteen years old. The daughter, Jiaolian, was thirteen years old.
Wenying was naturally intelligent, able to memorize any book he read after a single reading. By the age of twelve, he could not only compose essays on current events with ease, but also write poems and songs with effortless fluency. Relatives and friends all admired and respected him, and his father was overjoyed, considering him a promising talent in his family.
That year, Wenying was fourteen years old. It happened to be the yearly examination for the Grand Master, and the county examination was held first. Wenying entered the examination hall to take the exam. At that time, the county magistrate was a young scholar who had passed the imperial examination. He was originally from Jiaxing. When the examination day arrived, the examination hall was set and the questions were given very late. Wenying prepared his ink and brush, and without much thought, he finished his paper in the first quarter of the hour. Before the sun had set, he went to hand in his paper.
The county magistrate, seeing his handsome appearance and youthful talent, and his quick wit, insisted on instructing him personally in court. He took the paper, unfolded it, and examined it closely, praising it highly: "His writing is superb, his style elegant; this is the best he could recommend in the county." He then selected him as the first-place candidate and sent him to the prefectural government, whereupon the second-place candidate was selected and sent to the provincial capital. Wenying was overjoyed and filled with pride.
A few days later, it was time for the Grandmaster Examination again. Wenying entered the examination hall and wrote two essays, which were as beautiful as brocade. When the results were announced, she came in first place and entered the academy. On the day of her hairpin ceremony, she was greeted by a large crowd. Because of her beauty and young age, men and women of all ages crowded around to watch, and many wealthy families came to propose marriage.
He was confident in his talent and good looks and wanted to marry a beautiful wife, but he disliked her because she was too beautiful and refused to agree easily. His father had no choice but to listen to him. Unexpectedly, when he was fifteen, Prefect Pang fell ill and died. He was an upright official and left very little inheritance. Fortunately, his mother, Lady Li, managed the household affairs and encouraged Wenying to study diligently. If he had no important business, he would stay at home. Then, his classmates, seeing that his father had died, came to tempt him to do evil deeds.
Because the Li family was strict in managing their household, he dared not join the ranks, but instead studied with two close friends from his school days, one named Zhang Zijiang and the other named Ren Boqu. Although the two boys were diligent in their studies, when it came to talent and appearance, how could they compare to Wenying? They had full beards and a dark, yellowish complexion.

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