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Love in Chinese Literature
Julie Petersen Introduction to Chinese Literature Kwa December 11, 2015
2 Introduction This collection of Chinese literature focuses on the themes of romantic relationships and love as manifested in poetry, stories, and dramas ranging from the Zhou through the Qing Dynasty. Love a universal feeling typically expressed through art and literature; focusing on the expression of romance in Chinese literature allows for a greater understanding of different forms of Chinese literature, as well as the varied expressions and facets of love. Indeed, the multidimensional nature of love is evident through the voices of these Chinese poets, historians, storytellers, and playwrights. Love is a complex emotion that can be expressed in many ways. Because it can encompass both positive and negative feelings, love allows for a greater understanding of human nature and the emotional experience of romantic relationships. The upcoming ten selections reveal the multiple ways in which love can be conveyed: by taking care of an individual, giving presents, expression of feelings, and more. However, love is not evident through actions alone. Love can also be reflected through the emotions and the reflections of nostalgia and memory, which make it particularly interesting to examine in literature. Feelings of heartbreak, betrayal, inequality, devotion, and affection are all a part of examining love across these works of literature. Additionally, love can be presented differently though the perspective, setting, and characters of a literary work. The reader gets a further sense of love through the perspective of the writing; the feelings or affection being expressed change importance depending on the character. However, it is not always obvious who is feeling what. For example, the ambiguity of feelings and reciprocation within romantic relationships is especially redolent in Chinese poetry, as we will see in this collection. Next, the setting of the romantic relationships indicates a great deal about the love at hand. Love can be manifested in many environments: dreams, fantasy, on the stage, in war, or just in daily life. The love stories and poems in this collection include a wide-range of settings, giving the reader a sense of romantic relationships in a variety of scenes in dynastic China. Finally, love is expressed amongst an assortment of people—a man, a wife, a courtesan, or an Emperor —with varying degrees of reciprocation. In this way, love in romantic relationships can point to the roles of people in society, their lives, or just within their own relationship. With these factors in mind, love can be very
3 revealing of the human experience and perspective, as it can speak to a variety of emotions, actions, settings, and people. On the whole, love is a significant theme within Chinese literature and life; thus, this collection presents the multidimensional nature of love and romantic relationships through ten different yet cohesive literary works of romance in Dynastic China.
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5 Classic of Poetry LXIV “Quince” The “Quince” is a short poem from the “Airs” (Feng) section of the Classic of Poetry written during the Zhou Dynasty. This poem presents a brief snapshot of a relationship and its unequal exchanges of gifts. The woman in the poem continually gives the man cheap fruits, such as peaches and plums, but he returns expensive gemstones, like opals and rubies. The narrator ends each verse commenting that the exchange is unequal but the love will last regardless. The woman’s feelings are not revealed throughout the poem, except through the ordinary and cheap presents that she carelessly gives to her man. On the other hand, the man is the narrator of the poem and his devotion to the woman is clear through his gifts. Furthermore, the repeated lines on lasting love end each verse and thereby emphasize the importance of the relationship. This poem represents a starting point for love and romance in Chinese literature, as it is centralized around love. First, “Quince” demonstrates the classic style of repetition and single-word replacement, a prominent feature in early Chinese poetry. Indeed, the words of the poem itself do not change except the gifts between the two lovers. This emphasizes the idea of love as an exchange of items—the narrator directly connects the giving of gifts to love in the last line of every verse. The juxtaposition of gifts also points to how love can be one-sided or unequal. The man clearly has strong feelings for the woman because he keeps giving her really nice jewels; however, the woman only treats him with poor presents in response. Although the woman’s perspective is never fully given, making the poem one-dimensional, her feelings are evident through her mundane gifts. As we will see later in the collection, works such as Peony Pavilion or the story of Du Tenth emphasize mutuality in love and the exchange of equally deep vows. However, love is not limited to equally engaged lovers and this poem adds that dimension of one-sided love to this collection.
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“‘If one serves another through physical attraction, then love slackens when those attractions fade’” (216).
7 “The Biography of Lady Li” by Ban Gu “The Biography of Lady Li” is a short biography by the Confucian historian Ban Gu during the Han dynasty. In this account, Emperor Wu falls in love with Lady Li upon hearing a song of her beauty written by her brother. Lady Li quickly becomes the Emperor’s favored court lady and even bears him a son. Unfortunately, she falls ill and refuses to let the Emperor see her as her death approaches. Lady Li denies the Emperor a final glimpse of her because she claims her sickness has ruined her appearance; she does not want the Emperor to remember her as ugly and thus lose his favor for her family. As seen in the quotation on the opposite page, Lady Li knows that the Emperor’s love for her is rooted in her looks alone. In the end, Lady Li passes away and the Emperor mourns her loss extensively. Lady Li’s biography points to the relationship between romantic love and appearances. The Emperor does not love Lady Li for who she is, but for what she looks like. Thus, Lady Li endeavors to preserve his love for her by banning him from seeing her ill. Love based on attractiveness alone presents a different perspective on the theme of romantic love —it is a shallower, yet significant, angle to consider. The love between the Emperor and Lady Li stands out because there is no exchange of gifts or caring between lovers, like in “Quince” or, as we will see later, in “The Drunken Lord.” Furthermore, the love between Lady Li and the Emperor is incomparable to the deep and dramatic love we will see in Peony Pavilion or the story of Du Tenth. Despite these differences, it is still a form of romantic feeling that is important to include. This poem sits well with other pieces of literature that present the one-sided nature of love; Lady Li never reveals any feelings or attachment to the Emperor. Indeed, she only expresses love for her family, since she refuses to see the Emperor with the idea in mind that he will continue to favor her family. This is similar to the “Quince” poem, as it demonstrates a lack of the woman to return favor equally. It also points to the lack of female perspective in many of the love stories of Chinese literature—we never get to hear Lady Li’s true perspective. Finally, this story presents love in the context of the royal court. Indeed, the love between an Emperor and his lady is very different than the ordinary love experienced by a regular person, such as experienced in “Quince” or as we will see in “Nineteen Old Poems II.” On the whole, “The Biography of Lady Li” reflects love as rooted in beauty and attraction alone, presenting the one-sided, shallower form of love in the royal courts.
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“A lonely bed can’t be kept empty for long” (259).
9 Nineteen Old Poems II “Nineteen Old Poems II,” by an anonymous poet, is a love poem written in the popular, personal style of the Han Dynasty. This first verse of this poem is from an admirer’s perspective, describing lush scenery surrounding a beautiful woman alone in a tower. However, the point of view switches in the second verse. In these few lines, a woman talks about how lonely she is since her husband is traveling—and she does not wish to remain alone. Indeed, the last few lines of the poem, which are seen on the adjacent page, point to how those who are lonely do not remain that way for long. The switching of perspectives and juxtaposition of love and loneliness makes this poem a valuable addition to this collection. “Nineteen Old Poems II” utilizes a common literary technique used in early Chinese poetry: the interchangeability of the speaker or narrator. The first verse is from the man’s point of view as he observes the woman and her beauty from afar. However, the second verse is from a wife who is lonely for her husband—the connection between the two people and verses is left up to the reader. The easy transition between speakers is common in shi poetry, giving the verses an intriguing feel. The switching between perspectives also gives a new dimension to relationships in literature—we are able to experience the feelings from either side, unlike the aforementioned works. Next, this poem connects love and beauty with separation and loneliness through the division between verses. The admiration of the beauty of the woman connects back to Lady Li, who was praised and admired for her beauty. As we will see later in the collection, the separation between lovers is similar to the loneliness written about in “Partridge Weather.” Lastly, the use of an empty bed as a symbol of loneliness connects to “The Drunken Lord,” the next poem in this collection. Loneliness acts as a reflection of longing in love; the woman wants her husband, but she wants company even more than that. On the whole, this poem presents a beautiful, contrasting view of love and loneliness.
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11 “The Drunken Lord” by Anonymous An anonymous poet wrote “The Drunken Lord” during the Song Dynasty, a period in which poetry about ordinary situations was often turned into music. The two verses tell the story of a drunken man arriving home to his sober and caring woman. In the first verse, the woman hears her lover arriving home drunk and rushes downstairs; her affection for him is clear when she refers to him as “my darling” and “my man” (562). In the second verse, the woman takes care of him—this proves difficult because of his intoxication. However, she downplays the difficulties of it because she prefers to be with a drunken, troublesome lover than being alone. Poems and songs about drunken husbands arriving home are common in Chinese literature; this poem connects to this motif and the overarching theme of this collection through its basic description of a woman simply taking care of her drunken lover. Like “Quince,” this song presents love manifested through actions; the woman clearly cares for the man, and therefore tolerates his drunken behavior. This is a more tangible and humanistic aspect of love, as the woman is taking care of her drunken lover. This poem also presents love from the woman’s perspective, similar to the second half of “Nineteen Old Poems II.” The female narrator’s affection for the man is clear, as she is delighted when he arrives home and works to take care of him. “The Biography and Lady Li” and “Quince” lack this aspect of returned affection from the woman. Lastly, this song describes an ordinary glimpse into the life of two lovers. It is more conventional than the court-based relationship between the Emperor and Lady Li. There are no servants or arranged marriages, as we will see in “An Actress Scorns Wealth and Honor to Preserve Her Chastity” and Peony Pavilion. It is a simple glimpse into the relationship between two ordinary folk dealing with an ordinary, realistic situation after a night of partying. Thus, “The Drunken Lord” is an excellent addition to this collection through its ordinary approach to a woman taking care of the man she loves.
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“perhaps tonight I overdo it, taking the silver lamp in hand to shine on you, still afraid that this meeting too is a dream� (573).
13 “Partridge Weather” by Yan Ji-Dao Another important piece from the Song Dynasty is “Partridge Weather” by Ya Ji-Dao, a Northern lyricist. This song is a reflective, amorous piece about nostalgia and reunion between two lovers. “Partridge Weather” was intended to be a contrast to the typical, rowdy party song—it is rife with longing and romance. The first verse of the song reflects upon the early days of a relationship, when the lovers were carefree and enjoyed various pleasures with each other. The singer talks about singing, drinking, and dancing together—all of which are marks of the pleasure quarters. Sadly, the second verse begins by describing their separation, how the poet has missed his lover, and reflecting on their time together. However, the last few lines take a turn and describe an unforeseen reunion between the lovers. The writer is in disbelief, as seen in the adjacent page’s quotation; he has to shine a light on his love to make sure that she is real because he is so used to only seeing her in his dreams. “Partridge Weather” examines the events of separation and reunion between two lovers, an extremely important and common theme in Chinese love poetry and songs. The first verse demonstrates the nostalgia and feeling provoked by separation, while the second illustrates the meaningful nature of reunion. It points to how a person reacts to parting with their lover and then the unimaginable daydream of an anticipated reunion. Additionally, this poem connects to many of the previous mentioned pieces by being from a male perspective. Just like in “Quince,” it is not evident how the woman is feeling during the relationship and subsequent reunion. Finally, this poem introduces the idea of love within the pleasure quarters, a common setting for love stories in Chinese literature. As we will see in “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger,” the pleasure quarters were where the romantic relationships developed. On the whole, this poem fits into the overall theme of this collection by illustrating love through scenes of separation and reunion.
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15 “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” by Feng Meng-Long “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” is a popular story by Feng Meng-Long from the Ming Dynasty. Du Tenth is a famous courtesan who develops a romantic relationship with a frequent customer, Master Li. Li spends all of his father’s money visiting her and is eventually unable to pay for their relationship. The Madam offers to sell Du Tenth to Li for three hundred taels, but he only has three days to get the money. Using mostly Du Tenth’s savings and gifts from other courtesans and a scholar, the two are able to leave together. However, while they are on the journey away from the pleasure quarters, Li attempts to sell her to a traveling man so that he can have money to appease his angry and impatient father. Du Tenth is enraged that he would break the bonds of their relationship over the advice of a duplicitous stranger instead of standing by her. In her anger, she throws all the jewelry and money she had secretly saved for them to live off of and then drowns herself in front of him. There is a unique emphasis on currency within the exchange; this reflects the boom in commerce during the Ming. This story presents many themes common to love in Chinese literature. Like “Partridge Weather,” this tale demonstrates love within the pleasure quarters. Unlike “Partridge Weather,” it tells a doomed tale of lovers trying to establish their love outside of the pleasure quarters. In this way, it is a highly romanticized tale—it presents the unique idea of marriage based off of love, which is not the typical scenario. In this way, the tale adds to this collection by presenting a battle of love attempting to overcome circumstance. We will see similar themes later in this collection in Peony Pavilion and “An Actress Scorns Wealth and Honor to Preserve Her Chastity.” Additionally, the story of Du Tenth points to the common nature of unequal exchange within romantic relationships, as seen in the “Quince.” Du Tenth gives all the currency she has so that she may escape with Master Li; all this goes to waste as he attempts to sell her away. This is similar to how the woman takes care of her drunken lover in “The Drunken Lord”—she is making a personal sacrifice and attending to her man even though he is being difficult. Lastly, a major theme of Du Tenth’s struggle is love and heartbreak. This is dramatic aspect of love had been missing up until this point; even “Partridge Weather” does not elaborate upon why the lovers were separated in the first place. Du Tenth’s tale illustrates the drama and seriousness of love within Chinese literature overall, particularly since she kills herself over his betrayal. We will see repetition of the willingness to die for love later on in Peony Pavilion. Overall, the story of Du Tenth presents a doomed love, struggle to overcome circumstance, and ultimately how broken hearts and promises play into love and literature.
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“Where have we met before that we look at each other unsure? How at a wonderful moment like this could we come together without a word?� (888).
17 Peony Pavilion by Tang Xian-Zu The seminal play Peony Pavilion by Tang Xian-Zu from the Ming Dynasty is a long dramatic work that presents love across boundaries of reality and recognition. A young lady, Du Li-Niang, dies of love sickness after she dreams of being with a lover whom she does not know yet somehow recognizes, as seen in the quotation in the opposite page. Later in the play, her dream lover, Liu Meng-Mei, comes across her grave and falls in love with a portrait that she left behind for him to find. While he is staying on her estate, Du visits him as a ghost and they fall in love—but he still fails to recognize her as the girl in the portrait. Liu is eventually able to bring Du back to life, but once in the world of the living, she does not recognize him. However, after much confusion and chaos, she soon realizes that he is her true love and they are finally able to get married. Peony Pavilion is a uniquely significant drama because it represents the nature of eternal love within Chinese literature. This play depicts true love as worth dying for—if you were not willing to die for your lover, it was not real love. Therefore, it established an extreme and idealized view of reciprocated love that is similar to Du Tenth’s story. Furthermore, Peony Pavilion demonstrates the struggle of lovers to overcome certain boundaries and circumstances. While Du Tenth and Li were attempting to break out of the pleasure quarters into the real world, Du and Liu are falling in love through the boundaries of life and death, as well as dreams and reality. Indeed, the two lovers do not even recognize or know each other in reality and in their dreams, yet the connection between them remains unbreakable and they end up together. This struggle to overcome circumstance and boundaries will also be seen later in “An Actress Scores Wealth and Honor to Preserve her Chastity” and Peach Blossom Fan. Furthermore, the theme of recognition throughout the play connects back to the “Partridge Weather”; the lovers are unable to recognize each other just like the lover in the song has to shine his lamp upon his beloved to make sure she is real. On the whole, Peony Pavilion represents a histrionic and fated form of love; the two lovers are destined to be together and overcome countless boundaries of reality to be joined in marriage.
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19 “An Actress Scorns Wealth and Honor to Preserve Her Chastity” by Li Yu From Li Yu’s story collection Silent Operas, the Qing Dynasty tale “An Actress Scorns Wealth and Honor to Preserve Her Chastity” is a dramatic and complicated love story between an actress and an actor. Early in her life, Miaogu becomes an acclaimed actress known for her beauty and talent. The hero, Tan, falls in love with her and joins her troupe with the hope that he can be with her. After much work, Tan attains the leading role opposite to Miaogu; they subsequently fall in love and exchange serious vows. However, trouble falls upon them when Miaogu’s mother tries to marry her away to a rich man. In order to escape, Miaogu performs one last play with Tan; they cross the boundaries of acting and reality by actually jumping into a river at the end of the play. Barely surviving their jump, Tan and Miaogu end up living together peacefully and successfully, returning to see the acting troupe and be reunited with Miaogu’s mother after some time. The story of Miaogu and Tan examines the nature of love as a performance versus reality. It exemplifies the uncertainty of knowing when your lover—or anybody—is acting or being genuine. This is a common theme found in Chinese literature, rooted in the Confucian question of whether or not one can ever know another man’s true intentions. Indeed, these lovers were being genuine on stage and acting in real life—it is a reversal of what one would expect, which makes it a significant work to examine in the context of romantic love and drama. Next, this story presents the element of honor and chastity within true love. Miaogu refuses to marry another man because she is married to Tan, as she promised herself to him repeatedly on stage. This tale thereby illustrates the extent to which an honorable woman should go to in order to preserve her true love, morality, and chastity. It is comparable to Du Tenth and Peony Pavilion in the use of death to emphasize the depth of one’s love—she is willing to face her death so that she can be with her true love. Finally, this story illustrates the struggles of love and circumstances that are seen in several of the other works in this collection. For example, the lovers of Peony Pavilion love each other in reality and in dreams, while Miaogu and Tan love each other on stage and in reality. Additionally, the story of Miaogu is similar to Du Tenths’; just like Du Tenth and Li are attempting to transfer their love from the pleasure quarters into the real world, Miaogu and Tan are trying to transfer their love off of the stage and permanently into a life separate from performance. Overall, Miaogu and Tan represent the dramatic nature of true love and destiny that repeatedly presents itself in Chinese literature.
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21 Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shang-Ren Peach Blossom Fan is a historical drama written by Kong Shang-Ren during the Qing Dynasty. It is based on historical events of the Southern Ming regime; Shang-Ren utilized real historical documents when writing the play. The play is based off of the relationship between Li Xiang-jun and Hou Fang-yu. Brought together in marriage by a painter sponsoring Li Xiang-jun’s trousseau, the two are madly in love. To demonstrate this love, Hou gives his new wife a fan as a wedding present, which she treasures and keeps. However, the marriage is in trouble from the start; the painter actually sponsored the marriage as a favor for the villain Ruan Da-cheng, who desires political support and protection from Hou Fang-yu. Learning of this, LiXiang-jun is very upset because she does not want Hou to support Ruan, as it would put Hou at risk. Therefore, the couple rejects the trousseau and Hou is placed under arrest from accusations made by Ruan as revenge. While Hou is in prison, Li is almost married away to another man. However, she refuses by trying to kill herself and ends up splattering blood onto her fan. After much trial and separation, the two lovers end up meeting again at a Daoist temple, and ultimately agree to give up their love for the pursuit of spiritual attainment. This drama presents a unique depiction of love during times of separation, war, and political struggle. The separation of lovers is similar to “Partridge Weather”; however, Peach Blossom Fan demonstrates a unique effect of separation through the themes of violence and warring dynasties. Indeed, most of the aforementioned stories and poems are set in a bubble—there is no reference to what is happening in China on the whole. This play is rooted in the historical moment and the politics affect each character greatly. The influence of political and religious thought upon the characters is greatly evident through the arrests and Daoist themes at the end. Thus, Peace Blossom Fan is a more sophisticated and realistic presentation of a love story. On the whole, this story contrasts the romanticism of the other love tales and poems in this collection by presenting a more surprising and arguably true-to-life look at separated lovers. After all their struggles and time apart, the lovers choose spiritual attainment, a nobler goal, over each other. This connects back to other unhappy endings of love, like Du Tenth’s story, where the lovers also do not end up together. Overall, the political themes and unsatisfying ending present a valuably different depiction of love and romance within Chinese literature.
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23 “Lian-xiang” by Pu Song-Ling “Lian-xiang” is a supernatural tale of love and transformation from Pu Song-ling’s “Liao-zhai’s Record of Wonders” in the Qing Dynasty. The main character, Sang, becomes involved with two women, Li and Lian-Xiang. However, he eventually discovers that they are not ordinary women; Li is a ghost and Lian-xiang is a fox spirit. Because of his romance with Li’s ghostly being, Sang becomes very sick without realizing it and almost dies. However, LianXiang saves him and prevents him from seeing Li further. In her desperation to be with Sang, Li takes on the human form of a recently deceased neighborhood girl. Because he can no longer be harmed by relations with her, Sang marries the neighboring girl with the understanding that it is actually Li in another body. In addition to this marriage, Sang remains romantically involved with Lian-Xiang, and they have a child together. In the end, Lian-Xiang grows sick and passes away, leaving Li to raise the baby as her own. However, the story ends on a happy note when Lian-Xiang returns to Sang and Li in the form of another girl. On the whole, this story uniquely demonstrates love that connects to the supernatural world, something not touched upon previously in the works of this collection. Sang’s story reveals a particularly interesting aspect of love across boundaries as the relationship is between a human man and two supernatural women. This goes along well with the themes of Peony Pavilion and “An Actress Scorns...” as they present similar themes of love across the boundaries of dreams and the stage. “Lian-xiang” also illustrates the captivating nature of love and how people can become obsessed and blinded by love, not realizing what is going wrong in the relationship. With this in mind, infatuation is a major theme of this story; Sang is so blinded by his relations with these women that he does not even realize he is on the brink of death. Furthermore, because love was not traditionally seen as part of marriage, this tale provides a unique glimpse into the relationship between a man, his wife, and his courtesan. The idea that Sang can love both women speaks to the flexible nature of love and relationships in Chinese literature. It matches up nicely with the relationship between the Emperor and Lady Li, as she is just one of the Emperor’s many court ladies. Finally, the fantastical tale of “Lian-xiang” still presents the elements of love and caring previously discussed in this collection. When Lian-xiang nurses Sang back to health, it is similar to the lady taking care of her drunken husband in “The Drunken Lord.” In this way, the story presents a supernatural love story, but grounds the relationships in realistic dimensions of love. On the whole, “Lian-xiang” is an appropriate story to end on because of how it represents love through action and feeling, love across boundaries, and love between many people—all common themes found in the love stories of Chinese literature.
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