Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/29

 9 th S. III. JAN. 14, '99.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

A CHINESE NOVEL.

ALTHOUGH more than one European trans- lation has appeared, it cannot be said that the 'Hwa-tseen' or ' Hoa-tsien-ki ' is at all well known in the Western world, and an analysis of its plot may not be without interest.*

It opens with the departure of Leang, a student, eighteen years old, from his own home to that of his aunt Heaou, with whose son he is to study, and endeavour to obtain that literary distinction which is, in theory at least, in China, the great avenue to all employment in the service of the State. After an affec- tionate interview with his aunt and cousin, he takes a walk alone in the garden and there espies two young ladies, attended by two maidservants, who are playing chess in an arbour, and who flee precipitately on his unexpected appearance. He at once falls desperately in love with Yaou-Seen, and makes eager inquiries about her from the servant who comes to fetch away the chess- board, which had been left behind in the flight. She is a relation of his aunt, and the daughter of General Yang, with whom Leang becomes acquainted. An ode written by the young lady is found by him when on a visit, and to this he writes a reply which greatly pleases her father, who is prepared to welcome him as a son-in-law, but hesitates to make the first advances. Meanwhile the young people have met in the garden and plighted their troth to each other. Their interviews are facilitated by the friendly offices of the two slave- girls. Leang returns home to see his father, and there learns that a marriage has been arranged for him with Yuh-Kiug. Although his affections are pledged to Yaou- Seen, he does not, so strong is the sense of filial duty among the Chinese, venture upon any remonstrance. He comes out brilliantly in the examination, and, after an accidental meeting with Yaou-Seen, asks to be sent to the relief of her father, General Yang, who is fighting against the rebels of a distant pro- vince. Leang leads his troops to the war, but finds himself completely surrounded by the superior forces of the rebels, and has to act on the defensive. So desperate is his position that his death is reported, and Yiih- King, to whom he had been betrothed by his parents, throws herself into the river, and is believed to have been drowned. His cousin Heaou sets out with further reinforcements,

Macao, 1824. 'Hoa-tsien-ki.' Geschiedenis van het gebloemde Briefpapier. Van Gustave Schlegel. Leyden, 1866.' The Flowery Scroll.' By Sir John Bowring. London, 1868.
 * ' Chinese Courtship.' By Peter Perring Thorns.

and manages to communicate both with General Yang and with Leang by means of letters fastened to arrows. The three leaders unite in manoeuvres by which the rebels are completely destroyed. On reaching the capital they are created dukes, and the emperor, learning by inquiry that Yang has a daughter, at once suggests that Leang and Yaou-Seen shall be married. Thus the two lovers are happily united. Yuh-King's at- tempt at suicide has not been successful, as she is rescued by an officer. But her kinsfolk, believing her dead, apply for a monument to be erected to her memory, her death under the circumstances being regarded as a remarkable and praiseworthy example of conjugal fidelity. Her rescuer makes known the real state of affairs to the emperor. The Son of Heaven, considering deeply this remarkable affair, decrees that Leang shall marry Yuh-King as well as Yaou-Seen, arid raises both ladies to the first rank. This arrangement has the approbation of Yaou- Seen, and the two wives dwell together in harmony undisturbed by jealousy. Notwith- standing his absorption with wife No. 1, whom he had loved so violently, and with wife No. 2, who had shown such proofs of affection, General Leang was able to see that Yun-heang and Pih-yue, the two slave-girls- who had aided him in his clandestine court- ship of Yaou-Seen, had each charms of their own, and in consequence both became his "women of call." The summit of bliss, according to the Chinese view of life, was reached when each of these four lovely girls presented Duke Leang with a blooming boy, of which he was the father.

Such is the briefest outline of one of the most famous stories in the literature of China. There is some humour and knowledge of human nature in the conversations between the young lady and her maidservants. There is also some painting of natural scenery, which is effective from a Chinese point of view. Judged by the European standard, Leang is not a very heroic figure, and scarcely seems to have earned the prosperity and happiness which the author or authors shower upon him. The story exhibits the moral standard of the Chinese in a striking fashion. Thus polygamy and concubinage, though necessarily rare, do not offend the moral sense of the dwellers in the Middle Kingdom, whilst suicide, under certain cir- cumstances, so far from being thought blamable, is regarded as a positive virtue, to be rewarded by posthumous honours.

WILLIAM E. A. AXON.

Moss Side, Manchester.