The English translation is assisted by chatGPT. Please scroll down to the very end of this article to view the English version. 

上一卷请点击这个链接。

这一卷选出来的故事中有很多爱情题材。中唐时期经历了安禄山叛乱，唐朝的经济和社会状况不复盛况，处于下坡路上。传奇的着眼点从拥有一些稀罕宝物或者用情专一的美女，转移到了关注时代中的每个普通人身上。这些故事中也多少带有一些人力、神力都无法平息的遗憾。

中文版

凡间大神解力扣——评<编次郑钦悦辨大同古铭论>

这篇传奇情节十分简单，全篇讲述了一道题目描述模糊不清的高难度力扣题是如何被几代人孜孜不倦地解决的。如果是易经爱好者，或许会大呼过瘾。

故事开始于一片的倒塌墓穴。有个人恰好在废墟中找到了一块完整的碑，碑上有着神秘的铭文。此人把碑文内容记下来，并让子孙后代不断寻找碑文中的含义。最终经历了三代，被这个人的孙子找到了一位破解难题的关键人物。

孙子的官场同僚恰好是一位隐藏在世的易数大神。大神在得到问题的当天，就迫不及待地在马背上把这道力扣hard给撕了。回信说，碑文意思就是在xx年，xxx月，xxxx日后，这个墓穴会倒塌。这个日期恰好和祖先找到这块铭文的日期对应。

作者李吉甫于是感叹：啊，一切都是注定好的呀，几百年前造这块碑文的这个人就是个大神，他能精准地算出几百年后的某天，这个墓就被大雨给冲塌了。大雨是多么随机的一件事情，这都被算到了，人的命运就更不用说了。他又问道：既然命运都是注定的，那为什么过去的先圣：如孔子墨子等，知道了自己的命运走向，都还那么努力地奔波生活呢？这倒是个好问题。

我想，来世间一遭需要各种机缘巧合，终究不是件容易的事情。就算知道生命的结果导向何方，那沉浸式地体验一下过程仍然值得。也有可能命运就是会给人一种只要你十分努力，就可以不被其牵绊的错觉。

另外这篇给我印象最深的就是这些古时候的文人，算起十二生肖、六十甲子来速度真是超快，可以直接脑算，仿佛美国人换算米和英尺一样。当然美国人算英尺这种无用的技能我感觉实在没什么必要，希望有生之年能看到这个计量单位被取消。

乱世情侣，仿若柳絮般被折——评<柳氏传>

一开始读来我盲猜是破镜重圆的原故事？结果猜错。直到看到这句诗，我才意识到我可能听说过这个故事：

章台柳，章台柳，昔日青青今在否？纵使长条似旧垂，亦应攀折他人手。

杨柳枝，芳菲节，所恨年年赠离别。一叶随风忽报秋，纵使君来岂堪折！

如果说上一卷的传奇里，但凡才子中了科举便可以从此飞黄腾达，美人坐怀，那么在这篇传奇里，这条定律并不存在：

故事发生于天宝末年，安禄山作乱期间，社会动荡。惊天美女柳氏被大金主李生所包养。她不畏惧贫寒，愿意为了主人公韩翊的才华而离开大金主家，下嫁给他，为他既当老婆又当妈，操持一切生活起居。韩翊特别争气，第二年就在科举中被选拔为上等。然而社会经济糟糕，韩翊在京城似乎没有谋求到什么职位，所以在家闲住了一年。最后只能离开家、离开妻子柳氏，到处靠运气谋求一个小小官职。在丈夫离家期间，没有经济来源的柳氏还需要变卖些嫁妆养活自己。安禄山入京作乱以后，韩翊和柳氏彻底失去了联系。“一个人的命运啊，当然要靠自我奋斗，但是也要考虑到历史的进程。”这对的经历真是令人唏嘘。

韩翊也算是特别窝囊了，后来终于回到京城当个小官，结果此时柳氏已经被皇帝跟前的红人沙吒利将领抢走。论财、论权，韩翊都沙吒利对无计可施，因此两人只能诀别了。想到这辈子和美女再无缘分，韩翊一个人在宴会上哭唧唧。终于席上有个同僚许俊看不下去了，帮他把老婆抢了回来。抢人这段写得挺精彩的：许俊有勇有谋，避免了一场恶战。但最后许俊和韩翊这两个人，明明没做错什么事，却还要小心翼翼地求二人的小老板——侯希逸，同大老板——皇帝求情。

皇帝还算明理，虽然把柳氏判回给了韩翊，但也自掏腰包赔了抢人的沙扎里二百万钱。我看到这里还觉得挺叹息的，说到底会读书的科举才子，生不逢时的话也只能唯唯诺诺地度日罢了，连自己的妻子都保护不了。而柳氏就更身不由己了。她能正视自己的感情，并且她还十分机智，懂得通过给自己剪头发来隐藏美貌等等手段，从而保护自己，但这样心智双全的她最终仍然无法决定自己被谁所拥有，她永远是有权力的男性的附属品和所有物。美貌让她赢得了自己中意的对象韩翊的心，但也引来了一大堆的祸事。

这篇传奇和之前的狐妖、古镜等唐朝的传奇的氛围差异很大。虽然这个故事是虚构的，但社会背景是真实的，人物也都仿佛是当时存在的，他们的经历也十分合理。这篇传奇所描述的当时社会中人物们的凄苦命运，简直是现在的纪实文学的蓝本了。

普通书生凭魅力位列仙班——评<柳毅传>

这篇传奇真精彩！有好几处情节转折我竟然都猜错了。

文中出现了一个新的种族：龙族。龙族属于神仙类别，寿命有一万年，住的地方珍宝遍地，职责也由天上的皇帝直接管辖。然而作者对龙族的态度蛮奇怪的，最后他做点评时，用了五虫的概念，其中人是五虫之长，龙排在后面，认为也是他们学了人类才学会了守信义。说明在古代，龙这个种族的地位低于人类咯？就和《迷宫饭》的世界观一样：毕竟是魔物？

但是所有的龙都位列神仙级别，而人只是凡人罢了。感觉这篇传奇的架构里面，除了五虫这种排列之外，还有着神界和人间的排列。其中不只有人类可以当神，五虫的任意动物类都可以变成神嘛。也就是说，神界不止会雇佣人族，还会雇佣各种动物——根据他们的天性来安排职责，是率先实现全面diversity hire的高级社会。

龙不是整天闲着没事干可以享受的，龙王属于公职，需要负责该地区的水文气象，比如降雨、大水，灌溉一类，以此保证该地区的生灵可以生存。从组织架构上来说，龙王这个director级别下面就是level 0 – individual contributor了，中间可以有manager也可以没有。而龙王的家眷可以每天开趴体享受，只靠龙王一条也可以养活一族！这里突然觉得龙王仿佛是当代从事码农的幸运打工人。

但是这个故事的主人公之一，洞庭龙王的小女儿还是得被包办婚姻：一条湖南雌龙被远嫁到陕西去给泾江雄龙当儿媳妇了。结果小女儿被婆家虐待，不能天天幸福趴体，竟然被安排在泾王宫做level 0 – 负责每天露天喂养羊群（负责下雨的雨工）。主人公柳毅，上京赶考失败的一届普通人，回乡路上正巧碰到了独自在放羊且哭唧唧的洞庭千金，于是开启了人与龙族的一段缘分。

故事中，龙的形象里面主要有洞庭龙王和钱塘龙王。洞庭龙王就像洞庭湖一样，大而平静。钱塘龙王，顾名思义就像钱塘江一样，汹涌澎湃，毕竟钱塘江观潮每年都会杀死许多人。钱塘龙王的形象写得特别的栩栩如生：“俄有赤龙长千余尺，电目血舌，朱鳞火鬣，项掣金锁，锁牵玉柱。千雷万霆，激绕其身，霰雪雨雹，一时皆下。乃擘青天而飞去。毅恐蹶仆地。” 钱塘龙王之前就因为和天将打架，淹没了五座大山而被关在洞庭湖反省。听说了侄女被欺负的消息以后更是怒不可遏，当即就雷霆绕身、撒雪撒冰，气势汹汹地飞行十万八千里去接回侄女。可见钱塘龙王十分性情中龙呢。

他把侄女接回来之后和洞庭龙王之间的对话更有意思了，“君曰：“所杀几何？”曰：“六十万。”“伤稼乎？”曰：“八百里。”神仙随便打一架，就伤到了几十万的无辜生灵，并让几百万庄稼颗粒无收。两条龙面对事件不同的反应，将一个富有同理心的洞庭君，和一个鲁莽但有点正义气息的钱塘君描绘得性格鲜明。另外，作者没有只聚焦在强者身上，能略微提到普通人的视角也是挺难得的，同情了故事中无辜的芸芸众生。

这个故事还有一个我没猜到的地方：柳毅和龙王的女儿其实也看对眼了，但二者一开始并没有在一起。柳毅有点不想给人落下这个间接整死人家夫君、夺人家妻子的口舌。但是说媒的钱塘君太糙，不会沟通，导致柳毅感觉被冒犯，顺带借坡下驴而拒绝了婚事。孔孟道德观真是压抑人。

后来兜兜转转好久，最终是靠龙王女儿化身为人的身份，龙女坚持不懈地努力绕开孔孟之道的规则，才在一起。因为俩人并没有明确互相表白过，龙王女儿甚至最后为他生了一个孩子才敢将自己的身份和盘托出。意思如果柳毅看不上她的话，看在孩子份上还不至于分了。真是卑微极了……封建时期的爱情和婚姻，真是分得清清楚楚。婚姻只是男的寂寞了想娶个女人在家操持，或者是用来扩大自己家族的经济和政治力量。结婚不代表有爱情。而唐传奇中，男女之间的爱情很多时候都存在于二者的婚姻之外。

这么说来，中唐时期的感情观还蛮……前卫的？大家默认都是多边关系，不是有了爱就会结婚，也不是结婚了就代表着相爱。中唐时期似乎男性都是先有婚姻，保证小家庭的生存和基本生理需求，再寻找感情来保证男女（主要是男）形而上的需求。

最后还有一点后续，柳毅得到了龙女分享的万年寿命去洞庭当神仙享福了（洞庭君家多添一双筷子而已啦），碰到老到快死的去地方做公务员的弟弟，还跟他说：无久居人世以自苦也。可见中唐时期社会经济堕落了，就算后来有钱如柳毅、有铁饭碗如柳毅的弟弟，在人间生活也没那么好了，不如避世成仙。

但是要知道好多人修一辈子的道也不一定成仙呢。但柳毅一个践行孔孟之道的俗人，没有任何道家素养，只是娶了神仙就自动变成神仙了，还能带弟弟长生，感觉和各国通过婚姻移民最快捷的逻辑一样。

人与仙，欲和情——评<李章武传>

这篇文章开头就提到了李章武长得还不错，这点还挺少见的。一般来说，这些传奇开头提到男性是书生，是去哪里做官的就已经可以默认为会受到女性青睐了。但中唐时期，这些官职看来也都通货膨胀了，就像任何人在LinkedIn上都是lead engineer和lead designer一样……所谓的读书人中的士大夫多了去了，没点别的优点也是不值得获得艳遇的。

这个故事里，男的李章武看重二人像鸳鸯一样肉体交欢，女的王氏看重二人像白玉指环一样感情和谐，两个人在亲密关系中鸡同鸭讲。最关键的是，因为要肉体的人恰好是封建社会的高知识男子，要感情的人恰好是封建社会的普通美女，所以女性很卑微，将姿态放得特别低，甚至觉得在肉体之外，得到了对方一点点的记忆和关注就开心得不得了了。比如李和她最后云雨一夜离开时，作了一首诗怀念这件事情，王氏就十分感动，冒着被阴间责罚的危险也要来人间再告别一次。虽然才华不会通过肢体接触来传播，但有才华的男子可以吸引美女的芳心由来已久？进一步联想，如果李章武彻底忘记王氏了，就变成了唐代时期的《一个陌生女人的来信》了。

而且我总觉得李章武更喜欢王氏送给他的仙界的宝物，而并没有那么喜欢王氏。他费尽心机地找高级玉工来雕刻一块没什么用的宝物，可以天天佩戴。然而他和王氏认识七八年了，最后人都相思病死了都没有寄过一封信，也没再去看望过……

这篇文章据说还是一个唐朝传奇中”仙妓合流”的一种写法：即妓女的仙化与仙女的妓化。作者将与李私通（妓）的王氏死后升天写成了仙，将这种王对李的思念突破了时间长河的限制。古时候的文人总是将女性在男女感情中的地位写得十分卑微，而男子即使将女子忘在脑后，也总是享受着女子的崇拜和爱慕的。看来父权制下的后宫文学也是由来已久了……中期唐朝的文化繁荣思想境界变高，但对于平等的想象还是贫瘠的。

好期待看到一篇潇洒女子能把各种美男子拿捏在手里的啊，不知道之后会不会有呢？

回避型人格的噩梦——评<霍小玉传>

这又是一个痴情女子的故事，讲述了文人李益和长安名妓霍小玉间的一段情感纠葛，也是一篇有名到被汤显祖改编成戏曲的传奇。

文人李益长得不怎么样，但是因为文采很好所以自视甚高，在自己于长安等待考试期间千方百计要托人找到绝世美女的陪伴。此时就找到了霍小玉。她以前还是名门之女备受宠爱，但因为母亲身份低微，导致父亲死后被亲人们赶出王府，沦落为妓。恋爱期间，李益为霍小玉写了许多表达自己忠贞的爱情宣言，并且发了很多誓，闹得长安沸沸扬扬人尽皆知。但他考取官职之后，就被母亲许了门当户对的婚姻，默默将霍小玉抛弃了。

李益最可恨的部分或许在于他是爱情中的表达无能——回避型人格。一旦遇到可能要冒犯对方的情况，他就选择使用冷暴力——消失和装死，希望霍小玉学会读心术，远程读懂他想分手的心意，并放过他。这一系列操作活生生把本来心智健康的霍小玉逼成严重焦虑型人格。霍小玉花尽了自己当王府千金的积蓄打探情郎的消息，连米都要吃不上了；后来知道了对方在同一个城市，也无法让李益来见面，可谓是吃尽这种回避型的苦，病得奄奄一息。好在后来出现了一位黄衫客，把负心汉连骗带抢带到了临死的霍小玉面前，让两人相见了。

这位霍小玉可没有之前<李章武传>中的王氏那么卑微，她爱得坦荡，恨得也决绝，当场把李益诅咒一番，气绝而亡。此后这位回避型李益的恋爱或是婚姻都十分不顺利，一辈子活在对亲密关系对象们的猜忌和暴躁之中，永远失去亲密关系里的安全感。总结一下就是只剩欲望，不能再爱人了。

这篇故事或许是回避型人格的噩梦了。在亲密关系里要学会用嘴说话，嘴不只是一个欲望的器官，它还具有说话沟通的功能，实在说不出那发出点声音也可以。不会努力沟通的人就不会获得幸福吧。

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English Version – Love in Turbulent Times: A Critique of the “Anthology of Tang and Song Tales” – Volume Two

For the previous volume, please click on this link.

In this selected volume, many stories revolve around the theme of love. During the middle Tang Dynasty, China endured the An Lushan Rebellion, plunging the Tang Dynasty into economic and social decline. Legendaries shifted focus from possessing rare treasures or virtuous beauties to highlighting the lives of ordinary people during this era. These stories also bear traces of inevitable regrets that no one could soothe.

Solve A LeetCode Hard Problem – A Review of “Zheng Qinyue Deciphers an Ancient Inscription of the Datong Reign Period”

This legendary plot is quite simple, describing how a difficult LeetCode problem with vague descriptions was solved by several generations. If you’re a fan of the I Ching, you might find it particularly satisfying.

The story begins with the collapse of a tomb. A person happened to find a intact stone tablet in the ruins, inscribed with mysterious text. This individual recorded the content of the inscription and tasked his descendants with deciphering its meaning. Eventually, after three generations, the key figure to solve the puzzle was found by the grandson of the original person.

The grandson’s colleague in the government happened to be a hidden master of I Ching. On the very day he received the problem, the colleague promptly solved this LeetCode hard question while riding on horseback. His response stated that the inscription meant that on a specific date in the future, the tomb would collapse. This date happened to coincide with the day the ancestor found the tablet.

The author, Li Jifu, then exclaimed, “Ah, everything is predetermined! The person who inscribed this tablet hundreds of years ago was indeed a divine figure, able to accurately predict the day when the tomb would collapse due to heavy rain. Rain is such a random occurrence, yet it was foreseen. If such events are calculated, then surely one’s destiny is also predetermined.” He further questioned, “Since destiny is predetermined, why did past sages like Confucius and Mozi, upon knowing their fate, still strive so hard in life?” That’s an interesting question indeed.

I believe that living is not an easy task. Even if you know the outcome of your life, immersing yourself in the process is still worthwhile. It’s also possible that destiny gives people the illusion that if they work hard enough, they won’t be hindered by it.

Moreover, what struck me most in this piece is the remarkable speed at which these ancient literati could calculate the Chinese zodiac and the sixty stem-branches. They could do it mentally, almost like Americans converting between meters and feet. Of course, I feel that the skill of Americans to calculate feet is rather useless, and I hope to see this unit of measurement abolished in my lifetime.

Love in Turbulent Times: Like Willow Catkins, Bent and Broken – A Review of “The Tale of Miss Liu”

At first glance, I thought it might be a story of rekindled romance. I was wrong. It wasn’t until I came across this poem that I realized I might have heard of this story before:

“Zhangtai willow, Zhangtai willow, once green, now faded? Even if the long branches seem to hang as they did in the past, they should still be plucked by someone else’s hand.”

“Willow branches, fragrant blossoms, regretting the partings given year after year. A leaf carried away by the wind heralds the sudden arrival of autumn, even if you return, can you bear the separation?”

If the previous volume of legends suggested that any talented scholar who passed the imperial examination could rise to prominence, with beautiful women falling into their laps, then in this tale, such a law does not exist:

The story unfolds in the late Tianbao era, during the An Lushan Rebellion, a time of social unrest. The stunning beauty Liu Shi is kept by a wealthy man named Li Sheng. Unafraid of poverty, she is willing to leave Li Sheng’s home for the sake of the protagonist Han Yi’s talent, marrying him and managing all aspects of their lives. Han Yi is particularly promising and is selected as a top scholar in the imperial examination the following year. However, due to the poor state of the economy, Han Yi seems unable to secure any position in the capital, so he remains idle at home for a year. Eventually, he has to leave home and his wife Liu Shi to seek a minor official position through luck. During Han Yi’s absence, Liu Shi, without a source of income, has to sell off some of her dowry to support herself. After An Lushan’s rebellion reaches the capital, Han Yi and Liu Shi lose contact completely. “A person’s fate, of course, depends on one’s own efforts, but also must consider the course of history.” Their experience is truly lamentable.

Han Yi is also quite pathetic. Eventually, he returns to the capital and becomes a minor official, but by then, Liu Shi has been snatched away by General Shazha, a favorite of the emperor. In terms of wealth and power, Han Yi is powerless against General Shazha, so the two can only part ways. The scene where Han Yi cries alone at a banquet, realizing that he has lost his chance with the beauty forever, is quite poignant. Finally, a colleague at the banquet, Xu Jun, takes pity on him and helps him win back his wife. The scene where they “snatch” Liu Shi back is quite thrilling: Xu Jun is brave and resourceful, avoiding a violent conflict. But in the end, both Xu Jun and Han Yi, who did nothing wrong, still have to cautiously seek the favor of their boss – the minor official Hou Xiyi, and the big boss – the emperor.

The emperor, though reasonable, decides to return Liu Shi to Han Yi, but also compensates General Shazha with two million dollars for “snatching” her. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but sigh. Even if you’re a scholar who passes the imperial examination, if you’re born at the wrong time, you can only live meekly, unable to protect even your own wife. And Liu Shi is even more helpless. Despite her ability to face her emotions head-on, and her cleverness in disguising her beauty through tactics like cutting her hair, she ultimately cannot decide who owns her, forever being the appendage and possession of powerful men. Her beauty wins her the heart of her beloved Han Yi, but also brings a host of troubles.

This legend is quite different from previous Tang Dynasty legends like “The Fox Demon” and “The Record of The Old Mirror”. Although this story is fictional, the social background is real, and the characters seem as if they existed at the time, with their experiences being quite reasonable. The woeful fate of the characters in this legend mirrors the blueprint of modern realistic literature.

Ordinary Scholar Rises to Heavenly Palace – A Review of “Tale of the Transcendent Marriage of T’ung-ting Lake”

This legend is truly captivating! There were several plot twists that caught me off guard.

The story introduces a new race: the Dragon Clan. The dragons belong to the divine category, with a lifespan of ten thousand years, living in places filled with treasures, and their responsibilities are directly governed by the Emperor of Heaven. However, the author’s attitude towards the Dragon Clan is quite peculiar. In his commentary, he uses the concept of “Five Vermin,” with humans being the foremost, and places dragons at the bottom, suggesting that they learned integrity from humans. Does this indicate that in ancient times, the status of the Dragon Clan was lower than that of humans? It’s akin to the worldview in “Delicious in Dungeon”: after all, they are monsters?

However, all dragons are classified as celestial beings, while humans are merely mortals. It seems that within the framework of this legend, apart from the hierarchy of the “Five Vermin,” there is also a hierarchy between the divine realm and the mortal world. Not only humans can become gods, but any animal from the “Five Vermin” can also become a deity. In other words, the divine realm not only hires humans but also various animals. It had achieved equality by diversity hiring.

Dragons are not creatures enjoying leisure all day; Dragon Kings hold public office and are responsible for the hydrology and meteorology of their respective regions, such as rainfall, floods, and irrigation, to ensure the survival of the beings in their area. From an organizational perspective, the Dragon King, as a director-level position, directly managed individual contributors who are level 0. Meanwhile, the Dragon King’s family can indulge in parties every day, and a single Dragon King can support an entire clan! Suddenly, the Dragon King seems like a fortunate laborer in modern tech, single-handedly supporting a family.

However, one of the protagonists in this story, the youngest daughter of the T’ung-ting Dragon King, still ends up in an arranged marriage: a female dragon from Hunan is married off to Shanxi to become the daughter-in-law of the Jingjiang Dragon King. As a result, the young daughter suffers abuse from her in-laws and cannot enjoy daily festivities. Instead, she is assigned to work at the Jing Palace as an individual contributor, responsible for feeding the flocks (responsible for rainfall). The other protagonist, Liu Yi, a failed scholar returning home from the imperial capital, coincidentally encounters the weeping T’ung-ting heiress who is feeding sheep (a creature to work on rains) alone, thus beginning a fateful encounter between humans and dragons.

In the story, the main dragon characters are the T’ung-ting Dragon King and the Qiantang Dragon King. The T’ung-ting Dragon King is depicted much like T’ung-ting Lake—large and tranquil. The Qiantang Dragon King, as the name suggests, resembles the Qiantang River—rushing and surging, given the river’s yearly tidal bore claims many lives. The portrayal of the Qiantang Dragon King is vivid and lifelike: “Suddenly, there appeared a red dragon over a thousand feet long, with lightning eyes and a blood-red tongue, vermilion scales, and fiery mane, with a golden lock around its neck, tied to a jade pillar. Thunder and lightning surrounded its body, and hail and snow fell all at once. Then, it split the blue sky and flew away. Yi feared that he might collapse.” Beforehand, the Qiantang Dragon King fought with a heavenly general, causing the flooding of five large mountains and resulting in his imprisonment for reflection in T’ung-ting Lake. Upon hearing the news of his niece’s being mistreated, he flew tens of thousands of miles in a fit of rage, surrounded by thunder and snow, to retrieve her. This demonstrates the fiery temperament of the Qiantang Dragon King.

The dialogue between the T’ung-ting Dragon King and the Qiantang Dragon King after the niece’s rescue is also interesting. “The king said, ‘How many have you killed?’ ‘Six hundred thousand,’ was the reply. ‘How much farmland have you damaged?’ ‘Eight hundred miles.’ Divine beings fighting casually resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent beings and the destruction of millions of acres of crops. The differing reactions of the two dragons depict T’ung-ting’s sympathetic character and Qiantang’s reckless but somewhat righteous demeanor vividly. Moreover, the author’s ability to briefly mention the perspective of ordinary people is quite commendable, sympathizing with the innocent lives affected by the events.

Another unexpected aspect of this story is the mutual affection between Liu Yi and the Dragon King’s daughter, although they did not initially come together. Liu Yi was hesitant to indirectly harm the husband and wife, but the matchmaker, the Qiantang Dragon King, was tactless in his approach, leading Liu Yi to feel offended and ultimately refuse the marriage. The Confucian moral is truly oppressive.

After many twists and turns, it was ultimately through the Dragon King’s daughter’s transformation into a human that they managed to be together. Despite the lack of explicit expressions of love between them, the Dragon King’s daughter even gave birth to a child before revealing her true identity. She thought if Liu Yi didn’t fancy her, at least there was the child to consider. The feudal era’s views on love and marriage were crystal clear. Marriage was merely for a man to alleviate loneliness or to expand his family’s economic and political power. Marriage didn’t equate to love. In mid Tang Dynasty legends, love between men and women often existed outside of marriage.

So, it seems like the emotional views of the mid-Tang Dynasty were quite… progressive? It was assumed that everyone engaged in multiple relationships, and having love didn’t necessarily lead to marriage, nor did marriage always indicate love. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, it appears that men sought marriage first to ensure the survival of the nuclear family and fulfill basic physiological needs, and then sought love to fulfill their metaphysical desires.

As for the aftermath, Liu Yi received the Dragon Princess’s gift of a thousand-year lifespan and lived as an immortal in T’ung-ting (it’s just a slight increase in household size for the T’ung-ting Dragon King), encountering his brother, who was getting old and dying while working as a civil servant in another place, and telling him, “It’s not good to stay in the human world for too long and suffer.” This shows that the socio-economic situation declined in the mid-Tang Dynasty. Even if someone like Liu Yi, or his brother with a stable job, had money, life on Earth wasn’t as good as before, so it was better to avoid the world and become an immortal.

However, it’s worth noting that many people spend their whole lives practicing Tao but still don’t become immortals. Yet Liu Yi, an ordinary person who followed the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, had no Taoist background whatsoever. Just by marrying a goddess, he automatically became an immortal and even extended his brother’s lifespan. It feels like the same logic used in various countries for expedited immigration through marriage.

Human and Celestial, Desires and Emotions – A Review of “A Review of “The Tale of Li Zhangwu”

In “The Tale of Li Zhangwu,” it’s mentioned right at the beginning that Li Zhangwu is quite good-looking, which is quite rare. Generally, in these legends, if a male character is described as a scholar or going to become an official, it’s already assumed that he will be favored by women. But during the mid-Tang Dynasty, these official positions seemed to have inflated, just like how everyone on LinkedIn is a “lead engineer” or “lead designer”… There were too many literati and officials, and without any other outstanding qualities, they weren’t worth the attention of women.

In this story, Li Zhangwu, the man, valued physical intimacy, while Wang, the woman, valued emotional harmony. The two had completely different priorities in their intimate relationship. What’s crucial here is that the one seeking physical intimacy happens to be an intellectual elite in feudal society, while the one seeking emotional connection happens to be an ordinary beauty in feudal society. Consequently, the female character is very humble, lowering her posture significantly. She even feels extremely happy to receive a bit of attention and memory from the other party beyond physical intimacy. For example, when Li and she parted after a night of passion, he composed a poem to remember the occasion, which deeply moved Wang, prompting her to take the risk of returning to the mortal world once again for a farewell. Although talent doesn’t spread through physical contact, the idea that talented men can attract the hearts of beautiful women has long been ingrained. Further speculation suggests that if Li Zhangwu had completely forgotten about Wang, it would have turned into something like “Letter from an Unknown Woman” in the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, I always felt that Li Zhangwu liked the treasures from the fairy realm that Wang gave him more than he liked Wang herself. He went to great lengths to find a skilled jade craftsman to carve a rather useless treasure that he could wear every day. However, after knowing Wang for seven or eight years, they both died of lovesickness without exchanging a single letter or meeting again…

This article is said to be a type of “merging of the fairy and the courtesan” in Tang Dynasty legends: the courtesan’s transcendence into a fairy and the fairy’s debasement into a courtesan. The author portrayed Wang, who had an affair with Li (the courtesan), as ascending to heaven after death, transforming into a fairy, and breaking through the constraints of time with her longing for Li. Ancient literati always depicted women’s status in romantic relationships as extremely humble, while men, even if they forget about the women, always enjoyed their worship and admiration. It seems that harem literature under patriarchy has a long history… The cultural prosperity and elevated ideological realm of the mid-Tang Dynasty, but the imagination of equality remained barren.

I’m really looking forward to reading a story where a confident woman can effortlessly manipulate various handsome men. I wonder if we’ll get to see that in the future?

The Nightmare of Avoidant Love Type – A Review of “The Tale of Huo Xiaoyu”

This is yet another tale of a lovesick woman, recounting the emotional entanglement between the scholar Li Yi and the famous courtesan Huo Xiaoyu in Chang’an, and it’s also a legendary story that’s so renowned it was adapted into a play by Tang Xianzu.

Li Yi, though not particularly attractive, was highly self-regarding due to his literary talent. During his wait for the imperial examination in Chang’an, he made every effort to find the company of an extraordinary beauty. That’s when he encountered Huo Xiaoyu. She was once a beloved daughter of a noble family, but after her father’s death and due to her mother’s lowly status, she was expelled from the royal palace and reduced to becoming a courtesan. During their courtship, Li Yi wrote many declarations of his unwavering love for Huo Xiaoyu and made numerous vows, causing a sensation in Chang’an. However, after he obtained an official position, he was betrothed to someone from a comparable background, and quietly abandoned Huo Xiaoyu.

Perhaps the most despicable aspect of Li Yi’s behavior lies in his inability to express himself in love—a characteristic of avoidant personality. When faced with situations where he might offend the other party, he chose to use cold violence—disappearing and feigning death, hoping that Huo Xiaoyu would learn to read his mind, understand his desire to break up, and let him go. This series of actions forced Huo Xiaoyu, who was originally mentally healthy, into a severe anxiety disorder. Huo Xiaoyu spent all her savings from her days as a palace daughter to gather information about her lover, to the point where she couldn’t even afford rice; later, knowing that he was in the same city, she still couldn’t arrange for Li Yi to meet her, suffering immensely from the agony of avoidance, until she was on the brink of death. Fortunately, a mysterious yellow-clad guest appeared and brought the faithless Li Yi to the dying Huo Xiaoyu, allowing them to meet one last time.

Unlike Wang, the protagonist in , Huo Xiaoyu wasn’t as submissive. She loved openly and hated decisively, cursing Li Yi on the spot before passing away from rage. After this incident, Li Yi’s romantic endeavors or marriages were all fraught with difficulties, living a lifetime steeped in suspicion and irritability towards intimate partners, forever deprived of the sense of security in intimate relationships. In summary, all that’s left is desire; he could no longer love.

This story is perhaps the nightmare of avoidant personality. In intimate relationships, one must learn to speak up; the mouth is not just an organ of desire but also serves the function of communication. If one does not make an effort to communicate, they won’t find happiness.

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