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Written by Li Ju-chen during the Qing dynasty Flowers in the Mirror is a classic novel of Chinese literature. It is full of fanciful tales. The term "Flowers in the Mirror" is an idiomatic phrase meaning "illusion." An example is a moon as seen upon a body of water which appears to be close and near, but it is a mere reflection. Empress Wu Tse-tien: The stories are set during the reign of Wu Tse-tien, female ruler. Wu was actually an Empress of China who ruled from 690 to 705. Her reign was a part of the short-lived Zhou dynasty, which interrupted the Tang dynasty. Some traditional historians portray Wu as a power hungry woman who cared little for those who she hurt nor what she did. A popular theory is that Wu killed her own child in order to become the empress. She was recognized, however, as both capable and attentive even by traditional historians who disliked her behavior. She had an ability to select capable people to serve as officials. She was admired for this trait throughout the Tang and subsequent dynasties. Wu was the only female emperor of China in more than four millennia. Fall from Grace: The story begins with a terrible blizzard. In show of hubris, Empress Wu issues a decree that all flowers must bloom. At the time, the fairy of a hundred flowers, ruler of all flowers in the celestial realm, goes on a personal visit to Maku, another fairy. In her absence, her subordinate fairies in response to the decree, take the initiative of blooming on their own. The Jade Emperor, the ruler of all the heavens, noting this subordination, punishes the fairy of a hundred flowers. He forces her to reincarnate in the human world. She reincarnates as the daughter of Tang Ao. Strange and Fantastic Lands: Previously, Tang Ao, an aspiring bureaucratic scholar, took the official scholars examination, and had passed the exam, gaining an exalted official title. However, because of his association with a failed coup against the Empress Wu, his title is revoked. Despairing and disillusioned with the scholarly bureaucracy, Tang boards a sailboat, and with his brother-in-law, Merchant Lin, and a hired sailor "Old Tou." The three travelers sail on the open sea and visit various fantastic and strange countries. They also encounter a variety of bizarre characters: First is the country of "the gentlemen." Merchants there try to sell their best quality goods at the cheapest price while customers haggle and to pay more for merchandise. In the country of "the Giants," virtuous people have rainbows under their feet. Wicked people have dark clouds under their feet. The government officials of this country cover their feet with multicolored robes cover so no one can tell if they have rainbows or clouds under their feet. In the "two faced kingdom," people have two faces; one in the front and one in the back. The faces in front are smiling, and the faces in the back are ugly. The people of this kingdom are deceptive. Another country has only people who always lie, and never tell the truth. There are many other such strange countries. The first half of the book describes the adventures of Tang Ao and his companions as they travel overseas by boat.… (más)
This book definitely fits its category, A Book With Magic.
The back cover of my copy claims Flowers in the Mirror is "virtually unknown in the European Languages heretofore." Given that I'm one of only sixty thingers with this book their library and the first to review it, little seems to have changed in the seven years since my copy was printed.
Li Ju-Chen's book in its abridged form is at times a tedious read, a simultaneously straight-forward narrative whose allegories and historical allusions are lost on those unfamiliar with Chinese history and culture (such as me). There is an overwhelming cast of characters (requiring multiple lists of familial relationships), most of whom make cameos with little or no explanation of who they are or their purpose in the story. The opening story of the Empress Wu ordering all flowers to bloom simultaneously, which results in the fairy of a hundred flowers to descend to Earth, disappears from the narrative until it is nearly over, by which point I had forgotten it.
The preface to my translation relates that the original book is over 400,000 words in length and that the translator has removed large portions due to its unrelatibility (my paraphrase of her reasoning) and added her own text to bridge the gaps. Even my highly condensed version was still as arduous a read as the journey the main characters take to distant lands, where they endlessly meet warrior women who save them from peril, are somehow related to or known by the main characters, have recently lost their parents, and have some need to accompany the main characters on their journey. The story ends with a battle between an army attempting to restore the emperor to the throne and several evil warlords. The fighting occurs across four passes; a warlord has cast a spell over each of the four. Members of the attacking army enter the pass and are overcome by the spell before anyone thinks to capture one of the warlord's warriors and learn why the warlord's soldiers are immune to the spell. The repetition of this pattern becomes unbelievable after its second—but not last—occurrence.
There are some interesting parts within the story, but without a cultural understanding, I feel I missed most of the significance of the events and characters. For instance, all the fairies are "of the hundred...," but the importance of one hundred goes unexplained and I wasn't curious enough to research it. Not a book I would recommend to anyone lacking an interest in immersing themself in the research necessary to understand the connection between the story and the historical time it takes place in. ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Of the great mountains under heaven, apart from the Kunlun, where the Western Queen Mother residees, there are known to be three in the islands overseas; the Penglai, the Fangchang, and the Yingchow.
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Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Perhaps he has made a few flowers bloom on paper, and those who read the novel will smile, and pluck a few blossoms, and that would be destiny, too.
Written by Li Ju-chen during the Qing dynasty Flowers in the Mirror is a classic novel of Chinese literature. It is full of fanciful tales. The term "Flowers in the Mirror" is an idiomatic phrase meaning "illusion." An example is a moon as seen upon a body of water which appears to be close and near, but it is a mere reflection. Empress Wu Tse-tien: The stories are set during the reign of Wu Tse-tien, female ruler. Wu was actually an Empress of China who ruled from 690 to 705. Her reign was a part of the short-lived Zhou dynasty, which interrupted the Tang dynasty. Some traditional historians portray Wu as a power hungry woman who cared little for those who she hurt nor what she did. A popular theory is that Wu killed her own child in order to become the empress. She was recognized, however, as both capable and attentive even by traditional historians who disliked her behavior. She had an ability to select capable people to serve as officials. She was admired for this trait throughout the Tang and subsequent dynasties. Wu was the only female emperor of China in more than four millennia. Fall from Grace: The story begins with a terrible blizzard. In show of hubris, Empress Wu issues a decree that all flowers must bloom. At the time, the fairy of a hundred flowers, ruler of all flowers in the celestial realm, goes on a personal visit to Maku, another fairy. In her absence, her subordinate fairies in response to the decree, take the initiative of blooming on their own. The Jade Emperor, the ruler of all the heavens, noting this subordination, punishes the fairy of a hundred flowers. He forces her to reincarnate in the human world. She reincarnates as the daughter of Tang Ao. Strange and Fantastic Lands: Previously, Tang Ao, an aspiring bureaucratic scholar, took the official scholars examination, and had passed the exam, gaining an exalted official title. However, because of his association with a failed coup against the Empress Wu, his title is revoked. Despairing and disillusioned with the scholarly bureaucracy, Tang boards a sailboat, and with his brother-in-law, Merchant Lin, and a hired sailor "Old Tou." The three travelers sail on the open sea and visit various fantastic and strange countries. They also encounter a variety of bizarre characters: First is the country of "the gentlemen." Merchants there try to sell their best quality goods at the cheapest price while customers haggle and to pay more for merchandise. In the country of "the Giants," virtuous people have rainbows under their feet. Wicked people have dark clouds under their feet. The government officials of this country cover their feet with multicolored robes cover so no one can tell if they have rainbows or clouds under their feet. In the "two faced kingdom," people have two faces; one in the front and one in the back. The faces in front are smiling, and the faces in the back are ugly. The people of this kingdom are deceptive. Another country has only people who always lie, and never tell the truth. There are many other such strange countries. The first half of the book describes the adventures of Tang Ao and his companions as they travel overseas by boat.
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The back cover of my copy claims Flowers in the Mirror is "virtually unknown in the European Languages heretofore." Given that I'm one of only sixty thingers with this book their library and the first to review it, little seems to have changed in the seven years since my copy was printed.
Li Ju-Chen's book in its abridged form is at times a tedious read, a simultaneously straight-forward narrative whose allegories and historical allusions are lost on those unfamiliar with Chinese history and culture (such as me). There is an overwhelming cast of characters (requiring multiple lists of familial relationships), most of whom make cameos with little or no explanation of who they are or their purpose in the story. The opening story of the Empress Wu ordering all flowers to bloom simultaneously, which results in the fairy of a hundred flowers to descend to Earth, disappears from the narrative until it is nearly over, by which point I had forgotten it.
The preface to my translation relates that the original book is over 400,000 words in length and that the translator has removed large portions due to its unrelatibility (my paraphrase of her reasoning) and added her own text to bridge the gaps. Even my highly condensed version was still as arduous a read as the journey the main characters take to distant lands, where they endlessly meet warrior women who save them from peril, are somehow related to or known by the main characters, have recently lost their parents, and have some need to accompany the main characters on their journey. The story ends with a battle between an army attempting to restore the emperor to the throne and several evil warlords. The fighting occurs across four passes; a warlord has cast a spell over each of the four. Members of the attacking army enter the pass and are overcome by the spell before anyone thinks to capture one of the warlord's warriors and learn why the warlord's soldiers are immune to the spell. The repetition of this pattern becomes unbelievable after its second—but not last—occurrence.
There are some interesting parts within the story, but without a cultural understanding, I feel I missed most of the significance of the events and characters. For instance, all the fairies are "of the hundred...," but the importance of one hundred goes unexplained and I wasn't curious enough to research it. Not a book I would recommend to anyone lacking an interest in immersing themself in the research necessary to understand the connection between the story and the historical time it takes place in. (