Liáodù Yuán 療妒緣
The Destined Cure for Jealousy
by 不題撰人 (撰, anonymous)
About the work
Liáodù Yuán 療妒緣 is an eight-huí 回 anonymous vernacular novel treating the familiar late-Qīng/Qīng domestic-fiction theme of female jealousy (dù 妒), its social consequences, and its eventual resolution. The title combines liáo 療 (“to cure”) and dù 緣 (the karmic bond / “jealousy-fate”), suggesting that the narrative traces a destined transformation from jealousy to harmony. The opening poem, which frames the novel’s moral program, laments the prevalence of the jealous wife (dùfù 妒婦) and praises domestic harmony as the foundation of family prosperity.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Prefaces
No preface or postface is preserved in the Kanripo text. The text opens directly with the first huí.
Abstract
Liáodù Yuán 療妒緣 is listed in the Kanripo catalog as 不題撰人 (author not named), indicating that no author attribution was present in the source text. The novel belongs to the Qīng domestic-fiction genre that concerns itself with jealousy, polygamous household management, and the moral reform of characters through a combination of adventure, hardship, and divine intervention. The plot, as indicated by the chapter headings, involves: an imperial edict that separates a devoted couple (Huí 1), the rescue of a bookish young man and a reunion of wife and concubine (Huí 2), escape from bandits (Huí 3), a miraculous healing requiring flesh sacrifice (Huí 4), the purchase of a beautiful maid who changes the jealous mistress’s heart (Huí 5), the birth of a child (Huí 6), a final test of the reformed character (Huí 7), and a double imperial commendation with gāopèi 誥命 (official patents of honor) bestowed on both legitimate wife and concubine (Huí 8).
The theme of liáodù (curing jealousy) is closely associated with Lǐ Yú 李漁 李漁, who wrote extensively on jealousy in his Xián Qíng Ǒujì 閒情偶寄 and whose fiction collection Liánchéng Bì KR4k0174 includes stories on jealous wives. This anonymous novel appears to work within the same didactic-entertainment tradition but is a distinct work. Dating is uncertain; the style and eight-huí compact format suggest an eighteenth-century composition, though a later date cannot be ruled out.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
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