Méilán Jiāhuà 梅蘭佳話
A Fine Tale of Plum and Orchid
by 阿閣主人 (撰)
About the work
Méilán Jiāhuà 梅蘭佳話 is a Qīng vernacular romance novel (cáizǐ jiārén xiǎoshuō 才子佳人小說) structured in 40 duàn 段 (sections or episodes), departing from the more common huí 回 chapter division. The preface explains that it was written by a friend called Cáo Wúgāng 曹梧岡, a talented hanlin-level scholar who composed the work during a period of serious illness in the gēngyín 庚寅 year; the author died in the dīngyǒu 丁酉 year before it could be published. The pseudonymous editor (Āgé Zhǔrén 阿閣主人) arranged for publication after the author’s death. The story revolves around a young man named Méi Rúyù 梅如玉 and a young woman named Lán Zhòu 蘭周, with secondary romantic plots involving characters named after the four “noble plants” — plum (méi 梅), orchid (lán 蘭), bamboo (zhú 竹), and pine (sōng 松) — following the familiar talent-and-beauty romance conventions of late-Qīng fiction.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The preface of the work, written by Āgé Zhǔrén 阿閣主人 (whose real name is unidentified), describes how the author Cáo Wúgāng 曹梧岡, a hàn yuàn 翰苑 talent (i.e., with literary examination distinction), composed this novel while bedridden with a serious illness, writing at a table placed across his sick-bed (zuò chuáng píng jǐ, xìn bǐ zhí shū 坐床憑幾，信筆直書). The preface indicates Cáo himself regarded the work as playful (yóuxì zhī zuò 遊戲之作) and refused to allow publication during his lifetime. After his death in the dīngyǒu 丁酉 year, Āgé Zhǔrén arranged for its printing.
The narrative is set around the scenic area of the Xī Líng 西泠 (West Lake, Hángzhōu) and the Luófú Mountains 羅浮. The young scholar Méi Rúyù 梅如玉 and the Lán family’s daughter are the central pair, with the story unfolding through a complex web of poetic competitions, chance meetings, misunderstandings, loyalties, and eventual reunion. The structure uses floral imagery throughout: the protagonists and their companions bear names associated with plum (méi 梅), orchid (lán 蘭), bamboo (zhú 竹), pine (sōng 松), and cassia (guì 桂). The novel ends happily with multiple marriages resolved.
The author’s use of 40 duàn rather than huí is unusual and may reflect literary affectation or generic experimentation. The pen name Āgé Zhǔrén 阿閣主人 (“Master of the Pavilion”) is unidentified. The gēngyín and dīngyǒu years cited in the preface could correspond to several Qīng cyclical intervals; the most plausible late-Qīng range is 1890 (gēngyín) and 1897 (dīngyǒu), placing composition and posthumous publication in the Guāngxù 光緒 reign. No CBDB record for the author has been located.
The title Méilán 梅蘭 evokes the traditional pairing of plum blossom and orchid as emblems of literati virtue and romantic aspiration; jiāhuà 佳話 (fine tale, pleasant story) is a conventional genre marker for tales of talented men and beautiful women.
Translations and research
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