Qīnglóu Mèng 青樓夢
Dream of the Green Bower by 佚名 (anonymous)
About the work
Qīnglóu Mèng 青樓夢 is a Qīng-dynasty romantic chapter novel in 64 huí transmitted in the Kanripo corpus without authorial attribution. The work belongs to the qīnglóu 青樓 (“green bower”) subgenre of Qīng fiction that romanticizes literati interactions with talented courtesans (míjì 名妓). It shares its content essentially with KR4k0206, the version attributed to 俞達 Yú Dá, differing only in minor graphic variants and heading conventions. The story follows a dream-frame narrative in which the protagonist experiences a visionary journey through a world of gifted courtesans before returning to everyday life.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The anonymous Qīnglóu Mèng in the Kanripo corpus (KR4k0204) appears to be an unattributed copy of, or closely related textual witness to, the same novel attributed to Yú Dá 俞達 in KR4k0206. Comparison of corresponding passages shows that the two texts are virtually identical in content, with only minor orthographic differences (e.g., 屙 / 抱屙 vs. 沈重). Both texts contain 64 chapters with identical chapter headings.
The standard Qīnglóu Mèng in 64 huí is attributed in the bibliographic tradition to Yú Dá 俞達 (fl. late nineteenth century, CBDB id 85025, fl. year 1884). The novel centres on the literatus Jīn Yìxiāng 金挹香 and his friend Yáo Mèngxiān 姚夢仙, who move among thirty-six named courtesans in an idealized world of poetry, music, and romantic attachment. The dream frame (opened in the first chapter with a huángliang 黃梁 dream allusion) allows the narrative to resolve all relationships in an explicitly oneiric register. The plot involves poetic contests, social outings, examinations, marriage negotiations, illness, and death, concluding with the protagonists’ transcendence.
The work belongs to the tradition of cáizǐ jiārén 才子佳人 (talented scholar and beautiful woman) fiction and the specifically courtesan-centered variant of this genre that flourished in the Tóngzhì and Guāngxù periods. The inclusion of 36 named courtesans, organized in a “beauty ranking” (pǐn huā tú 品花圖), echoes the tradition of ranking courtesans’ talents that appears in earlier works such as the Pǐn huā bǎojiàn 品花寶鑑.
The unatttributed Kanripo copy may represent a popular reprint that omitted authorial attribution, a common practice in late Qīng fiction publishing. Dating of the text follows the attributed edition (KR4k0206): composition ca. 1878–1884; publication by the 1880s–1890s.
Translations and research
See KR4k0206 (attributed edition) for secondary literature.
Other points of interest
The Kanripo corpus preserves two copies of this novel: KR4k0204 (anonymous) and KR4k0206 (attributed to 俞達). The distinction likely reflects different print editions, the anonymous version perhaps being a reprint that dropped the attribution.