Xiáyì Fēngyuè Zhuàn 俠義風月傳
A Tale of Chivalry and Love by 名教中人 (撰)
About the work
Xiáyì Fēngyuè Zhuàn 俠義風月傳 is an alternative title for the novel more widely known as Hǎoqiú Zhuàn 好逑傳 (“The Fortunate Union”), one of the earliest and most celebrated examples of the cáizǐ jiārén 才子佳人 (“scholar and beauty”) genre of Qīng dynasty fiction. This 18-chapter novel recounts the romance between the upright and chivalric scholar Tiě Zhōngyù 鐵中玉 and the virtuous beauty Shuǐ Bīngxīn 水冰心, set in the late Míng period in Dàmíng Prefecture 大名府, Běi-Zhílì. The subtitle Xiáyì Fēngyuè Zhuàn (“A Tale of Chivalry and Romance”) was appended to the novel after 1712. The Kanripo text (KR4k0253) circulates under this subtitle.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
Hǎoqiú Zhuàn 好逑傳 was composed under the pseudonym Míngjiāo Zhōngrén 名教中人 (“Man of the Teaching of Propriety”), whose true identity has never been established. According to Philippe Postel’s bibliographic study, the most commonly cited date of composition is 1683, in the early Qīng. The subtitle Xiáyì Fēngyuè Zhuàn 俠義風月傳 appears in editions after 1712, and this is the form in which the text is cataloged in the Kanripo corpus.
The novel belongs to the cáizǐ jiārén genre, which flourished in the late Míng and early Qīng. Its male protagonist Tiě Zhōngyù is notable for being a “feminized” hero whose self-restraint and chivalric virtue set him apart from the passionate lovers typical of late Míng fiction: as Keith McMahon observes, in Hǎoqiú Zhuàn “sentiment replaces libido.” The lovers maintain a strict adherence to Confucian propriety (lǐ 禮) and do not consummate their union until all social and ethical conditions are met, including imperial endorsement of Bīngxīn’s chastity. The title Hǎoqiú 好逑 quotes Shījīng 詩經 (Guānjū 關雎): “the good maiden is a fit mate for our lord” (窈窕淑女，君子好逑).
The novel enjoyed extraordinary international reception. It was the first Chinese novel to be translated into English: a partial manuscript translation by the Canton merchant James Wilkinson was edited and published anonymously by Thomas Percy (the Bishop of Dromore) in London in 1761 as Hau Kiou Choaan; Percy published a revised edition in 1774 acknowledging Wilkinson’s contribution. A French translation appeared in the early 19th century, and John Francis Davis published a full English translation titled The Fortunate Union in 1829. The novel was counted among the Shí Cáizǐ Shū 十才子書 (“Ten Books of Genius”), alongside such canonical works as Sānguó Yǎnyì and Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn.
The Kanripo source text (18 chapters) is complete and follows the standard chapter structure. The colophon notes that the further adventures of Tiě Zhōngyù and Shuǐ Bīngxīn have been recorded in a sequel volume (yī jí 一集), though this sequel does not appear to survive in the Kanripo corpus.
Translations and research
Thomas Percy, ed. Hau Kiou Choaan, or the Pleasing History. London, 1761; 2nd ed. 1774. (First English translation, based on Wilkinson’s partial ms.)
John Francis Davis. The Fortunate Union: A Romance. London: Oriental Translation Fund, 1829. (First complete English translation.)
Philippe Postel. “Les traductions françaises du Haoqiu zhuan.” (Cited in Wikipedia/Wikidata bibliographic notes; details not fully recoverable from available sources.)
Ōba Osamu 大庭脩. Studies of Hǎoqiú Zhuàn in Japanese scholarship. (Referenced in Wikidata; details not fully located.)