Yù Lóu Chūn 玉樓春
Spring in the Jade Tower by 龍邱白雲道人 (撰)
About the work
Yù Lóu Chūn 玉樓春 is a Qing dynasty romantic and chivalric novel in 24 chapters (huí 回) by the pseudonymous author 龍邱白雲道人 Lóngqiū Báiyún Dàorén (“The White Cloud Daoist of Longqiu”). The title is borrowed from the famous cí 詞 tune name Yùlóuchūn 玉樓春, suggesting a lyrical, romantic atmosphere. The novel is set during the Tang dynasty Daizong 代宗 reign period (762–779), and centers on the scholar-gallant Shào Biànjiā 邵卞嘉 (courtesy name Yù 玉), who is known in the district as “Little Meng Chang” (xiǎo Mèngcháng 小孟嘗) for his generous hospitality and chivalric spirit.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The novel opens with a poem reflecting on the duplicity of human society (“Ancient people resembled beasts in form but had great virtue; people today have human faces but bestial hearts”). The protagonist, Shào Biànjiā 邵卞嘉, is introduced in the Daizong reign — an official’s son who married at fifteen and fathered a son (named Tiānjié 天節, born on the Dragon Boat Festival), and who cultivates a wide literary social circle. The plot follows a series of romantic, chivalric, and political adventures through twenty-four chapters.
From the chapter headings, the narrative includes: encounters with outlaws and martial figures (chapter 3: “Visiting the great bandit, the plan succeeds and he is captured”), romantic entanglements (chapter 8: “Entering the peach garden, a strange encounter with two beauties”), examination success (chapter 16: “The dismissed licentiate changes his appearance and goes into hiding”), and resolution through loyalty and official appointment (chapters 23–24: “Strange men gather, the bones of the nation are recognized; an excellent achievement is established, the floating prisoners are quickly reported”).
The pen name Lóngqiū Báiyún Dàorén 龍邱白雲道人 — “The White Cloud Daoist of Longqiu” — locates the author in the Longqiu 龍邱 area (probably Longqiu in Zhejiang or Fujian, a place with Daoist associations) and adopts the persona of a Daoist hermit in the white clouds. This is a conventional self-characterization for a Qing popular fiction writer who wished to remain anonymous. The identity behind the pen name is unrecorded in standard Qing fiction bibliographies.
The novel’s title alludes to the ci tune 玉樓春, which was frequently used in the romantic and erotic lyric tradition; the pairing of this lyrical title with a plot that combines chivalric adventure and examination success is characteristic of the late cáizǐ jiārén tradition as it evolved in the Qing, increasingly blending martial elements into the scholar-beauty plot. The internal dating (Tang Daizong period) places the story at a historical remove conventionally used for romantic fiction.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.