The Courtesan's Jewel Box

by 冯梦龙 Feng Menglong (Compiler), Gladys Yang (Translator), Yang Xianyi (Translator)

This is a selection of popular Chinese stories from the 10th to 17th centuries. These stories were written in the spoken language that developed as a literary medium after the emergence of an urban commercial economy in the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1279). Originally the manuscripts of ordinary street story-tellers, this genre of fiction –deriving its material from the life and times of the period, with vivid writing and intricate plots, descriptions that are natural and vivacious– has now attained a lofty place as literature. The twenty stories in this book were selected from over two hundred in several collections published at the beginning of the 17th century.

Genres: Short Stories

556 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1981

About the author

Feng Menglong (1574–1646) was a Chinese vernacular writer and poet of the late Ming Dynasty.

Most of his literary work was in editing and compiling histories, almanacs and novels. Two of his noteworthy novels are Qing Shi and the shenmo work Pingyao Zhuan. In 1620 he published the Illustrious Words to Instruct the World (喻世明言 Yushi Mingyan), or Stories Old and New.

Feng was a proponent of the school of Li Zhi, which supported the importance of human feelings and behavior in literature. He is frequently associated with Ling Mengchu, author of Slapping the Table in Amazement.

Feng Menglong was in love with a famous prostitute when he was young. Unfortunately, Feng Menglong was not able to afford to redeem his lover out. At the end, his lover was redeemed by a merchant, and they had to leave each other. Feng Menglong suffered from pain and desperation due to the separation, and he expressed his sorrow through poems. This experience influenced the way he portrayed female characters in his stories. In fact, Feng Menglong was one of the few authors who portrayed female as being strong and intelligent; and this is different from other authors, where they tended to ignore the importance of female’s position. The female characters in Feng Menglong’s stories were portrayed as brave and bright when dealing with different situations. For instance, in his story Wan Xiuniang Takes Revenge Through Toy Pavilions from Jing Shi Tong Yan, Wan Xiuniang showed her braveness during her tough times, and she was able to escape using her intelligence. Other female characters, such as Miss Du Shi Niang and Qu Xiuxiu, are example to show Feng Menglong’s respect to female.

Feng Menglong expressed his attitudes towards the society through his works, and the reason was tightly related to his experience during his career. Feng Menglong became a local officer in Shouning in his sixties. He pursued justice and wished to build up his reputation by acting as an honest and upright official. Unfortunately, he was born in a time of corruption; bribery and extortion were common bureaucratic behaviors, and they opposed the principle of Feng Menglong. Realizing that atmosphere of corruption could not be easily changed, Feng Menglong conveyed his discontent and patriotism through words. Each character of his stories has strong and direct characteristics: there is a clear morality line drawn between “good” and “bad”. Moreover, the meaning behind the stories explores the social issues during Ming Dynasty. For instance, the story The White Maiden Locked for Eternity in Leifeng Pagoda and The Young Lady Gives the Young Man a Gift of Money from Jing Shi Tong Yan express the idea of how women pursue their freedom and happiness under a feudal society.

Reviews

[Dolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has a nice collection of short stories dealing with Chinese culture, Confucian thought, officials, concubines, courtesans, and thieves. One of the best stories deals with the trickster thief Lazy Dragon and his exploits. Money is at the heart of many of the stories as is the desire for
official position so one can make money. Corrupt officials play a major role in many tales. The poetry and copies of woodblock prints illustrating some stories add to the book's appeal.

[Meghan Fidler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Song Dynasty oral narratives, which were collected by scholars during the Ming Dynasty. While I doubt that the narratives were 'preserved' in their original form, the stories in this book are nonetheless interesting.
It would be a bit time consuming to summarize each of the 20 stories in this collection. Overall, the collection is strong study of gender and gendered expectations, including beauty and betrayal. The stories also illustrate just how common torture was during any authorized interrogation (it is noteworthy that some so-called 'modern democracies' have not progressed beyond the interrogation techniques of China in the 10th century, but I digress).
Within the book I had five favorite narratives: "The Foxes' Revenge" (because I like trickster narratives), "The Hidden Will" (depicting the complexities of inheritance and good will with the inclusion of a Concubine and her son in a family), "The Two Brothers" (about altruistic acts and adoption, and "The Tangerines and the Tortoise Shell" (which I like primarily because it introduces a new kind of dragon I had not yet heard of).
Finally, and my favorite, was "The Old Gardener." Here the devotion and energy created by an old man's careful attention to his flowers gives him access to a greater spiritual realm, serving both as protection in life and transcendence in death. I rather like this line of thought.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite stories of the bunch are "The Courtesan's Jewel Box" and "The Oil Peddler and the Plum Flower Girl." I read this while browsing through the collection in my university library (so sometime between 2000 and 2004?)

[Zeezeebell]

don`t get lust.be inlove.