Flowers in the Mirror (with Reading Guide)

by Li Ruzhen

武则天废唐改周时,考中探花的唐敖被人诬陷,革去功名。仕途无望的唐敖与妻兄林之洋、船工多九公乘船出海,途经三十多个国家,见识了海外诸国的奇人异事、奇风异俗。 在看过好让不争的君子国、嫌贫爱富的两面国、歪心偏心的穿胸国等国家,饱尝现实之味后,唐敖看破世事,归隐小蓬莱。

192 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2021

About the author

Li Ruzhen (Chinese: 李汝珍) (c.1763 - 1830), courtesy name: Songshi (松石), was a Chinese novelist and phonologist of the Qing Dynasty. A native of Beijing, he is the author of the novel Jing Hua Yuan (鏡花緣), or Flowers in the Mirror. He also wrote Lishi Yinjian (李氏音鑑), a work of Chinese phonology, and complied Shou Zi Pu (受子譜), a valuable kifu of Go.

From a young age he had a rebellious nature. He strongly disagreed with the fixed style of composition (eight-legged essay) that people were required to learn in order to pass the examination needed to obtain a higher rank. Therefore, after obtaining the degree of xiucai (licentiate, the lowest in the examination hierarchy), he became a low-ranking officer, which was not considered respectable. However, his position did not mean that he was idle; he was a polymath, with expertise in astrology, medicine, mathematics, music, rhetoric, poetry, calligraphy and painting. His knowledge in all these subjects is amply reflected in Flowers in the Mirror, sometimes even to the hindrance of the plot.

[source: Wikipedia]