Legendary Novels of the Tang Dynasty: the Biography of Huo Xiaoyu
by Jiang Fang
About This Novel
The author of "The Biography of Huo Xiaoyu" is Jiang Fang, named Zizheng, who was born in Yixing (now Yixing, Jiangsu Province). His birth and death dates are unknown. This book is a legendary novel of the Tang Dynasty, written around the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), slightly later than "The Biography of Li Wa" and "The Biography of Yingying". It represents another peak in the development of Tang legends. The novel tells the sad and touching love story between Li Yi, a scholar from Longxi, and Huo Xiaoyu, a famous prostitute from Chang'an. It is a tragic work. Academic circles have always believed that Western novels and dramas are good at tragedy and that China has no real tragedy works. In fact, this is wrong. "The Biography of Huo Xiaoyu" is a profound and true tragedy. This novel is a popular masterpiece among Tang legends. It mainly criticizes Li Yi for his chaos and abandonment, and sympathizes with Huo Xiaoyu's misfortune. The work is largely true. This book also indicts the clan system, but this is not the main theme of the book. Accusing the clan system is also a common traditional theme pattern in ancient novels. From this story, we can learn about the weak sense of family status in the late Tang Dynasty, which is in sharp contrast to the strong sense of family status in the early and middle Tang Dynasties.
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