Flower Case Anecdote

"Fantasy Stories from the Flower Case" is a vernacular novel about talented people and beauties written by Qishan Zuochen in the Qing Dynasty. It has eleven chapters and about 65,000 words. The novel focuses on the love affair between the talented Yu Liqing (also known as Mengbai) and the famous prostitute Yizhuang, and presents a tragic and joyful legend caused by the "Flower Case" incident. Yu Liqing, a romantic scholar, imitated the imperial examination system, evaluated talent and beauty in a brothel, and selected Yi Zhuang as the "number one female scholar". She was originally an elegant scholar, but was framed by sinister men as a "treason" and alarmed the government. Li Qing fled in a hurry, and Yi Zhuang and other prostitutes and other talented women also scattered in all directions to avoid disaster. Some were in danger and dying, some stayed in nunneries, or others ended up in the world, suffering the pain of homelessness. The book is interspersed with the friendship between Liang Yuansi, Zhang Youzhang and other friends, and also describes the treachery of monk Sanzhuo, the fierceness of Jiao Yangui and his wife, and the cunning of lawyer Tie Tianfei, all showing the harshness of the world and the evil of people's hearts. Liqing went through many hardships, became a high school prospect, and determined to find Yizhuang. However, the news was unclear and her love journey was bumpy. The novel's writing style is both elegant and popular, integrating the model of talented scholars and beautiful women into the description of the social world. It contains many satirical metaphors about the malpractice of imperial examinations, officialdom corruption, and the warmth and coldness of human relationships. In particular, "Flower Case" is used as an example to deeply reveal the difficulty of true love under the shackles of feudal etiquette. It is both legendary and realistic.