Big Honglu: Transmigrating into the Long-Sealed Sun Family Compound

A descendant of the Xuanyuan clan, Xuanyuan Nu, migrated from the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor to the Xue River. She became the concubine of Sun Jingqiu, the son of a farming and scholarly family in the north of Lincheng. Living in the exclusive west courtyard, styled after the Kong Mansion, she witnessed and helped shape the history of Xicang Village and the rise and fall of a prominent family. She guided and fostered ties with several generations of young ladies from distinguished families. Her son, Sun Jiezong, took charge of the household at the age of twelve, living through both the Sun family’s glory and the decline of the Danfeng Hall. His thirty-seven years of keeping vigil by a coffin in the same courtyard as his wife became a legend in their own right. For generations, members of the Sun family served as officials at the Kong Mansion and married their children into the Kong clan and prominent families in Teng and Yi counties. Their descendants included both generations of gifted people and those who fell into poverty and disgrace. As farmland was divided and families struggled to secure grain in turbulent times, members of the clan gradually drifted apart and fell into decline. “Honglu” comes from the Rites of Zhou, referring to the official in charge of court audiences, guests, and ceremonies for auspicious and inauspicious occasions. In the first year of the Taichu era under Emperor Wu of Han, the office was renamed the Grand Herald. Here, the term evokes the proclamation of honor, referring to the distinguished guests and gentry families granted imperial favor in the Qing dynasty. They are also bass with patterned armor, swimming along the shores of court and countryside. This book is rooted in the history of the Xue River basin in the ancient state of Xue, spanning more than eighty years after Emperor Qianlong’s southern tour. The prominent families are full of figures reminiscent of Wang Xifeng, Jia Baoyu, and the many other characters in Dream of the Red Chamber. Their story comes down to a saying passed on by the Sun family’s descendants: “Those without standing spend their whole lives trying to put on airs. Those with standing would rather hang themselves from the very frame they’ve built.”