Feng Shuangfei, Part One: Written by Cheng Huiying of the Qing Dynasty, Edited by Qing Yang and Xiao Ming

The Ballad of the Twin Phoenixes consists of four parts, with twenty chapters in the prequel and twenty-two in the sequel. After its publication, it spread widely and was praised as "overflowing with talent, making paper precious for a time." The book recounts the strange and winding experiences of the Guo and Zhang families in the mid-Ming Dynasty, focusing on Guo Yongzhong (Lingyun) and Zhang Jun (Yishao). It ends with both men rising in rank, their families reunited, and everyone celebrating. Guo Lingyun is upright and incorruptible, while Zhang Yishao is charming and carefree. Both serve their country loyally, fight in countless battles, and share a deep, unchanging friendship that endures even through death, earning them the praise "the twin phoenixes flying together." The story is lively and moving, with vividly drawn characters.

The author, Cheng Huiying, came from a family of scholars. From a young age, she was gifted at poetry and prose, and was described as having a "bold, carefree nature, without the timid, gentle air of ordinary women." As an adult, financial hardship led her to take a teaching job. Over the course of twenty years as a teacher, Cheng Huiying revised the work three times before completing the long ballad The Ballad of the Twin Phoenixes, a work of over a million words in fifty-two chapters.

Theme: A narrative ballad