Bringing a Dragon to Life: I Am Zhang Sengyou

Dear readers, please add this to your library =3=

"With a beauty by my side, I need only paint in the colors."

A painter who pursues a career but falls into love's trap: Zhang Sengyao x A virtuous wife from a distinguished family, untouched by worldly customs: Ying Pingting

Inspired by the touching tale of Zhang Sengyao and his wife, the Ying, who stayed together for a hundred years,

this story tells of the turbulent history from the Southern Liang and Northern Wei to the Sui dynasty.

[Blurb]

01

Zhang Sengyao, the painter famous for "dotting the eyes of a painted dragon."

From a low-ranking clerk born to a humble family, to Governor of Wuxing, and finally the favored son-in-law of the distinguished Ying family south of the Yangtze, his life could be summed up in four lines of history:

Flowers in relief and hollow, the Zhang family style, the twenty-eight constellations stir the Purple Palace.

Moonlight over Taicheng, ashes at Jiangling, tears wiped for Jin'an and Xiangdong.

He knew the art of painting, so why ask the heavens? Three thousand scrolls, and one dream ends.

Beneath the yellow dust, tears fall in Jiankang; not from the parasol trees, but with the temple bells.

02

"Prince Gao, lead us in one more charge at Yubi!"

"The Golden Crow is wounded, the sun eclipsed for my sake? What have I to fear in death!!"

A thousand cavalry break through Guang'a, Jinyang decides the fate of the realm, and Shawan leaves its bitter mark.

Han women mourn at Linzhang, Hu children grieve for the Three Qins, all for Shenwu.

The song of the Chile River ends; Tong Pass lies within reach, yet regret remains for seventy thousand brave souls.

"If only the age were peaceful and prosperous, the Hu and Han intermarried, the people farmed and shared their tables, and the song of the Chile resounded across the world. What joy that would be!"

"Yuwen Tai, tell me: traitor, great ruler, mad wolf, hero, you and I, which are we, in the end?!"

That day, Gao Huan died in Jinyang.

Yuwen Tai fell silent for Prince Gao.

03

Yang Lang's grief, Xiao Niang's tears; the Sui plum bough is cold, and the dream cannot return.

The poplar blossoms fade, the plum blossoms flourish; beauty and grace are of no use.

The Grand Canal opened, bringing prosperity beyond measure; the Son of Heaven once laughed at the thought of not ascending the Chanyu Terrace.

In Yangzhou, amid jade-white snow, they met their tragic ends; only then did they understand that the imperial cause had been shattered by its many branching roads.

In the mortal world, Yang Lang and Xiao Niang: most often parted, most dearly reunited, most mournful and bewildering.

In a broken dream, the Southern Liang and Northern Wei turn to drifting catkins, fall into the Sui mirror, and give rise to the Tang Li.

Notes:

1. A complete account of the historical shifts from the Northern and Southern dynasties through the Sui.

2. Love and hatred in a chaotic age, Eastern aesthetics, scholars and generals, and a large cast of emperors, nobles, and ministers.

3. A serious historical drama, with verifiable historical details. Dear readers, please add it to your library, interact, and show your support =3=

4. Familiar historical figures from this timeline will all appear. The story concludes with Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang.

5. A million-character epic, updated at noon or after 11 p.m.

[------Divider-------]

❤️ [Coming Soon 1] "A Low Kiss for the Lotus: Crown Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong"

(The life of Xiao Tong, and the romance and turmoil of the Northern and Southern dynasties.)

(Dear readers, please add it to your library =3=)

Where has His Highness the Crown Prince gone? Your Highness, Your Highness... Shen Yue searched the study platform several times, sweating with worry.

Could it be that Li Daoyuan's words had come true, and the prince had really...

"Followed a note in the Commentary on the Water Classic to Heaven's secret, been laid to rest by the Luo River lotus pond, kissed the lotus low, and fallen into the clear waters"?

Shen Yue was aghast.

He should never have listened to the Crown Prince and concealed from Emperor Xiao Yan of Liang that the Northern Wei "geography mystic," Li Daoyuan, had come to Liang.

That self-proclaimed "farmer," Jia Sixie, who was especially skilled at tilling the fields, was probably in cahoots with Li Daoyuan, too!

Grand Tutor, what are you looking for me for? Xiao Tong asked with a smile.

Your Highness, where have you been? Shen Yue asked, regaining his composure.

"I met an interesting young woman. Her surname is Yuan, and her given name is Huiru. She is a distant elder sister of Yuan Ziyou, who later became Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei. I asked her why she had come to Liang, and why she was living in a temple under the name Huiniang."

"She answered me like this: Who says everyone staying in a temple is a nun? I'm a laywoman. Your Highness, what are you puzzled about? You Southerners can have your four hundred and eighty temples, but we people of Northern Wei can't change our clothes and customs? Or is it that you find my Liang-style women's clothes strange?"

Our story

begins when Crown Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong accompanies Grand Tutor Shen Yue to Wuzhen to study, and first meets Li Daoyuan, Jia Sixie, and Yuan Huiru. It continues until Emperor Yuan of Liang, Xiao Yi, weeps for Xiao Tong after "burning 140,000 volumes of books," and the fall of Liang.

Let us return together to the Northern and Southern dynasties, where romance and upheaval went hand in hand, and experience...

The most resolute: Xiao Yan enters the Buddhist faith (Emperor Wu of Liang)

The most memorable: Xiao Tong compiles the Wen Xuan (Crown Prince Zhaoming)

The most lamentable: Xiao Gang ascends the throne (Emperor Jianwen)

The most tragic: Xiao Zan and Yuan Ziyou (if not born together, then dying together)

The most heartbreaking: Xiao Yi destroys poetry and books (Emperor Yuan of Liang)

The most unforgivable: Hou Jing and Erzhu Rong (Li Zicheng would weep and pay tribute in later generations)

The most beautiful: Noble Consort Ding Lingguang (mother of Xiao Tong and Xiao Gang)

The most helpless: Ling Ying sits through the cold night (mother of Xiao Yi)

The most scandalous: Lady Xu's half-face makeup (Xiao Yi's wife)

The most bittersweet: Huiniang admires the red beans (Xiao Tong's confidante)

❤️ [Coming Soon 2] "The Qing Dynasty's First Imperial Son-in-Law: Heshen's Son"

(The life of Fengshen Yinde, the only son of the powerful Heshen. The story covers part of the Qianlong era, and Catherine the Great and Louis XVI will appear, too. Dear readers, please add it to your library =3=)

My name is Fengshen Yinde, and people call me the Qing dynasty's first imperial son-in-law, a man who owes everything to his father and his wife.

My father is Heshen, a favorite minister of the Qianlong Emperor and the most handsome man in the Qing dynasty.

Father is a master of political maneuvering and mind games. He is also a gifted money-maker, with Nalan Mingzhu, the richest man of the Kangxi era, as his idol. He managed to push himself to the very pinnacle of wealth in the Qianlong era... No, in the entire Qing dynasty.

I married the Qianlong Emperor's daughter, the Tenth Princess. She is strong-willed, and blessed with both beauty and intelligence. I was open-minded and patient with her capricious, demanding ways, while looking on with a smile as she ran back and forth between her imperial father, the Fifteenth Prince, and the Heshen household, unable to voice her grievances.

Later, my father Heshen fell from power, but the Tenth Princess remained steadfastly by my side. She even pleaded for me before the Jiaqing Emperor, and I survived, filled with emotion.

To prove I was no coward, I resolutely petitioned the Jiaqing Emperor from my house arrest, asking to go help develop the frontier. From then on, I combined firmness with compassion on the frontier, earning glorious military honors and a reputation for building snowmen.

Yet the record keeper of the princess's household took revenge on me, accusing me of, among other things, meeting women during the mourning period, neglecting my duties, seeking revenge for my father, and neglecting the princess.

The Jiaqing Emperor flew into a rage, stripped me of my position, erased all my achievements, and read out the "Ten Crimes of Fengshen Yinde" before the assembled ministers.

Fortunately, Fuen, the adopted son of the Tenth Princess and me, proved himself. He wrote a plea for me in his own blood, turned the tide, and cleared my name.

After I had escaped death for the third time, I began to dream of Nalan Xingde, the Qing dynasty's foremost poet.

I asked him, "Young master, why has my life been so bitter? How did it become so absurd?"

Rongruo said, "You never understood how to live. You put the greater good first and maneuver around your ruler, unable to show off your abilities. That's why you suffer."

I asked him again, "Young master, why have my life's ups and downs, my rights and wrongs, and my merits and faults all been buried by the history books?"

Rongruo said, "Between ruler and subject, and between husband and wife, it's taboo to owe each other nothing. If you can sort that out as I did, you'll understand."

Suddenly, I understood.

Since loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled, I might as well evolve from a carefree young man into a man of schemes!

In this life, I will turn the tables and rise again...

My thanks to everyone who clicked on, added to their library, read, or subscribed to Nian Jiang's stories,

and to every dear reader who met, accompanied, supported, and followed Nian Jiang.

Theme: Strive hard and make something of yourself