The Tale of Foolish King

The Tale of the Foolish King (Part One: Donkey Mayhem, Part Two: Dog Antics, Part Three: The Sheep's Spirit) revisits and reimagines unofficial histories and local legends from a humanistic perspective, exploring their mysteries and uncovering their secrets. These include The Melon Garden Brawl, Three Battles with Tao Sanchun, The Gathering of the Dragon and Tiger, The Head-Trick, The Execution of the Yellow Robe, The Temple of the God of Fortune, and The Hall of Morning Clouds. The story follows Zheng En, the kindhearted, honest, and carefree Prince of Beiping in the Later Zhou and early Song, as he roams the martial world, takes to the battlefield, and navigates officialdom. His antics get him into one mess after another. In the end, his entanglements with several women, including Xiao Cong'er, Fu Yufeng, Tao Sanchun, Du Chaochan, and Chai Hua, along with his inability to outgrow his childish innocence and tame his wild nature after becoming an official, earn him the displeasure of Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Chai Rong, and Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin. His story ultimately ends with his being enshrined as a king and a god. Through a series of gripping, unpredictable comic episodes, the novel creates a cast of unique characters unlike those in earlier works.

Donkey Mayhem is the martial-world volume:

A long bray shakes the woods, a bucking kick sends tigers and wolves fleeing.

Dog Antics is the officialdom volume:

A childish heart faces a pack of hounds, taking life as it comes through every storm.

The Sheep's Spirit is the enshrinement volume.

His donkey's nature never changes, his foolish spirit steadies heaven and earth.