唐大历中，有崔生崔生故事男主角，出身官宦之家，年轻俊美，文弱书生。因一品大员患病前去探望，偶遇歌妓红绡。者，年少貌美，为一品大员子。父命探望一大官之病，遇其家歌妓红绡红绡大官家中的歌妓，聪慧美丽。以手势暗示崔生，约其夜间相会。。红绡以手势暗约崔生。
崔生归而思念，家中奴磨勒磨勒崔生家中的昆仑奴，名磨勒。身怀绝技，能飞檐走壁，是本篇真正的英雄。知其心事，自告奋勇，飞越高墙深院，负崔生入内，携红绡而出。后大官追索，磨勒飞去无踪。
During the Dali reign of the Tang dynasty, a young man named Cui Sheng崔生 Cuī ShēngThe male lead, born to an official's family — young, handsome, and bookish. Sent by his father to visit a powerful minister's illness, he encounters the singing girl Hongxiao., handsome and gentle, was sent by his father to visit a high minister who was ill. There he met the minister's singing girl Hongxiao红绡 Hóng XiāoA singing girl in the minister's household, beautiful and clever. She signals Cui Sheng with hand gestures, secretly inviting him to visit by night., who signaled him with secret gestures.
Cui Sheng returned home lovesick. His slave Mo Le磨勒 Mó LèThe Kunlun slave of Cui Sheng's household. Possessing extraordinary skills — leaping over walls and rooftops — he is the true hero of this tale. perceived his distress and volunteered to help. Leaping over towering walls and deep courtyards, Mo Le carried Cui Sheng inside and brought Hongxiao out. When the minister sent men to pursue them, Mo Le vanished without a trace.
崔生，代宗大历中为千牛备身。父遣往视一品一品唐代最高官阶。一品大员权势极重，家中姬妾成群，守卫森严。疾。一品命一妓以絳桃絳桃绯红色的桃子。歌妓以绯桃喂崔生，暗含情意。食之，又以手势三指加反掌示之。
生归，日夜思念不解其意。家有昆仑奴昆仑奴唐代对来自南洋或非洲深肤色奴仆的称呼。"昆仑"指南海诸岛及以南地区。昆仑奴常身强力壮，有的身怀绝技。磨勒，善解人意。问生：「心中有何事，日夜不释？」
Cui Sheng served as a guardsman during the Dali reign. His father sent him to visit a First Rank Minister一品 yī pǐnThe highest rank in Tang officialdom. Ministers of this rank wielded immense power, with large households of concubines and heavy guards. who was ill. The minister had a singing girl feed Cui Sheng crimson peaches絳桃 jiàng táoCrimson peaches. The girl feeds them to Cui Sheng as a covert gesture of affection., then signaled him with three raised fingers and a reversed palm.
Cui Sheng returned home and thought of her day and night, unable to decipher her meaning. His household had a Kunlun slave昆仑奴 kūn lún núA Tang-dynasty term for dark-skinned servants from the South Seas or further south. "Kunlun" referred to the islands of the South China Sea and beyond. These slaves were often strong and sometimes possessed remarkable skills. named Mo Le, perceptive and resourceful. He asked his master: "What troubles your heart, that you cannot set it down day or night?"
磨勒笑曰：「此小事耳。三指者，一品宅中有十院歌姬，此第三院也。反掌者，十五夜月圆时相会。」生大喜。
至期，磨勒负生飞越高墙十重十重十道围墙或十层守卫。一品大员的府邸守卫极为森严，磨勒竟能轻松越过，显示其武功之高。，入第三院中。红绡迎之，遂与生偕归。磨勒又负二人飞出，顷刻至家。
Mo Le laughed: "This is a small matter. Three fingers — the minister's household has ten courts of singing girls; this is the third court. A reversed palm — meet when the moon is full, on the fifteenth night." Cui Sheng was overjoyed.
When the night came, Mo Le carried his master and leaped over ten layers十重 shí chóngTen walls or ten rings of guards. The First Rank Minister's mansion was extraordinarily well-defended; Mo Le's ease in passing them reveals his supreme martial prowess. of walls, landing in the third court. Hongxiao welcomed them, and together they returned home. Mo Le then carried both over the walls again, arriving in an instant.
一品知之大怒，遣甲士数十围捕磨勒。磨勒持匕首匕首短剑。磨勒以匕首飞出重围，如鹰隼般腾跃而去，追兵莫能及。飞出，如鹰隼之疾，顷刻之间，不知所之。一品大骇，惧其复来，遂不敢穷追崔生之事。
后十余年，崔家有人见磨勒在洛阳市中卖药，容颜如故。问之不答，飘然而去。
The minister, learning of this, flew into a rage and sent dozens of armored soldiers to capture Mo Le. Mo Le drew a dagger匕首 bǐ shǒuA short blade. Mo Le bursts through the encirclement with his dagger, vaulting away like a hawk — the pursuers cannot keep pace. and burst through them, swift as a hawk. In moments, he was gone. The minister, terrified the slave might return, dared not pursue the matter of Cui Sheng further.
Ten years later, someone from the Cui household saw Mo Le selling medicine in the Luoyang marketplace. His face was unchanged. When asked, he did not answer — he simply drifted away.
文学价值
《昆仑奴》是唐传奇中"侠义"题材的杰作。崔生虽为男主角，却是一个被动的、文弱的书生——真正推动叙事的是奴仆磨勒。磨勒不仅武艺超群，更具有超人的洞察力（解读手势暗号）和义气（冒死助主）。这种"奴强于主"的叙事结构，在等级森严的唐代社会中具有颠覆性意义。
故事的结尾尤其意味深长：磨勒在洛阳卖药，容颜不改——暗示他可能并非凡人，而是具有仙术的异人。这种"侠之大者，功成身退"的叙事模式，深刻影响了后世武侠文学。
比较研究
与《水浒传》中的侠客形象不同，磨勒不属于任何"梁山泊"式的组织——他是一个孤独的个体，以个人的力量对抗体制的压迫。更接近西方的"骑士"或"罗宾汉"原型。但磨勒的特殊之处在于他的社会身份（奴隶），这使得他的侠义行为带有一层阶级反抗的色彩。
Literary Merit
"The Kunlun Slave" is a masterpiece of the "chivalry" genre in Tang传奇 (chuanqi). Though Cui Sheng is nominally the protagonist, he is passive and bookish — it is the slave Mo Le who truly drives the narrative. Mo Le possesses not only supreme martial skill but also superhuman perception (decoding the hand signals) and loyalty (risking his life for his master). This "slave surpasses master" structure was subversive in the rigidly hierarchical Tang society.
The ending is especially resonant: Mo Le sells medicine in Luoyang, his face unchanged — hinting he may not be mortal but a transcendent being. This "great hero, vanishes after success" pattern deeply influenced later martial arts literature.
Comparative Study
Unlike the heroes of Water Margin, Mo Le belongs to no "Liangshan" organization — he is a solitary individual, pitting personal power against institutional oppression. He is closer to the Western "knight-errant" or "Robin Hood" archetype. But what distinguishes Mo Le is his social identity as a slave, which imbues his chivalry with a dimension of class resistance.
北宋李昉等人奉敕编纂的大型类书，共五百卷，收录自汉代至宋初的野史、传记、小说等约七千则故事。因成书于太平兴国年间（976—984），故名"太平"。《太平广记》是研究中国古代小说的宝库，保存了大量唐传奇的原文——如本篇《昆仑奴》，若非收入此书，几无传世。
A massive anthology compiled under imperial order by Li Fang and others of the Northern Song dynasty, in 500 volumes, containing approximately 7,000 tales from unofficial histories, biographies, and fiction spanning the Han through early Song. Named "Taiping" after the Taiping Xingguo reign period (976–984). It is a treasure trove for studying classical Chinese fiction, preserving the original texts of many Tang chuanqi tales — including "The Kunlun Slave," which might otherwise have been lost.
唐代对来自南海及更南方地区深色皮肤奴仆的称呼。"昆仑"在唐代泛指东南亚及以南的海域和岛屿。昆仑奴在唐代社会中地位低下，但常出现在文学作品中——有的是力大无穷的劳动者，有的是身怀绝技的异人。本篇的磨勒是后者，他以奴隶身份展现出超越主人的智慧和能力，颠覆了唐代的等级观念。
A Tang-dynasty term for dark-skinned servants from the South Sea regions and beyond. "Kunlun" in Tang usage generally referred to Southeast Asia and the seas and islands to its south. Kunlun slaves occupied a low social position but frequently appeared in literature — sometimes as immensely strong laborers, sometimes as extraordinary individuals with remarkable skills. This tale's Mo Le is the latter; as a slave, he displays wisdom and ability surpassing his master's, subverting Tang social hierarchies.