南柯太守传

Chunyu Fen of Dongping was a wandering knight-errant of the Wu and Chu regions. Fond of drink and quick to temper, he paid little heed to propriety. His martial skill had earned him a minor commission in the Huainan army, but after offending his commander while drunk, he was dismissed and fell into dissolute ways, spending his days in reckless drinking.

South of his dwelling stood a great ancient locust tree槐 huái / locust treeThe locust tree holds special status in Chinese culture as a sacred tree connected to dreams and spirits. "The Kingdom of Locust Peace" derives its name from this — the entire fantasy realm exists within an old locust tree's ant nest., its branches dense and spreading, its shade covering several acres. Chunyu spent his days drinking with companions beneath it. In the ninth month of the seventh year of Zhenyuan, he fell ill from excessive intoxication. Two friends helped him home and laid him beneath the eastern corridor.

His friends said: "Sleep now! We shall water the horses and wash our feet, and leave when you are somewhat recovered." Chunyu removed his cap and lay upon the pillow, drowsy and faint, as though entering a dream. He saw two purple-robed紫衣 zǐ yīPurple official robes — the garb of third-rank officials and above in the Tang dynasty. The envoys' purple attire implies the Locust Kingdom is no ordinary ant nest but a "mirror realm" as hierarchically structured as the human world. envoys kneeling before him: "The King of the Locust Kingdom has sent humble servants to invite you."

Chunyu followed the two envoys into a carriage, which headed directly for the hollow of the ancient locust tree. The envoys drove straight into the cavity. Chunyu was greatly astonished but dared not ask. Suddenly he beheld mountains, rivers, and weather, plants and roads, all vastly different from the mortal world. After traveling several dozen li, there appeared walled suburbs and battlements. Carriages and people filled the roads unceasingly.

The attendants beside his carriage called out imperiously; passersby scrambled to clear the way. They entered a great city with vermillion gates and tiered towers, bearing golden characters that read "Great Kingdom of Locust Peace." Gatekeepers prostrated themselves at each arrival. A mounted herald announced: "As the King's son-in-law arrives from afar, he is to rest in the East Magnolia Pavilion."

Chunyu entered the gate and ascended the hall, which was furnished with treasures beyond description. Food and wine were spread in abundance, and guests bustled about. A maiden known as the Golden Branch Princess金枝公主 Jīnzhī GōngzhǔThe Locust Kingdom's princess; "Golden Branch" implies royal noble blood. Chunyu Fen marries a princess, receives a governorship, commands troops — fulfilling the ultimate fantasy of an ambitious scholar. Then all vanishes upon waking., about fourteen or fifteen years old, appeared as fair as an immortal.

Chunyu, overcome with emotion and sighing, begged earnestly to return. The King granted his request. Outside the gate, he saw that his carriage was shabby, and not a single attendant was at his side — he marveled greatly at the change. He boarded the carriage and traveled several li before emerging from the great hollow. He recognized his own neighborhood, unchanged from before.

Tears fell unbidden at the bittersweet sight. The two envoys helped him down, led him through his gate, up the steps — and there lay his own body, sleeping beneath the eastern corridor. Frightened and awed, he dared not approach. The envoys called his name loudly several times, and he awoke as if from the very beginning.

He saw a servant sweeping篲 huìA broom. "Holding a broom" — the act of sweeping a courtyard. After experiencing twenty years of glory in the dream, waking to find a servant merely sweeping — only an instant has passed — creates the most shocking dramatic effect in the entire tale. the courtyard, his two friends washing their feet by the couch, the slanting sun not yet hidden behind the western wall, and the remnant wine still glistening in the eastern window. In the dream, a lifetime had passed in a fleeting moment.

Literary Merit

"Governor of the Southern Tributary" is the pinnacle of Chinese "life as dream" narratives. Li Gongzuo uses the "ant nest" as the core image, deconstructing the entire system of fame and fortune as a grotesque illusion. Chunyu Fen's glory within the ant nest is merely the power game of an insect world. The genius lies not in saying "dreams are false," but in asking: "How different is what you pursue while awake from ants carrying food?"

The temporal contrast at the end ("the remnant wine still glistening in the eastern window") is one of the most philosophically powerful scenes in Chinese literature. Twenty years of emperors and generals — and in reality, a single cup of wine has not yet cooled.

Cultural Context

Under the Tang examination system, scholars devoted their lives to the pursuit of official success — "passing" meant everything, "failing" meant damnation. Li Gongzuo questions this fanaticism through the ant-nest metaphor: if even earthly emperors and generals are but ants, what is an examination success? This thinking resonates deeply with Buddhist "emptiness" and Daoist "equalization of things."