莺莺传

During the Zhenyuan reign of the Tang dynasty, there was a young man named Zhang. He was gentle and refined, handsome in appearance, yet firm and aloof within — nothing unseemly could penetrate his reserve. At twenty-three he had never approached a woman. He happened to be traveling through Pu and lodged at the Pujiu Temple.

A woman of the Cui family, returning to Chang'an, passed through Pu and also lodged at this temple. That year, General Hun Jian浑瑊 Hún JiānA renowned Tang general (736-799), celebrated for suppressing military rebellions. His death triggered military unrest, creating the crisis that enables Zhang's "heroic rescue" of the Cui family. died at Pu. One Ding Wenya丁文雅 Dīng WényǎA military officer under Hun Jian who led his troops in chaos after the general's death, plundering the Pu region. Military forces losing control after a commander's death was a common phenomenon in Tang dynasty provincial armies., who held influence in the army, took advantage of the chaos to pillage the people of Pu. The Cui family was wealthy with many servants, yet lodged in terror, not knowing whom to turn to.

Zhang had connections with the Pu garrison and requested officials to protect them, thus sparing the Cui family from disaster. Ten days later, Inspector Du Que arrived with the emperor's mandate to assume military command and restore order. In gratitude for Zhang's kindness, the Cui mother ordered her son to greet Zhang as an elder brother.

Zhang made advances through poetry, but she did not respond. Zhang was disconsolate for a long time and composed verses to express his feelings. The maid delivered his words to Yingying. Yingying replied with a poem titled "The Night of the Fifteenth Moon"《明月三五夜》"Awaiting the moon beneath the west chamber, / The door half-open to the breeze. / Shadows of flowers brush the wall — / Could it be my beloved comes?" The fifteenth night — full moon. This poem is one of the most famous "coded date invitations" in Chinese literary history, conveying a bold invitation through restrained verse.: "Awaiting the moon beneath the west chamber, / The door half-open to the breeze. / Shadows of flowers brush the wall — / Could it be my beloved comes?"

Zhang was both delighted and terrified, certain he had won her. On the night of the full moon, he climbed a tree and crossed over the wall. Reaching the west chamber, he found the door half-open. The maid Hongniang was sleeping on the bed; he startled her. She cried: "How has the young master come here?" Zhang lied: "Yingying summoned me. Go and tell her for me." Before long, Hongniang returned, exclaiming: "She's coming! She's coming!"

Zhang trembled with both fear and joy, certain of success. But when Yingying arrived, she was formally dressed and stern-faced. She rebuked Zhang severely: "Your kindness saved my family; my mother entrusted her children to your care. How dare you, through a disloyal maid, send licentious verses? You began with the righteousness of saving others from disaster, yet end by exploiting their crisis掠乱 lüè luànExploiting chaos for personal gain. Yingying uses this phrase to condemn Zhang's hypocrisy — outwardly a rescuer, in truth seeking carnal advantage. This is the tale's sharpest moral critique.? Trading one disorder for another — how far apart are they?"

Before long, Zhang prepared to leave for Chang'an, first telling her of his intentions. The Cui girl showed no objection, yet her sorrowful expression was heartbreaking. The night before his departure, she was nowhere to be seen. Zhang departed westward. Within a few months he returned to Pu and lodged at the Cui residence for several more months. Zhang often summoned her in Madam Zheng's郑氏 Zhèng ShìYingying's mother, née Zheng. Zhang summons Yingying in her mother's name — a superficially proper excuse of "a parent's command" that actually serves as moral cover for his unfaithful behavior. name, but Yingying never appeared.

Zhang composed a thirty-verse poem "Meeting the Immortal" as farewell. Yingying replied, and after that he heard nothing more. When the time came for Zhang to depart for the examination, he must leave westward again. On the eve of his departure, Yingying played the qin抚琴 fǔ qínPlaying the guqin. In classical literature, a woman playing the qin for her lover is the highest form of "communicating through music." On the night of farewell, Yingying's music replaces unspoken words — the most moving silent goodbye in the entire tale., performing "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat." Before she finished, her composure broke; she threw down the qin and wept.

Literary Merit

"The Story of Yingying" is one of the most contested love narratives in Chinese literary history. Yuan Zhen narrates from the first-person perspective of "Zhang," yet at the end defends Zhang's betrayal, calling Yingying a "femme fatale." This stance has fueled scholarly debate for centuries: was Yuan Zhen criticizing or whitewashing the betrayal?

Yingying's character is profoundly complex: she proactively writes a poem inviting Zhang, yet sternly rebukes him upon arrival; she lives with him for months, yet shows extraordinary restraint at parting. This contradiction precisely reflects Tang women's struggle between propriety and desire — both master of her own fate and prisoner of her era's constraints.

Cultural Context

The idiom "begin in passion, end in abandonment" (始乱终弃) originates from this tale. Yuan Zhen's own marriage to Wei Cong exemplified Tang dynasty status-based unions — Zhang abandoning Yingying for a high-ranking family's daughter reflects the cruel choice between love and career facing Tang scholars. Later adaptations (especially "Romance of the West Chamber") changed the ending to happy reunion, reflecting popular sentiment's power to rewrite the original tragedy.