Haoh Kjöh Tschwen
Haoh Kjöh Tschwen ( Chinese《好逑 傳》, Pinyin (Hǎoqiúzhuàn), Unger Haoh Kjöh Tschwen) is the title of a Chinese caizi jiaren novel from the late Ming or early Qing period . Kuhn translates the title as story of a happy choice of spouse . The work is one of the Schi tsai tse schu , d. H. the ten master books of beautiful Chinese literature, the favorite reading of the Chinese, and, in addition to the adventure story and love intrigue, gives an insight into the value system and the hierarchies of civil servants networked in their pro domo strategies in the Chinese empire of the 17th century.
The novel was translated into German by Christoph Gottlieb von Murr and Franz Kuhn .
content
The novel is divided into 18 chapters, each of which is framed and subdivided with proverbs or commentaries summarizing or predicting the plot, mostly in verses. As in a station novel , individual episodes with z. T. fluctuating liable passages described, in which the protagonists win in brave battle or cunning counter-strategies through their influential scheming opponents.
The first two chapters tell how the young academic Tiä Tschung Yü, called Edeljaspis in Kuhn's translation, freed a girl from the power of a count.
First chapter
The hero of the city, the phoenix of the province, lament the bitter fate of two lovers
Tiä Tschung Yü or Edeljaspis, a 16-year-old academic, third degree doctor, is excellently endowed by nature, both externally and internally. He extended his education withdrawn from the society at his parents' house in Ta ming fu in northern Chili, while his father Tiä Ying, a doctor of the first degree and known for his frank speech, was appointed as censor at the court of the emperor in Beijing. While reading this, the son comes across an episode in which a loyal official warned his ruler and suffered death for his boldness. Edeljaspis immediately thinks of his often headstrong and direct father and sees him in a similar danger. That is why he travels to the capital to persuade the censor to show restraint and diplomatic skill. During an overnight stay in a hostel near Weh tsun, he learns of the tragic fate of the Weh family, whose academically trained son Peh is engaged to the daughter of an older student. This girl is sought after by the influential Count of Ta Kwai for her beauty. When the latter's advertisement to make her his concubine was rejected by her father Han Yüan, a third degree doctor, he abducted the girl and kept her prisoner in a pleasure palace outside the city wall. Edeljaspis speaks to Weh Peh and takes on the task of having his father present his report and his request at the imperial court.
second chapter
A hand reaches into the tiger's den and happily pulls out the stolen pearl
When he arrives at the censor's court in Beijing, his mother tells him about the impeachment and arrest of his father, who got into trouble because of his eagerness to help the academic Han Yuan, the kidnapper of his daughter, Count Ta Kwai, at the throne to accuse. However, the robber found out about this and abducted the parents as well, thus removing the witnesses from the Justice Department and accusing the censor of defamation. Edeljaspis can now provide the proof, and he discusses the strategy with his father: With the input text Weh Pehs, the latter applies for the arrest of the robbery count. In order to prevent him from escaping and removing the witnesses, Edeljaspis occupies the castle, frees the prisoners and holds Ta Kwai until the censor arrives. With this success, Tiä Ying is rehabilitated and promoted, Weh Peh marries his bride and Edeljaspis is celebrated as a hero in the city.
The plot changes in the third chapter after Schantung in the district town Li tschong (district Tsi nan fu) to the houses of the educated, hardworking and wealthy vice president in the war ministry Schui Kü J and his illiterate, extravagant and indebted brother Schui Yün.
third chapter
Fräulein Eisherz is boldly transplanting a flower
Kü has one only clever and beautiful daughter: Ping Hsin, in Kuhn's translation called Eisherz, Yün, on the other hand, has three sons and an ugly daughter Siang Ku. When Kü is transferred to the border province for military failures of a favorite, the brother wants to own the family residence alone and uses his position as guardian to marry off the niece to the persistent and influential applicant Kuo Ki Tsu. He is the windy son of the imperial grand secretary, who has chances to become chancellor and then to protect his family and friends. He knows the district chairman, Mandarin Pao, and the prefect on his side. Eisherz does not want to marry Kuo, agrees, but persuades the uncle to bring the birth documents with the eight astronomical signs and to accept and keep the giveaways from the groom's family as the deputy father in his house. However, she wrote the marks of her cousin Siang Ku, the fragrant, on the card and thus made it the target of advertising. When she made this clear to the uncle on the wedding day, he was trapped, had to accept the deception and instead of the niece, had his daughter carried to the groom's house in the locked "joyful litter". Siang Ku is prepared for the meeting by Eisherz and instructed how she should behave, that Kuo will not notice anything until the wedding night and the consummation of the marriage and that the day after that she should be ignorant and threaten suicide if treated badly.
Chapter Four
Mr. Kuo, beguiled by senses, catches the moon
When Kuo notices the fraud after the wedding intoxication and wants to report it to the prefect, he sees no formal violation of the law by the clever Ping Hsin and blames him for his poor reading skills and insufficient checking of the documents. But the two put pressure on Schui Yün to find a solution. He developed two plans, one after the other, to force List Eisherz into marriage as the second wife. But she discovers the dangers and escapes. The first time her cousin invites her to the twelfth day after the wedding celebration. Once there, she is said to be forced to marry by the map changed with her astronomical signs as proof of her consent. But in front of Kuo's house she becomes suspicious of the lavish musical reception and turns back. The second time her kidnapping is planned on the anniversary of her mother's death after the ceremony at the grave on the southern farm. When she notices suspicious figures in front of the site from a pagoda tower, she quickly travels back in the small litter of one of her maids, while the robbers ambush their own large one, which she has weighed down with a disguised stone, and bring it to Kuo.
In the 5th section the storylines of Edeljaspis and Eisherz are brought together and separated again in the 8th section.
Fifth chapter
The guardian of the law causes an uproar in a courtroom and, by helping an unfortunate woman, throws himself into trouble
After the renewed defeat, Kuo's friend Tschong Ki advises another trick. A delegation of strong men brings Eisherz the false news of their father's pardon, is allowed into the house and forces them to get into a litter, allegedly to have Kuo's marriage claim checked in front of the district chief. But the entourage hurries towards Kuo's residence and on the way collides with the noble jasper, who happens to be on the way. Eisherz calls for help and her rescuer forces Tschon Ki to return to the official courtyard with the litter-bearers to investigate the matter. Edeljaspis is fascinated by the girl and pressures the mandarin, who knows his heroic deeds and his fame in the capital, to release Eisherz home by pointing out that the pardon document is forged. The officer confesses to him the background to the machinations, explains the power structures to him, plays the penitent, entertains him and offers him night quarters in the nearby Buddha temple . However, this is an ambush. The conspirators meet at the prefect's and Tschong Ki plans further action against Edeljaspis. The guest is still prevented from leaving by invitations and the bigwig Tu Siu entertains them with poisoned dishes in increasing doses.
Sixth chapter
Disregarding the talk of the people, she puts him on the sick bed and pays goodness with goodness
Eisherz becomes suspicious of her protector's long stay. After he has not left as announced, she has his accommodation observed and, after his health has deteriorated dramatically, secretly transported to her house in a litter and nursed him back to health there. Her uncle, who is dependent on Kuo, learns of the new guest and criticizes his niece for immoral behavior, living with a stranger as a girl without a guardian. In a long plea based on the teachings of Confucius , she defends her willingness to help with reference to the higher ethics that stand above social norms when it comes to human life: “When [...] alien malice devised attacks against me than they did Falsification of the edict, when my kidnapping was set in motion, where was the law, the criticism of the neighborhood, the protection of blood relatives? Who could I turn to if the form was strictly followed? And at this moment of greatest danger, since I was more dead than alive, and already threatened with baring teeth from my enemies, shouldn't I have felt the deepest feeling of gratitude for my savior? "
Seventh chapter
On the fifth evening she innocently offers him the welcome drink
After Kuo's report to the district chief, he, like Kuo before, has the two monitored and the spy reports to him that they have no physical contact, only talk through a curtain and only have elegant, elegant conversations. In these conversations, too, Eisherz shows himself to be sovereign in setting the priorities of life in relation to the rule-adapted Edeljaspis by advising him against his educational wandering: “In search of the distance, do not overlook the near! Trust your self rather than the others! [...] Why this wandering to the end of the world in frosty solitude to win the praise of people whose acquaintance you did not seek? But if you travel to avoid hostility, well, those who are not at peace with themselves will find enemies everywhere. "
Eighth chapter
A thoughtless word drives him to leave suddenly
After Edeljaspis' recovery and his honorable behavior in the Schui residence, the district chairman changes sides and now proposes the marriage of the two. Her uncle also hopes to benefit from her niece leaving the house and moving in with her husband. But Eisherz reacts negatively to his suggestion because in her case the official form of advertising about her parents was not adhered to before her extraordinary acquaintance. Edeljaspis agrees. He is also offended by the violation of his honor if the public suspects that an unconventional love affair was subsequently legitimized, and leaves the house angrily. Even the fat cat and the mandarin, who, after their repentance, had promised a lot of reconciliation, cannot prevent him from leaving with their invitations.
With a pack of provisions and a few coins from Eisherz and clothed by his servant Siao Tan, he rides a mule to the village of Tung Chen. On the way he becomes involved in a kidnapping story for the third time. This time he meets Peach Branch, the young concubine of the rich landowner Li, who is on the run with her companion Hsüan Yin from her old husband. After Edeljaspis drove the alleged kidnapper away, Pfirsichzweig asks him not to be brought back, but to be allowed to accompany him. Shortly afterwards, they are stopped by Li and his entourage and dragged in front of the village mayors. Edeljaspis protests his innocence. A court hearing should clarify the case. Until then, he will be under house arrest with Mr. Li.
Chapter ninth
In vain he tries to scare her with false spooks. She, beautiful and clear as a full moon, snorts with laughter
Li wants to check his defendant's sentiments and sends his concubine to his room at night to seduce him. He overhears her and has to realize that his prisoner does not accept her offer. He is now convinced of his innocence, but he can no longer prevent the provincial governor's tribunal. There Pfirsichzweig takes revenge for the rejection and accuses Edeljaspis of kidnapping. However, the district chairman Pao from Li tschong, who happened to be present, reported on the defendant's nobility, and it turned out that the young woman had a relationship with her husband's grandson and wanted to flee with him. Edeljaspis returns to his parents' house after his acquittal in Ta ming fu.
The story of the alleged robber Edeljaspis is known in Li tschong. Eisherz doesn't believe the rumors, but Kuo, who has still not given up his hope, writes a slanderous mocking poem about the rival, which he has Schui Yün deliver to his niece.
In chapters 10-14 Kuo tries in Li tschong and then in Beijing to force Eisherz into marriage with ever new strategies, which is prevented by Edeljaspis.
Chapter ten
She adds to the appearance and terrifies the chief judge
Eisherz immediately sees through the pamphlet as Kuo's work and laughs at it. He then used his father's connection to the new Chief Justice Fong Ying as a means of pressure by telling him that the girl had violated the rules in her advertisements and that he was entitled to her through his gifts. Fong Ying then orders the marriage. In addition, Kuo is said to be accepted into the Schui family as an adopted son, since the exiled Vice President has no son. Eisherz plays the obedient, at the same time sends a messenger with a letter of complaint about the abuse of power to the imperial court, informs the chief judge on the day on which he receives the complaints of the citizens about the wrong game Kuos, sets him with her report, which on the Way to the emperor is under pressure and threatens to stab himself in front of his eyes. Fearing an imperial investigation, he withdraws his orders.
Eleventh chapter
Embers in heart and bowels, he finds no rest and does not shy away from the hardships of a journey of a thousand LI
Kuo does not give up his hope and this time wants to get permission from Iceheart's father. That is why he first sends his friend Tschong Ki to Beijing to the Grand Secretary and then, if the latter agrees, with the advertising letter to Schui Kü, who has been banished to the border region.
At the same time Edeljaspis visits his parents in Beijing. There he meets Eisherz 'bailiff Useful with his mistress' application. The latter tells him about their predicament which the chief judge has brought them. Edeljaspis immediately travels to Li Tschong to help the girl. Once there, he learns that the situation has cleared up, and since there is no longer any danger for Eisherz, he wants to return home without speaking to her. But Kuo and Schui Yün want to lure him into a trap and let their squad beat him up. They send an alleged messenger from Eisherz to his inn, who asks him to talk to her in secret. But Edeljaspis knows that the girl would never break the rules of society in this way, and forces the boy to confess the intrigue to him.
Chapter Twelve
With cold eyes he knocks over the banquet table and breaks it
In the next attempt at duping, Schui Yün persuades his niece to invite Edeljaspis to her house out of gratitude for his long journey. She accepts the proposal because she knows that out of a sense of honor he will refuse. At the same time, she lets her bailiff tell him about the background, and Edeljasis politely declines. Kuo then tries another trick. He asks the rival for a feast in his house. Edeljaspis suspects nothing good, plans his departure and makes a formal visit to comply with the rules. He falls into the trap, however, because according to Kuo's arrangement, friends of the host arrive one after the other and he has to cope with a series of courtesy that he cannot deny these sons of influential officials. When he finally breaks off the ceremony half-drunk, the planned confrontation takes place under the pretext of insult, but Edeljaspis survives by getting one of the opponents under control and forcing him as a hostage to take him out of the house. Eisherz foresaw this and provided him with a horse to ride to Tung Chang Fu, where Chief Justice Fong Ying is currently holding an audience for the plaintiffs. So he can report the incident before Kuo arrives with his slander.
Chapter thirteen
Indignantly, he rejects the application for engagement and exposes himself to increased malice
Kuo tries first with his followers to pursue Edeljaspis and to hold them. However, this one has already left. The complaint of overthrow with the chief judge is also unsuccessful, as the chief judge has already been informed and, under threat of torture, is forcing Schui Yün, whom Kuo has named as a witness, to confess the truth.
In his next campaign, Kuo is hoping for his father's support in Beijing. He prepares an advertising letter and sends Tschong Ki to Eisherz's father in the border province. Schui Kü has unpleasant memories of Kuo and his son, but he tries to avoid an offensive rejection of the application: Due to his exile and the threatened death penalty, his family is not equal to that of the Grand Secretary and he wants to leave the decision to his only daughter and heiress. But this explanation is not accepted and the border commander, influenced by Kuo, warns him of disadvantages. This too cannot change his mind. The threat is then implemented: Because of further military failures, the case of General Hou Siao, in which he is involved, a year ago, is to be reopened in Beijing. On the recommendation of Schui Küs, then Vice President in the War Ministry, he was given command of a threatened section. Hou's superior, his commander-in-chief, was insulted by his disrespect for him and withdrew units in revenge so that Hou Siao was unable to cope with the superiority of the enemy, was subject to and was punished with imprisonment.
Fourteenth Chapter
Chivalrously, he gives his life to someone else
Edeljaspis learns in Beijing of the trial against Hou Siao, in which he is to be sentenced to death. He vouches for the general with his own life and works to ensure that he can prove himself in a new command in the border war. He succeeds in doing this. He is then promoted to commander in chief and his advocate Schui Kü is allowed to return to the capital and is appointed Minister of War. He is so enthusiastic about the courageous noble jasper that he wants him to be his son-in-law and agrees the marriage of the children with his father, the censor Tiä Ying. Edeljaspis again brings up the rule violation of chance acquaintance, ridiculed by the parents because of the exceptional situation, as a formal reason for rejection.
In chapters 15-18, Kuo tries to take revenge for his defeat and, together with the eunuch, sever the connection between Edeljaspis and Eisherz.
Chapter fifteen
Were they allowed to defy father and mother's subsequent commandments?
Tschong Ki and Kuo are now planning a new intrigue out of revenge and win two people who are influential at the imperial court: the Count of Ta Kwai is supposed to woo Eisherz and the chief eunuch Tschou for his niece about Edeljaspis. In order to forestall these advertisements, which are honorable from their positions of power, Edeljaspis and Eisherz consent to their official marriage, but only on the condition that they live in their father's Beijing residence but do not live together. Edeljaspis has now passed his first degree doctoral exams with summa cum laude and has been promoted to secretary of the Hanlin Academy.
Sixteenth Chapter
The splendid is caught in the snare of a wicked slave and made difficult to keep the sacred doctrine
It is rumored in Beijing that the marriage was only a pretense and is not practiced. With this information, the chief eunuch Tschou wants to operate against Edeljaspis. He lures him into his house on the pretext that the emperor has asked him to write poems about two of his favorite paintings. There he explains to him that he had agreed with his father to marry his niece. The kalykanthus flower shown in the picture has the same name "meh" as that of the matchmaker and Edeljaspis accepted the symbolism with the fulfillment of the order and thus automatically consented to the advertising. Since this contradicts the present, Grand Secretary Kuo, who is present as a guest, is appointed as arbitrator, and he gives the eunuch justice, as previously agreed. Edeljaspis now notices the ambush and tries a delaying tactic: he wants to write the poem for the second picture first, before he continues to negotiate. The host leads him upstairs and locks him in there. Instead of the painting, he meets the niece, prepared for the groom, who is festively decorated. A servant tells him that with his entry into the women's room, which is forbidden for strangers, he is ready to marry. He is freed from this precarious position by an ambassador of the emperor, who invites him to a banquet for the victorious general Hou Siao. So the eunuch has to let him move out of his house.
Chapter seventeenth
Hidden feelings are discovered and real greatness opens up
In order to avoid further rumors of a fictitious marriage, Tiä Ying and Schui Kü organize a second wedding party for their children, and both now, as custom demands, move into their father's house. But they continue to live celibate so as not to destroy evidence of Iceheart's virginity for a possible investigation into their premarital relationship. Tschou and Kuo are pursuing such a plan: Edeljaspis and Eisherz are to be denounced for having had sexual intercourse in the girl's house under the pretense of illness and care for the young man. They use their network of contacts for this lawsuit: the censor Wan O draws up a corresponding letter and submits it to the senior secretariat. When there was no reason to investigate because of the statute of limitations, the chief eunuch insisted that it be passed on to the emperor, and the ruler ordered an investigation by the Ministry of Rites. The official way runs through the governor of Schantung to the new district chief Weh Peh in Li tschong, to whom Kuo communicates his wishes with a bribe. However, he is grateful to Edeljaspis for the liberation of his bride (2nd chapter) and asks his officials and the bigwigs, who tell him the true events and the intrigues of the young Kuo. He wrote his report accordingly, but the Minister of the Rites gave it to Grand Secretary Kuo, who was also involved and partisan, to read. He wants to stop the further course and starts a counterattack by having the district chief Weh Peh accuse the censor Wan O of ineptitude and corruption before the throne. The governor von Shantung then orders a new investigation. He sees through the background connections and advises Weh Peh to present the case in person in Beijing immediately and to take the witnesses with him. When he arrives in the capital, he applies to the Ministry of Justice for a disciplinary investigation. Since he presents the facts in public, the Minister of Justice cannot suppress them and has to present the files to the Emperor together with those of the Minister of Rites. He invites everyone involved to hear the different versions.
Chapter eighteenth
They emerged from the examination shining like flawless diamonds. The work of the glorious teaching is finished and the simple 'story of a happy choice of spouse' comes to an end
The emperor, known as the “Son of Heaven”, checks all reports and interrogates the witnesses. Then he calls all those involved and high dignitaries together for a lunchtime audience and questions the accused, whose virtuous behavior he likes, but appears to be almost superhuman. Therefore, he orders a gynecological examination of Eisherz 'in front of his "exalted mother", which confirms the girl's virginity. After this final proof, the emperor praised it as a model of the sublime teaching in front of all those gathered. "Truly, they are two nobles in the sense of the 'lucky choice of spouses' of the old Shikin" This is followed by praise and promotion of Edeljaspis' and his supporters as well as rebuke and gradation of the schemers. The audience ends with great applause for the exemplary couple, who then carry out the real wedding ceremony at home in the bridal room, in which they “float together on wings of bliss. And it is done in honor. "
Classification and reception
Haoh Kjöh Tschwen is the first and for half a century the only Chinese novel to be translated into European languages. In 1761 the publisher Thomas Percy published it in London under the title Hau Kiou Choaan, or the pleasing History . The novel was then translated from English into German, French and Dutch.
According to Percy, the merchant James Wilkinson translated the text into English. His manuscript was found among documents from the East India Company. However, some literary critics suspected a sales trick with exploiting the enthusiasm for China of many Europeans and doubted that there was a Chinese original. This question could only be clarified in 1810: the identity of the author and the exact publication date are not known. The first publication possibly dates back to 1683. After 1712 the story was subtitled Xiayi fengyue zhuan (A Tale of Chivalry and Love)
In China, the work was not without controversy among the conservative Confucians, who were keen on strict adherence to social rules, because of the emancipated image of women, and was therefore still banned in individual provinces in the 19th century. After James St. Andres' assessment of the novel in China was considered a "second-rate fiction", so as second-class fiction , and threatened changing literary taste forgot to be. The English translation increased interest again and helped the novel to become “life and fame”.
In enlightened Europe one was evidently astonished by the educated and emancipated Chinese novel heroes, especially since there was little information about the people of this distant country. Friedrich Schiller wrote in a letter that the novel had “so much that is excellent” and was “a single product of its kind”. In 1800 he planned the translation of v. Murrs retelling, but did not get beyond three pages. Perhaps, however, as indicated by many Amazonian character similarities, the female heroine inspired him to rewrite Carlo Gozzi's Turandot , fiaba chinese teatrale comica (1762): Turandot, Princess of China (1801)
Eckermann reports on a conversation with Goethe on January 31, 1827, in which the latter told him about reading the Chinese novel: “People think, act and feel almost as we do, and one soon feels like one of them, only when everything is clearer, cleaner and more moral to them. "
literature
see literature in the article Franz Kuhn
Individual evidence
- ↑ Genre that typically features a romance between a young scholar and a beautiful girl. s. Chloë F. Starr: Red-Light Novels of the Late Qing (Volume 14 of China Studies). Brill, 2007.
- ↑ Franz Kuhn: Eisherz und Edeljaspis or The story of a happy husband choice . Insel Verlag 1975, epilogue. P. 325.
- ↑ s. Four books (Confucianism)
- ↑ s. Chinese civil servant examination during the Qing Dynasty
- ↑ Christoph Gottlieb von Murr: Haoh Kjöh Tschwen, d. i. the pleasant story of Haoh Kjöh . Johann Friedrich Junius, Leipzig, 1766.
- ↑ Franz Kuhn: Eisherz und Edeljaspis or The story of a happy husband choice . Insel Verlag 1926.
- ^ In the translation of Kuhns, Insel Taschenbuch 1975, p. 130.
- ↑ in Kuhn's translation, Insel Taschenbuch 1975, p. 144.
- ↑ Book of Songs , one of the five holy books
- ↑ in Kuhn's translation, Insel Taschenbuch 1975, p. 320.
- ↑ in Kuhn's translation, Insel taschenbuch 1975, p. 324.
- ↑ Yuan Tan: The Chinese in German literature: with special consideration of Chinese characters in the works of Schiller, Döblin and Brecht . Göttingen 2007, p. 40 ff.
- ↑ Kai Chong Cheung: The Theme of Chastity in Hau Ch'iu Chuan and Parallel Western Fiction . Bern 1994, p. 13.
- ↑ Yuan Tan: The Chinese in German Literature. With special consideration of Chinese figures in the works of Schiller, Döblin and Brecht . Göttingen 2007, p. 46.
- ↑ David Der-wei Wang: Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911 . Stanford University Press, 1997.
- ↑ Yuan Tan: The Chinese in German literature: with special consideration of Chinese characters in the works of Schiller, Döblin and Brecht . Göttingen 2007, p. 47.
- ↑ Jenny Schon: Women in China. A study of the social status of Chinese women before 1949 . Bochum 1982.
- ↑ Jamesw St. André: Modern Translation Theory and Past Translation Practice: European Translations of the Haoqiu zhuan (Chapter 2). In: Leo Tak-hung Chan (editor). One Into Many: Translation and the Dissemination of Classical Chinese Literature (Issue 18 of Approaches to translation studies). Rodopi, 2003.
- ↑ Friedrich Schiller: Complete Works. Fifth volume “Stories / Theoretical Writings” , Carl Hanser Verlag Munich 1967, Appendix, p. 1074.
- ↑ Yuan Tan: The Chinese in German literature: with special consideration of Chinese characters in the works of Schiller, Döblin and Brecht . Göttingen 2007, p. 67.
- ↑ Fritz Kuhn: Eisherz and Edeljaspis . Epilogue. Insel Verlag 1975, p. 326.