Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 02-09-05 18:48
Chinese story - A broken mirror joined together
破鏡重圓
Please click on Chinese Simplified to read Chinese.
During the period of the North and South Dynasties (南北朝時代 317AD to
581AD).
China was divided into sixteen Kingdoms. In 581AD, like the First Emperor
of
the Qin Dyansty (秦始皇帝 221BC to 207BC), Yang Jian (楊堅) unified the
land of what we now call China into a big country. Yang Jian established
the Sui Dynasty (隋朝 581AD to 618AD).
Before Yang Jian subjugated the Kingdom of Chen (陳王朝 557AD to 589AD
in the present day Southeastern part of China), it was ruled by Chen Baxian
(陳霸先 whose capital was in Jiankang (建康 the present day city of Nanjing
南京市 in Jiangsu province 江蘇省).
In 589AD, Yang Jian invaded the Kingdom of Chen and his troops were breaking
through the Chen's defence and entering the capital. Xu Deyan (徐德言),
the husband of princess Yue Chang (樂昌) who was the younger sister of Chen
Baxian, knew that the Chen Kingdom was about to come to an end. Xu Deyan
knew that he and his wife would be separated because she was the princess
of Chen and she could be arrested by the new ruler. Xu Deyan thought that,
once his wife was arrested by Yang Jian's troops, he would not see his wife
again. Xu Deyan
did not know what to do.
Princess Yue Chang used to look at the mirror and said to herself that she
was not beautiful. Many a time she asked her husband,
" Why did you marry me as I am not as beautiful as other girls?.
Did you marry me for fame because I am a princess?"
Xu Deyan would reply that he married her because he loved her.
The troops of Yang Jian entered the Chen capital, Jiankang, and captured
Chen Baxian, the King of Chen. Yang Jian's soldiers were rounding up the
royal members of the Chen Court. They were on the way to Xu Deyan's
house to arrest the princess. As the soldiers entered his house Xu Deyan
and
his wife were in panic. In a great haste she broke a mirror into two pieces.
The princess gave him one piece and she kept the other piece by herself.
She told her husband that if they ever survive all the perils they would
use the two pieces of
this broken mirror to identify themselves as they were once a husband a
wife.
While the soldiers were entering the house from the front door they escaped
through the back door. There were many people in the streets. Some of them
were crying and screaming and many of them were rushing and running
about. Xu Deyan and his wife were trying to stick together but the princess
got lost in the crowd.
With a broken heart and the half piece of broken mirror Xu Deyan went back
to
his village and lived there with his mother. Day and night he was looking
at the broken mirror and longing for his wife. He lost his will to live.
His mother told him
to remarry but he did not agree with her.
A few years later, Xu Deyan decided to go and look for his wife. He traveled
northwest to Daxing (大興, the present day city of Xian 西安市 in Shaanxi
province
陜西省). Yang Jian had founded the Sui Dynasty and established his capital
in
Daxing which was a long way from Jiankang. With determination Xu De Yan
arrived in Daxing.
Xu Deyan searched high and low all over the city of Daxing for his wife.
He
had been searching for a long time. He knew that his wife was somewhere
in
the city as he heard from friends back in Jiankang that the Sui authority
had transported many of the captured maids from the Kingdom of Chen to Daxing.
His wife could be among the captured maids.
One day, he saw a group of people watching an old man selling a broken mirror
in the market. People thought that the old man was mad because he was selling
it for ten pieces of gold. He had been selling it for a long time and yet
nobody wanted to buy a broken mirror for so much. Day in day out people
saw him calling out,
" Broken mirror for sale for ten pieces of gold".
Curious about the old man, Xu Deyan went near him and wanted to find out
what the kind of broken mirror he was selling. Xu Deyan was shocked and
surprised
to see him selling his wife's half of the mirror. He told the old man that
he wanted
to buy the broken mirror. All the people who were watching them burst out
laughing and shouting,
"Come and see. Here is another mad man. He is buying the old man's broken
mirror for ten pieces of gold".
Xu Deyan asked the old man why was he selling the broken mirror for such
a
high price. Xu Deyan showed the old man the other half of the mirror. The
old
man knew he must be the husband of the owner of his half of broken mirror.
The old man told Xu Deyan that a dancer in the hotel paid him to sell the
broken mirror in the market every day. The old man said that the dancer
wanted him to sell the broken mirror for ten pieces of gold and whoever
wanted to but it must be her husband. So the old man took him to the hotel.
True enough, Xu Deyan met his wife, the former Yue Chang princess there.
Husband and wife were reunited happily. They returned to the south and lived
happily ever after
Source:
古今詩話﹕Gu jin shi hua:
南北朝時代﹐Nan Bei chao shi dai,
南朝陳國徐德言夫婦各執破鏡, 分離後在復合.
Nan chao Chen guo Xu Deyan fu fu ge zhi po jing, fen li hou zai fu he.
-------------------------------------------------------------
An excerpt from my book "73 Chinese Fables 中國成語故事".
http://www.poseidonbooks.com/73chinese_fables.htm
http://www.poseidonbooks.com/hakkabook.htm
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
All rights reserved 10022005
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