Project Gutenberg 2008-04-29 Public domain in the USA. 41 Zhang, Zhuo 張鷟 Zhang, Wencheng 遊仙窟 You Xian Ku Reading ease score: 99.3 (5th grade). Very easy to read. Produced by Jun-Bi Lai "遊仙窟" by Zhuo Zhang is a classical Chinese literary work, likely a romantic novel written during the late imperial period. The narrative explores themes of love, longing, and the ethereal nature of existence, drawing upon traditional elements of Chinese culture and folklore, especially concerning immortality and the metaphysical world. The story follows the protagonist, who, during a journey, discovers a mystical cave known as the "仙窟" (xian ku), where he encounters a beautiful woman named 十娘 (Shi Niang), a character representing both earthly beauty and divine allure. As the protagonist engages in poetic exchanges with her, their initial meeting evolves into deeper emotional and philosophical musings. Their connection is intertwined with themes of fate and existential yearning, illustrating the complexities of love and the struggles between desires and inevitable separation. As the narrative unfolds, the protagonist grapples with his feelings for Shi Niang, contemplating mortality and the transient nature of beauty, underscoring the poignant tension of their short-lived encounter in the realm of the divine and human. (This is an automatically generated summary.) zh Chinese fiction -- Tang dynasty, 618-907 PL Text Browsing: History - General Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 61724 61668 2024-10-11T04:30:50.276268 2023-09-11T07:56:16.844864 text/html text/html 61717 61661 2024-10-11T04:30:50.515319 2023-09-11T07:56:16.968857 text/html text/html 70586 2024-10-11T04:30:54.762221 application/epub+zip 69589 2024-10-11T04:30:52.716257 application/epub+zip 69589 2024-10-11T04:30:51.069298 application/epub+zip 128029 2024-10-11T04:30:56.265198 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 123362 2024-10-11T04:30:54.178247 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 109083 2022-09-11T14:12:04.674287 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 53919 2024-10-11T04:30:50.046239 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 53853 2008-04-29T12:49:38 text/plain; charset=utf-8 25156 2008-04-29T12:49:40 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 17934 2024-10-11T04:30:56.517201 application/rdf+xml 7743 2024-10-11T04:30:52.004224 image/jpeg 2334 2024-10-11T04:30:51.538229 image/jpeg 67786 2024-10-11T04:30:50.521422 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog