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The genre of chuanqi 傳奇 "tales of strange events" is a type of short stories or novellas, often with plots including fantastic or supernatural events. The fantastic element is central to many Chinese short stories, novellas, and even novels and romances.
The earliest short stories or novellas from the Wei 曹魏 (220-265), Jin 晉 (265-420), the Southern Dynasties 南朝 (420~589), and the Northern Dynasties 北朝 (386~581) periods mainly consist of tales about spirits, ghosts, immortals, and deities, with only a very few stories concerning the lives of historical figures, such as those found, for example, in the collection Shishuo xinyu 世說新語.
The literary framework of these stories was very limited. There were no decorations that extended beyond the plot itself. Short stories from the Tang period 唐 (618-907) are more distinct in characterisation of the characters involved, as well as in literary style. The protagonists of the stories gained life and personality, and the variety of characters also became broader than before. The Song-period 宋 (960-1279) writer Hong Mai 洪邁 (1123-1202) even compared Tang-period novels with the renowned and refined Tang poetry.
There are several reasons why popular stories developed quickly and vividly during the Tang period. The unification of the empire created a stable environment for a growing economy and the social and economic well-being of larger groups in urban areas. Some cities, such as Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi), Luoyang 洛陽, Yangzhou 揚州, and Chengdu 成都, had larger populations. To entertain the urban population, the profession of the storyteller was essential. Buddhist preachers also used stories to attract followers and build a basic religious community by simplifying the complex philosophy of Buddhism through colourful and easily understandable stories.
Essays and poems from the Tang period offer a vivid depiction of how stories were prevalent across all social classes. Emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗 (r. 712-755), in his later years, enjoyed listening to stories, as seen in Guo Shi's 郭湜 biographical collection Gao Lishi waizhuan 高力士外傳. The story of Han 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) princess Wang Zhaojun 王昭君, who was sent to marry a barbarian ruler, was extremely popular. This is evidenced in Wang Jian's 王建 (767-830) poem Guan man ji 觀蠻妓 and in Ji Shilao's 吉師老 poem Kan Shu nü zhuan Zhaojun bian 看蜀女轉昭君變.
The story Mulian jiu mu bianwen 目連救母變文 (see also bianwen texts) was well known to renowned scholars like Bai Juyi 白居易 (772-846) and Zhang Hu 張祜 (c. 785-854; as attested in Meng Qi's 孟棨 Benshishi 本事詩 and in Wang Dingbao's 王定保 Tangzhiyan 唐摭言).
The story of the ancient physician Bian Que 扁鵲 was commonly known in local markets, as recorded in Duan Chengshi's 段成式 Youyang zazu 酉陽雜俎. The tale Li Wa zhuan 李娃傳 is referenced by the poet Yuan Zhen 元稹 (779-831). In collections of Tang-period novels, some contain a brief postscript explaining how the stories were transmitted — for example, orally among friends before being written down. This is the case for stories such as Renshizhuan 任氏傳, Lujiang Feng Ao zhuan 廬江馮媼傳, Changhenzhuan 長恨傳, and Xu Xuanguailu 續玄怪錄.
Another way the short story became more popular was through its use by scholars preparing for their participation in the state examinations. Many candidates wrote poems or prose essays dedicated to a person of high standing to improve their reputation among literary circles. These essays were circulated as xingjuan 行卷, meaning "circulating scrolls". Similarly, chuanqi stories were also published using the same method, often in multiple editions, known as wenjuan 温卷, or "warmed-up scrolls".
Short stories were of a narrative nature, but also included illustrations and were regularly enriched with poems and brief comments. This blend of popular and refined literary styles increased their appeal across all social strata. The collections Youguailu 幽怪錄 (Xuanguailu 玄怪錄) and Chuanqi 傳奇 serve as very typical examples of this mixed style.
Ghost stories and tales of immortals were not regarded as literature in earlier times, and are therefore not examined in Liu Xie's 劉勰 literary critique Wenxin diaolong 文心雕龍. However, Tang-period writers viewed their stories as genuine literature, and consequently made efforts to enhance the literary quality of their texts, both in terms of plot construction and linguistic richness.
The earliest Tang-period novels are few in number, and they still reflect the influence of the fantastic stories popular during the Southern Dynasties era. The earliest collection of Tang novels is Gujingji 古鏡記 "Old stories of a mirror" by Wang Du 王度. The dozen stories include the motif of a mirror as a common theme. The plots are quite detailed and show a progression towards what could be called "real" literature, compared to the earlier stories. The story Bu Jiang Zong baiyuan zhuan 補江總白猿傳 (short Baiyuanzhuan 白猿傳) by an unknown author also belongs to the earliest Tang novels.
Zhang Zhuo's 張鷟 novel Youxianku 游仙窟 was written during the reign of Emperor Gaozong 唐高宗 (r. 649-683) or Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (r. 690-704). It recounts how a traveller spends a night in a strange inn, where he meets two singing girls sharing their anecdotes and stories. Although the plot itself is quite straightforward, the story's framework represents a significant development in a literary genre - the language is vivid and simple, yet peppered with couplets and rhymes, reflecting the influence of popular entertainment.
The pinnacle of the Tang period, during the reigns of emperors Xuanzong and Suzong 唐肅宗 (r. 756-762), marked the height of Tang poetry. Consequently, novels were less popular among the upper class. Wang Renyu's 王仁裕 Kaiyuan tianbao yishi 開元天寶遺事 includes two reports of novels written by Zhang Yue 張說. One is the story Lüyi shizhe zhuan 綠衣使者傳, in which two parrots disclose a murder plot they witness. The birds were rewarded with the title of "Green-Frock commissioner" (lüyi shizhe 綠衣使者).
The other story recounts the love of a young woman, Shaolan 紹蘭, for her husband, Ren Zong 任宗, who, as a merchant, was away for several years. Shaolan sent a letter attached to the foot of a swallow, and in return, her husband replied using the same method of mail. The original texts of the two novels are lost. Both stories illustrate that the lives of ordinary people became the focus of such novels, rather than ghosts or immortals. An additional story by Zhang Yue was Qiu Ranke zhuan 虬髯客傳.
Tang-period writers also began collecting and publishing stories they heard, for instance, Zhang Yue, with the collection Shuofu 說郛 (a forerunner of Tao Zongyi's 陶宗儀 Shuofu), and Yu Chu zhi 虞初志 (also a precedent for the later collection Yu Chu zhi), Tang Lin's 唐臨 Mingbaoji 冥報記, Zhao Ziqin's 趙自勤 Dingminglu 定命錄, or Dai Fu's 戴孚 Guangyiji 廣異記. All of these are only preserved in fragments quoted in the Song-period encyclopaedia Taiping guangji 太平廣記. Another collection is Niu Su's 牛肅 Jiwen 紀聞, featuring the most interesting story about the friendship between Wu Bao'an 吳保安 and Guo Zhongyu 郭仲翔, whose news is included in the collective biography of loyal subjects in the official dynastic history Xintangshu 新唐書.
The peak of the Tang dynasty also marks the golden age of early novels. During that time, several genres with different styles and plots emerged, which later became the main types in great traditional romances.
Fantastic stories, in terms of content, are successors to the tales from the Southern Dynasties period, but the plots of their Tang Dynasty descendants are much more detailed. In Shen Jiji's 沈既濟 Zhenzhongji 枕中記 and Li Gonguzuo's 李公佐 Nanke taishou zhuan 南柯太守傳, Lu Sheng 盧生 and Chunyu Fen 淳于棼 respectively dream of an official career culminating in the highest position of Counsellor-in-chief, wielding power and holding the greatest authority. These stories are, of course, rooted in a religious background, illustrating that worldly possessions such as power and wealth are fleeting and vain. Both novels were influenced by the much shorter story Jiao hu miao zhu 焦湖廟祝 from the collection Youminglu 幽明錄 from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479), in which the dream is recounted in just a few words. The plot in the two Tang-period stories is more elaborate, with the dream vividly described in many details. Other novels in this genre include Gu Gue du jing 古岳瀆經, Lujiang Feng Ao zhuan, Sanmengji 三夢記, and Zhou Qin xingji 周秦行紀.
Some novels span multiple genres, blending themes of fantasy and love, such as Shen Jiji's Renshizhuan, in which Miss Ren, a transformed fox spirit, lives with the scholar Zheng Liu 鄭六. Miss Ren is not only beautiful but also intelligent and able to resist the destructive forces of her fox spirit nature. This story influenced Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) literature, notably the collection Liaozhai zhiyi 聊齋志異. In Chen Xuanyou's 陳玄祐 Lihunji 離魂記, Zhang Qianniang 張倩娘's love for her husband Wang Zhou 王宙 causes her soul to leave her body in pursuit of him. Li Chaowei's 李朝威 novel Liu Yi zhuan 柳毅傳 is of high literary quality, telling of scholar Liu Yi who rescues the Dragon Maid (Longnü 龍女) from Lake Dongting 洞庭 and ultimately marries her. In Li Zhangwu zhuan 李章武傳, authored by Li Jingliang 李景亮, the protagonist's wife, Miss Wang 王氏, dies, yet her soul remains with him wherever he goes, allowing them to meet during the night. Similar stories include less renowned novels such as Xiangzhong yuanjie 湘中怨解, Yimenglu 異夢錄 and Qinmengji 秦夢記, all penned by Shen Yazhi 沈亞之.
Love stories without a fantastic plot were also a very popular genre. Xu Yaozuo's 許堯佐 novel Liushi zhuan 柳氏傳 tells the story of Miss Liu and her husband, Han Yi 韓翊, who are first separated during a time of turmoil and later reunite. The story also appears in Meng Qi's Benshishi and might be based on historical facts. Bai Xingjian's 白行簡 Li Wa zhuan narrates the story of the nobleman Master Zheng 鄭生 and Li Wa, a singsong girl from Chang'an, who, after hardship and suffering, are united. Very similar is Jiang Fang's 蔣防 story of Huo Xiaoyu 霍小玉 and her lover Li Yi 李益. While it was quite common to marry a girl from a prominent family, a liaison with singsong girls could not, in reality, last forever. The stories of Li Wa and Huo Xiaoyu are therefore romantic constructs of Cinderella-type tales, in which women of low social standing marry into a better family. The characters in these novels are vividly portrayed, and the plots are constructed in an engaging manner. Another renowned story within this genre is Yuan Zhen's 元稹 Yingying zhuan 鶯鶯傳.
A very common type of story is those set against a historical background. Chen Hong's 陳鴻 Changhenge zhuan 長恨歌傳 narrates the love between Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang Guifei 楊貴妃. In a corrupt and decayed court, intrigues led to the rebellion of An Lushan 安祿山. During the subsequent flight of the imperial court to Sichuan, the guards forced the emperor to have Yang Guifei executed. Yang was accused of causing the entire disaster. After her death, the emperor dreams of her every night and eventually seeks a magician to bring her soul back to him. Bai Juyi's 白居易 long poem with the same title (Chang hen ge 長恨歌) also recounts this story. Chen Hong also wrote the novel Dongcheng laofu zhuan 東城老父傳, which tells of the cockfighter Jia Chang 賈昌, who becomes a favourite of Emperor Xuanzong, and at the height of his influence, is forced to flee Chang'an along with the court. He leaves the emperor and seeks a new life in a Buddhist monastery. Wu He 吳赫 authored the novel Kaiyuan shengping yuan 開元升平源 (probably also written by Chen Hong), and Guo Shi composed the "outer" story of Gao Lishi, Gao lishi waizhuan. Both works are of lesser quality than the previous two.
In later Chinese romances, stories of wandering knights (youxia 遊俠) are very popular. Tang-period novels already include some stories of this genre, but only a few, such as Li Gongzuo's 李公佐 Xie Xiao'e zhuan 謝小娥傳. The female protagonist's father and husband were killed by bandits, after which she disguised herself as a man to seek revenge. Feng Yan zhuan 馮燕傳 by Shen Yazhi tells of an illicit relationship between the protagonist and general Zhang Ying's 張嬰 wife. The wife asks Feng Yan to kill her husband, but the lover refuses and kills her instead. The murder is blamed on the general, but Feng, as a righteous person, offers himself in sacrifice. Protagonists of similar, upright, and honest characters are exemplified by the Lord of Qiantang 錢塘君 in the story Liu Yi zhuan, Xu Jun 許俊 in Liushi zhuan, or Huang Shanke 黄衫客 in Huo Xiaoyu zhuan. This type of novel, with a moral theme, became increasingly popular towards the end of the Tang period.
Although only a few novellas were published separately during the later Tang period, such as Xue Tiao's 薛調 Wushuang zhuan 無雙傳, the anonymous Lingyingzhuan 靈應傳 and Dongyang yeguai lu 東陽夜怪錄, there were quite a number of collections compiled at that time. The most notable include Niu Sengru's 牛僧孺 (779-848) Xuanguailu, Li Fuyan's 李復言 (775-833) Xu xuanguai lu, Zheng Huaigu's 鄭懷古 Boyizhi 博異志, Xue Yongruo's 薛用弱 Jiyiji 集異記, Zhang Du's 張讀 (833-889) Xuanshizhi 宣室志, Yuan Jiao's 袁郊 (died 844) Ganzeyao 甘澤謠, Pei Xing's 裴鉶 (825-880) Chuanqi, Kang Pian's 康駢 (fl. 886) Jutanlu 劇談錄, and the collection Sanshui xiaodu 三水小牘 by Huangfu Mei 皇甫枚 (c. 841-911).
Some collections consist of stories written by a single author, while other collections compile writings from several authors. In the collection Xu xuanguai lu, for example, the story Nimiaoji 尼妙寂 originates from Li Gongzuo's 李公佐 Xie Xiao'e zhuan, and the story Shen Yazhi 沈亞之 in the collection Boyizhi was taken from Shen Yazhi's Yimenglu 異夢錄. Many of these extracts are not identical to the originals but were often shortened, with content reduced to the fantastic element. The literary quality is therefore in many cases lower than in the previous period.
The influence of older stories can often be seen, such as in the tale of the nine dragon maids (jiu niangzi 九娘子), who resist their marriage to the "lesser dragon" Chaona 朝那小龍. This novella is based on the story of Liu Yi. The nightly conversations of Cheng Zixu 成自虛 with ghosts are borrowed from the story Nanke taishou zhuan. Many stories are very popular, such as Dinghundian 定婚店, or the story of the Xu xuanguai lu, which narrates how the old man under the moon (yuexia laoren 月下老人) controls the marriage registers, or the story of Pei Hang 裴航 in the Chuanqi, who enters the service of a fairy and is later highly rewarded for his labour.
The story of Mu Zichun 杜子春 is borrowed from the Da-Tang xiyu ji 大唐西域記, the report of Xuanzang's 玄奘 (602-664) travel to India. It narrates how the poor fellow Mu encounters an old Daoist immortal, becomes an adept himself, and gains extraordinary abilities, but loses these supernatural abilities again when his own son is killed. Huangfu Mei's story about the love between Bu Feiyan 步飛烟 (also written 步非煙) and Wu Gongye 武公業, or Xue Tiao's story about the unhappy love of Wang Xianke 王仙客 and his cousin Liu Wushuang 劉無雙 are very touching and sensitive tales. Love can also make heroes, as the story of Kunlunnu 昆侖奴 in the collection Chuanqi shows, in which the protagonist is able to climb walls in order to steal a precious scarf for his love.
Numerous stories recount the adventures of heroes or heroines involved in indeed illegal acts, such as assassinations or robberies, for example, the girl Nie Yinniang 聶隱娘 in the Chuanqi or the hero in the story Hongxian 紅綫 in the collection Ganzeyao. Liu Cheng's 柳珵 Shangqingzhuan 上清傳 also provides details about assassins from the late Tang period. Many heroes possess supernatural abilities, and some even eliminate ghosts, like Guo Yuanzhen 郭元振 in the collection Xuanguailu, who kills a pig spectre that was harassing the local population.
Even if some stories have a quite simple plot, specific scenes are often described with great attention to detail. For example, the girl slave in the story Queyao 却要 in the collection Sanshui xiaodu mocks the sons of her master when they try to perform a serious theatre piece. The novel Jingdu rushi 京都儒士 in Master Huangfu's 皇甫氏 collection Yuanhuaji 原化記 satirises a scholar who is proud of his fearlessness, which completely disappears when he spends the night in a haunted house.
The Tang period was an era celebrated for poetry, which is why many stories about poets emerged, such as Xu Yaozuo's 許堯佐 Liushi zhuan 柳氏傳 or Shen Yazhi's Qinmengji, which existed in circulation as separate editions. Additionally, there are stories of Wang Wei 王維 and Wang Huanzhi 王渙之 in the collection Jiyiji. The collections Yunxi youyi 雲溪友議 by Fan Shu 范攄 and Benshishi by Meng Qi, written in the last decades of the Tang period, focus specifically on stories about poets.
The novels and short stories of the Tang period possess a rich and colourful content, reflecting the dreams and imaginations of the people of that era. They reveal many details about the relationships between men and women, as well as the upper class and desperados fighting for what is right and justice. They demonstrate how people during the Tang dynasty sought entertainment and the types of literature they enjoyed in their leisure time. Tang-period novellas also offer an insight into the world of thought, ranging from immortals to ghosts and love beyond the boundaries of life.
The language of Tang-period novellas is primarily prose, but it is also sprinkled with poetry-like four-character sentences. Only a few stories, like Youxianku, are fully composed in verse. Tang novellas reached a much higher literary standard than the stories of immortals and supernatural phenomena from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. The short stories moved away from the niche of Daoist tales of "immortals" and were written and enjoyed by renowned literati. Conversely, the language style of the short stories benefited from the literary level of the authors. Even distinguished writers such as Han Yu 韓愈 (768-824) and Liu Zongyuan 劉宗元 (773-819) wrote short stories (Mao Ying zhuan 毛穎傳, and Hejian zhuan 河間傳, respectively). Nonetheless, short stories were rarely regarded as high-class literature; they were mainly seen as vehicles for entertainment.
Tang short stories greatly influenced novellas, theatre plays, and popular stories in later eras. From the Song period onwards, vernacular language started to appear in stories. Examples from that era demonstrating the influence of Tang short stories include Lüzhuzhuan 綠珠傳, Yang Taizhen waizhuan 楊太真外傳, Meifei zhuan 梅妃傳, and Li Shishi waizhuan 李師師外傳. Few such story collections have survived, but some can be found in Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) collections such as Qingping Shantang huaben 清平山堂話本, Feng Menglong's 馮夢龍 (574-1646) three story collections, the so-called Sanyan 三言, and the two Pai'an jingqi 拍案惊奇 collections by Ling Mengchu 凌濛初 (1580-1644). Ming novels in the same tradition include Qu You's 瞿佑 (1347-1433) Jiandeng xinhua 剪燈新話, Li Zhen's 李禎 (1376-1452) Jiandeng yuhua 剪燈餘話, and Shao Jingzhan's 邵景瞻 Mideng yinhua 覓燈因話. The most renowned collection is Pu Songling's 蒲松齡 (1640-1715) Liaozhai zhiyi from the Qing era.
Not only was the type of story perpetuated by later authors, but the content of certain novellas, such as the Changhenge zhuan, which is repeated in the tune Tianbao yishi 天寶遺事 by the Yuan-period 元 (1279-1368) writer Wang Bocheng 王伯成 (c. 1250-c. 1321), or the theatre play Wutongyu 梧桐雨 by Bai Pu 白樸 (1226-1306) from the same era. The most renowned theatre play adapting the love story of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei is Changshengdian 長生殿 by the early Qing-period writer Hong Sheng 洪昇 (1645-1704). The story Yingying zhuan influenced a poem by Zhao Lingzhi 趙令畤 (1064-1134) from the Song period, and the Yuan-period theatre play Xixiangji 西廂記 by Wang Shifu 王實甫 (before 1260-c. 1336). Stories like Huo Xiaoyu zhuan, Zhenzhongji, and Nanke taishou zhuan impacted the play Yumingtang simeng 玉茗堂四夢 by Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖 (1550-1616).
At the end of the Tang period, Chen Han 陳翰 compiled the most important, famous, and finest novellas in his 10-juan-long book Yiwenji 異聞集. The original book has been lost, but some of the stories are preserved in the Taiping guangji. Ming-period collections that preserve short stories from the Tang period include the books Gujin shuohai 古今說海, Wuchao xiaoshuo 五朝小說, and Tangren shuohui 唐人說薈.
The most significant collection of ancient short stories is Lu Xun's 魯迅 (1881-1936) Tang-Song chuanqi ji 唐宋傳奇集, with an appendix called Baibian xiaozhui 稗邊小綴, published in 1956 by the Wenxue Guji Press 文學古籍刊行社. Lu Xun also wrote numerous comments and was practically the first scholar to compile a history of the Chinese short story. Wang Biqiang 汪辟疆 (1887-1966) compiled the collection Tangren xiaoshuo 唐人小說 (1955, Gudian Wenxue Press 古典文學出版社), in which he assembles stories that were published separately and included in contemporary collections. He also provides detailed information about the history of short stories from the Tang period. Several collections of this sort have been published in modern editions.
Song-period short stories or novellas by Chinese scholars are generally regarded as a natural continuation of the tradition of fantastical stories from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period and the novellas of the Tang period. They encompass genres such as love stories, ghost stories, and tales of heroes. However, such assessments are overly simplistic and overlook the literary achievements and their enduring influence on stories and theatre plays of later ages, including the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods.
The most significant large collection of such short stories is the 500-juan long encyclopaedia Taiping guangji, which specialises in chuanqi stories and includes tales from the Han period as well as those from the Tang period. Most of these stories are about immortals, ghosts, and supernatural events. The fact that the Taiping guangji was actually the first printed collection of short stories contributed to their widespread circulation and to the compilation of similar collections, like Zhang Junfang's 張君房 (fl. 1001) Liqingji 麗情集, a collection of love stories, which is unfortunately lost, or the anonymous Men gujin leishi 門古今類事, a collection of stories of sad fate (dingming 定命) or retribution for sin (guobao 果報), Zhu Shengfei's 朱勝非 (1082-1144) Ganzhuji 紺珠集, or Zeng Zao's 曾慥 (died 1155年 or 1164) Leishuo 類說.
The urban population was a very important market for this kind of easy-to-read literature. A very rich collection is Qingsuo gaoyi 青瑣高議 by Liu Fu 劉斧, which includes stories of trivial matters (suoshi 瑣事), strange affairs (yiwen 異聞), remarkable biographies (zhuanji 傳記), and vernacular stories interspersed with poems (shihua 詩話). The collection Lüchuang xinhua 綠窗新話 by the "Master of the Wind and Moon of the August Capital Studio" (Huangdu Fengyue Zhuren 皇都風月主人) is rather traditional, with stories that were later adapted into many novellas and theatre plays.
Some of the compilers of the Taiping guangji also published their own works and collections. Xu Xuan 徐鉉 (916-991), a renowned palaeographer, compiled the collection Jishenlu 稽神錄, which also includes pre-Song period fantastical stories. Some of these are included in the Taiping guangji. Wu Shu 吳淑 (947-1002), Xu's son-in-law, compiled the collection Jiang-Huai yiren lu 江淮異人錄, featuring stories of magicians, wandering knights, Daoists, and strange phenomena.
The publication of these two collections opened the way for a wealth of short story collections that are generally regarded as somewhat mediocre in terms of literary quality and innovation: Dongweizhi 洞微志 by Qian Yi 錢易 (968-1026), Chengyiji 乘異記 by Zhang Junfang 張君房 (early 11th cent.), Luozhong jiyi 洛中紀異 by Qin Zaisi 秦再思 (early 11th cent.), or Mufu yanxian lu 幕府燕閑錄 by Bi Zhongxun 畢仲詢 (fl. 1082). All of these are only preserved in fragments. Fully preserved are the collections Kuoyizhi 括異志 by Zhang Shizheng 張師正 (born 1016) and Kuichezhi 睽車志 by Guo Tuan 郭彖 (late 11th cent.).
The most renowned, most popular, and most widespread collection of fantasy tales is Hong Mai's 洪邁 (1123-1202) Yijianzhi 夷堅志, which was published in several series. Although the literary quality of the individual stories varies considerably, it remains a vast treasure trove of all popular stories from the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126), providing a vivid impression of the lives and activities of people during that era. The Yijianzhi served as a model for similar compilations, such as the Xu yijianzhi 續夷堅志 by Yuan Haowen 元好問 (1190-1257) from the Jin empire 金 (1115-1234), and the anonymous Ming-period collection Huhai xinwen 湖海新聞.
Separately published Song-period novels often feature historical figures as protagonists. Their literary level is quite high, as seen in Yue Shi's 樂史 (930-1007) Lüzhuzhuan and Yang Taizhen waiji 楊太真外傳. Zhang Shi's 張實 Liuhongji 流紅記 describes the life and love of a palace woman. Love stories are also a common genre in Qin Chun's 秦醇 novellas, such as Zhao Feiyan biezhuan 趙飛燕別傳, a modern adaptation of the Han-period story Zhao Feiyan waizhuan 趙飛燕外傳, and Tan Yige zhuan 譚意歌傳, which is influenced by Tang-period stories like Huo Xiaoyu zhuan and Yingying zhuan.
The same source narrated Liu Shiyin's 柳師尹 sad love story Wang Youyu ji 王幼玉記. Another love story is Wang Xie zhuan 王榭傳, in which the protagonist journeys to the land of the swallows, where he marries the daughter of an old Daoist immortal. They later communicate through what are called "carrier swallows". Meifeizhuan 梅妃傳 tells of the conflict between two women vying for the love of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang. The story of Li Shishi waizhuan recounts the love between a singsong girl and Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗 (r. 1100-1125) of the Song dynasty, set against the backdrop of the decline of the Northern Song.
The genre of historical novellas also plays a key role in several stories about Emperor Yang 隋煬帝 (r. 604-617) of the Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618), his rule, and downfall. These include Sui Yangdi haishan ji 隋煬帝海山記, Milouji 迷樓記, and Kaiheji 開河記. The three stories are supposedly based on Yan Shigu's 顏師古 (581-645) collection Suiyilu 隋遺錄 (more commonly known as Daye shiyi ji 大業拾遺記) from the Tang period. It can be said that this genre truly took shape during the Song period, before expanding into the genre of historical romances (lishi xiaoshuo 歷史小說).