| Pingzong
Siaying Lu There was a family named Jhang
whose ancestor, Jhang Shihcheng, one of the major powerful warlords against the Yuan
Dynasty, was defeated by Jhu Yuanjhang, founder of the Ming Dynasty. This story was not
about conflicts taking place between the Jhang and imperial families but the Jhangs with a
family named Yun. The Ming official Yun Jing who had been detained in Mongolia for 20
years, questioned the Jhang family's loyalty to the Ming court, believing his misfortune
was a result of the betrayal of Jhang Zongjhou, Jhang Shihcheng's descendant, and
commanded his offspring to get revenge for him and his son, Yun Cheng, who was also
assumed to have been killed by Jhang Zongjhou.
Yun Jing's granddaughter, Yun Lei, was raised and taught
wugong by friends of her father Yun Cheng. She vowed to avenge her family, so when she
grew up she determined to visit her brother, Yun Chong, in the capital then they would
work together to kill Jhang Zongjhou. On her way to the capital, Yun Lei met a young man
named Jhang Danfong. They fell in love with each other. Their wugong matched perfectly and
working together they defeated powerful enemies. Then Yun Lei found that Danfong was the
son of Zongjhou, so unwillingly Yun Lei left him.
Yun Chong wanted to beat Danfong, but he never won. Before
long he realized that Danfong was a righteous person who loved his country and did his
best to prevent Tartar invasions. Danfong not only donated treasure he found to the court
but rescued the Ming emperor from being seized by the northern nomad tribes.
At the same time, Yun Lei found her father Yun Cheng who
was not dead. It was not until Jhang Zongjhou committed suicide that the Yun family
realized that their grandfather was wrong: Jhang Zongjhou was not a traitor. Instead Jhang
Zongjhou even stood by Yun's side when the Ming court distrusted Yun who had been detained
in Mongolia. Then the Yuns no longer hated the Jhangs and Yun Lei was married to Jhang
Zongjhou's son, Danfong.
The novelist combined historical events, and the figures he
created to plot this story. The love affair between Yun Lei and Jhang Dengfong is a
Chinese version of Romeo and Jyuliet, but this story is not a tragedy. When all
misunderstandings had been solved the male and female protagonists happily lived together. |