Without the chapter on Lingzhi, how could there be a celestial match?

Release date:

2023-06-18

Cao Zhi was a renowned literary master of the Three Kingdoms period, yet he was frail and often ill from birth. Consequently, he held a special fondness for lingzhi, claiming that it could “restore essence and nourish the brain,” and that regular consumption would grant one “a lifespan as enduring as gold and stone.” Throughout his life, he composed numerous celebrated literary works related to lingzhi, such as “The Ode to Lingzhi” and “The Ode to the Flying Dragon,” among others.
The poignant and tender myth of Dong Yong, listed among the “Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars,” and the Weaver Girl (the Seven Fairies), was adapted after the founding of the People’s Republic into the Huangmei opera film “Heavenly Match,” which became virtually a household name. Tracing its origins, the earliest version of this tale can be found in Cao Zhi’s “Ode to the Lingzhi”: “Dong Yong, beset by poverty, had an aged father with no means. He borrowed money to sustain his family and worked as a hired hand to earn enough to feed them. Debt piled up at his door, yet he did not know how to repay it. Moved by his virtue, a celestial maiden appeared and wove on a loom.” The entire poem comprises but forty brief characters. Later, during the Jin dynasty, Gan Bao, when compiling the “Search for the Supernatural,” expanded the story, emphasizing filial piety and enriching the plot: “Dong Yong, a native of Qiancheng in the Eastern Han, lost his mother at an early age and fled south to escape war. On the way, his father fell ill and died; with no funds for burial, Dong Yong sold himself to raise money for his father’s interment. Along the road, he met a young woman who asked to become his wife, and together they went to serve as slaves in the creditor’s household. The creditor ordered them to weave three hundred bolts of silk to settle the debt; Dong Yong’s wife completed the task in a single month. Then, taking her leave, she revealed herself to be the Weaver Girl from Heaven, sent by divine decree to help Dong Yong repay his debt. With these words, she ascended into the sky and vanished.” Even this condensed account is fewer than a hundred characters, its brevity conveying profound meaning while leaving ample room for imagination. In the Qing dynasty, the dramatist Hong Sheng further elaborated and adapted it into the legendary play “The Brocade Weaving Record,” which already featured a complex plot, vivid characterization, and compelling emotional depth. After the founding of the People’s Republic, Anhui’s Huangmei Opera Troupe transplanted and reworked the story, giving it the title “Heavenly Match” and turning it into a film.

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