“The Tale of the Beauty” by Bo Xingjian in brief summary
In the old days, a son, a young boy of extraordinary talents, grew up in the family of a noble dignitary. His father was proud of him.
It’s time to go to the state exams in the capital. The young man rode into Chang’an through the gate of the entertainment quarter and immediately spotted the beautiful woman near one of the houses. It seems that she also noted the young man. From people our hero learned that the girl Li is greedy and insidious, but still brought her acquaintance. And she directly bewitched him. They settled together. The young man abandoned his friends, classes, know theatrical performances and walked about with feasts. At first the money ran out. Then I had to sell the horses, the crew, and there the servants arrived.
Beauty, seeing that the beloved was impoverished, conceived a cunning plan. Lured him into the house of his supposed aunt, and she slipped away under the pretext of a sudden illness of her mother. The boy was looking for her, but
However, the unfortunate gradually regained his wits and took care of the employees of the funeral home and began to help the owner. Especially he succeeded in singing funeral laments, became famous in the city. Soon, even his rival funeral office smothered, and when a contest was arranged among the competitors, it was the young man who, with his singing, brought victory to the new master.
On trouble, the father, who turned out to be on business in the capital, found out in the performer the funeral songs of his own son and in anger beat him with whips to the death. The comrades tried to take care of him, but they despaired: hardly a young man was wandering around the city, begging for alms. Accidentally, he came to his beloved’s house. Horrified by what was done, the beautiful woman began to groom her and succeeded. Then she decided to again urge the young man to science. Two years from day to day, she forced him to do it before his old
Going along with the beautiful Lee to a new place of service, he met his own father, who, admiring the successes of his son, forgave him all the sins. Moreover, having learned about the role played by his lover in life, the father insisted on their soonest marriage. Beauty has truly become an exemplary wife, and among their descendants we meet in a multitude of worthy scientists and statesmen.
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