Learning:
The Journey of a Lifetime
A Cloud Chamber of the Mind

2006 Literature Notebook

Vanitas (Taoist) [1]
Buddhist monk [1]
THE STONE [1]
Disenchantment (fairy) [1]
Crimson Pearl Flower [1]

Zhen Shi-yen. [1] A hard working man in his 50's.

Zhen Feng-shi. [1] Wife of Shi-yen.

A maid of the Zhen family [1].

Zhen Ying-lian. [1] Their 2-year old daughter.

Jia Yu-cun. [1] A poor student who becomes a bureaucrat.

Feng Su. [1] Father of Zhen Feng-shi.

The Stone, who was left when the goddess was repairing the sky wandered about until it came to where the fairy Disenchantment lives. Disenchantment kept the Stone but the Stone spent most of its time near the Magic River where it saw the beautiful Crimson Pearl Flower. The Stone took to watering the Flower and brought her to shed her shape as a vegetable and become a young girl. Disenchantment decides to gather together a group of amorous young souls, of which Crimson Pearl and the Stone are included, and have them sent down to earth to be reborn as humans.

Zhen Shi-yen is able to meet observe some events in this "other world" when he is dreaming. Shi-yen meets Jia Yu-cun and offers to pay for his education. Yu-cun notices one of Shi-yen's maids, and she notices him looking at her. He immediately falls in love with her, even though he hasn't even really met her. Yu-cun leaves for the capital to begin his education.

Zhen Ying-Lian is kidnapped from the family when she is about 5 years old. Zhen Shi-yen then loses his property, land and money through a series of bad luck events and has to move in with his father-in-law, Feng Su. Feng Su embezzles much of Shi-yen's remaining money. Shi-yen deserts his family and joins up with a Buddhist monk.

The opening chapter explains that the Stone is a magic stone that will take the shape of a person in the human life. One also sees that there are a number of nonhuman characters such as the Taoist and a Buddhist monk as well as some fairies and souls.

Chinese names are ordered with the surname first.

I am going to keep track of the chapters in which each character is mentioned by listing the numbers between square brackets.

This is my second version of the notes. I think I finally have a form that is working for me.