Kunlun Nu
Kunlun Nu (Chinese: 崑崙奴, "The Kunlun Slave" or "The Negrito Slave") is a wuxia romance written by Pei Xing (裴铏, 825–880) during the Tang dynasty. The hero of the tale is a Negrito slave who uses his extraordinary physical abilities to save his master's lover from a court official's harem.
Plot
It takes place during the Dali reign era (766-80) of Emperor Daizong of Tang and follows the tale of a young man named Cui who enlists the aid of Mole,[1] his negrito slave, to help free his beloved who was forced to join a court official's harem. At midnight, Mole kills the guard dogs around the compound and carries Cui on his back while easily jumping to the tops of walls and bounding from roof to roof. With the lovers reunited, Mole leaps over ten tall walls with both of them on his back.[2] Cui and his beloved are able to live happily together in peace because the official believes that she was kidnapped by youxia warriors and does not want to make trouble for himself by pursuing them. However, two years later, one of the official's attendants sees the girl in the city and reports this. The official arrests Cui and, once he hears the entire story, sends men to capture the negrito slave. But Mole escapes with his dagger (apparently his only possession) and flies over the city walls in order to escape apprehension. He is seen over ten years later selling medicine in the city Luoyang, not having aged a single day.[2]
Daoist influence
Mole's gravity defying abilities and agelessness suggests the fictional character is a practitioner of esoteric life-prolonging exercises akin to
How the Kunlun Slave Became an Immortal
The late
Other media
Film
- The Promise (2005). This is a very loose film adaptation of The Kunlun Slave. Instead of being called Mo Le, the slave is simply called “Kunlun” and he is portrayed by Korean actor Jang Dong-gun.[7]
- Kunlun Nu Yedao Hongxiao (昆仑奴夜盗红绡, "The Kunlun Slave Steals Hung-siu by Night") (1956).[8]
See also
References
- ^ Prof. Liu states "This is the modern pronunciation. The T’ang pronunciation was something like 'Mua-lak' and is said to have been taken from Arabic." (Liu 1967: 88).
- ^ ISBN 0-2264-8688-5)
- ^ ISBN 0-520-23034-5)
- ^ Julie Wilensky, "The Magical Kunlun and 'Devil Slaves:' Chinese Perceptions of Dark-skinned People and Africa Before 1500." Sino-Platonic Papers, 122 (July, 2002), pp. 39-40
- ^ Wilensky (2002): 39
- ^ Wilensky (2002): 40-41
- ^ "The Promise movie review". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
- ^ KUNLUN NU YEDAO HONGXIAO