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The Drunken Tao



liáo
zhāi
zhì


zhōng
de
gù
shì

yǒu

zhǒng
jú
huā
jiào

zuì
táo



huā
míng
líu
chuán
zhāo

gè
gù
shì

cóng
qián

yǒu

jiā
xìng
mǎ
de


dài
ài
jú

dào
le
mǎ

cái
zhè

dài

gèng
yǒu
guò
yú
qián
bèi





cái
zài
jīn
líng
mǎi
le
liǎng
zhū
jú
huā
jiā
pǐn

huí
jiā
lù
shàng
yù
dào
le

wèi
yīng
jùn
shǎo
nián



jǐn
gēn
zhāo

chē
qián
xíng


This is a story in Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio about "Drunken Tao," a unique species in the chrysanthemum family. The Ma family was a scholars family and a family of chrysanthemum lovers. In this story, the lord of the present generation, Ma Zicai, was more fanantical about the plant than those of previous generations. On hearing of a unique species available in JinlingCity, he rushed there and bought two. On his way back he saw a handsome young man on a horse behind a canopied cart.

shǎo
nián

chèn
xìng
táo

chē
nèi
zuò
de
shì
jiě
jiě
huáng
yīng

yīn
jiě
jiě
zhù
bù
guàn
jīn
líng

xiǎng

jū
tā
dè

yú
shì

zài

cái
de
yāo
qǐng
xià

jiě

liǎng
zhù
jìn
le
mǎ
jiā
nán
yuàn

táo
jiā
jiě

jīng
cháng
bǎ

cái
rēng
diào
de
cán
xiè
jú
huā
zhǒng
dào


zhù
de
nán
yuàn

jīn

zhǒng
xià

gé

kāi
huā


姿
sè
jué
měi

xiāng


rén

cóng
qián

qián
lái
mǎi
huā
zhě
bù
duàn


He was surnamed Tao and the girl inside the cart was his sister Huangying. They were moving away from Jinling and looking for a new place to live. At Ma's invitation, the two settled down in the south courtyard of the Ma residence. The girl often picked up the withered plants Ma discarded and would replant them in front of her room. The next day these withered plants would bloom splendidly and fragrantly. Before long, Huanying's flowers became known in the area and many people came to buy them.

bù
jǐu

mǎ

cái
de


bìng


qǔ
huáng
yīng
wèi


táo

tiān
tiān
hé

cái
zài
jú
pǔ
xià
jǐu




táo

hē
zuì

zài
huí
wū
shí

bù
xiǎo
xīn
bèi
jú
huā
bàn
dǎo


huà
wèi

zhū
jú
huā


cái

máng
gào
sù
huáng
yīng

huáng
yīng

chū

bá
jú
fàng
rù

xià

dāi
tiān
liàng
shí

jiàn
táo

zài
dè
shàng
hān
shuì


cái
zhè
cái
zhī
dào
huáng
yīng
hé
táo

dōu
shì
jú
xiān


Before long Ma's wife died of illness and Ma married the flower-loving Huangying. Every day Ma drank and played chess with her brogher beside chrysanthemum flowers. One day ,after getting drunk, the young man tripped and fell. Ma couldn't believe his eyes when the young man fell and turned in a huge, man-sized chrysanthemum plant. He ran to report to his wife, who rushed out and plucked a flower that she kept inside her dress. By dawn, Ma saw the young man again, lying on the ground fast asleep. He realized that the brother and sister were both chrysanthemum spirits.




táo

yòu
zuì
jǐu

dǎo
dè
huà
jú
zài
wèi
néng
zhuǎn
huí

huáng
yīng
shuō
wǒ


méi
mìng
le



qiā

duàn
gēn

huí
wū
jīng
xīn
hù
zhí

bù
jǐu
kāi
huā

piāo
chū
nóng
liè
de
jǐu
xiāng

hòu
lái

rén
men
bǎ
zhè
zhǒng
jú
huā
jiào

zuì
táo



But the second time the brother turned into a plant after getting drunk, the young man failed to change back to human form. His sister reserved a length of root from the plant. Before long, a unique species sprouted, grew up and bloomed with a smell of wine aroma. Later generations caslled this species "Drunken Tao."


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