Etymology

• 1626: Feng Menglong, Common sayings for the ages, Chapter eight, Prefecture Chief Qiao arbitrarily fills out the marriage contracts (醒世恆言/第08卷 喬太守亂點鴛鴦譜)
• A chapter from a novel written in vernacular Mandarin in the Ming Dynasty. The novel is a collection of humorous folktales.
• Chapter eight synopsis:

  In the Song Dynasty, the Liu family had one daughter and one son. The son (Liu Pu) was betrothed to Sun Zhuyi, while the daughter (Liu Huiniang) was betrothed to the Pei Zheng. When Liu Pu got sick, Sun Zhuyi's widowed mother worried that she would have to pay the dowry, only to have her son-in-law die of an illness soon after the marriage. A plan was hatched to send her own son (Sun Yulang), disguised as her daughter, to the Liu's. If Liu Pu's health did not improve within three days, Sun Yulang was to return home, and no dowry would be paid. Since Liu Pu was too ill to spend the wedding night with his new "bride," it was agreed that Liu Pu's sister (Liu Huiniang) would take his place. Sun Yuliang, still disguised as his sister, was smitten with Liu Huiniang, and took advantage of her that night in the bridal chamber. When Pei Zheng's father discovered what had happened, he became outraged, and filed a complaint with Prefecture Chief Qiao. After hearing from all parties, Prefecture Chief Qiao decided to solve the problem by decreeing that Sun Yulang give up his betrothal to Xu Wenge, so that she could marry Pei Zheng. Sun Yuliang would then marry Liu Huiniang, and Sun Zhuyi would marry Liu Pu.

Pronunciation