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This scene is an episode from the Ming drama ‘The Story of <a style="color: #3366ff;" data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/when-red-fly-whisk-fell-head-over-heels-for-the-scholar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Girl Holding a Red Fly Whisk </a>(红拂记 Hongfu ji)’.
The story is an account of how a talented scholar Li Jing (李靖) meets Lord Yang Su 杨素’s favourite singsong girl <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/blogs/interesting-findings/how-to-depict-the-scene-of-falling-in-love-on-chinese-porcelain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Red Fly Whisk</a> (红拂女). Later, they meet the formidable knight errant Zhang Zhongjian (张仲坚) whose nickname is Curly-bearded Fellow (虬髯客), and they form the well-known ‘Three Chivalrous Heroes of the Wind and Dust 风尘三侠’.
Through twists and turns, the Curly Beard realised that Li Shimin 李世民 (598-649) was the true ‘dragon’s son’ and, therefore, destined to be the future ruler of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and decided not to compete with him. After Curly-bearded Fellow handed over to Li Jing and Red Fly Whisk all his possessions, he left for overseas to start his cause of taking over a small kingdom of Fuyu in the south-east sea. Before his departure, he told the couple that in ten years’ time they would hear his success and should celebrate this occasion by pouring him a libation of wine toward south-east.
In the present scene, the sensible knight Zhang with his signature baby-dragon-like (虬髯) beard is riding a horse, accompanied by his wife sitting in a wheeled sedan chair on their way abroad.
image identification and literature research by Dr <a data-internal-link="true" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/about-us/dr-yibin-ni/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yibin Ni</a>

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