The Lo-Ch‘a Country and the Sea-Market
Carried by a typhoon to a country where his beauty frightens people, Ma Chün gains office by painting his face but withdraws when fellow officials discover his disguise. He travels to the sea-market and marries a princess in an underwater kingdom, then leaves her to return to his parents. Three years later he receives their twins; the princess subsequently appears at his mother’s burial and brings their daughter a dowry, but her reunion with Ma ends when she vanishes.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Fantasy, Social Satire, Short Story · 5,173 words
First lines
Note on the title: The term "sea-market" is generally understood in the sense of _mirage_, or some similar phenomenon.
Genres
- Fantasy — A passage opens through the sea to a crystal palace, where Ma marries an immortal princess who later appears and vanishes amid thunder.
- Social Satire — Officials gain rank through looks that Ma finds hideous, while his painted face and theatrical performance secure royal favour.
- Short Story — A single prose tale follows Ma’s arrival in a strange country, marriage beneath the sea, return home, and separated family.
Tags
beauty standards · court politics · disguise · sea voyages · underwater kingdoms · family separation · supernatural marriage
What this Textopian page supports
The Lo-Ch‘a Country and the Sea-Market is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Social Satire, Short Story
- Length: 5,173 words
- Structure: 1 section, 20 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Lo-Ch‘a Country and the Sea-Market by Pu Songling
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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