Melancholic Princess (original Chinese title: 傾國怨伶, lit. "Melancholic Beauty in the Han-ling Palace Hall") is a Taiwanese comic written and illustrated by Taiwanese comic artist You Su-lan (游素蘭), serialized in Weekend Comics from 1989 and published by Da Ran Culture in 1991. It is the 1st installment of The Seven Mirrors' Stories (Chinese: 古鏡奇譚) series, it has a sequel The King of Blaze which is the 2nd installment.
Contents
Plot summary
A reporter discovers an untouched Tʻang dynasty ancient tomb in inland China, which leads to a series of other startling revelations, of the princess of Kuang-yü, whose personal name is Li Ying, a fictional character portrayed as the daughter of Emperor Kao-tsung of Tʻang, and how she appears in the dreams of Wei Yung-chʻien, a 16-year-old Overseas Chinese girl. Is it possible for modern technology to triumph over an ancient curse?
Shang Hsüan
God of Creation and Universe, the leader of the seven gods.
Hua Chʻêng
Goddess of Water, the love of Shang Hsüan. She is the only female among the seven gods.
Li Ying
Hua Chʻêng's first reincarnation in the Tʻang dynasty, princess of Kuang-yü, fictional daughter of Emperor Kao-tsung and Empress Wu Tsê-tʻien, fell in love with Hao Yüeh. She has supernatural abilities such as make flowers or other objects fly in the air, also she herself can fly, walk on water, go through walls etc.
Wei Yung-chʻien
Hua Chʻêng's second reincarnation (Li Ying's reincarnation) in the present day, a 16-year-old Overseas Chinese girl lives in New York City, fell in love with Shang Hsüan.
Hao Yüeh
God of Thunder, reincarnated in the Tʻang dynasty as an imperial general and princess Li Ying's bodyguard, the two fell in love with each other.
Sidequel
A sidequel of Melancholic Princess titled Dream of the Tʻang Dynasty Palace (Chinese: 唐宮夢) which written and illustrated by the same comic artist and published by Da Ran Culture in 1994, printed in colour. This is a short side story that tells the lonely princess Li Ying felt bored in the palace, so she sneaked out of the palace and encountered the shih-kan-tang. The latter thought she is a demoness and ready to kill her. Fortunately the general Hao Yüeh saved her just in time.