The Nine-Tailed Turtle: A Guide to the Late Qing Novel

投稿者 Anthony
投稿日 11月 11, 2026

Read Zhang Chunfan’s The Nine-Tailed Turtle with a guide to Zhang Qiugu, its late Qing courtesan world, the title’s satire and how to find the Chinese novel.

Quick Answer: What Is The Nine-Tailed Turtle?

The Nine-Tailed Turtle (九尾龟, Jiǔwěi Guī) is a late Qing novel by Zhang Chunfan (张春帆, Zhāng Chūnfān), issued from 1906 to 1910. It follows Zhang Qiugu (章秋谷, Zhāng Qiūgǔ) through the world of courtesans, patrons and aspiring men of status. The title borrows an old image of a marvelous turtle and turns it into a joke about a man’s sexual reputation.^[1][3][5]

Start with chapters one to three: They explain the title, introduce Qiugu and show an early negotiation over money and companionship.
Follow the money: A favor, a promise and an expense can mean different things to a patron and a courtesan.
Expect a long work: One library record lists 192 chapters across three physical volumes.
Search by author and Chinese title: Nine-times Cuckold is an alternate English title used in scholarship.

The plot guide covers the opening chapters. Use both the Chinese title and the author’s name when searching for the text.

A guide to the title’s satire, an early bargain, the city scenes and the Chinese edition.

The narrator opens The Nine-Tailed Turtle by asking readers to think about why a turtle could once signify good fortune and later become a name for a man who has been made ridiculous. The book then introduces a man who believes his marriage has done too little for his standing. The opening chapters let you watch that man’s opinion of himself collide with a request he would rather evade.^[1]

What the Title Means

The opening presents a learned allusion to a nine-tailed turtle as an omen of wealth and rank. Then it turns to turtle as an insult aimed at a man whose wife was said to have a lover. The narrator attaches the title to a wealthy official whose household has become a source of stories, and then changes the subject to introduce Qiugu.^[1]

Read the change of subject as part of the joke. The book promises stories about men who care about distinction, while the opening reminds readers how quickly distinction can become a nickname people use behind a man’s back. The English title The Nine-Tailed Turtle keeps the literal image. Keith McMahon’s study uses Nine-times Cuckold, which foregrounds the insult.^[4]

Zhang Qiugu and Jin Yuelan

Qiugu sets out for Suzhou after deciding that the woman he married falls short of what a man of his talents deserves. The narrator praises Qiugu’s talents before describing his disappointment. Keep that praise in mind when judging the reason he gives his mother for leaving. His time in Suzhou also sets up a comparison with Shanghai, whose nightlife he already knows.^[1]

In chapter three, Jin Yuelan (金月兰, Jīn Yuèlán), a courtesan in difficulty, raises the possibility of living with a patron who will cover her expenses or of marrying him. Qiugu offers sympathy and responds as if she were asking him to help find another man. She presses him to acknowledge that the request is addressed to him.^[2]

That exchange makes a good entry point because both speakers can claim to have understood the conversation differently. Qiugu answers as if the patron she wants could be anybody. Yuelan talks through the options open to her and asks what he will actually do. Notice when a general expression of concern has to become a promise that costs something.

What the City Scenes Reveal

The first chapter compares Suzhou’s entertainment streets with Shanghai’s. Inns, restaurants, theaters and carriages form part of the trip. The account lets you see what Qiugu expected from the city and what he finds after arriving.^[1] The Qing dynasty guide gives a separate account of the period surrounding the novel’s publication.

The dialogue sometimes uses Wu (吴语, Wúyǔ). A study from the Chinese Language Society of Hong Kong gives examples from several different chapters.^[5] If a conversation in the Chinese text is harder to follow than the narration, the change in speech variety may be one reason. The guide to Chinese languages and dialects provides broader context for that distinction.

The story’s judgment of a woman’s behavior can depend on who has the money, the social standing or the opportunity to tell the story. In the Yuelan scene, her tears and appeal for help are visible, but the narration still gives Qiugu considerable room to decide what they mean. Readers who want another late Qing work that moves among cities and social worlds can continue with The Travels of Lao Can.

How to Find the Right Book

Use Jiuwei Gui and Zhang Chunfan together. The Chinese chapter index lets you start with chapter one, and the CiNii catalogue records a 192-chapter edition in three books.^[3][7] If you find one short print volume, check where its chapter numbering stops before treating it as the whole work.

The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai (海上花列传, Hǎishàng Huā Lièzhuàn) is a different novel by Han Bangqing (韩邦庆, Hán Bāngqìng). Columbia University Press lists its English translation with Eileen Chang and Eva Hung.^[6] That translation can be useful for comparing how two authors write about courtesans. Look for Zhang Chunfan on the title page when you want The Nine-Tailed Turtle. The Chinese literature guide places both kinds of late imperial fiction in a wider reading context.