# Kai Lung’s Golden Hours — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Kai Lung’s Golden Hours by Ernest Bramah.

- [Kai Lung's Golden Hours](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/kai-lung-s-golden-hours.md): Kai Lung, a wandering storyteller, is arrested and imprisoned in Yu-ping. During his captivity, he uses his storytelling skills to navigate trials and ultimately secure his freedom, weaving tales that reflect themes of w
- [The Encountering of Six Within a Wood](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/i-the-encountering-of-six-within-a-wood.md): Kai Lung, a traveling storyteller, rests in a wood on his way to Yu-ping and meets two maidens, one of whom is Hwa-mei. After they flee, he shares a meal with Li-loe, a sandal-maker who warns him of the dangerous Mandari
- [II: The Inexorable Justice of the Mandarin Shan Tien](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/ii-the-inexorable-justice-of-the-mandarin-shan-tien.md): Kai Lung is imprisoned in Yu-ping and placed in a walled enclosure with a shutter overlooking the yamen garden. Hwa-mei visits him, bringing fruit and advising him to use his storytelling skills to delay his trial. Li-lo
- [The Story of Wong Ts’in and the Willow Plate Embellishment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-wong-ts-in-and-the-willow-plate-embellishment.md): Wong Ts'in, a wealthy porcelain maker, is tormented by an earth-demon he disturbed while building his house. He escapes its persecution by a ruse and wanders into the Outer Expanses, troubled by the problem of his daught
- [The Degraded Persistence of the Effete Ming-Shu](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/iii-the-degraded-persistence-of-the-effete-ming-shu.md): Kai Lung meets Hwa-mei at the shutter again. She brings fruit and reports that Ming-shu, foiled in his first attempt, now plans to use a tribesman named Cho-kow to falsely implicate Kai Lung in tomb-robbing. Kai Lung lea
- [The Story of Ning, the Captive God, and the Dreams That Mark His Race](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-ning-the-captive-god-and-the-dreams-that-mark-his-race.md): The chapter recounts the tale of Sun Wei, who defies the gods by destroying their altars, leading to a celestial debate. The demon Leou schemes against the deity Ning, while Ning discovers his divine son Tian, who posses
- [I: The Malice of the Demon, Leou](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/i-the-malice-of-the-demon-leou.md): Sun Wei, despairing of divine favor, destroys his altars and images in defiance. The demon Leou, seeking to enmesh the god Ning, enters Sun Wei and persuades him to capture Ning as a hostage. The supreme deity N'guk, rou
- [The Part Played by the Slave-Girl, Hia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/ii-the-part-played-by-the-slave-girl-hia.md): Hia, a slave-girl of Sun Wei, encounters the deity Ning by a secluded pool. Through a cunning ruse, she tricks him into removing his magical nail-sheaths, which contain his power, and then escapes. Ning awakens stripped 
- [The Incoming of the Youth, Tian](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/iii-the-incoming-of-the-youth-tian.md): In the High Heaven, N'guk notices the absence of Ning, the Seed-sower, and punishes him by exiling him among the stars for sixty thousand ages, while Leou is tasked with Ning's duties. Meanwhile, on earth, Ning has been 
- [Events Round Walled Ti-Foo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/iv-events-round-walled-ti-foo.md): Tian, caught between joining the usurper Ah-tang or the defenders of Ti-foo, accidentally walks into Ah-tang's camp. After a misunderstanding where he returns with the heads of his would-be executioners, Ah-tang makes hi
- [The Inopportune Behaviour of the Covetous Li-Loe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/iv-the-inopportune-behaviour-of-the-covetous-li-loe.md): Kai Lung is visited by Li-loe, who persistently searches for a hidden cask of wine and demands a story. To satisfy him, Kai Lung relates the tale of Wong Pao and the minstrel Kiau Sun, a dispute over the value of commerc
- [The Story of Wong Pao and the Minstrel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-wong-pao-and-the-minstrel.md): Wong Pao, a wealthy merchant, is disturbed by the minstrel Kiau Sun singing outside his gate. After a failed attempt to remove him, Wong Pao invites him inside, leading to a debate over the value of their respective prof
- [The Timely Intervention of the Mandarin Shan Tien's Lucky Day](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/v-the-timely-intervention-of-the-mandarin-shan-tien-s-lucky-day.md): Kai Lung meets Hwa-mei at the shutter, who warns him of a second trial orchestrated by Ming-shu with a cloud of witnesses. She reveals that the next day is Shan Tien's lucky day, and Kai Lung should use the story of Lao 
- [The Story of Lao Ting and the Luminous Insect](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-lao-ting-and-the-luminous-insect.md): Lao Ting, a poor but studious scholar, struggles to prepare for the imperial examinations due to lack of light and resources. He devises a hole in a neighbor's wall to borrow light, but is thwarted. He then meets Chun Ho
- [The High-Minded Strategy of the Amiable Hwa-Mei](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/vi-the-high-minded-strategy-of-the-amiable-hwa-mei.md): Kai Lung meets Hwa-mei in disguise, who reveals Ming-shu's plot to implicate him in the crime of Kai-moo. Hwa-mei devises a plan to impersonate the accused woman and tell a story before Shan Tien, using the tale of Weng 
- [The Story of Weng Cho; or, the One Devoid of Name](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-weng-cho-or-the-one-devoid-of-name.md): Weng Cho, son of Wu Chi, is disowned and cast out after defying his father and stepmother by mourning his deceased mother. He seeks refuge with his beloved Tiao, who rejects him. Wandering aimlessly, he witnesses a widow
- [Not Concerned with Any Particular Attribute of Those Who Are Involved](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/vii-not-concerned-with-any-particular-attribute-of-those-who-are-involved.md): Kai Lung meets Hwa-mei at the shutter, where she updates him on the shifting political situation: Ming-shu is away on a mission, but Shan Tien has become dangerously superstitious after interpreting a story's omen. Hwa-m
- [The Story of Wang Ho and the Burial Robe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-wang-ho-and-the-burial-robe.md): Wang Ho, a wealthy but illiterate merchant, suffers mysterious ailments after wearing an expensive burial robe. His scribe Cheng Lin, who secretly dreams of passing the literary exams and marrying Hsi Mean, reveals that 
- [The Timely Disputation Among Those of an Inner Chamber of Yu-Ping](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/viii-the-timely-disputation-among-those-of-an-inner-chamber-of-yu-ping.md): Hwa-mei devises a plan to protect Kai Lung from Ming-shu's schemes by challenging Shan Tien's chief wife to a wager: if Kai Lung can successfully tell a story on a given theme, she wins; otherwise, she loses her jade rin
- [The Story of Chang Tao, Melodious Vision and the Dragon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-chang-tao-melodious-vision-and-the-dragon.md): Chang Tao's grandfather pressures him to marry to continue the family line. Chang Tao avoids a match with the unattractive daughters of the house of Tung and instead sets his sights on Melodious Vision, the beautiful dau
- [The Propitious Dissension Between Two Whose General Attributes Have Already Been Sufficiently Described](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/ix-the-propitious-dissension-between-two-whose-general-attributes-have-already-been-sufficiently-described.md): Kai Lung finishes his story of Chang Tao, pleasing Shan Tien, who privately invites him to recount a fuller version. Ming-shu interrupts, accusing Shan Tien of leniency and demanding Kai Lung's execution. A dispute arise
- [The Story of Yuen Yan, of the Barber Chou-Hu, and His Wife Tsae-Che](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-yuen-yan-of-the-barber-chou-hu-and-his-wife-tsae-che.md): The chapter recounts the early life of Yuen Yan, who, after failing to achieve high official status, becomes a blind beggar leader. Through a series of events, he is employed by the barber Chou-Hu, who seeks to use Yan a
- [X: The Incredible Obtuseness of Those Who Had Opposed the Virtuous Kai Lung](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/x-the-incredible-obtuseness-of-those-who-had-opposed-the-virtuous-kai-lung.md): Kai Lung and Hwa-mei meet secretly at the shutter, where they exchange vows of devotion and plan a final gambit against Ming-shu and Shan Tien, who have reconciled and plan a feast at which Kai Lung will be humiliated an
- [The Story of Hien and the Chief Examiner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-hien-and-the-chief-examiner.md): Chief Examiner Thang-li has a beautiful daughter, Fa Fei, who is courted by two suitors: the scholarly Tsin Lung and the bandit Hien. Thang-li, unwilling to choose between them, devises a literary examination to decide t
- [XI: Of Which It Is Written: “In Shallow Water Dragons Become the Laughingstock of Shrimps”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/xi-of-which-it-is-written-in-shallow-water-dragons-become-the-laughingstock-of-shrimps.md): Kai Lung is brought to judgment before the Mandarin Shan Tien and the scheming Ming-shu. Ming-shu declares his guilt proven by a special procedure, but Kai Lung cleverly confesses to a false crime of rejoicing on a day o
- [The Out-Passing Into a State of Assured Felicity of the Much-Enduring Two with Whom These Printed Leaves Have Chiefly Been Concerned](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/xii-the-out-passing-into-a-state-of-assured-felicity-of-the-much-enduring-two-with-whom-these-printed-leaves-have-chiefly-been-concerned.md): Kai Lung and Hwa-mei rest under an ancient arch during their journey. At Hwa-mei's request, Kai Lung tells the story of Ten-teh, a cormorant fisherman whose loyalty to the deposed imperial line is tested during the usurp
- [The Story of the Loyalty of Ten-Teh, the Fisherman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-the-loyalty-of-ten-teh-the-fisherman.md): Ten-teh, a poor cormorant fisherman on the Upper Seng river, suffers under the oppressive rule of the usurper Fuh-chi. After being unjustly fined and stripped of his livelihood by a corrupt mandarin, he journeys to the c
- [Under the Dragon’s Wing](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/i-under-the-dragon-s-wing.md): Ten-teh, a cormorant fisher on the Upper Seng river, struggles with poverty and a failing livelihood. One evening, a strange cormorant without a throat-strap brings him a mysterious fish, and a mentally deficient youth i
- [The Message from the Outer Land](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/ii-the-message-from-the-outer-land.md): After Hoang's departure, Ten-teh's fortunes decline. A mandarin seizes his raft and cormorants on a false pretext. The villagers, suffering from famine and oppression, consider sending a messenger to the Emperor Kwo Kam 
- [III: The Last Service](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/iii-the-last-service.md): Kai Lung tells the story of the loyal Ten-teh, who, despite his age and injuries, delivers a crucial military warning to Emperor Kwo Kam about an invasion from the north. After delivering his message and ensuring the Emp

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