Dreaming With My Dragon Lover

Rong Qiu Chen and Yuan Ge gently pushed open the door and walked into the tiny toy shop. Instantly, it is like they have crossed over from the noisy New Year's Eve market to a quiet and mysterious "other world". The shop is only about 20 square metres and the aisle is so narrow that it is almost impossible to turn around. At the far end of the shop there is a small counter, behind which sits a young man with his head down, concentrating on something in hand. He didn't even raise his eyes when they entered the shop, let alone greet them.

There are no other customers in the shop, which raises serious questions about the wisdom of the owner's choice of location. Although the shop is not far from the pedestrianised streets of the city centre, it is located in such a quiet alleyway that it is unlikely to be frequented by tourists and passers-by other than regular customers.

Although the shop is only tiny, it is packed to the brim. On both sides of the narrow aisle are floor to ceiling built-in wooden cabinets, divided into neat shelves and organised into dozens of different themes and scenes, each with one or more exquisite dolls dressed in period costumes; each doll has a different look and feel that complements its respective scene, as if quietly telling a story frozen in time.

"These puppets are so exquisitely realistic!"

Hearing Rong Qiuchen's incredulous exclamation, Yuan Ge hurriedly corrects him, "They are not puppets. They are called ''ball jointed dolls'', a very popular high-end toy nowadays."

As a director who has watched numerous films, doll horror films are no stranger to Yuan Ge, not to mention that he has always had a keen interest in niche culture. He has to admit that the dolls in this shop are not inferior in any respect than the authentic Japanese ball jointed dolls, and they have incorporated a lot of Chinese cultural elements in them, not only in the dolls themselves, but also in every scene, which is all done in a detailed and vivid manner.

Yuan Ge carefully surveyed the cabinets beside him. One of the compartments is arranged with a scene of a riverside pavilion, in which stands a beautiful woman in red, a 45cm tall doll with an ethereal figure and a melancholy face, looking into the distance, seemingly waiting for her husband. Although it is only a simple scene, the pavilion and the surrounding rocks are made very realistic; the clothes and jewellery on the doll are small, delicate and elegant; and most strikingly, the doll's face is very refined and its demeanour extremely realistic, as if it has a soul of its own.

"The cool autumn breeze keeps blowing

The water in Lake Dongting is rippling

And leaves drift down from the trees on the shore ..."

Rong Qiuchen follows Yuan Ge's gaze to the same doll and can't help but recite a poem softly. 

And the fellow sitting at the end of the shop suddenly looks up and glances their way, a hint of surprise on his face. He is a young man in his twenties, clean and pretty, with delicate features, and an air of detachment from people.

"The dahurian grass is green in the Yuan River, 

And the orchids are fragrant in the Li River.

Thinking of Lady of the Xiang but not daring to tell her openly…

Gege, this scene must be from the story of Lady of the Xiang."

Yuan Ge remembered that there was indeed a poem about Lady of the Xiang in Qu Yuan's Nine Songs[1], but he doesn't have the ancient literary skills of Rong Qiuchen to recite the poem off the top of his head. While admiring Rong Qiuchen, he can not help but sincerely admire the makers of these dolls. Even with this very restricted and condensed way, they were able to portray human emotions so vividly. The realism of the clothes and the wind, the sorrow of unrequited love… It is not difficult for a film director to express these feelings in the language of the camera, but it is never easy to recreate this flow of emotions with such still dolls. He can not help but feel in his heart that art, indeed, knows no form.

Their eyes swept over the many compartments on the wooden shelves one by one and saw more classic scenes from historical stories and legends. For example, the story of Huarong Trail[2], where every strand of the beard of Guan Gong is clearly visible, his purplish red face is vivid, and even his Green Dragon Crescent Blade is made to look cold and murderous. Who would know how such a small prop blade can be made with such details! How much thought must have gone into it ...

Yuan Ge is very impressed with these dolls, which he considers not as ordinary toys, but as objects of art. Rong Qiuchen is even more enthralled. He is so delighted to see the ancient heroes, the talented scholars and the beautiful ladies, each in different poses and in their respective scenes that he wants to touch the dolls in front of him - the one with the jewellery box clutched to her chest, Du Shiniang.

"Don't touch that!"

The young man behind the counter suddenly puts down the craft knife in his hand and comes striding over, looking at them full of disdain. Without saying another word, he points his finger at a notice behind the shop door, which has red letters written on a white background - Don't touch my dolls or you'll risk losing all your money!

"You're the shop owner and the doll maker?" Yuan Ge is surprised, "I thought …"

"You thought an old man with a white beard had made these dolls, didn't you?" The young shop owner says coldly, looking aloof and proud.

"For a shop owner selling stuff, even if you don't put customers first, you don't have to act so condescending, do you? And risk losing all your money? That's so exaggerated… " Although Yuan Ge admires him a lot, he still can not help but secretly complain about his attitude.

The young shop owner's attitude did not bother Rong Qiuchen as he walked up and down the aisle, happily scrutinising each doll. Suddenly, he stops, as if struck by lightning, his body is trembling and the ends of his eyes have turned red.

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[1] Jiu Ge, or Nine Songs, is an ancient set of poems. Despite the "Nine", in the title, the number of these poetic pieces actually consists of eleven separate songs, or elegies.[1] This set of verses seems to be part of some rituals of the Yangzi River valley area (as well as a northern tradition or traditions) involving the invocation of divine beings and seeking their blessings by means of a process of courtship. In common with other Chuci works, the authorship of these 11 poems has been attributed to the poet Qu Yuan, who lived over two-thousand years ago.

[2] The story of Huarong Trail, or Huarong Dao, is a fictional tale from the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, about the retreat of warlord Cao Cao through Huarong Trail after his defeat in the Battle of Red Cliff in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, in the winter of 208/209 AD. He encounters Guan Yu, a.k.a. Guan Gong, an enemy general who is guarding the road and waiting for him.. Considering the generous treatment he had received from Cao Cao in the past, Guan Yu spared Cao Cao and allowed him to pass through the Huarong Trail.