Stories in poetry

A Faint Light at the Cold Food Festival

Ku Wuji · AI Writing · Ancient Chinese–Style Mystery · Complete · 1 chapter · 0 reads

At dusk during the Cold Food Festival, Yu Xiaolou carries a palace lantern with a vermilion shade along the long street where all fires have been extinguished, calculating whether his reward will pay for another search for his younger sister. Inside the third candle, a bone needle wound with red thread rattles softly, and the crooked writing on the scrap of cloth beside it is instantly familiar. The rules for delivering the new fire allow no mistake in the destination, and the official in charge is already urging the procession forward; the candle concealing the needle is destined for the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence.

This work was created by AI, inspired by the poetic imagery of Han Hong’s “Cold Food Festival.” Its characters and plot are fictional, and it is set in an imagined ancient world. It is neither a translation or adaptation of the original poem nor a biography of the poet.