the callow and bookish Hou Chazong ; then a classic type of the " goodfellow, " the formidable and chivalrous Yang Pengju ; and finally then the particular characters and situations that will structure the rest of the novel. The revised text provides an even more circuitous entry to the main characters and events of the story. It tell how the King of Brunei travelled to the court of the Ming Chengzu 成祖 emperor in 1408. " Although [ Brunei ] was separated from the mainland by thousands of leagues of ocean, it had long held China in reverence. " 12 The narrative details the gifts presented by the King, and traces the history of Brunei ' s tributary missions since Song times. The present King of Brunei, entranced by the splendors of the Middle Kingdom, lingers there and passes away. The Ming emperor enfeoffs his son and indites an elegy which is subsequently inscribed on Brunei ' s sacred mountain. Brunei continues to send tribute to the Ming court, and Chinese travel to Brunei, often serving there as court officials. In later years one of these overseas Chinese, remembering his homeland, names his only son Zhang Chaotan 張朝 唐 (