Sweet Dew Temple

Sweet Dew Temple is where a planned meeting between Xuande and Lady Wu becomes both a test of his safety and the beginning of his marriage alliance with Sun Quan’s family. Its grounds also host Xuande’s appeal to Heaven, linking the personal drama of the visit to his larger ambition to restore the Han.

The proposed meeting

Sun Quan’s mother demands to meet Xuande before deciding whether her daughter should marry him. She sets the meeting for the following day at Sweet Dew Temple, making the visit a decisive step in a politically charged marriage arrangement. Sun Quan agrees to her terms, but, following Lü Fan’s advice, orders Jia Hua to bring three hundred men in case Lady Wu rejects Xuande and he must be killed.

Xuande learns of the danger before setting out. Zhao Zilong promises to accompany him with soldiers in case anything goes wrong. Xuande wears a light breastplate beneath his ceremonial clothes, and his attendants carry swords. The party arrives with five hundred men and is met at the temple entrance by Sun Quan.

Recognition and concealed danger

When Lady Wu sees Xuande, she immediately approves him as her prospective son-in-law. Elder Statesman Qiao praises his appearance and reputation for benevolence, and the meeting proceeds to a banquet. Yet the threat arranged by Sun Quan has not disappeared: Zhao Zilong warns Xuande that armed men are waiting in the corridor.

Xuande responds by appealing directly to Lady Wu, asking her to carry out the killing at once if that is what she intends. She is outraged to learn that men have been placed there to harm her new son-in-law. Sun Quan denies knowing about the plan; Lü Fan blames Jia Hua. Lady Wu would have punished Jia Hua, but Xuande asks her to show mercy so that the new family relationship does not begin with an ill omen. Jia Hua and his men leave.

The divided rock and Xuande’s hope

Later, as Xuande walks in the temple grounds, he notices a large rock and asks for a sword. He appeals to Heaven to let the sword split the rock if he is destined to return to Jingzhou and become king, and to leave it whole if he is destined to die there. The blow divides the stone.

Sun Quan has witnessed the act and asks what Xuande has against the rock. Xuande explains that, though nearly fifty, he has not fulfilled his effort to rid the country of traitors; the invitation to become Lady Wu’s son-in-law has nevertheless made the moment seem auspicious. He takes the split as a sign that he may yet defeat Cao Cao and revive the Han. The temple scene thus moves from a carefully prepared threat to a public family welcome, then to an omen that Xuande interprets in light of his political purpose.