Though its name evokes images of the White House — and maybe even the unctuous Josiah Bartlett — The History of the West Wing is, in fact, an adaptation of a twelfth-century play by the Moliere of China, Wang Shifu.
The story follows Chen Yuqing, a handsome young man who wanders aimlessly from town to town. While staying at a monastery, he hears rumors of a beautiful young girl living in the building’s west wing. Yuqing steals into the temple garden to catch a glimpse of her and is immediately smitten, sending Pianpian an impassioned letter asking her to meet him. The two begin a brief but clandestine courtship, then petition Pianpian’s mother for permission to marry — a request that Madame Ye initially refuses, as Pianpian has been promised to the scion of a prominent family. When bandits kidnap Pianpian, however, Madame Ye appeals to the townsfolk for Pianpian’s safe return, offering her daughter’s hand in marriage as a reward. Yuqing succeeds, only to have Madame Ye qualify her assent by making an additional demand of him: he must earn the highest score on the imperial civil service exam. (For a little historical context, Madame Ye’s demand is a bit like an overzealous parent making a score of 1600 on the SATs a pre-requisite for taking her daughter to the prom.)
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Ageha grew up in the shadow of her beautiful twin sister, Hana, but lately, with the help of her school counselor, Ichijiku-sensei, she’s been gaining confidence. As volume three begins, Ichijiku and Ageha have begun dating, but it doesn’t last long, as devious Hana dupes Ichijiku into believing she’s Ageha and behaves obnoxiously on a date, causing him to call off the relationship. He eventually figures things out, but getting dumped (even mistakenly) is fuel for Ageha’s insecurities, and more drama ensues. Hana, meanwhile, continues to impersonate her sister, using that guise to test her boyfriend’s fidelity.
