the new wife of the Chinese Emperor of the Song Dynasty. Now an empress, Sim Cheong hosts a feast for the blind and reunites with her father. Overjoyed at the reunion with his daughter, Blind Man Sim regains his eyesight. . Bbaengdeok's mother Bbaengdeok's mother () is a character who appears after Sim Cheong falls into the waters of Indangsu. She swindles Blind Man Sim into marrying her, and steals his money. . On the way to the feast for the blind that Sim Cheong hosts as an empress, Bbaengdeok's mother falls in love with Blind Man Hwang and runs away with him, leaving Sim Cheong's father behind. . Origins The identity of the author is unknown, and the period in which this novel was created is also unknown. Since there is mention of a jeongisu (professional storyteller) reading Sim Cheong-jeon in Chujaejip (秋齋集 Collected Writings of Chujae Jo Susam), written by Jo Susam (趙秀三, 1762-1847), scholars have concluded that Sim Cheong-jeon must have existed as a complete work in the 18th century. Pansori novel There exist examples of the novel that closely resemble the p'ansori version, which are generically called "pansori novels". Hence it has been argued that Sim Cheong novel all derive from p'ansori, however, the converse has been argued as well, some believing that the novel version came before the pansori. As mentioned earlier, Wanpan versions of the novels in particular are considered "p'ansori novels", and though called the novel, are practically the same as a p'ansori libretto or a script for a play. There are handwritten versions that are examples of "pansori novels" as well. Folktale hypothesis While some commentators consider the novel to be a folktale, detractors have noted that it is not a folktale as such. The folktale hypothesis stipulates that there must have existed a folk narrative () about Sim Cheong early on. This later became the p'ansori, Sim Cheong-ga, thence adapted as pansori-based novels, represented by the Wanpan edition group. Meanwhile, the folk narratives may have first developed into novel style, later printed in Seoul woodblock editions, then adapted to (modern) p'ansori, or so it has been explained by one commentator. Composite of different narratives Another school of thought is that the Sim Cheong-jeon as is presently known did not anciently exist as a folk narrative, but was invented as a piece of fiction, cobbling together various plotlines and motifs from narratives