Sandalwood Death: A Novel (Volume 2) (Chinese Literature Today Book Series)

This Powerful Novel By Mo Yan—one Of Contemporary China’s Most Famous And Prolific Writers—is Both A Stirring Love Story And An Unsparing Critique Of Political Corruption During The Final Years Of The Qing Dynasty, China’s Last Imperial Epoch. Sandalwood Death Is Set During The Boxer Rebellion (1898–1901)—an Anti-imperialist Struggle Waged By North China’s Farmers And Craftsmen In Opposition To Western Influence. Against A Broad Historical Canvas, The Novel Centers On The Interplay Between Its Female Protagonist, Sun Meiniang, And The Three Paternal Figures In Her Life. One Of These Men Is Her Biological Father, Sun Bing, An Opera Virtuoso And A Leader Of The Boxer Rebellion. As The Bitter Events Surrounding The Revolt Unfold, We Watch Sun Bing March Toward His Cruel Fate, The Gruesome “sandalwood Punishment,” Whose Purpose, As In Crucifixions, Is To Keep The Condemned Individual Alive In Mind-numbing Pain As Long As Possible. Filled With The Sensual Imagery And Lacerating Expressions For Which Mo Yan Is So Celebrated, Sandalwood Death Brilliantly Exhibits A Range Of Artistic Styles, From Stylized Arias And Poetry To The Antiquated Idiom Of Late Imperial China To Contemporary Prose. Its Starkly Beautiful Language Is Here Masterfully Rendered Into English By Renowned Translator Howard Goldblatt. Sun Meiniang Interacts With The Three Men In Her Life During The Boxer Rebellion, Including Sun Bing, Her Father And A Leader Of The Rebellion, Who Is Destined To Come To A Cruel End. Book One: Head Of The Phoenix -- Chapter One: Meiniang's Lewd Talk -- Chapter Two: Zhao Jia's Ravings -- Chapter Three: Xiaojia's Foolish Talk -- Chapter Four: Qian Ding's Bitter Words -- Book Two: Belly Of The Pig -- Chapter Five: Battle Of The Beards -- Chapter Six: Competing Feet -- Chapter Seven: Elegy -- Chapter Eight: Divine Alter -- Chapter Nine: Masterpiece -- Chapter Ten: A Promise Kept -- Chapter Eleven: Golden Pistols -- Chapter Twelve: Crevice -- Chapter Thirteen: A City Destroyed -- Chapter Fourteen: Zhao Jia's Soliloquy -- Chapter Fifteen: Meiniang's Grievance -- Chapter Sixteen: Sun Bing's Opera Talk -- Chapter Seventeen: Xiaojia Sings In Full Voice -- Chapter Eighteen: The Magistrate's Magnum Opus. Mo Yan ; Translated By Howard Goldblatt. A powerful novel by Mo Yan - one of contemporary China's most famous and prolific writers – that is both a stirring love story and an unsparing critique of political corruption during the final years of the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial epoch.