The Adventures of Ma Suzhen : 'An Heroic Woman Takes Revenge in Shanghai'

If you love wuxia ("knight-errant" tales), this book is an absolute must-read. Charming and delightfully humorous, it follows the adventures and bloodstained justice of the effervescent heroine, Ma Suzhen. Bevan's superb writing style and helpful introduction make this a wonderful initiation into Chinese Republican popular fiction and the world of wuxia. Dr Amy Matthewson, author of Cartooning China: 'Punch', Power, and Politics in the Victorian Era. Part newspaper shocker, part fact, part invention and many miles from The Dream of the Red Chamber, this is the sort of story people loved to read in early-twentieth-century China - an exciting and amusing example of truly popular Chinese fiction. Dr Frances Wood, retired curator of the Chinese Collections in the British Library and author of many books, including Great Books of China(2017). The comic novel, The Adventures of Ma Suzhen, was written during a highpoint in the popularity of xia "knight-errant" fiction. It is an action-packed tale of a young woman who takes revenge for her brother, Ma Yongzhen, a gangster and performing strongman, who has been murdered by a rival gang in China's most cosmopolitan city, Shanghai. After publication of the book in 1923, the character of Ma Suzhen appeared on stage, and subsequently in a film made by the Mingxing Film Company. The book version translated here, displays a delightful combination of the xia and popular"Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies" genres, with additional elements of Gong'an "court case" fiction. The translation is followed by an essay that explores the background to the legend of Ma Suzhen - a fictional figure, whose exhilarating escapades reflect some of the new possibilities and freedoms available to women following the founding of the Chinese Republic. Dr Paul Bevan is Departmental Lecturer in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture at the University of Oxford. His current research addresses a variety of themes concerning popular fiction and the visual arts as they appeared in periodicals and magazines published in Shanghai during the first decades of the twentieth century Acknowledgements Contents About the Translator Notes on the Translation and Illustrations Place Names Names of Characters Changes to the Text Additions to the Text Inconsistencies in the Story Inconsistencies in the Illustrations List of Figures Translator’s Introduction Synopsis The Adventures of Ma Suzhen: Cast of Characters Cast of Characters (in Alphabetical Order) The Adventures of Ma Suzhen: An Heroic Woman Takes Revenge in Shanghai Chapter 1 Prologue Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Part Two Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 A Hero of the Women’s Realm, Ma Suzhen, an Essay by Paul Bevan A Qing Dynasty Tale Authorship Where Does the Book Fit into the Nüxia Genre? The Illustrations in the 1929 Edition The Film and Play The Play as Reported in the Press Comedy or Adventure Story? A Martial Arts Novel? Historical Context Literary Allusions Bibliography Books Articles in Newspapers, Journals and Magazines Periodicals Internet The comic novel, The Adventures of Ma Suzhen, was written during a highpoint in the popularity of xia "knight-errant" fiction. It is an action-packed tale of a young woman who takes revenge for her brother, Ma Yongzhen, a gangster and performing strongman, who has been murdered by a rival gang in China's most cosmopolitan city, Shanghai. After publication of the book in 1923, the character of Ma Suzhen appeared on stage, and subsequently in a film made by the Mingxing Film Company. The book version translated here, displays a delightful combination of the xia and popular "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies" genres, with additional elements of Gong'an "court case" fiction. The translation is followed by an essay that explores the background to the legend of Ma Suzhen--a fictional figure, whose exhilarating escapades reflect some of the new possibilities and freedoms available to women following the founding of the Chinese Republic