International Women's Day - Novels in Celebration

 

 

These four novels that I wrote all celebrate heroic women from Chinese History who fought conventions in patriarchal societies. They all left a lasting legacy (political/artistic/social) on the Chinese civilization. Today is as an opportune occasion as any to read their stories of triumph!

 

They feature a shrewd Qing Empress who single-handedly pulled the fledgling Empire from the brink of disintegration (The Green Phoenix); three feisty Qinhuai beauties who fought fate with their talents (Tales of Ming Courtesans); and a gritty rebel leader sent from the Moon Palace who faced off a cruel tyrant to protect her village (The Heavenly Sword + The Earthly Blaze).

 

If you want to look for background/research information related to these novels, just click on the relevant button beneath the header image.

   

Lantern Festival - Xin Qiji's Lyric Poem

 

 

The Lantern Festival always reminds me of Southern Song poet Xin Qiji's 辛棄疾's famous lyric poem ("ci") titled The Green Jade Bowl: Lantern Festival (青玉案: 元夕)!

 

東 風 夜 放 花 千 樹 ， 更 吹 落 、 星 如 雨。寶 馬 雕 車 香 滿 路。鳳 簫 聲 動， 玉 壺 光 轉， 一 夜 魚 龍 舞。蛾 兒 雪 柳 黃 金 縷， 笑 語 盈 盈 暗 香 去 。眾 裏 尋 他 千 百 度; 驀 然 迴 首，那 人 卻 在 、燈 火 闌 珊 處 。

The poem tells how the writer, while imbibing the sights, sounds and smells of festive activities all around him, awash in glamor and affluence, suddenly stumbled upon (an image of) his beloved (person or dream) that he had been searching for, in a quiet, dimly lit corner. It seems to pinpoint the contrast between the cheerful surroundings and his pensive mood.

Here's my own English rendition of the poem:-

"The east wind unfurls lanterns like blooms on a thousand trees, Fireworks sparkle like falling stars.

Horses and scented carriages fill the road, flutes singing, moonlight swirling, fish and dragon lanterns in a nocturne dance.

Ladies with silver and gold tassels in their hair, all smiles, leave a trail of fragrance.

A dream long lost, springs forth without warning, in a shadowy nook."

 

  

 

 

 

 

Zizhi Tongjian in Story Form

 

This is a Christmas present I bought for myself on my recent trip to Hong Kong.

 

This book looks like a fun way to tackle the massive history tome Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance) 資治通鑑, as it is written in modern written Chinese and retells in story form an extensive selection of crucial events as cited in the original tome.

 

The original historiographical masterpiece was written/compiled by Song official/scholar Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019-1086) and his team of students and is a Chronicle of Chinese history spanning 1,362 years (16 dynasties) prior to the Song dynasty (from 403 BC to 959 AD).

 

 

 

Full Review of the Sword Maiden Duology by Jade Moon's Publisher

 

  

 

This review truly strikes a deep chord with me. It just shows how much the reviewer appreciates my efforts at bringing this story to life! Ivana is indeed a kindred spirit!

  

 

Jade Moon Magazine - Author Interview and Book Review of the Sword Maiden Duology

 

  

 

I had the honour and privilege of being recently interviewed by the Jade Moon Magazine publisher, Ivana Milanovic, with whom I talked about the inspirations behind the writing of the Sword Maiden from the Moon duology, and about the wuxia genre in general. This interview, along with Ivana's amazing review of the two books (The Heavenly Sword and The Earthly Blaze), have appeared in Issue #2 of the magazine (June 2025). 

 

Jade Moon Magazine is a bilingual (English & Montenegrin) cultural periodical focused on exploring the Chinese culture in depth. Ivana, a native of Montenegro who lives in Rome, Italy, is clearly passionate about this topic and has poured her heart and soul into researching, compiling and editing the magazine.

 

As a Hong Kong native, I wrote the Sword Maiden duology as my small tribute both to the wuxia genre and the genre grandmaster Jin Yong. This genre of fiction and screen adaptations enjoyed a golden era in my birthplace. So I'm thankful for this opportunity to introduce the much loved wuxia genre and culture to the Balkans (or Southeast Europe), who are the primary target audience of Jade Moon Magazine. 

 

Some of the attractions of Issue #2 include an overview of the traditional culture of the Kingdom of Chu 楚國 in the Warring States era, an introduction to the ancient poetry anthology "Songs of Chu" or "Songs of the South" 楚辭, an exhibit of the various ethnic tribal cultures of Yunnan, stories of the four most handsome men of China, etc. 

 

The digital version of this Issue #2 (as well as of Issue #1) is available for free download from the magazine's Instagram account profile.

 

 

Book Review - Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber

 

 

This was a reread for me after several decades!

The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber is Book 3 in the Condor Heroes Trilogy. Currently, no official English translation exists as yet, although it may be on the publishing agenda of MacLehose Press.

While I still love the complex plot overall, I'll admit that the protagonist Zhang Wuji has struck me as a non-trustworthy young man who's easily swayed one way or another, at worst fickle where his love interests are concerned, despite having acquired supreme martial arts skills. (Frankly, I hadn't paid attention to this deep personality flaw when I read the novel as a teen.) The author did explain in his Afterword that Zhang was meant to be flawed, as this way the character would be truer-to-life.

The main story line centers around Zhang Wuji's involvement in his foster father the Golden Hair Lion King's revenge feats, interwoven with a major subplot of a peasants' uprising against the oppressive ruling Mongolian Yuan dynasty and various subplots concerning his four love interests and violent conflicts among a host of martial arts clans/sects.

I love that Jin Yong always weaves history around his martial heroes' epic adventures, like in this instance. The realism in the history components serves to ground the fantastical story and gives it veracity and cultural authenticity. Also, I love the way the author expresses his negative opinion, through the POV of protagonist Zhang Wuji, of Zhu Yuanzhang (the rebel who managed to seize the throne and become the founder of the Ming Dynasty), which opinion I entirely agree with. I've read official and unofficial texts about Zhu and have always felt he was a roguish and vile opportunist.

For those readers who are intimidated by the dry and lengthy history books, reading Jin Yong's wuxia novels is certainly a good way to learn Chinese history. 

 

Book Review - The Day Lasts More Than A Hundred Years by Chingiz Aitmatov

 

This was an extraordinary read, not only because this was the first novel by a Kyrgyz writer I'd read, but also this was my first encounter with the blending of realism and science fiction in a novel.

In this novel, two parallel story lines are woven into the narrative. One is about the trials and tribulations of living in the harsh, windswept steppe of the Sarozek desert in Kazhakstan and one man's determination to uphold certain traditional burial rites and to seek justice for his dear friend who's been wrongly accused of a crime. In juxtaposition to this story line is an account of two astronauts' strange space encounter with an alien civilization while working under a joint space program undertaken by the U.S. and Russia, which encounter causes the two countries' collaboration to collapse.

The blending of the two story lines is symbolic of the disparity between humanity (with all its attachment to cherished cultures and conflicted morals) on the one hand and, on the other, scientific progress founded on mankind's thirst for knowledge, only ironically marred by its fear of the unknown.

While I found the premise to be an interesting one, the narrative style tends to drag the story out. Overall, I'd give it 3.7 stars.