Howdy, No, I am not studying for an exam or looking for a term paper topic. I honestly want to know if anyone can recommend some good fiction that illuminates a bit about Chinese history, especially from The Three Kingdoms era and the more recent 19th century. This seems a very well read forum and thought it might be a good place to ask.
Thanks!
fil
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
This book I remember as being really good. It's by Andre Norton and Susan Swartz but I thought the style was quite different from NOrton's usual books. Maybe Susan Swartz did most of the writing.
Have you checked out "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?
The first two "Once upon a time in China" movies give a picture of conditions in China during the late 19th century.
You could also try "Deer and Cauldron" by Louis Cha. Its set in 17th century China though. The novel itself is highly fictionalized but it features several historical persons. One of the main characters is Emperor Kang Xi. Kang Xi was the second Manchu Emperor. Historically, he's considered as one of China's best emperors.
[ April 22, 2003, 01:28 AM: Message edited by: edgardu ]
Posted by Cassandra (Member # 4566) on :
Check out Moment in Peking by Lin Yutang- great book, though it does move a bit slowly at times. Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang is also quite good, though it's really geared towards children. Mmmm . . . that's all I can think of for the moment. Hope that helped
[ April 22, 2003, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Cassandra ]
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Hey Noemon, did you ever find a good book on Chinese history? I'm interested to find out what you ended up with.
Oh, I've got nothing for Chinese historical fiction.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You know Squick, I never really found something that grabbed me as being exactly what I was looking for, and I ended up getting side tracked with a variety of other projects, so I put it on a back burner. Just last weekend I started thinking about it again, though. When I come up with a good text or two I'll post the titles.
Posted by fil (Member # 5079) on :
Thanks for the suggestions so far. These sound like good starts. As for Once Upon A Time in China movies...well, that is where I got the interest! I really enjoy asian cinema and I just saw a movie called "Hero" which is set during the start of the Qin's reign (which is the start of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, right?). These films make me want to read more about it and for me fictional accounts set in these periods do more for me to get me interested in the history. After a bit of that, then I can delve a bit more into actual historical texts (if any look good).
Caleb Carr's flawed "The Devil Soldier" was a true story about a US Soldier in the mid-1800's who went to China as a mercenary and ended up teaching some of central China's military some modern tactics, taking them out of the medieval methods of fighting. The central character was only moderately interesting to me, BUT the setting and explanation of the time period was facsinating to me. I didn't understand why the coastal Chinese cities seemed to be rife with little sub-cities of US and British peoples but central China was devoid of this. Too cool.
Thanks again for the recommendations. Off to the library!
ciao,
fil
Posted by edgardu (Member # 242) on :
Actually 3 kingdoms period is after the Han dynasty. Qin is after the warring states (warring states -> Qin -> Han -> 3 kingdoms).
Personally, I prefer watching movie versions. Chinese novels can often get convoluted.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
The only Chinese Fiction that comes to my mind is Dragon Seed - Pearl S. Buck.
Like most books that I read in my early teens, the story stuck with me.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
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