What to read from Chinese literature. Chinese love classics
EKD photo collage. Covers: Amazon.com
Many books about China are published in English. Unfortunately, they do not always reach Russia in translation or even in the original. However, these books are worth paying attention to, as they often deal with everyday life in the Middle Kingdom rather than historical or political events.Such works are important because they deal with problems that major scientists most often do not waste their time on. But it is precisely these problems that provide an understanding of what is happening in real China, not behind the walls of government buildings and in the richest corporations, but among local residents. EKD offers you a list of books that help you understand modern China from the point of view of ordinary people.
"The Age of Ambition: The Pursuit of Wealth, Truth, and Faith in the New China" by Evan Osnos (Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith In The New China. Evan Osnos)
Covers: Amazon.com
The book was written by a journalist from The New Yorker, Chicago Tribune and other famous publications, who lived in China for many years. Osnos covers various major events in China and people's reactions to them, with a particular focus on people's reactions online. It will be interesting to read about the scandal following the high-speed train crash in China. Netizens discussed that used materials were purchased during the construction of the railway, that the train was traveling at a speed that even Japanese companies, leaders in the production of high-speed trains, considered impossible.
The book also talks about the famous Li Yan, who promised teach everyone to speak English. Chinese youth wanted more from life, so they were willing to go into debt and buy the latest developments from Lee and his Crazy English brand. Osnos attributes this to the desire of young people from disadvantaged families to do everything to get out of the quagmire of poverty. The author describes how Li Yang's clients abandoned everything and moved to Beijing to open a business, which in 99% of cases failed in the first months.
Osnos sheds light on powerful Chinese officials and their many mistresses. An official can hire a special worker who will visit his mistresses’ apartments every day and inquire about their desires. Officials can maintain more than one mistress, but high-ranking ones and more than one hundred. At the same time, many young people cannot find a partner, since city girls would prefer the status of a wealthy mistress to the status of the wife of a less wealthy man.
After reading it, it becomes clear that the Chinese are not as lenient towards their government as they seem. Critical comments on Weibo (the equivalent of Twitter) often made Chinese Communist Party leaders sweat. Considering what is happening in China: bribes, mistresses, expensive cars for the sons of officials, recycled materials in the construction of schools - Chinese censorship no longer seems anachronistic. This is a completely reasonable decision for a party that wants to remain in power.
"A State of Special Interest: Chinese Migrants and Taiwanese Independence" Sarah Friedman (Exceptional States: Chinese Immigrants and Taiwanese Sovereignty. Sara Friedman)
The book touches on an important aspect of relations between the PRC and the Republic of China. Ever wonder why Chinese women don't migrate to Taiwan? Taiwan is a Western-style liberal democracy. Theoretically, it is much easier to move there for permanent residence than to the West, and besides, they speak Chinese there. It turns out that not everything is so simple. Chinese women in Taipei are uninvited guests, they are avoided, they are looked at as hunters for a Taiwanese passport, which is rated much higher in the world than a Chinese one. Even love marriages are viewed by the Taiwanese authorities as nothing other than a desire to obtain Taiwanese citizenship. Chinese women in Taiwan have a kind of shadow status: they are not foreigners, but not citizens of the country either. They are treated with fear, contempt, and sometimes with undisguised disdain.
For mainland Chinese women, Taiwan is a more accessible Hong Kong. Taiwan has a higher standard of living and their healthcare system is one of the best in the world. The island has a good environment and relatively high salaries for low-skilled workers. For many Chinese women, moving to Taiwan is primarily a way to earn money and escape the poverty of their native villages and towns. For the sake of life in Taiwan (most often in Taipei, although other cities are not bad compared to the hopelessness of Chinese villages), Chinese women are ready to work as cleaners and waitresses at Starbucks, clean up after elderly husbands, and so on. To obtain Taiwan resident status, mainland Chinese must live on the island for approximately 8 years. For comparison, Canadian resident status can be obtained in 3-4 years.
"Lanterns of Wishes: Young Lives of New China" by Alec Ash ( Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in the New China. Alec Ash)
The book contains the stories of five young people who found themselves in Beijing. Four of them come from poor backgrounds. They do not have connections through which they can find well-paid jobs and arrange their lives. The young Tsinghua University student started as an intern at Harper's Bazaar magazine and became a famous designer. The musician and the village boy understand that they cannot find a place in Beijing, this city is too expensive for them. A girl from the family of a high-ranking official is defending her doctoral dissertations at Peking University and Cornell University (USA) and pondering whether China's political system is as good as the party praises it. As a result, the girl becomes disillusioned with China and leaves for Taiwan, which she calls China without communists with an even more developed economy.
“Lanterns of Wishes” is about the fact that dreaming is good. But very often the dreams of young Chinese are dashed against the wall of harsh reality. For generations, the Chinese have grown up with stories about meritocracy and the fact that perseverance and work will grind everything down. In Beijing, in most cases, no one needs them. Millions of those who want to find themselves come to Beijing from the provinces. The book is sobering and shows that young Chinese are now much more consciously considering moving to Beijing and expensive, lavish weddings with unfamiliar guests.
The author wants to tell you that the new generation of Chinese is rethinking the values of the old generation. Young people are increasingly inclined to invest money in emotions and impressions rather than in material things that they cannot afford without loans. Moving to Beijing or Shanghai so that parents in the village can boast of their son is already a rather dubious achievement, because with current housing prices they will never be able to buy an apartment in Beijing. Thus, the difference between young Chinese and their peers in the West is sharply decreasing.
“Modern China: A Very Short Introduction. Rana Mitter”
A very short book by an Oxford professor about how China became today's China. The author compares events in Chinese history with similar events in the history of other countries and how they came out of similar situations. The book is somewhat reminiscent of a history textbook. Mitter analyzes the social, political and economic spheres of life in China and puts the country's history through the litmus test of the question: “Is China modern?” The book is recommended for those who have a basic knowledge of China and its history: the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, the May 4th Movement, the rise of the Communists to power, and so on.
“One Child: The Past and Future of China's Most Radical Experiment” by May Fong (One Child: The Past And Future Of China's Most Radical Experiment. May Fong)
A book about the “one family, one child” demographic policy and how it turned out for China. What was once a reasonable decision and a completely logical step for the development and growth of the Chinese economy turned into a tragedy. The author repeatedly illustrates what it means to be a good Chinese child, what moral stress this is accompanied by, and what happens if the child cannot withstand these stresses. Chinese children are obliged to listen to their parents and follow their wishes, neglecting their own.
As a result of the Qinghai earthquake in 2010, thousands of children, the only children of elderly parents, died under the rubble of schools. An entire generation was simply destroyed, and the elderly will now not be able to count on the help of their children and are forced to live at the expense of the state. The book helps reassess China's fertility experiment.
“Single Women: The Return of Gender Inequality in China” by Leta Hong Fincher (Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. Leta Hong Fincher)
There is a famous saying that in modern China there are three genders: men, women and women with doctorates, and this book is about that. Modern women are faced with a choice: career or family, and many Chinese women believe that no one wants a wife who is better educated and earns more than her husband. In a country where it has historically been customary to marry early, a woman with a master’s degree, and even with a doctorate, is not just “stale goods.” This is a product that will be able to criticize her husband and is unlikely to accept his words as the final truth.
Women over 30 are most often forced to marry those who hardly meet their criteria for a future spouse: young girls have taken everyone away, and men do not want to marry those over 25. Marrying foreigners for whom age is not so important is also not the best prospect for a Chinese woman - society does not welcome this. Self-sufficient and ambitious women are left with either marrying those below them in social status or being single.
Factory Girls: From Villages to Cities in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chan (Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China. Leslie T. Chang)
This book is about those who made your iPhone and sewed your Nikes. While some in China study tirelessly to pass the gaokao (analogue of the Unified State Exam), enter Peking University or go to study at Harvard, others dream of enrolling in courses on using a computer and the Internet. The author writes about those people, often girls, who work in notorious factories where they produce chips for phones and sew sneakers. Working 12 hours a day for pennies, eating in street canteens, instant noodles and dreams of learning to type on a computer, leaving assembly line work and becoming a secretary. How life will completely change if you learn to translate from English even using the Baidu application. Girls with such dreams come home to the village for the holidays, bring televisions and become pride for their families in the villages. A book about how different China is. The China that we see in Beijing and other large cities, and the China in which simple workers without education live.
"Beijing Coma" Ma Jian ( BeijingComa. Ma Jian)
The only fiction book on this list. Ma Jian can rightfully be considered the Chinese Solzhenitsyn. He is a dissident who participated in the Tiananmen Square events in 1989 and now lives in London with his English wife, who translates his books into English. The book is about what it was like to live in the country during the Mao years, about the events of 1989 from the point of view of a participant. There are stories here of how, in search of income, young people in Beijing sold cigarettes and videos bought on the black market in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province). The story of how Hong Kongers forbade their children to meet mainland Chinese. We recommend the book to those who want to know the life of Chinese youth in those difficult times.
Alexander Kozlov
Who made the most geographical discoveries? Nomads? Conquerors?
No - merchants!
Driven by a thirst for profit, they overcame countless obstacles and dangers and paved new routes to distant lands. Not everyone managed to get rich during their
travels, some settled forever in foreign countries, many died, not every one of those who returned was able to tell about wonderful overseas lands, most of these stories were not written down or were lost forever... But some!..
The Venetian merchant Marco Polo (1254-1324) turned out to be the chosen one of fate. He not only lived a very long life - after all, by the standards of the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, 70 years is a long-liver - but his life was incredibly bright and exciting. In those days, the average European lived on average no more than 30-35 years and in most cases did not leave the place where he was born.
Marco Polo left his native Venice as a young man to return to it at the age of forty. By ship and in carts, on horses and camels, through the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Persia, Pamir and Kashgaria, he and his father and uncle reached Khanbalik (Beijing), became a confidant, something like an auditor, arbiter and ambassador for special assignments, at the court of the grandson of Genghis Khan, the conqueror of China and the founder of the Yuan dynasty, the Great Khan of the Mongols, Kublai Khan. For 17 years, carrying out numerous orders from his high patron, Marco Polo traveled all over East Asia - and finally, in 1295, almost a quarter of a century after sailing, he returned to his native Venice.
He would go through more than one adventure, would be captured by the Genoese (Genoa constantly competed and often fought with Venice), and it was there, in captivity, that his fellow sufferer and author of chivalric novels, the Pisan Rustichello, would write down the stories of his cellmate, which would forever remain into the golden fund of documentary adventure literature.
From this book, many Europeans first learned about the countries of the East, their natural resources and technical achievements: paper money, the printing board, the sago palm, the compass and the bill, as well as coal and the location of the coveted spices. Written in a lively and clear language, “The Book” of Marco Polo became a reference book for many outstanding travelers of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. It was she who inspired Christopher Columbus to discover America.
In the end, the search for ways to acquire spices bypassing the Arab trade monopoly led to the redistribution of the world and the disappearance of many blank spots on the map, and the book about the travels of Marco Polo became one of the few publications that influenced the course of world history.
The electronic publication includes all the texts of Marco Polo's paper book and basic illustrative material. But for true connoisseurs of exclusive publications, we offer a gift classic book. The publication is richly illustrated and is intended for everyone who is interested in overseas exoticism, but at the same time demands authenticity: the stories of Marco Polo, for all their incredibleness, are not a fairy tale, but a reality. Although, of course, the book contains plenty of absolutely fantastic illustrations, they are also an integral part of the world history of geographical discoveries. This edition, like all books in the Great Journeys series, is printed on beautiful offset paper and elegantly designed. Editions of the series will adorn any, even the most sophisticated library, and will be a wonderful gift for both young readers and discerning bibliophiles.
Briefly about the books that we have read so far, one way or another related to China, and what we think about them and what we recommend - so that you can decide for yourself whether to read any of the listed or maybe even take it with you on a trip.
“Wolf Totem”, Jiang Rong (“Wolf Totem”)
A difficult but very interesting semi-autobiographical book about the way of life of nomadic shepherds from the point of view of a Chinese student.
They even made a movie based on this novel, but we haven’t gotten to it yet.
China. Mid 60s. Chen Zhen, a member of the young Chinese intelligentsia, finds himself in Inner Mongolia, one of the most remote and distinctive provinces of China. The young man settles in the yurt of the old Mongol Bilig. From him, Chen Zhen learns that since time immemorial, the Mongols have worshiped the wolf totem, which, according to them, symbolizes the victory of charisma over the forces of the elements and makes it possible to exist in extreme conditions. Having lived among the cold steppes, Chen Zhen gradually discovers the amazing but simple world of a nomad, built on the confrontation between people and wolves...
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“The River at the Center of the Earth: Up the Yangtze - Back into China's Past”, Simon Winchester
(The River at the Center of the World)
In 1996, a British journalist published a book about his journey along the Yangtze River. He decided to swim it all from the mouth to the source. And he, in principle, succeeded. The book is funny and interesting at times.
“Dream in the Red Chamber”, Cao Xueqin (Red Chambers, 红罗梦)
A Chinese classic, something like “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” set during the Qing Dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of us only made it through a few dozen pages, because the number of heroes multiplied at an unprecedented speed. We read that in this work there are about two hundred main characters, and two or three times more minor ones.
Verdict: if you are interested in Chinese classics and are not intimidated by the number of characters, it’s worth at least giving it a try.
“The Dream in the Red Chamber” is a multifaceted story about the decline of two branches of the Jia family, against the backdrop of which - in addition to three generations of the family - are countless of their relatives and household members.
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“Lost Horizon”, James Hilton (Lost Horizon)
The book was written in 1933, and in terms of the level of excitement around and romanticization of places and characters, it is comparable to Bram Stoker’s book “Dracula”. The idea of a “lost paradise”, a certain enchanted place of Shangri-La, gained such popularity that at first there was a long debate about which places the author was describing, and then the Chinese, for commercial purposes, simply took and renamed the city of Zhongdian to it.
Yulia specially read this book before visiting eastern Tibet, since, according to one version, the blue mountain described in the book as a landmark is a mountain from the reserve. There really was a very similar mountain, which gave a beautiful touch of romance to the places visited. The book itself is interesting, but completely fictitious, if anything.
“The Magpie Bridge”, Liu Hong.
It can be translated as “bridge of birds” or “bridge of forty”, but apparently does not exist in Russian translation. A cute novel intertwined with Chinese superstitions and rituals and the famous legend of the shepherd and the weaver.
“Midnight in Beijing”, Paul French (Midnight in Peking)
Detective. On the first pages there is a brutal murder, and then it is investigated, investigated, everyone is found, but... If you're expecting a thriller and sharp plot twists every ten pages, no, that's not what the book is about. The narration is leisurely, for those who like to savor the atmosphere. Personally, I didn’t really like it, but some people thought it was great. All the action takes place in Beijing's hutongs, some of which remain to this day.
“Favorite Monkey of the House of Tang”, Master Chen
A spy-detective-entertainment novel based on some real events and figures of ancient China. The events in the book take place in Chang'an (ancient Xi'an). It may seem too easy to some, however, if you don’t go into looking for inaccuracies, it’s a great way to while away a few evenings.
“Shanghai baby”, Wei hui (上海宝贝)
The sensational scandalous bestseller outside of China made a lukewarm impression on most readers: well, sex, well, drugs, well, a love triangle. Nothing special.
In addition to hoodlit, sometimes you come across entertaining or simply beautiful books on a particular topic. Here are a few of them:
“Jews in China”, Pan Guang (犹太人在中国)
A large, weighty book that briefly tells three stories: about the Jews of Kaiping, about the wealthy Sephardic community (former Spanish Jews) and the Jewish ghetto in Shanghai, and about the Russian community in Harbin. There is not much text, mostly photographs from family archives and copies of numerous documents. Nevertheless, it is informative and not boring.
“Chinese propaganda posters”
(Chinese propaganda posters, TASCHEN publishing house)
For those who like to look at illustrations and inscriptions. Unfortunately, there is very little text with explanations.
With his smooth, warm, red face that radiated light in all directions, Chairman Mao Zedong was a major figure featured in Chinese propaganda posters produced between the birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and the early 1980s. The portrait of Chairman Mao depicts the stoic superhero, also known as the “Great Teacher”, “Great Leader”, “Great Helmsman”, “Supreme Commander”, in all kinds of situations: inspecting factories, smoking a cigarette with ordinary workers, standing on the banks of the Yangtze River in a robe , leading, standing at the bow of a ship, or floating above a sea of red flags, always surrounded by strong, healthy, ageless men, masculine women and children in baggy, sexless, monotonous clothes. The purpose of each poster was to show the Chinese people what behavior was considered morally right and how great the future of Communist China would be if everyone followed the same path to utopia by uniting together. This book brings together a selection of colorful propaganda art and cultural artifacts from Max Gottschelk's extensive collection, many of which are incredibly rare.
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“Spirits and deities of the Chinese underworld”, Alexander Storozhuk, Tatyana Kornilieva.
This book is an encyclopedia of the afterlife in Chinese beliefs. It recreates the picture of traditional popular ideas about the structure of the world of the dead, echoes of which to this day are an integral part of Chinese culture. The main attention is paid to the forms that have found expression in modern Chinese temple culture. In addition to describing the deities of death and their assistants, the monograph talks about the Chinese “Book of the Dead” Yuli baochao, rituals of remembrance of the dead, types of hells, the structure of the subtle human body, the Afterlife Departments and Registers of Fate. The book is equipped with a large number of unique illustrations.
Intended for the widest range of readers.
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“Legends of Ten Chinese Traditional Festivals”, Zhan Tong.
A small book with beautiful illustrations and legends associated with the ten major Chinese holidays - in English and Chinese.
“In the Realm of the Gods”, Victoria Cass
A somewhat strange collection of Chinese legends, fairy tales and fables. More precisely, the collection is normal, but the legends themselves are radically different from those to which we are accustomed in the Western world. The story can end well, badly, or not at all. You never know what kind of moral there will be in the end, or whether there will be one at all.
Interesting for those trying to understand the Chinese mentality in a broader context than trading on the market and. The introductions to the chapters are also worthy of attention.
If you have read any of this and have something to add or, conversely, recommend something more interesting on the topic, share it in the comments.
The fundamental work of the American researcher John G. Gray is dedicated to China, one of the most ancient and mysterious countries in the world. During his several years in this country, J.G. Gray collected and systematized a wealth of material about the nature of Chinese civilization. The system of government, life, religion, culture, family relationships, rituals, crafts, methods of urban and agricultural management - the author covered almost all aspects of the life and activities of the peoples of the Middle Kingdom.
Armies of Ancient China III century. BC - III century AD I. Popov
The book is dedicated to the history, organization, weapons, tactics and traditions of the Chinese armies of the 3rd century. BC e. - III century n. e. The publication includes color illustrations reflecting the features of weapons and clothing of warriors during the existence of the first centralized Chinese states - the Qin and Han empires. Addressed to a wide range of readers.
Letters to Ancient China Herbert Rosendorfer
Our world through the eyes of a 10th century Chinese mandarin? Parties and whiskey, television and - oh the horror! – FACTORY porcelain and ALUMINUM teaspoons?! Is our world seen by a person from an ABSOLUTELY DIFFERENT WORLD? WHAT he looks like in letters sent to the distant past! Perhaps it’s better not to think!..
Industrial espionage Jacques Bergier
The entire history of industrial espionage, from Ancient China to the present day, will pass before the reader’s eyes. The book talks about the methods that monopolies resort to to find out the secrets of their competitors. This book, which includes a large number of interesting facts and equally interesting conclusions, is written in a lively and engaging manner.
In the garden of the times Nina Moleva
This book is unusual in every way. It combines a scientifically-reasoned catalogue, biographies of artists and a living history of what is considered one of the best private collections of art of the 15th–17th centuries in Europe, supplemented by sections of Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Greece and Rome. The fabric of the narrative includes literary portraits of art historians, restorers, artists, architects, and writers who interacted with the collection over its 150-year history. Founded in the 1860s by the artist of the Office of the Imperial Theaters, entrepreneur I.E. Grinev, the collection and...
History of faith and religious ideas. Volume 2. From... Mircea Eliade
This work is a classic example of research in the field of the history of religion. Religious ideas are presented here not only in chronological order, but are also united by a common understanding of the diversity of religious life of all cultures and continents. Eliade masterfully masters the methods of comparative anthropology and demonstrates general trends in the development of religious ideas. The book is dedicated to the most dramatic and important period in the world history of religions. Its title, naturally, does not cover the ecumenical breadth of the material that...
LOULAN and other short stories by Yasushi Inoue
Contents: LOULAN - short story FLOOD - short story STRANGER - short story ABOUT THE HARNESS CAUSED BY WOLVES - short story IN THE COUNTRY OF RAKSHASI - short story HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF SIMHALA - short story EUNUCH ZHONGHAN YUE - short story THE SMILE OF BAO-SY - short story For the first time, the reader holds in his hands a translated text Japanese language history book stories and stories that never mention Japan. Moreover, among the heroes of these works there is not a single Japanese. And yet it is a very Japanese book. Its author is a novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, classic of Japanese literature of the 20th century...
The Silent History of Russia Nikolay Levashov
Russia is a unique country, unique in all respects. Just take the name of the country and... a whole layer of information will emerge that the majority of Russian residents do not have the slightest idea about. The name of the country - Russia, arose from another word - Russey, which, in turn, was formed from the name Russey. Russian history has more than seven and a half thousand years of the new era, which came after the victory in a difficult war with Ancient China. And the symbol of this victory was the Russian warrior piercing a serpent with a spear, currently known as George...
History of the Huart Barry Stone
History of the Barry Hewart Stone
Dedicated to the sacred and mysterious order of Sinologists Barry Hewart's magnificent first novel, Bridge of Birds, has made him one of the most notable flowers on the literary field of recent times. The adventures of the Venerable Master Li, an aged sage "with a slight flaw in character" and the Tenth Ox, a simple country boy with impressive muscles and a more subtle intellect than he gives himself credit for, have won acclaim among fantasy fans and, importantly, critics, winning the prize for "Best Mythopoetic Novel 1986". In Barry's new novel...
Zen Flesh and Bone Paul Reps
The book is a collection of ancient texts of Zen Buddhism, telling about the life of laymen and monks of ancient China and Japan, as the embodiment of high aspirations for a moral ideal. Being a valuable monument of the culture and history of these countries, it reveals the origins of their spiritual heritage, facilitates understanding of the character of their people, contributing to the further rapprochement of East and West.
The secret meaning and solution to the Lao Tzu codes Alexey Maslov
The mysterious sage and great initiate Lao Tzu - who was he? A wise philosopher? A wandering hermit? A reverent service husband? Was there even one? The book tells about the great mystery of Lao Tzu - one of the dedicated sages of ancient China, who was one of the first to bring mystical teachings to people. But he “hid” this teaching about the mystical comprehension of the One and the path-Tao in a special way among discussions about the science of government and the well-being of people. And you need to know the special language of the Chinese ancient tradition in order to reconstruct those codes...
Dragon. Back to the Future Igor Alimov
Dragon 2. Back to the Future Igor Alimov
Ancient China, 210 BC. This date will go down in history as the year of the death of Qing Shi-huang, the first person who managed to unite the six Chinese kingdoms into a single empire. But for now, the first emperor of China is alive, and with the help of a magic mirror he is trying to combine the power of five mysterious objects - a dragon, a qilin, a snake turtle, a phoenix and a tiger, in order to gain truly divine capabilities. And this dream, through the efforts of the faithful adviser Gao, is closer than ever to fulfillment. It is at this moment that unknown forces are transferred to the ancient empire...
Judgments and Conversations of Confucius
They left us Wisdom, passed on Knowledge to us. They hid nothing from us. The judgments and conversations of Confucius (Lunyu) are the cornerstone of the philosophy of Ancient China. The legendary monument consists of 20 chapters, where the main provisions of the spiritual and ethical teaching created by Confucius are presented in the form of conversations or individual statements.
Dragon. Sometimes they come back Igor Alimov
Dragon. Book 3. Sometimes they come back Igor Alimov
Kostya Chizhikov and his company finally escaped from Ancient China, leaving Emperor Qin Shi-huang with his nose, but without a powerful Mirror. Now they are where they wanted so much - in the modern capital of the modern Celestial Empire. But there are no fewer mysteries in today's China. Kostya Chizhikov, who arrived in Beijing for the first time, is pursued by acquaintances who came from nowhere; the great sinologist Fyodor Sumkin tries himself in the role of James Bond's colleague; Nika, a girl from the future, completely disappeared somewhere, but Deng Xiaoping appeared. For now, however, only...