
ISBN: 0195907272
*Price: HK$295
Hardback
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The
Book & the Sword ®Ñ¼C®¦¤³¿ý
Author: Louis Cha
Translated by Graham Earnshaw
Edited by John Minford & Rachel May
The Book and the Sword was Louis Cha's
first novel, published in 1955. The story has a panoramic sweep which
has at its heart a few unbeatable themes: secret societies, kung fu masters,
and the sensational rumour so dear to Chinese hearts that the great Manchu
Emperor Qian Long was not in fact a Manchu but a Han Chinese, a line of
descent that came about as a result of a 'baby swap' on the part of the
Chens of Haining in Southern China. It mixes in the exotic flavours of
central Asia, a lost city in the desert guarded by wolf packs, and the
Fragrant Princess. This lady is an embellishment of an actual historical
figure ¡V although whether she actually smelled of flowers, we will never
know.
Louis Cha
(Jin Yong) was, until his recent retirement, founder and publisher of
the Ming Pao Daily News, Hong Kong, Shin Ming Daily News,
Singapore, and related publications. He is best known, however, as a writer
and is the most widely read novelist in Chinese communities all over the
world. His Martial Arts novels, originally written for newspaper serialization,
have been adapted for TV, film, audio cassette, strip cartoon, computer
games, and restaurant menus. The Deer and the Cauldron is Louis
Cha's last Martial Arts novel, and this English translation is authorized
by him.
Graham Earnshaw
is editor-in-chief of Xinhua Finance, managing director of SinoMedia Ltd,
and a director and founder of Park 97 in Shanghai. He speaks Cantonese
and Mandarin, and taught himself to read Chinese. He has written several
books, including a China travel guide and a book on China's dotcom revolution.
John Minford
has translated several works in Chinese fiction and poetry into English
including, with David Hawkes, The Story of the Stone.
Rachel May
is literary editor. Her novel Love in a Chinese Garden was published in
1997.
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