Tales of the Western Capital

In 17 BCE, the scholar Liu Xin compiled a collection of anecdotes so delightfully gossipy, so rich with palace intrigue and courtly scandal, that it was deliberately excluded from the official histories. Too entertaining for the archives, these stories were preserved instead by the alchemist Ge Hong three centuries later - rescued from oblivion because they were simply too good to lose.

Now, for the first time in English, Western readers can experience Xijing Zaji - the "Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital" - a treasure trove of snapshots from the golden age of Han dynasty Chang'an.

Here you will find Lady Qi, the doomed consort whose singing reduced Emperor Gaozu to tears. The Guangchuan King, whose obsession with tomb-raiding uncovered horrors and wonders in equal measure. Imperial gardens stocked with fruits from the edges of the known world. A magical cloak from the Western Regions that could not be wetted by water. Jade writing brushes worth a hundred pieces of gold. And everywhere, the glittering excess and human drama of China's first great imperial capital.

Part court chronicle, part collection of marvels, part whispered rumor preserved in amber - Tales of the Western Capital offers an intimate window into Han dynasty life that no official history could provide. These are the stories the bureaucrats didn't want recorded. Two thousand years later, they finally speak in English.

After these tales, original appendix follows further exploring various intriguing topics and themes of this great collection.

Rediscover the great epics, mysteries and chronicles of dynastic China: gods and generals, swindlers and scholars, courtesans, ghosts and emperors, in complete English translations.