The Lin Er Bao

The Lin Er Bao: The Tale of Lian Xiaocun and the Stranger brings an anonymous early eighteenth-century Chinese narrative into English for the first time, in a translation by Valentin Sarić. At its center is Lian Xiaocun, whose life is unsettled by the arrival of a mysterious stranger from a distant land. What begins as an encounter across boundaries soon becomes a tale of memory, honor, cultural tension, and the strange forces that shape a human destiny. Elegant, atmospheric, and rooted in the world of classical storytelling, this edition invites modern readers into a forgotten literary landscape where personal fate and historical mystery quietly intertwine. For readers of Asian classical literature, historical fiction, folklore, and rediscovered world literature, The Lin Er Bao offers the pleasure of encountering a rare narrative voice - one that feels both ancient and unexpectedly vivid. Translated with care and literary sensitivity, this English edition preserves the aura of the original while making the story accessible to contemporary readers. A rare work of early Chinese narrative tradition, now opened to English-language readers for the first time.

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