Alfred loves books. He often finds comfort in the words written when life around him is stressful. And as a Captain in the Royal Marines, responsible for two-hundred men and navigating the politics of being caught between the navy and army hierarchies, those stresses can be a heavy load to carry. Several books have travelled with him from ship to ship; some more well-read than others with their covers fraying at the edges and corners discoloured from the constant page turning. But of these books there is one that Alfred turns to most when he needs to escape the world around him, a book of poetry by Lord Tennyson - he can recite In Memoriam A.H.H by heart, finding both sadness he recognises within its verses and a joy he wishes he could experience. He carries it with him even when deployed landside, tucked beneath the rounds of ammo in his satchel.
It isn’t hard to imagine that with his love of books that Alfred would also be drawn to the literature of China, even if his language skills had not yet progressed to a level where he could read them himself. By this era several of the more famous pieces of Chinese Classical Literature had been translated into English, there would be many that hadn’t been… and maybe Zhang takes pleasure in reading them to him.
Works like…
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong: Written during the fourteenth century. I must admit I haven’t read it yet, though I do own an older copy – three volumes, hardback and in slip covers. One of those I-can’t-leave-this-here finds at the op-shop – but many of the characters were already familiar to me, whether it’s because of their connections to history, or the many many references to them in games and television shows.
- Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en: Another iconic Chinese Literary Classic written during the sixteenth century that is well known in the west and is referenced a lot. Is on my must buy list.
- Dreams of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin: This was another find at the op-shop I couldn’t leave behind – actually, I won’t leave any books like this behind if I see them, unless I can’t afford it, because it rare in my small town to stumble on them. Published in 1791 it is one of the four great literary works of China, and its first English translation was done in 1868.
For something a little more…contemporary:
- Love in the Fallen City by Eileen Chang: I read this collection of short stories for a Chinese literature paper and enjoyed them.
- The Gunpowder Chronicles by Jeannie Lin: A series set during the Qing Dynasty; steampunk/fantasy; female protagonist and political intrigue…. Lots of fun to read.
- Three Months to Forever by Hudson Lin: Set in Hong Kong it is a sweet romance that doesn’t gloss over the culture shock a foreigner would encounter. It will also leave you hungry with all the mentions of food.
