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Ping Lu is the pen name of Taiwanese writer Lu Ping. She won Taiwan’s National Award for the Arts, the Taiwan National Literature Award for 間隙 (The Gaps), the Golden Tripod Award for 袒露的心 (Heart Mandala), and the Wu San-lien Award. Her short story collections and novels, including Love and Revolution, 何日君再來 (When Will My Love Return), and 黑水 (The River Darkens) have been translated into English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Czech, and many other languages. More about this author >
Jeremy Tiang won the Singapore Literature Prize for his novel State of Emergency, and was shortlisted for the same prize for his short story collection It Never Rains on National Day. He has translated over 30 books from Chinese, including Zhang Yueran's Cocoon, which won the Singapore Literature Prize. He also writes and translates plays—most recently Salesman之死, which was staged at New York’s Connelly Theater, and received an Obie Award. More about this author >
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From the publisher:
While chasing business opportunities in China, Min-Hui’s husband disappears without a trace, forcing her to uproot her quiet life as a writer in Taiwan and travel to Beijing, where the chaos of the city leaves her reeling. Does the Chinese government truly have her best interests at heart, and how hard are the authorities looking for her missing husband? Marooned in the ancient capital, Min-Hui encounters the enigmatic Shangjun, a self-proclaimed human rights activist who seeks refuge in her hotel room. As their relationship blooms, Min-Hui allows him to read her novel in progress: a young Qing emperor confined within the Forbidden City becomes fascinated by pirate merchant Zheng Zhilong’s tales of the Taiwanese seas. All the while, Min-Hui contemplates the discord in the marriage she is desperate to save. Exploring the universal longing for freedom with her signature multi-layered narrative, Ping Lu interweaves Min-Hui’s search for her husband and her Beijing love affair with the historical backstory of her novel and unsent letters from her vanished husband.
