A Pleasant Arrival

I recently recieved something I ordered from e-bay about a month ago, namely a set of four books in twelve hardcover volumes: classics of Chinese literature. You can see them here. The set includes:

The Outlaws of the Marsh: This is one I read last summer, and tells the story of a number of heroes who flee the control of a corrupt government and band together in a mountain stronghold to repel various attacks. It's a story filled with colourful characters with equally colourful names, and is told in an episodic nature with each chapter ending in a cliffhanger. Very entertaining.

The Three Kingdoms: This, and the following books I have not yet read, so I'll give you a bit of the description from the seller. "Three Kingdoms is a classic historical novel. It was also the first Chinese novel with each chapter headed by a couplet giving the gist of its content. It descirbes the power struggles among the kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, headed by Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, respectively, in the period known to Chinese history as that of the Three Kingdoms (220-280). It hightlights the sharp and complicated political and military conflicts of that time, and had a far-reaching influence on the political and military strategies of later ages. The novel vividly portrays the individuality of the historical characters, including Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Besides being a work of epic grandeur, its literary merit has had a great impact on China's literature and art, and social life as well."

Journey to the West: "'Journey to the West' is a classic Chinese mythological novel. It was written during the Ming Dynasty based on traditional folktales. Consisting of 100 chapters, this fantasy relates the adventures of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) priest Sanzang and his three disciples, Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand, as they travel west in search of Buddhist Sutra. The first seven chapters recount the birth of the Monkey King and his rebellion against Heaven. Then in chapters eight to twelve, we learn how Sanzang was born and why he is searching for the scriptures, as well as his preparations for the journey. The rest of the story describes how they vanquish demons and monsters, tramp over the Fiery Mountain, cross the Milky Way, and after overcoming many dangers, finally arrive at their destination - the Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven - and find the Sutra. Attached are a number of illustrations drawn during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)"

A Dream of Red Mansions: "The celebrated Chinese classic novel is a masterpiece of realism written in the middle of the-eighteenth century. Taking as its background the decline of several related big families and drawing much from his own experiences, the author Cao Xueqin (?-c.1763) focused on the tragic love between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu and, in the meantime, provides a panorama of the lives of people of various levels in the degenerating empire. But he left the work unfinished (or the last 40 chapters lost). Gao E (c.1738-c.1815) completed the work some years later in much of Cao's spirit and also put in his own revelation, which aroused protracted controversy throughout centuries. Exposing social evils, the book cries out denunciation against the feudal system. All techniques of literary merit developed in previous periods have been incorporated into the great work with much originality. It stands out in the world literature ranking with Hamlet and War and Peace."

I'm really looking forward to finding some time to dive into these books, but for now I think they'll have to wait on my shelf (where they look quite nice, I might add).

Just in case I don't post again before Saturday, I'll take this chance to congratulate my brother Stu and new sister Sherri on their upcoming marriage. God's blessings on your lengthy life together.
P.S. Bring me back something good from Britain, like an Oxford prof. or a cathedral or something.