{"product_id":"the-sobering-stone-valentin-saric-9798250192262","title":"The Sobering Stone \/ \u0026#37257;\u0026#37266;\u0026#30707;, Zuì X\u0026#464;ng Shí (First English Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the twilight of the Ming dynasty, an anonymous scholar known only as \"The Mad Scholar of Eastern Lu\" composed fifteen extraordinary tales of moral reckoning. \u003ci\u003eThe Sobering Stone\u003c\/i\u003e (醉醒石, \u003ci\u003eZuì Xǐng Shí\u003c\/i\u003e) has remained untranslated into English - until now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese are stories of karmic justice served hot and cold: corrupt officials undone by their own schemes, virtuous men rewarded across generations, courtesans and scholars caught in webs of fate, and ordinary people whose single acts of kindness - or cruelty - echo through decades. A young man squanders his fortune in Nanjing's pleasure quarters, only to find redemption through an act of anonymous generosity. A prison official too lowly to change the law nonetheless frees seven innocent men - and dies at ninety with visions of celestial reward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in the vibrant vernacular style of the \u003ci\u003ehuaben\u003c\/i\u003e tradition, \u003ci\u003eThe Sobering Stone\u003c\/i\u003e belongs alongside Feng Menglong's celebrated \"Three Words\" collections as a window into the bustling, morally complex world of late imperial China. Yet while those collections have long been available to English readers, this companion masterpiece has waited four centuries for translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach tale opens with classical poetry and historical precedent before plunging into narratives populated by merchants and monks, judges and swindlers, faithful wives and scheming concubines. The moral is never simple: virtue does not always triumph in one lifetime, and even scoundrels may contain the seeds of redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis edition presents all fifteen tales in full, with opening lyrics and closing verses faithfully rendered, capturing both the philosophical depth and narrative verve of the original.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor readers of classical Chinese literature, fans of historical fiction, and anyone who believes that the arc of the moral universe is long - but bends.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Valentin Saric,Donglugukuangsheng Donglugukuangsheng\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798250192262\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 276\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.82lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.58d","brand":"Valentin Saric","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48997514903807,"sku":"9798250192262","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-sobering-stone-valentin-saric-9798250192262","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}