This novel deals with the legend that the great 18th century Manchu Emperor Qianlong was in fact not a Manchu but a Han Chinese descended, as a result of a baby swap, from the Chens of Haining in Southern China.[...]
An accessible new translation considers the author's lifetime and the context of his work in light of the Warring States period, providing two copies of the original text, one verbatim and the other complemented by running commentary by the translator and by classical Chinese scholars. Reprint.[...]