Wangfujing

Author: Tan Fengyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The story in this book takes place in Beijing during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. With a century-long history, Wangfujing suddenly dried up overnight. In pursuit of water, the people of Wangfujing clashed repeatedly with foreigners, including the French Ambassador. The Qing government's determined plan to build a waterworks project was cut short due to empty treasury, leaving out the drainage facilities, resulting in wastewater flooding the streets and widespread public anger. At the order of the Grand General, a transformation of Wangfujing was decreed. Around the design style, a conflict between Eastern and Western cultures, a struggle between old and new forces, a clash between intellectuals and the powerful, as well as the imbalance between love and career, all unfolded in a tragic, lingering, and intense manner, provoking deep reflection. It seems as if history is in a cycle—this is the sorrow of the old Chinese intellectuals.