China bans 110 novels (Worldly Affairs · Street Life Volume II)

Author: None
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Features:
Most Collected: Vast in scale, only available domestically and internationally, with an incomparable level of systematic completeness.
Fewest Cuts: Every word remains unchanged, preserving the original essence of the works. Even the rare instances that required adjustments are among the least altered versions compared to similar existing books.
Best Editions: For works already available domestically, the best versions are selected; for those not available domestically, they are heavily imported from abroad or Taiwan, thus filling gaps in the literary canon.
Concise Introductions: Each volume in this series includes an introduction: explaining the edition and reasons for prohibition, introducing the content, and providing appropriate evaluations. The introductions are highly condensed, serving as navigators in the sea of books.
Great Value: This series provides invaluable materials for the study of the history of Chinese fiction and Chinese culture. It holds high literary value, as well as significant reading value, truly deserving to be a fine gift for the sophisticated.
Characteristics of the Forbidden Collection:
Frequently Prohibited, Rare Editions, Unheard-of Works, First Appearance.
Due to the stringent control of feudal rulers over culture, and because banned novels address the liberation of humanity and freedom, oppose confinement and oppression, and depict sexuality and desire, they were deemed intolerable by feudal regimes that enforced prohibition. These rulers have long sought to suppress ideas detrimental to the government, practicing cultural censorship, leading to the banning of books and destruction of editions. As a result, some works of exceptional value were repeatedly banned. Official prohibitions led to certain novels being suppressed upon publication and secretly hidden, surviving in hardship and isolation. Compared to ordinary banned novels, these are even rarer—treasures sought across centuries. Whether for reading or collecting, they are priceless relics.
The entire collection includes 113 rare and exceptional works banned across the world, all of which are top-tier examples of prohibited fiction. These works were hidden for centuries and have now been painstakingly collected and rescued by hundreds of experts over the years, presented here for the first time in a large-scale full-volume release.
Topics Covered: Buddhism, Taoism, Medicine, and Health Preservation, with Themes of Sexuality Encouraging Modesty
Many of these novels touch on love and desire—depicting young women's first love, illicit affairs, intimate encounters between men, or romantic relationships between women. At first glance, they may seem obscene, but upon reading the full text, the original intent of the authors becomes clear: they aim to advise against excess, not to advocate for it; to counsel moderation, not indulgence. These works delve into Buddhism, Taoism, medicine, and health preservation, encompassing practices such as health remedies, bedroom techniques, beauty treatments, and life-saving elixirs, offering a wealth of secrets.
The Dutch scholar Robert van Gulik’s The Chinese Room is compiled using banned novels as its foundation.
Words like "wind and rain" can only describe the fickleness of fate, but fail to capture the myriad faces of all walks of life. Tears of contemplation speak of the warmth and coldness of human emotions, while endless tales of men and women unfold.
The 113 works in this collection were banned either due to excessive sexual content or political reasons. Now, after years of meticulous by experts, they are presented for the first time in a large-scale domestic release. Extraordinary, novel, mysterious, and sensational—a feast for the eyes! Complete, refined, detailed, and intriguing—truly a once-in-a-generation treasure!