MOUNTAIN BANDITS

Author: Sun Jianxi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: From filial bandit to Confucian bandit, bandits also have their code; from a courtesan seller to a revolutionary, emotions are unbound; from a bandit to a believer, hearts are sensitive; from an adulterer to a master teacher, desires are unrestrained. The novel begins in a family without women—local gentry Sun, the elder, toils with his four sons and a long laborer. By the time the novel ends, only five daughters-in-law and three young children remain in the Sun family. The story spans eight years, from the 13th to the 21st year of the Republic of China. Set against the backdrop of warlord Liu Zhenhua besieging Xi'an, the two tigers of Guanzhong—Yang Huicheng defending the city for eight months, and the Central Plains War between Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, and Yan Xishan—the novel unfolds in the eastern Qinling Mountains region at the junction of Shaanxi, Hubei, and Henan provinces, fully showcasing the tearing of human nature and the tragic beauty of love in times of war.