2005 China Annual Story

Author: Chen Huifang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: When Yuan Shikai, then the President of the Republic of China, was determined to restore the monarchy, a letter of appointment for the Director of the National Historical Museum was handed to Wang Yunkai, a renowned scholar from Hunan. The octogenarian scholar, famous for his studies on the theory of emperors, cleverly outwitted Yuan Shikai while avoiding mortal danger. (Guo Changzheng, "Wang Yunkai Outwits Yuan Shikai")
Jiang Shiquan, a Qing Dynasty litterateur who passed the imperial examination as a jinshi and served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, was intelligent, upright, and exceptionally talented. At the age of eight, he solved a mysterious case in his hometown of Lianshan County, Jiangxi, earning widespread admiration. (Wan Wenwu, "Jiang Shiquan Solves a Mystery at Age Eight")
During the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, in Shanyin County (now Shaoxing), the county magistrate Gao and his clerk Li, who had paid 50 taels of silver, colluded to extort the people. Xu Wei, one of the "Four Great Scholars of Jiangnan," a renowned scholar in the county, used couplets and arguments in court to make the county magistrate and clerk look foolish. Li was beaten with sticks and expelled from the county government. (Zhang Guoxue, "Xu Wenlang Outwits Li the Clerk")
Chen Shaohua, Zhang Ping, Ye Qiang, Guo Xuan, Xiangyang, Zhu Maquan, Zhao Zhenye, Xie Siqiu, Tao Bojun, and Yi Ming have selected 69 outstanding stories by 70 writers from dozens of literary publications. These works are the cream of the crop, whether they are ancient tales of virtuous officials, stories of scholars, palace tales, folk legends, or modern stories and overseas mysteries. They excel in clever plots, short length, engaging and thought-provoking content, each with its own unique strengths, making them worth reading.
The stories of 2005 have three characteristics. First, the themes are diverse. They include works from ancient and modern times, not to mention the wide range of topics covered in the "New Stories/New Legends" section, such as anti-corruption, anti-wrongdoing, detective stories, white-collar life, and family relationships. This collection specially selects five tales of virtuous officials to express deep disdain for corrupt officials and hope for good ones. Second, there are many new authors. Nearly half of the authors in this collection are emerging talents from the past one or two years. Though young, they are outstanding and possess considerable talent. Third, the stories are short. Most of the stories in this collection are short, ranging from two to three thousand words, and are both interesting and enjoyable. —Chen Huifang, Editor-in-Chief of Shan Hai Jing