"In the Beginning·Chronicles" Author: Wang Shuo Publisher: New Star Publishing House Producer: New Classics Culture

🔷 After fifteen years of silence, Wang Shuo finally released his masterpiece!

"My previous works were more or less about myself, which can be regarded as 'non-fiction'; only this work is a fictional novel in the true sense of the word." - Wang Shuo

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🔷 Pushing Chinese contemporary novels to new heights

[Breakthrough] The narrative structure of modern Western novels continues the style of Chinese classical novels while boldly transcending them.

[Break away] from the rut of grand narratives, and use the daily details of food, clothing, housing and transportation and wild imagination to make the people in history come alive and walk among us!

【Broad collection】Official history, local chronicles, legends, literature, various schools of thought, astronomy, geography, meteorology, medicine, mathematics, physics...

With profound cultural foundation, he constructed a unique "Shuo style" time and space, which is all-encompassing!

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🔷 The language has reached perfection, a masterpiece written with the mouth instead of the hand

Beijing dialect, Shaanxi dialect, Wu dialect, Cantonese, popular language, Internet memes, folk slang...

He switches freely between a variety of languages, jumps flexibly between seriousness and light-heartedness, and between ancient and modern times, China and the West.

It is both solemn and humorous, both real and imaginary, sometimes masculine and heroic, sometimes feminine and lingering, and rich and wonderful words that are incredibly rich. This is a literary carnival and a feast for readers!

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🔷 Realms and levels of abundance

Hilarious language → A memorable story → Rich and detailed details → What is heaven and earth, what is man

You can read it for humorous fun, or you can read it for a story that is worth savoring; you can savor the details that are worth savoring, or you can understand what heaven and earth, and what human beings are.

"I found this story and I can put all my thoughts and feelings into it. This structure is particularly suitable. I projected it into ancient times and beyond, and it became freer." - Wang Shuo

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🔹 When I read "In the Beginning", I sincerely admire the author's great imagination, perfect expression, amazing ability to use language, superb structure and character creation. In the past, we often said that Wang Shuo was difficult to be surpassed by writers of the same generation and later generations, but now Wang Shuo has surpassed himself. This seems to be an unexpected surprise, but it is also reasonable - only he is willing to put in so much effort, and only he can achieve such a harvest. ——Zhi An

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🔹 Wang Shuo's book is really happy and lonely. He is like giving a long talk show, but there is no live audience from beginning to end; but he is also like setting up countless densely packed mirrors, and everyone can comb their hair and look in the mirror to find evidence related to themselves. There is a kind of arm wrestling fun between the author and the reader. ——Shi Hang

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🔹 For many years, I have been looking forward to the day when I can finish writing this novel. Then I can feel at ease. I can live my life without any worries, go around, visit foreign countries, drive long distances alone like in the movies to visit friends or relatives I have never met, eat something I have never eaten before, lie in the sun every day, or open a bar. ——Wang Shuo

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【Content Introduction】

"In the Beginning: Chronicles" is one of the four-volume novel "In the Beginning".

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This volume is based on the story of Emperor Wu of Han.

Wang Shuo takes the history we are familiar with as the starting point, puts his own emotions and thoughts into it, and with his rich imagination, tells the story of Emperor Wu of Han's life of nearly fifty years from his personal rule to his death, as well as the many three-dimensional and full characters living in his era.

The ups and downs and intertwined experiences of Li Guang, Li Ling, Sima Qian, Zhang Qian, Sima Xiangru, Chen Ajiao, Wei Zifu, Huo Qubing and others form a web of stories that are brilliant.

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A big dream, with laughter, anger, and also heart-wrenching moments.

Love is more important than fame. This is the story of a generation of emperors, but in the final analysis, it is also the story of people.

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This book is based on the stories of Emperor Wu of Han recorded in Zizhi Tongjian, Han Shu and Shiji. History is a story. The historical landscape has its own depth and boundlessness. Once you enter it, you will be unable to control yourself. Some perspectives cannot be blocked. You will be thousands of years away from the story. When I had the great delusion of exploring and coveting the source of Chinese civilization, I left myself here. ——Preface to <Beginning·Chronicle>

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Sometimes the narrative is based on some old books, but sometimes it is just random talk. And because I don’t respect the ancients as much as I respect modern people, it is still sometimes slippery... But I didn’t write the ancients more dead, so maybe there is still room for survival for the time being. - Lu Xun, "Preface to <New Stories>"