New Story of the Stone

One of Chinas first works of science fiction, New Story of the Stone is a belated twentieth-century sequel to the beloved eighteenth-century masterpiece Story of the Stone (more famously known as Dream of the Red Chamber). The story follows protagonist Jia Baoyu, borrowed from the original Story, as he is dramatically hurled forward over a hundred years from his own time into a bewildering future: first the decadent semicolonized late Qing China of the authors own time and later an astonishing high-tech Confucian utopia called the Realm of Civilization. Baoyu is equally disoriented in both places: in China proper, he is distressed by the growth of foreign influence and weakening of the traditional moral code in favor of capitalist consumerism and selfish gain; in the Realm of Civilization, he is amazed by everything he encountersfrom flying cars and ingenious medical technologies to the perfectly moral populace. Seen through Baoyus eyes, the Realm is everything that late Qing China has failed to be and offers a hopeful vision of what it might yet become. This quick-paced romp deftly highlights some of the major preoccupations of the tumultuous final decade of Chinas last dynasty while raising important existential questions about Chinas future. Enlivened by author Wu Jianrens vivid imagination and wry sense of humor, this playful, satirical adventure is essential reading for lovers of science fiction and Chinese literature in translation.