Each of the seven chapters represents a different time period, from the end of the Quing dynasty, up through the Japanese invasion in the 1930s, the civil war, the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao years. This novel is the author's vision of the 20th century.
- ISBN10 0413771547
- ISBN13 9780413771544
- Publish Date 13 January 2005 (first published 1 November 2004)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 3 June 2017
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Methuen Publishing Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 240
- Language English