The Pidgin Warrior

by Zhang Tianyi, David N.C. Hull (Translator)

Translated from the Chinese by David N.C. Hull

In the 1930s, wartime Shanghai is a cosmopolitan metropolis where conmen and dance-hall girls mingle with refugees streaming in from the occupied areas.

One of those refugees is Shi Zhaochang. Having read too many gongfu novels, he is convinced that only an elite martial artist with magical powers can save China. He flees to Shanghai on a quixotic search for a gongfu master who can teach him the secret techniques that will make himself that warrior. The fate of China itself hangs in the balance, and everyone has a scheme to save the nation, or at least get rich trying.

The Pidgin Warrior is a rollicking satire of nationalism and modernity that is remarkably relevant today.

Genres: China, Fiction, World Literature, The World, Cultural

205 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2017

About the author

Zhang Tianyi (张天翼), real name: Zhang Yuanding (26 September 1906 – 28 April 1985), was a 20th-century Chinese left-wing writer and children's author, whose novels and short stories achieved acclaim in the 1930s for his satiric wit

Reviews

[amber levis · Rating 2 out of 5]

truth be told, I totally skimmed the book; seems to be to be just like vu trong phung but more unreadable (perhaps it’s a question of translation.)