The Ten-Tailed Turtle (6)

Lu Shi'eJun 2024

3.8

Word count: 33K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Ten-Tailed Turtle is a chapter-divided vernacular novel of social manners by the late Qing literatus Lu Shie, depicting Shanghai in the final years of the Qing dynasty. Completed in 1911 (Xuantong 3), it survives chiefly in the 1911 Xinxin Xiaoshuo Society edition and the 1994 Chunfeng Wenyi Press typeset edition in the series Rare Ancient Chinese Novels.

The book depicts the glittering life of old Shanghai: local tyrants, compradors, nouveaux riches, returned students, shopkeepers, military and government officials, brokers, hangers-on, swindlers, young ladies, concubines… all plunged into a murky whirlpool, revealing the social phenomena of the early transition from seclusion to openness, still relevant today.

Editor's review

Ten-Tailed Turtle is a vernacular novel of social manners written in the traditional chapter-division form by the late Qing novelist Lu Shie. Completed in 1911, the third year of the Xuantong reign, it sets its stage in the old Shanghai of the foreign concessions, drawing local tyrants, foreign compradors, nouveaux riches, returned students, brokers, hangers-on, swindlers, concubines and every other sort of figure into a murky social whirlpool. Its value lies not in sensational plotting but in its close observation of the social scene in the first years of the transition from seclusion to openness: the worship of money, status anxiety, the clash of old and new ideas, and the prevalence of fraud and speculation are all unrolled layer by layer in the author's satirical style. With its many characters and interwoven threads, the book reads like a floating-world print of late Qing Shanghai, and it still offers a reference point for understanding human nature and social conduct amid urbanization and the transformation of a commercial society today. This edition makes this rare novel of manners accessible to modern readers. It is suited to readers interested in late Qing social history, modern fiction and Shanghai urban culture, and also serves as a literary sample for understanding "the social phenomena of the early period of openness." Readers need not pursue plot momentum; they may savor instead the logic of the times and the satirical edge behind the characters' words and deeds.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late Qing social history and modern fiction
Those who wish to understand the cross-section of old Shanghai's foreign-concession society
Readers who enjoy chapter-divided novels of manners and satirical writing
Readers and cultural historians studying urban transformation and the ways of a commercial society

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer tight plotting and strong dramatic conflict
First-time readers unfamiliar with late Qing vernacular and chapter-divided narrative
Those expecting the pace of modern urban fiction with a clear protagonist's perspective

Reading tips

Begin with the preface or the note on editions to understand the background and character relationships before entering the main text.
Keep simple notes on character threads, grouping landlords, compradors, swindlers and the like, to grasp the group-portrait structure.
There is no need to scrutinize every chapter's plot; read closely the chapters where social observation is concentrated and take notes.
After reading, compare with materials on the modern history of Shanghai's opening as a port to understand the real-world targets of the novel's satire.

版权信息
第三十六回十尾龟掀起宦海潮三家村酿出人妖案
第三十七回得优差明珠还合浦吃花酒醋海起酸风
第三十八回张剃头出尽当场丑胡太守偷窥隔院春
第三十九回造蜚语黑夜起罡风下毒手晴空来霹雳
第四十回胡太尊鹑奔偿素愿张买办中冓咏新台

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no experience of late Qing fiction?

It requires some patience. The work is a chapter-divided vernacular novel of manners with many characters and scattered threads; first-time readers may begin with the preface to learn the background, then start with chapters where social description is concentrated. If accustomed to the pace of modern fiction, read it as a panoramic scroll of social customs rather than for plot.

What is Ten-Tailed Turtle mainly about?

It depicts the glittering life of the foreign concessions of Shanghai in the last years of the Qing dynasty, plunging local tyrants, foreign compradors, nouveaux riches, returned students, brokers, swindlers, concubines and all sorts of figures into a social whirlpool and displaying the social phenomena of the early transition from seclusion to openness, with a satirical coloring of social manners.

What is the significance of reading this book today?

The worship of money, status anxiety, speculative fraud and the clash of old and new ideas depicted in the book still have parallels in the transformation of a commercial society. Readers may use it to observe changes in human nature and order in the early period of social openness, gaining a historical reference for understanding the present.

Do readers need to know about the editions?

Yes. The book was completed in 1911, the third year of the Xuantong reign, and survives in the Xinxin Xiaoshuo Society edition and later typeset editions. Knowing the source of the edition helps judge the state of the text and place the novel in the context of late Qing publishing and Shanghai urban culture.

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About the author

Lu Shi'e Author · China · 1878–1944

Lu Shi'e (1878–1944), whose given name was Shouxian and courtesy name Yunxiang, was a novelist and a well-known physician in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, hailing from Qingpu, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai). He wrote more than a hundred novels on a wide range of subjects, including social fiction, martial arts tales, and historical reading, with representative works such as New China, New Shanghai, and The Ten-Tailed Turtle, the last noted for its social satire portraying the manners and life of the era. He also compiled several medical books, including A Compass for Medicine, contributing to the popularization of medicine and the organization of clinical experience. The library holds forty-five of his works, among them the Southern School Swordsmen series, showing that his writing spanned both popular entertainment and medical works, making him a prolific man of letters and physician in modern Shanghai.