A Tale of Two Cities
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who wish to read Western literary classics systematically
- Those interested in the historical background of the French Revolution and its literary representation
- Fiction lovers who appreciate complex character portrayal and profound human insight
- Readers of foreign literature seeking a high-quality Chinese translation
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment and fast-paced stories
- Readers impatient with long classical narrative structures and detailed environmental description
Reading tips
- Read alongside historical materials on the French Revolution to better understand the background.
- Note the recurring symbolic motifs, such as 'knitting' and 'resurrection,' to appreciate Dickens's artistry.
- On a first reading, skim some environmental description and focus on the main plot; savor the full text on rereading.
About the publisher
Flower City Publishing House focuses on literary publishing, covering categories such as classic works, foreign literature, folk literature, Eastern philosophy, essays and miscellaneous writings, and social novels. Representative books in the library include Lu Xun's Call to Arms, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi and Four Generations Under One Roof, editions related to Confucius's The Analects, and Chinese translations of foreign classics such as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. Its author resources include classic writers such as Lu Xun, Lao She, and Confucius, as well as translators and scholars such as Li Gang, Chen Puqing, and Zhang Ling. The publisher's characteristic approach is to organize editions around literary classics and celebrated Chinese and foreign works, while also including folk literature and Eastern philosophy titles. Public information is limited, so this introduction emphasizes the publishing directions reflected in the books held in the library.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 作者序
- 第一卷 起死回生
- 第一章 时代
- 第二章 邮车
- 第三章 夜影
- 第四章 准备
- 第五章 酒铺
- 第六章 鞋匠
- 第二卷 金色丝线
- 第一章 五年之后
- 第二章 观者如堵
- 第三章 眼福未饱
- 第四章 庆贺逃生
- 第五章 为狮猎食
- 第六章 宾客数百
- 第七章 大人进城
- 第八章 大人回乡
- 第九章 女妖之头
- 第十章 两相许诺
- 第十一章 另一光景
- 第十二章 善体恤者
- 第十三章 不体恤者
- 第十四章 正经商人
- 第十五章 编织毛线
- 第十六章 仍在编织
- 第十七章 难忘之夜
- 第十八章 九天九夜
- 第十九章 一则高见
- 第二十章 一个请求
- 第二十一章 足音回响
- 第二十二章 波澜壮阔
- 第二十三章 星火燎原
- 第二十四章 吸赴魔礁
- 第三卷 风踪雨迹
- 第一章 秘密监禁
- 第二章 磨刀霍霍
- 第三章 阴影逼来
- 第四章 风暴暂息
- 第五章 锯木嚓嚓
- 第六章 胜利而归
- 第七章 有人敲门
- 第八章 斗牌好手
- 第九章 赌局已定
- 第十章 虚影实显
- 第十一章 暮色朦胧
- 第十二章 黑夜深沉
- 第十三章 五十二个
- 第十四章 编织完结
- 第十五章 足音永逝
- 译后记
FAQ
What distinguishes this translation from others?
What does the famous opening passage actually mean?
Is this book difficult to read?
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Charles Dickens was the greatest novelist of the Victorian era in nineteenth-century Britain. Born in Portsmouth in 1812, he was forced to leave school and work as a child laborer because of his family's debts, an experience that profoundly shaped his critical view of society. His major works include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations, which expose social injustice and are filled with humanitarian concern. With intricate plots, vivid characters, and an infectious style, he portrayed the many facets of Victorian British society and addressed issues such as the gap between rich and poor, justice, and education. His works remain widely read today, and the library holds 128 editions of his works, spanning foreign literature, world classics, and inspirational coming-of-age categories.
Zhang Ling (1936–2022), a Chinese translator and writer, was born in Beijing to a family from Yantai, Shandong. After graduating from the Department of Chinese at Peking University in 1958, she became a senior editor at the Institute of Foreign Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She long collaborated with her husband Zhang Yang on translations of foreign literary classics, including A Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and Wuthering Heights, and also studied Hardy and Dickens. Her translations, mainly in the fields of foreign literature and world classics, reached a wide Chinese readership and contributed to the introduction of these authors' works. Public information is limited, and a systematic account of her life and translation style remains to be compiled.
Zhang Yang (born 1944), originally named Zhang Zunkuan and also known by the pen name Zhou Yu, is a contemporary Chinese writer from Changge, Henan. In 1963 he completed the first draft of The Second Handshake, which circulated nationwide in hand-copied form during the Cultural Revolution and, after its official publication in 1979, sold more than 4.3 million copies, a remarkable phenomenon in the history of contemporary literary dissemination. He served as vice chairman and honorary chairman of the Hunan Provincial Writers Association, and is also the author of such works as Gold Leaf, Terminal Illness, and A Lie Repeated a Thousand Times. The library holds 31 of his works, commonly classified under foreign literature, world classics, and essays and miscellany, with representative titles including A Tale of Two Cities, Guwen Guanzhi, Pride and Prejudice, and Wuthering Heights. According to the library's records, these works are mostly translations or compilations of foreign literary classics, differing from the themes of his own creative writing.
