Fineness

Name: Fineness
ISBN: 9787503461385

岩波China Culture and History Press · ChinaJul 2026

3.0

Word count: 206K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787503461385

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Summary

A superb emerald-green jadeite archer's ring—confiscated from the He residence after Heshen's downfall and later used by the Jiaqing Emperor—fetches a staggering 32 million RMB at a Beijing auction. Just three days later, as buyer and seller are completing the transaction at the auction house, a man in his sixties arrives in time to stop them and tells an extraordinary story: the ring's true owner, he claims, is himself, leaving everyone present dumbfounded. It turns out that in 1935, an impoverished old eunuch sold a priceless jadeite archer's ring smuggled out of the palace for 100,000 silver dollars to Ma Lunan, a rice-store owner. A Japanese merchant, Nobu Nozaki, got wind of it and, after much scheming, colluded with Japanese ronin and local thugs to murder Ma Lunan, then stole the ring from the deputy police chief... Thus begins the battle over the jadeite archer's ring, and a bizarre, intricate, and gripping tale unfolds.

Editor's review

The novel uses a single jadeite thumb ring—a brilliant emerald-green piece—as its thread, beginning with a sky-high sale at a contemporary auction, where an old man's arrival interrupts the handover and pulls the story back to an old debt from 1935: a eunuch sells the ring, a rice-store owner is murdered, a Japanese merchant conspires with ronin and thugs to set a trap, and the ring is stolen from a police deputy chief. In a time of chaos the object changes hands several times, and each transfer exposes the calculations of human nature and the pressures of the era. Its readability comes from layer-by-layer suspense and the textured detail of the collectors' world, making it well suited to readers who enjoy legend and historical backdrop woven together and want to finish it in one sitting. It is closer to popular legend fiction than to rigorously researched history, so it may best be read as a parable about greed and fate.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy jade, antiques, and tales of collectors
Casual readers who like suspense stories set in the Republican era
Readers drawn to narratives where the passage of objects mirrors human nature
Travelers looking for a tightly plotted novel to read on the road

Not a good fit for

Readers of historical nonfiction who demand rigorous sourcing and verifiable detail
Readers of serious literary fiction who prefer a slower pace and psychological depth
Readers sensitive to depictions of violence and scheming

Reading tips

Start with the section where the auction delivery is interrupted, then follow the suspense; no background reading is needed first.
Note how each change of hands for the thumb ring has different motives; this traces a thread of shifting human nature.
When you reach the Republican-era sections, consider the social context of the time to understand the characters' choices.
After finishing, revisit the opening for clues to the old man's identity and appreciate how the structure echoes itself.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

版权信息
第一章翡翠扳指拍出天价
第二章日商野崎信野其心
第三章有心人梁海涛设计
第四章米栈老板喋血海河
第五章蓝衣社猛将暗涌动
第六章两报人亲日遭诡杀
第七章翡翠扳指如日中天
第八章何梅协定后患无穷
第九章米栈后人笃定复仇
第十章伪满洲国溥仪索宝
第十一章神秘人星夜送密函
第十二章形势险恶歪打正着
第十三章无奈的人无奈的事
第十四章梁海涛携款离津城
第十五章翡翠扳指究竟属谁

FAQ

Is this book based on real historical events?

Judging from available materials, it is a novel centered on the circulation of a jade thumb ring, with characters and plot that bear clear hallmarks of legend. Readers should treat it as a literary work, not as a verifiable historical record.

How is the timeline arranged?

It opens at an auction in contemporary Beijing and the delivery that follows, where an old man's appearance leads into events from 1935. The bulk of the book then returns to the Republican era and unfolds around the struggle over the thumb ring.

Can I read it without knowing about jade collecting?

Yes. The object is a device to drive the plot forward, and the author supplies the necessary information as the story proceeds. Readers can simply follow the characters' actions; no prior collecting knowledge is required.

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About the author

岩波 Author

Public information about Yan Bo is quite limited; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name are not clearly recorded. Judging from the fifteen works held in the collection, he is a popular author whose subjects range widely, spanning social fiction, otherworldly fantasy, and classic works. Representative titles include Underground Transport Station, Secret War, Wolf Mountain, The Male Secretary of the Female Municipal Party Secretary, Lock Picking, Utopia, 1943: The Great Gold Contest, and Pigeon King. These titles suggest two fairly clear strands: one focusing on realistic society, workplace and power relations, and the other leaning toward suspense, war and fantasy narratives, combining tense plots with popular readability. Given the lack of reliable biographical information, the full picture of his writing and its literary influence remain to be further examined, and readers may form their own understanding through the works themselves.