After an unexpected and devastating loss at the Battle of Atropatene, the Crown Prince of Pars must gain new strength and make new allies to retake his lost kingdom. The 14-year-old Arslan has been sheltered for most of his life, but now must face the challenges of warfare, betrayal, politics and something even more sinister looming on the horizon.... more>>

With the help of a few loyal followers, Arslan quickly learns that nothing is ever as it seems on the surface. His own family history, the identity of the masked stranger trying to kill him, and the cause of increasingly strange supernatural events are all mysteries to be solved.

Set in a fictional representation of ancient Persia, this classic story (from Japanese author Dr. Yoshiki Tanaka) combines political intrigue, military tactics, and fantasy. <<less

A collection of four homoerot*c stories published in the late Ming Dynasty. ... more>>

1. A Hanlin Academician goes undercover to win the affections of a young scholar.

2. An accomplished soldier finds himself the target of a persistent suitor.

3. An opera singer goes to the greatest of lengths to repay his saviour.

4. A filial son has no choice but to sell himself into prostitution to save his father. <<less

Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains《蜀山劍俠傳》by Huanzhu Louzhu 還珠樓主 (lit. Master of Returning Pearl Loft) was published between 1932 and 1948 and is one of the most influential wuxia novels of all time. Many of the elements in this novel became standard tropes of the wuxia genre. It is also the forefather of the modern xianxia cultivation novel. Huanzhu’s cultivation system became the standard, fusing the Daoist quest for transcendence with the Buddhist reincarnation cycle and tribulation system, as well as the Confucian virtue of humaneness 仁 and the chivalrous xia 俠 archetype. At over 4.1 million Chinese characters, it is also one of the longest wuxia novels, though it remains unfinished due to the... more>> civil war in China. So the first cultivation novel was also eunuched—rather fitting.

The story follows multiple protagonists as they gradually gather together, fighting heretical sects and spirit elementals on their way to founding the Mount Emei Sect. Most outstanding among these protagonists is Li Yingqiong, who begins the novel as a girl with no martial arts abilities, and through the course of the novel cultivates to become a transcendent (aka immortal).

In this novel, plants, animals, and monsters can all become human and cultivate to transcendence, or lose their primordial spirit (aka nascent soul) and have to start all over, or be obliterated completely after failing their tribulation. Grotto-heavens and magic treasures abound, and we see the beginning of sects as major organizations in wuxia novels with important roles in the plot, such as Emei, Qingcheng, Mount Hua, Wudang, Mount Huang, Snowy Mountain, Kongtong, Kunlun, and Wutai, as well as the emergence of what would later become the archetypal eccentric beggar character. There are miraculous drugs, sword kinesis, and battles between mythical beasts, and heretic cultivators trying to cheat their way to a faster transcendence. In short, pretty much all of the elements one normally sees in the typical xianxia cultivation webnovel. <<less

This book is Jiang Yingliu’s memoir, which narrates Liu’er life from Beauty to Empress in the palace. Under the plain sentences lies the difficult life in the palace for more than 50 years. Inside the palace, everyone is pitiful. The author describes the majority of “my” life in the palace after “I” accidentally entered the palace in first-person perspective and shows a different life in the imperial harem. Rather than intrigue and contention, the life here is quite peaceful and happy. Finally, I wish them reincarnate as civilians next life and never enter the palace again as they wished.... more>>

Pink hands so fine,
Gold-branded wine,
Spring paints the willows green
palace walls can’t confine.
East wind unfair,
Happy times rare.　　
In my heart sad thoughts throng;　　
We severed for years long.　　
Wrong, wrong, wrong!　　
Spring is as green,　
In vain she’s lean,　　
Her kerchief soaked with tears and red with stains unclean.　　
Peach blossoms fall　　
Near deserted hall.　　
Our oath is still there. Lo!　　
No word to her can go. 　　
No, no, no! <<less