In this novel, Qiao Zhenshi creates the figure of Wang Yingjun, the “traitor” long shunned by the tai chi community. The author turns the community's absurd antics into comedy routines, and writes about martial-world feuds as if they were brawls in a back alley. Every line brims with a devil-may-care spirit, poking self-proclaimed masters where it hurts and tearing away the covers that hide the rot in tradition. By the end, readers are left chuckling as they chew over the bitter aftertaste: the tricks may change, but there will always be people using “tradition” as a front to fleece the public without a shred of shame. To hell with them.
