This novel is adapted from “Zhang Cheng,” a story in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Since the writing of the venerable Pu is so brief that it leaves readers wanting more, the author let his imagination run wild and reworked the story with a freewheeling expansion of its ideas... In the late Ming and early Qing, Zhang Fu, a merchant whose family had long lived in Shandong, is forced to move to Henan after war breaks out. Zhang Fu marries three times and has three sons, each of whom follows a different path and suffers sorrowful separations and trials between life and death. In the end, the Zhang brothers' kindness and righteousness move Heaven, and divine beings from all sides step in to help, allowing the Zhang family to reunite in joy. I have always admired China's traditional virtues, so this story places special emphasis on the bonds between brothers and the belief that good deeds are rewarded. If you see things differently, feel free to leave a comment or offer corrections. (What do you think of the names I came up with for all the characters? Let's chat!)
