Uncovering the Four Great Mysteries of the Late Qing

This book recounts the origins and development of four influential cases from the late Qing Dynasty: the case of the famous opera performer Yang Yuelou, the Taiyuan Mystery, the Yang Naiwu and Little Cabbage Case, and the Zhang Wenxiang Assassination of Ma Xinyi. The stories are strange and suspenseful, and make for compelling reading. "The Ma Xinyi Assassination Case": Zhang Wenxiang, a man from humble beginnings, became the first assassin in modern Chinese history, ending the more than one thousand years without an assassin in China since the tenth year of the Yuanhe era of the Tang Dynasty. "The Yang Yuelou Mystery": Yang Yuelou was the father of the famous martial-role actor Yang Xiaolou. In Chen Kaige's film Farewell My Concubine, Duan Xiaolou was modeled on Yang Xiaolou. In this case, Yang Xiaolou's father, Yang Yuelou, personally experienced a "Farewell My Concubine" drama of life and death... "The Fake Corpse Serial Case": This case caused a sensation across much of China. The bizarre sight of a corpse seemingly coming back to life set the whole strange affair in motion. "The Yang Naiwu and Little Cabbage Case": Hundreds of officials were implicated in the case. The involvement of such historical figures as Prince Chun Yixuan, red-top merchant Hu Xueyan, and two generations of imperial tutor Weng Tonghe made it all the more compelling!