A Portrait of All Kinds in the Martial World of the Republic of China: A Turbid Age

Set in Tianjin around the Gengzi upheaval of 1898 to 1901, Turbid Times follows the ups and downs of eight people from the lowest rungs of society: beggars Zhao Si, Liu Hanche, and Ma Wu; the prostitute Shen Yunniang; con artist Bai San; thief Zhou Si; occultist Chen Banxian; and opium den owner Jia San. Swept up in the undercurrents of the age, they struggle to survive, resist, and meet their deaths amid flames and ruins, each seeking a way out. Turbid Times grinds people into dust, yet the eight lives scatter without being extinguished. In the ashes, a spark of humanity still refuses to die.