{"product_id":"rene-leys","title":"René Leys","description":"In this entrancing story of spiritual adventure, a Westerner in Peking seeks the mystery at the heart of the Forbidden City. He takes as a tutor in Chinese the young Belgian Ren  Leys, who claims to be in the know about strange goings-on in the Imperial Palace: love affairs, family quarrels, conspiracies that threaten the very existence of the empire. But whether truth-teller or trickster, the elusive and ever-charming Ren  presents his increasingly dazzled disciple with a visionary glimpse of \"an essential palace built upon the most magnificent foundations.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-307748\"\u003eVictor Segalen\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/31\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.52lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.52d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781590170410\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1590170415\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC019000\"\u003eLiterary\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC014000\"\u003eHistorical | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC037000\"\u003ePolitical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVictor Segalen\u003c\/b\u003e (1878-1919) was born in Brest and trained as a naval doctor. His first literary work, \u003ci\u003eLes Immémoriaux\u003c\/i\u003e, is based on his experiences in Tahiti, where he held a medical post for roughly two years. Written upon his return to France in 1905, the book, part novel, part documentary, looks at the influence of French missionaries on native life, and departs from other colonial writings of its time by taking up the perspective of the colonized. In 1909, after studying Chinese for a year, Segalen made the first of many journeys to China, participating in several archaeological expeditions. The hieratic prose poems collected in \u003ci\u003eStèles\u003c\/i\u003e (1912), his masterpiece novel, \u003ci\u003eRené Leys\u003c\/i\u003e (1922), and \u003ci\u003eEquipée\u003c\/i\u003e (1929), an account of an imaginary expedition, were all inspired by his contact with Chinese culture. His other works range from \u003ci\u003eLe Fils du ciel\u003c\/i\u003e, an early novel about China, and a long prose poem, \u003ci\u003eThibet\u003c\/i\u003e--both unpublished during his lifetime--to various essays on the arts and especially on the works of Gauguin and Rimbaud, as well as two libretti for his friend the composer Claude Debussy. Segalen's death at the age of forty-one remains a mystery: his body was discovered in a Breton forest, bloodied, though the only apparent injury was to his ankle, with \u003ci\u003eThe Complete Works of Shakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e opened to \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e alongside.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New York Review of Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42664197423341,"sku":"9781590170410","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_e405a45d-81c4-4070-a7fd-fa3a7e60cbf3.jpg?v=1649402567","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/rene-leys","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}