A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. As he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons, his visits become dangerously frequent. And when he discovers that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, Xu Sanguan is shattered, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. In the face of such soul-destroying indignities, Xu Sanguan ultimately finds strength in the blood ties of his family. A novel of rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant offends us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one man's days.

One of the last decade's ten most itlfluential books in China, this internationally acclaimed novel by one of the mainland's most important contemporary writers providf s an unflinching portrait of life under Chairman Mao.

A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. As he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons, his visits become dangerously frequent. And when he discovers that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, Xu Sanguan is shattered, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. In the face of such soul-destroying indignities, Xu Sanguan ultimately finds strength in the blood ties of his family. A novel of rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant offends us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one man's days.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29