A very different type of history, told through the lives of generations of a particular clan, the Chins of eastern China. This could have only been written of China, where clans have kept written histories over centuries, maintained their clan temples, and kept records of their genealogies. Of course, the reader has to take it on faith that all these accounts are from the actual records, and that the persons and events are not just made up. If they are genuine, then they provide an extraordinary account of the turbulent history of this vast continent and populace from the point of view of the middle-class, middle-level scholar-official class, the ones thrown up (and sometimes thrown out) by the system of examinations based on the Confucian classics, and the ups and downs of royal favour. Also valuable are the lessons in living wisely afforded by many of the stories, especially of those who fell on bad times, who got dismissed by the rulers, who could not make it through the selection process, or who were just not favoured by fortune. However, the book does end abruptly on the eve of the modern era, which suggests that the author was not quite ready to deal with the revolution(s) and the aftermath, which may have destroyed the clan structure. ( )

I just loved this book - it evokes a time and place that seems so exotic. Lost my first copy from the late eighties -and only just found another - a first edition. ( )