Достойные женщины из Фуди

Zhili-byli dve podrugi, Chernai͡a zmei͡a i Belai͡a zmei͡a, i odnazhdy Belai͡a zmei͡a poli͡ubila cheloveka. Chelovek okazalsi͡a slab i predal ee, a Chernai͡a zmei͡a ee spasla. Tak glasit legenda, a v realʹnosti dve podrugi, T͡Szi͡ali i U Fan, eshche v detstve pokli͡alisʹ, chto sami vyberut svoĭ putʹ. T͡Szi͡ali - izvestnai͡a poėtessa i t͡selitelʹnit͡sa, U Fan - budushchai͡a zhenshchina-khirurg, pervai͡a v Kitae. Obeim povezlo - ikh vospityvali poistine svobodnymi li͡udʹmi, i oni zhivut vopreki pravilam, kotorye kitaĭskoe obshchestvo nachala KhKh veka navi͡azyvaet zhenshchinam. Odnako T͡Szi͡ali vykhodit zamuzh, i vse ikh plany i mechty okazyvai͡utsi͡a pod ugrozoĭ. Tolʹko chto ovdovevshiĭ Charlʹz pribyvaet iz Anglii v Kitaĭ, gde nadeetsi͡a nachatʹ novui͡u zhiznʹ. Vysokomerie sootechestvennikov emu pretit, i on zavodit druzhbu s kitaĭskim kollegoĭ I͡Anʹbu, ego molodoĭ zhenoĭ T͡Szi͡ali i ee podrugoĭ U Fan. Vmeste ėti chetvero rabotai͡ut i uchatsi͡a drug u druga - kulʹtury i tradit͡sii peremeshivai͡utsi͡a, drobi͡atsi͡a, vidoizmeni͡ai͡utsi͡a. No nastupaet denʹ, kogda Charlʹzu prikhoditsi͡a sdelatʹ vybor mezhdu rodinoĭ i druzʹi͡ami. . . Li͡u Khun, glubokiĭ znatok kitaĭskoĭ istorii, napisala roman o nastoi͡ashcheĭ druzhbe, samopozhertvovanii, tikhom bunte i preodolenii granit͡s. Zdesʹ kitaĭskie legendy peremeshivai͡utsi͡a s "Povestʹi͡u o dvukh gorodakh", a Chernai͡a zmei͡a snova i snova spasaet Belui͡u zmei͡u, khoti͡a kakoĭ t͡senoĭ - vopros otkrytyĭ. Vpervye na russkom!

Once upon a time there were two friends, a Black Snake and a White Snake, and one day the White Snake fell in love with a man. The man turned out to be weak and betrayed her, but the Black Snake saved her. So the legend says, but in reality, two friends, Jiali and Wu Fan, swore in childhood that they would choose their own path. Jiali is a famous poet and healer, Wu Fan is a future female surgeon, the first in China. Both were lucky — they were raised as truly free people, and they live contrary to the rules that Chinese society imposed on women at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, Jiali gets married, and all their plans and dreams are in jeopardy. Charles, who has just been widowed, arrives from England to China, where he hopes to start a new life. The arrogance of his compatriots disgusts him, and he makes friends with his Chinese colleague Yanbu, his young wife Jiali and her friend Wu Fan. Together, these four work and learn from each other — cultures and traditions are mixed, fragmented, and modified. But the day comes when Charles has to make a choice between his homeland and his friends. . . Liu Hong, a profound scholar of Chinese history, has written a novel about true friendship, self-sacrifice, quiet rebellion and overcoming boundaries. Here, Chinese legends are mixed with the "Tale of Two Cities," and the Black Snake saves the White Snake over and over again, although at what cost is an open question. For the first time in Russian!